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Wharfedale Linton 85th Anniversary speaker review & measurements by Erin's Audio Corner

kolestonin

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This is a valid statement I guess, but when you listen the same track with two different speakers and in one case you just enjoy how well it is reproduced and in the other you catch your self rising the hand and moving it with the rhythm while siting on the couch, then there is something to mention.
Off course it is definitely subjective and maybe cannot be supported my measurements, but elac's are known for being 'laid back' speakers.
Laid back/no fatigue, can be close to less engaging or even boring sometimes.
 

cavedriver

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I'll add (since I posted earlier in this thread after buying some Lintons) that I am preparing to sell them (anyone in the Wash DC region looking for a pair?). They are very good speakers but I am continuing my search up the price ladder. I rejected a bunch of speakers before this for a variety of reasons and the Lintons were the first to sound "good enough", but they could be better (of course). The strongest limitations are also what make them easy to listen to- they sound a little under-damped on the bass drivers and there's a certain lack of detail in the treble. They are satisfyingly full-range for a bookshelf speaker, certainly better than many of the smaller speakers, but they are really a bit too big to compare to many of those speakers. Also, the bass ports are on the backs and the cabinets are deep so you aren't putting these on a shelf if you don't want weird bass behavior.
 

Emulator II

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They are the less hearing fatigue speakers I ever had but in the same time I think there is a lack of excitement and I also feel they do not fill my 30m2 living room as I wish(or as I imagine it could be filled).
Since you actually like your new speakers and only, to put it simply, miss a little oomph: Have you already thought about adding a sub (or two)?
 

ahofer

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But a speaker cannot imbue a recording with life that it does not already have.
Well I don’t know about speakers, but adding harmonics to fatten up sound is widely practiced, right? Whether that’s more “life” or audio mud is a subjective judgement.
 

muad

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. At the absolute maximum, a speaker can only permit us to accurately hear what is already there. I agree that some of them do this to a greater degree of accuracy, and some of them do this to a lesser degree of accuracy (a diminution). But a speaker cannot imbue a recording with life that it does not already have.

That would be like a coffin re-animating a corpse.

Jim
Isn't that what a smiley shaped eq curve does ;)
 

kolestonin

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Since you actually like your new speakers and only, to put it simply, miss a little oomph: Have you already thought about adding a sub (or two)?
I already have a sub(properly integrated I believe) so I found myself in a crossroad:
adding a 2nd sub
or
change the speakers(and eventually add a 2nd sub in the future)

The cost will be more or less the same.
But I think we are going a bit off topic and that's probably my fault.

Let's focus on what more do the Linton's have to offer in respect to my Elac's(read a 2 way 6.5'' woofer speaker)? In theory off course and trying to stay in the objective advantages territory as far as this is possible.

Thank you all for your feedback so far:)
 

cavedriver

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I already have a sub(properly integrated I believe) so I found myself in a crossroad:
adding a 2nd sub
or
change the speakers(and eventually add a 2nd sub in the future)

The cost will be more or less the same.
But I think we are going a bit off topic and that's probably my fault.

Let's focus on what more do the Linton's have to offer in respect to my Elac's(read a 2 way 6.5'' woofer speaker)? In theory off course and trying to stay in the objective advantages territory as far as this is possible.

Thank you all for your feedback so far:)
I rejected the DBR62's because vocals sounded too recessed to me. The effect was particularly frustrating with some fairly popular pieces like Hendrix's Voodoo Chile. By contrast the Linton's voicing has everything in their right place and not too forward or back. There's some small dips if you look at Erin's data around 1.7k and 2.4k that can be detected but the Elac's just felt really off to me in this range, which was a pity because the bass on the DBR's was wonderfully complicated, full, and powerful without being loose. I loved cranking them.
 

trackrat888

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I rejected the DBR62's because vocals sounded too recessed to me. The effect was particularly frustrating with some fairly popular pieces like Hendrix's Voodoo Chile. By contrast the Linton's voicing has everything in their right place and not too forward or back. There's some small dips if you look at Erin's data around 1.7k and 2.4k that can be detected but the Elac's just felt really off to me in this range, which was a pity because the bass on the DBR's was wonderfully complicated, full, and powerful without being loose. I loved cranking them.
I've got a pair. The mids are fantastic, and voices sound great to my ears. I find they sound great cranked as well and play at lower volumes nicely. Bass is controlled by moving them away from the wall a bit. If too close to the back wall, they do get boom. Once placed correctly, the bass had plenty of detail and finesse to my ears.
 

DSJR

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The excitement is in the music, not the speakers.

Jim
Absolutely, but my current take is that most passive speakers dilute this to a certain extent, or falselyt enhance some frequencies to make them sound clearer and more 'detailed' than they really are. As far as the Lintons are concerned, I'm certain much listening was done to fine tune the response shape and to try them in a variety of room acoustics to see how the dispersion copes with that. Not everyone can have a Genelec shaped speaker in their room and in many international markets, 'retro styling' is all the rage. This one is still way cheaper than the Mission re-vamps and the 'new' Epos ES14 which name aside, is so unlike the original it's not true ;)
 

muad

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Three drivers and there are frequency dips and directivity errors? Something doesn't click here.
This is not a speaker forgiving to group listening or moving around. Maybe the target audience doesn't really notice or care.
That's what's driven me away from Lintons 85 despite Erin's enthusiasm.

Better to keep it simple: two good drivers, a good Xover, good match between drivers. No driver mismatches or discontinuities. (Same problem with the Evo 4.2).
No such problems with R3, Focal 906, Dali Rubicon 2, etc
Other than the R3s, the other two ways have dips and response irregularities. The Linton still measures better and more even than the Focals.


