Floorstanding loudspeakers — Wharfedale Elysian 3

The Elysian 3 is a floorstanding three-way design in the ELYSIAN series of the British maker Wharfedale. The cabinet is offered in high-gloss piano black, white and walnut with book-matched veneer. A later R version, the ELYSIAN 3R, is positioned as the compact floorstander of the ELYSIAN R Series.

Key specs that matter

Wharfedale fits four drive units. Two 180 mm coated fibreglass matrix cones handle bass, a 150 mm cone of the same material covers the midrange, and treble goes to an Air Motion Transformer with a 27 x 90 mm diaphragm. Crossover points are set at 375 Hz and 2.9 kHz. Wharfedale quotes a response of 44 Hz to 22 kHz within 3 dB and bass extension to 35 Hz at -6 dB. Sensitivity is 89 dB for 2.83 V at 1 m, the peak level is 108 dB SPL and Wharfedale recommends 30 to 200 W of amplification. Nominal impedance is 4 ohm, which the maker states is compatible with 8 ohm amplifiers. The speaker weighs about 28.4 kg and measures about 1049 x 262 x 315 mm in height, width and depth.

Engineering and use context

In the AMT tweeter a large pleated diaphragm carries metallic strips and sits between two magnetic pole pieces, and the audio signal moves the pleats to produce sound. Its crossover was computer modelled and refined over hundreds of hours of listening tests, with phase consistency between the drivers given priority. The enclosure is built from several wood products sandwiched together in layers so that resonances cancel, and its edges are contoured to reduce diffraction. Low frequency venting goes through the Slot Loaded Profiled Port, or SLPP, which has flared ends and a profiled slot at the base of the speaker to linearise airflow and reduce port noise. Because the midrange cone starts only at the lower crossover, the two bass cones carry everything below that point on their own. The same SLPP venting and the radiused cabinet approach were later carried down into the more affordable EVO4 series, which Wharfedale describes as grown out of the ELYSIAN research, and the AMT treble unit of the EVO4 line was likewise developed from the one used in the ELYSIAN range. The pleated diaphragm of this tweeter is considerably larger in area than a conventional 25 mm dome.

Pairing

With the low nominal load, the amplifier should be one that is specified to drive low-impedance speakers, although Wharfedale indicates that other designs are also compatible. The recommended power guidance leaves room for a range of stereo integrated amplifiers or separate power amplifiers.

Alternatives

The Wharfedale ELYSIAN 4R is the bigger tower of the ELYSIAN R Series.