Different kinds of product: one is active with its amplifier built in, the other passive and needs one. Judge them on how you want to own the system, not just the specs.
| Area | Better | Why |
|---|
| Bass | B | Wharfedale Dovedale digs deeper - 36Hz against 60Hz. |
| What you buy | depends | Klipsch R 40PM is a complete system - just add a source. Wharfedale Dovedale also needs an amplifier: more money and another box, but you choose it. |
| Connections | depends | With Wharfedale Dovedale that all comes from the amplifier you pair it with. |
| Upgrade path | depends | Wharfedale Dovedale can be re-amped later and outlive several amplifiers; Klipsch R 40PM ages as one unit. |
| Size | depends | Klipsch R 40PM is easier to place; Wharfedale Dovedale is bigger, which usually goes with fuller bass. Your room decides. |
| Expandability | B | Wharfedale Dovedale: bi-amping. |
| Price | A | Klipsch R 40PM is cheaper - $450 against $5,000, about 91% less; arguably a different class. And that is the whole system. |
A Klipsch R 40PM B Wharfedale Dovedale
depends neither is better in the abstract - it turns on your room, your system or how you will use them. Only specs published for both speakers are judged; anything missing on either side is left out rather than guessed.
Which should you choose?
Klipsch R 40PM suits you if you want one box, ready to play, with nothing else to buy. Wharfedale Dovedale suits you if you already have an amplifier, want to choose the electronics, or expect to upgrade in stages. Neither is the better speaker in the abstract. If a subwoofer is in your plans, the bass gap largely stops mattering - you would be crossing over above 60Hz anyway, which makes the cheaper Klipsch R 40PM much easier to justify. In a large or open-plan room, Wharfedale Dovedale has the cabinet volume to fill it more easily; in a small room, near a wall or at desk distance, Klipsch R 40PM is the easier speaker to get right.
And remember what a spec sheet cannot show: how each looks in your room and whether the finish suits it, what dealer support and warranty are like where you live, and how they actually sound to you. If you can hear them first - ideally with your own music - that will tell you more than any number above.