The above is a comparison vs the f228be.... Not sure what directivity error you're complaining about. Every non coaxial speaker has horizontal directivity issues.

Below is a comparison of the R3 (3way btw) vs lintons. I've had both, and prefer the lintons.

Thread 'Kef r3 vs Wharfdale Linton 85 (My comparison)' https://audiosciencereview.com/foru...3-vs-wharfdale-linton-85-my-comparison.39854/

This lintons sounds great on and off axis, and generally sounds fairly even throughout my entire listening space. Wether I'm sitting, standing, or in the kitchen washing dishes... They sound good.

Your conclusions seem off base to me. I've had so many speakers now, the vast majority of which I bought based on spins and amir's/erins measurements. The lintons are one of the most cohesive, balanced I've come across. Nothing sounds bad on them.
 

AC1

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This lintons sounds great on and off axis, and generally sounds fairly even throughout my entire listening space. Wether I'm sitting, standing, or in the kitchen washing dishes... They sound good.

Yes, this. Their sound dispersion is very wide, no need for toe-in. It's why I don't understand why someone referred to them as "boxy", as if the music is trapped in the cabinet. That's not true at all. The Lintons fill every square inch of the room. Someone at a different forum argued that the Linton, despite its looks, is a modern speaker and not warm and boxy like Harbeth & Co. His words, not mine. ;)
 

jmillar

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I got the feeling (misguided) that Lintons were 'sweet spot' speakers rather than having a broad and consistent listening window. (Handling the dispersion patterns of a big, classic "three way" can be quite tricky.)

It seems obvious that I should have inquired deeper into this. Thank you for your comments.
 

ahofer

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Yes, this. Their sound dispersion is very wide, no need for toe-in. It's why I don't understand why someone referred to them as "boxy", as if the music is trapped in the cabinet. That's not true at all. The Lintons fill every square inch of the room. Someone at a different forum argued that the Linton, despite its looks, is a modern speaker and not warm and boxy like Harbeth & Co. His words, not mine. ;)
I don’t find my Harbeths (SHL5+AE) as boxy or particularly “warm”. And my other systems are Revel, KEF, and Genelec.

Such is the use of these subjective observations.
 

Emulator II

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Since I've been listening to more and more electronic music lately after many "jazzy" years, I have to say first of all that especially more recent productions in this area demand a lot more from a speaker than acoustic music can. Of course, this affects the bass range, but also the higher frequency ranges. In the last few days I have come across two productions that have made my Lintons stumble:

Recondite - Rise (first track on "Hinterland")


Here there is first on the left channel at 0:04 and then on the right at 0:12 a bad cabinet resonance. Since it occurs on both speakers, I don't really assume it's a defect. If you listen to the rear of the speakers during these passages, the resonance can be narrowed down to the area of the midrange enclosure.

Roger Eno & Brian Eno - Spring Frost (first track on "Mixing Colours")


My Lintons cannot reproduce the beginning of the track cleanly. Here, too, I hear cabinet resonances in the midrange driver area on both speakers.

Maybe there's a Linton user here who can listen to the two tracks at a slightly higher volume and would like to share his impressions? Thanks in advance.
 

cavedriver

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My Lintons cannot reproduce the beginning of the track cleanly. Here, too, I hear cabinet resonances in the midrange driver area on both speakers.

Maybe there's a Linton user here who can listen to the two tracks at a slightly higher volume and would like to share his impressions? Thanks in advance.
I'll check it out soon, just re-located my Lintons (and the Sourcepoint's that I'm testing) to their new dedicated listening location. I can say that one track that throws off my Lintons with a woofer/cabinet resonance is Azealia Banks' "Desperado". I think it's about 1 minute in but I can check.
 

muad

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Since I've been listening to more and more electronic music lately after many "jazzy" years, I have to say first of all that especially more recent productions in this area demand a lot more from a speaker than acoustic music can. Of course, this affects the bass range, but also the higher frequency ranges. In the last few days I have come across two productions that have made my Lintons stumble:

Recondite - Rise (first track on "Hinterland")


Here there is first on the left channel at 0:04 and then on the right at 0:12 a bad cabinet resonance. Since it occurs on both speakers, I don't really assume it's a defect. If you listen to the rear of the speakers during these passages, the resonance can be narrowed down to the area of the midrange enclosure.

Roger Eno & Brian Eno - Spring Frost (first track on "Mixing Colours")


My Lintons cannot reproduce the beginning of the track cleanly. Here, too, I hear cabinet resonances in the midrange driver area on both speakers.

Maybe there's a Linton user here who can listen to the two tracks at a slightly higher volume and would like to share his impressions? Thanks in advance.
Check the screws on your midrange driver?
 

Steve Dallas

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I got the feeling (misguided) that Lintons were 'sweet spot' speakers rather than having a broad and consistent listening window. (Handling the dispersion patterns of a big, classic "three way" can be quite tricky.)

It seems obvious that I should have inquired deeper into this. Thank you for your comments.

Dispersion is about +/- 60 degrees, so not particularly narrow until above 10KHz. They should cast a > average soundstage width and not be too particular about toe-in.

I really want to hear a pair of these, but the last thing I need is another set of speakers--especially large ones.
 

cavedriver

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I would say they have a broad and easy to use sweet spot. I've been using them with zero toe-in and they image fairly well. Mind you, nothing revelatory, but as part of the rest of the package they hold their own.
 
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