Wharfedale Linton

      Wharfedale Linton Speakers

If you wish a replacement speaker that' designed victimization trendy ways and materials, however that takes an old-school approach to styling and sound, then you would possibly well want the remake of the Linton, launched to celebrate Wharfedale' eightieth anniversary. A try of rear-firing reflex ports aids a big, bassy sound, while not skewing the balance, and that they pair splendidly with the bespoke, vinyl-carrying stands. try with some energetic natural philosophy and you'll obtain with nice confidence.

Wharfedale Linton review

We often say that smart sound will not get old, however, it does still date. hear hi-fi instrumentation from the past and you would possibly notice a distinct audio presentation a lot suited to the music from that era. within the case of the first Wharfedale Linton speakers, that era was between 1965 and also the late Nineteen Seventies – a time of massive trousers, big music, and large speakers. Those original Lintons were 25-30cm across, relying on the precise model, and between the big enclosure, massive front baffle, and conjointly the massive drive units which will be accommodated, they were able to produce a big, open sound that' terribly completely different thereto turn out by today' rather more compact stand-mount speakers.

Build.

Size and styling are the foremost obvious old-fashioned options of those Linton speakers. At simply over 56cm tall, 33cm deep, and 30cm wide, they’re considerably larger than most up-to-date stand mounters, however, they astonishingly ne'er feel overpoweringly big, even in our comparatively little listening room. That’s part all the way down to their natural look with their matched wood veneers, obtainable during a selection of mahogany or walnut. Where they finished in some quite high gloss piano black or marble white, we have a tendency to imagine they’d shout heaps louder Their alternative weapon keeps an occasional profile is that the dedicated Linton stands, that sit the speakers at a rather shorter height than some. Short enough, in fact, that those with a below-average seating position are people who hear the Lintons at their best. Their disproportionate shortness notwithstanding, the Linton stands are glorious They’re titled with a seamless look and feel to match the speakers, and, whereas they value £280 for a combine once bought separately, they will be bought terribly} bundle with the speakers for a premium of simply £100.

whether or not you appreciate the Linton aesthetic or not (we're very keen, for what that' worth), there are clear sonic advantages to the current approach. a much bigger box ought to make a lot of generous bass production, and therefore the bigger dimension of the Linton' baffle helps to feature a small amount more substance to the midrange by supporting the speaker’s output to a low frequency. This effect, called the ‘baffle step’ happens at a better frequency in slimmer speakers, and then they have an inclination to sound less substantial, and that’s even with electrical compensation applied in their crossover networks. a much bigger cupboard also can accommodate bigger drivers. Bass frequencies are handled by a 20cm unit that's the same size because the bass driver inside the previous Linton XP2s however now utilizes plain-woven Kevlar rather than paper within the construction of its cone. A 12.5cm Kevlar midrange driver sits simply higher than in its own enclosure, and slightly off-set to the within edge could be a 25mm material dome tweeter.

The cupboards themselves are made up of high-density hardboard sandwiched between MDF skins to form a mix that Wharfedale says will scatter panel resonance higher than MDF alone. Internally, the moistening material of selection is long-hair artificial wool.

Compatibility

The Lintons are fitted with 2 rear-firing bass ports on every speaker. whereas they’re not too fussy regarding positioning, we’d suggest beginning at around 50cm from the wall and taking possession from there.

Unusually, they're designed specifically to be used with the grilles on. Not solely will doing this facilitate taking care of that low visual profile, the grilles truly improve the sound due to their form bettering interference from reflections from the sides of the cabinet. 

The speakers sound best once slightly toed-in towards the listener, ensuring that the Wharfedale badge is on the skin fringe of every unit. That ensures that the off-center tweeters are positioned within the edge, though as we tend to play with the positioning, the distinction between that and therefore the alternative means around feels minimal.

It’s before long clear that these speakers have a relaxed way regarding them, so we try them with the energetic Rega Elex-R integrated electronic equipment (£949). alternative amps that supply an honest degree of getting on my feet and go will work well.

Sound

The moment we have a tendency to begin our listening, we get an excellent sense of scale and house from the Lintons so we head straight for a musical organization recording to check what they will do. we have a tendency to play John Williams’s The Raiders March – the most theme from the IN Jones films – and acquire an exciting sense of those speakers’ dynamics.

beginning quiet however firm with the plucky horn section, the piece once competes through the Lintons offers a brilliant vary of texture and talent because it builds. hanging up simply to the side, the trumpets sound even as heroic because of the archaeologic adventurer, whereas the strings launch in front. beneath it all, the big hits on the kettle drums are reproduced with consummate ease by these big stand mounters. 

It’s such a fabulously open presentation of the music that our listening house feels larger than it is. each instrument is there to be detected within the thus soundstage. The harp strums float over the top, the kettle chimes in dead from the rear left, the percussion instrument clashes, and also the cannular bells ring so true that we will nearly image the instruments. It’s quite joyous and, arguably, an illustration of those speakers at their terribly best.

we have a tendency to switch to one thing additional modern to the first Lintons - The Rolling Stones’ plaything Flash. The track is definitely dead by lesser speakers, however, the Lintons excel. The tonal balance is spot on and nobody instrument dominates – not Jagger’s voice, not the drum, and not the drums. This recording will sound unbelievably thin, but not here. It’s as full a rendition as we might hope for, but the speakers even have enough nimbleness to stay the track from dropping into a miscellanea of noise because it reaches its climax.

The Lintons’ ease at the lowest finish very delivers. The bass contains a splendidly rounded hum to its strings, quite separate to {we have a tendency toight|the load|the burden} of the kick drum. It drives the song on and you get a true impression of however exciting and rebellious this band should have plumbed live, back in its pomp.

Lastly, we head for one thing more modern with unsighted By The Lights by The Streets and its bare, thumping bass. Through the Lintons it’s big, clean, and as precise as we expect – just the bass, the snare, and the microphone Skinner telling the story of a club night gone wrong. It’s not as forward a sound as we’re wont to from additional fashionable speakers. They don’t throw the nice thuds of the bassline at us just like the equally good however terribly completely different KEF R3s (£1300). The KEFs are in all probability a touch more careful but to not a large degree, despite initial impressions. There a lot of direct approach makes it easier to access, however, most of that sensible detail remains there at intervals the such a lot richer and wider soundstage of the Wharfedale's - you have to go and acquire it.

in a very thin track reminiscent of this, it’s simple to like the KEFs’ presentation. They produce a shade additional shade to Skinner’s voice and also the shimmering synth. however the Lintons manage to try to do one thing that the R3s cannot: thereupon electro sample approximately thus tightly focused, we have a tendency to get a magnificent, room-filling sense of the dimensions and the feel of the club, right right down to the stroboscope lights and solid style within the back of the throat. longing kicks in. These speakers have done their job.

SPECIFICATIONS

Speaker terminals: Single | Frequency response: 64-22,000Hz | Sensitivity: 88dB/W/m | Dimensions (hwd): 26.5 x 17 x 28.2cm

Pros

Awesome clarity

Refined sound

Brilliant construction

Cons

Pricey stands