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Contemplating Wharfedale Linton Heritage 85th Anniversary Edition

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@AudioQuestShill Did you end up buying the Lintons?
Hi i bought it but ended up returning it. The sound was a bit too warm for me and the bass was a bit too boomy in my room. The high rolls off pretty hard according to measurements and since im a younger guy i can definitely hear the recessed treble. It plays really loud tho and i suspect sensitivity is higher than listed, the real wood veneer finish is also really nice. Albeit i did all the subjective listening tests with the grills on. According to Amir recent review of a Wharfedale unit it plays better without the grill but i didnt test it that way
 

dougi

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I'm waiting for a delivery of a pair of these. Strangely enough is was a decision between Revel F206s and these to better fill a large room. I fell for the old school looks and I have never owned a three way speaker. I'm sure the Revels are better but hate the way they look, more difficult to move, less bass. I will post some basic measurements at some point after I get them. Note that there were some measurements in a German mag, below, as well. Distortion seems well controlled. I will still use a sub and keep my Proac Response D2s as well.
1605666305170.png
1605666305170.png
 

restorer-john

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I'm waiting for a delivery of a pair of these. Strangely enough is was a decision between Revel F206s and these to better fill a large room. I fell for the old school looks and I have never owned a three way speaker. I'm sure the Revels are better but hate the way they look, more difficult to move, less bass.

Have to agree with you on the Revels, they are putrid looking in my opinion. They remind me of line array PA speakers.

Post some pictures when you receive them gorgeous Lintons! Did you buy the stands as well?
 

dougi

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Have to agree with you on the Revels, they are putrid looking in my opinion. They remind me of line array PA speakers.

Post some pictures when you receive them gorgeous Lintons! Did you buy the stands as well?
Yeah I got the stands. Will post pics when received, plus comparitive measurements with the Response D2s.
 

sfdoddsy

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Have to agree with you on the Revels, they are putrid looking in my opinion. They remind me of line array PA speakers.

Post some pictures when you receive them gorgeous Lintons! Did you buy the stands as well?

If you like the sound of Revels, but hate the looks, check out Davone speakers. The Studio has the same drivers and crossover typology as the M106, and the Solo the same woofer and tweeter and a slightly smaller version of the mid as the F208.

art-retro-mid-century-modern-beautiful-danish-design-high-end-loudspeakers-davone.jpg


Measurements are similar, and in the case of the Solo possibly better.

The catch is they are rather more expensive.

I bought my Solos used at less than half retail ($14K in Australia) and 2/3 the cost of F208s ($10k in Australia) but they are kind of worth the aesthetic surcharge because there is no way my wife would have allowed any other floor-standing three way in the living room.

She was OK (barely) with my LS50s, but not the supposedly sexy leather clad Sonus Fabers, supposedly spouse-approved PMCs (crap sounding anyway) and various others I tried to sneak in.

The trick, I suspect, is that you can’t see the drivers so they don’t look like speakers.

She is similarly grudgingly OK with the Beolab 6000s I use as rears.
 

dougi

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Have to agree with you on the Revels, they are putrid looking in my opinion. They remind me of line array PA speakers.

Post some pictures when you receive them gorgeous Lintons! Did you buy the stands as well?

They arrived and I just unpacked and temporary setup. Here with the Proacs and in the room. Fit and finish is very good. I got the Walnut finish for true mid century retro but the Mahongany would probably look classier. Gold plating colour on the binding posts is a bit naff (very yellow). You really need a tool to get the grilles off (use a plastic car trimmer tool I had lying around. Will setup and EQ this weekend. May get around to posting comparitive 1m/in room plots between the two.

linton grills2.jpglinton no grills2.jpglinton room2.jpg
 

981CS

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My fear with the Wharfedales is that they are called "6ohm" speakers but it's pretty clear that you need a stout 4ohm capable amp to push them where they need to go.

Seems a bit counter-intuitive given their retro looks as guys with retro amps/receivers will be struggling to push them.
 

dougi

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My fear with the Wharfedales is that they are called "6ohm" speakers but it's pretty clear that you need a stout 4ohm capable amp to push them where they need to go.

Seems a bit counter-intuitive given their retro looks as guys with retro amps/receivers will be struggling to push them.
Agreed. At least they will have tone controls to take the bass as required. I haven't seen measurements of the new leak integrated yet to see if that is sufficient. My March hypex amp will do fine I'm sure.
 

bYOndo

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They arrived and I just unpacked and temporary setup. Here with the Proacs and in the room. Fit and finish is very good. I got the Walnut finish for true mid century retro but the Mahongany would probably look classier. Gold plating colour on the binding posts is a bit naff (very yellow). You really need a tool to get the grilles off (use a plastic car trimmer tool I had lying around. Will setup and EQ this weekend. May get around to posting comparitive 1m/in room plots between the two.

View attachment 94426View attachment 94427View attachment 94428
wow! gorgeous loudspeakers! and their stands too. Really interested about your review, thanks in advance :)
 

dougi

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BATTLE OF THE BRITISH
Having now had some time to measure the Lintons, I thought I would compare with my Proac D2s. In Australia, the Lintons retain for $3099 with the stands. Proac D2 in standard finish now retails for $6400! Mine are 10 years old and retail then was around $4400 i think.

My main aim was to see if the Lintons treble and bass extension was similar to the Stereophile or the German measurements, which seemed a bit different. Also to see how they fared in my large room (at least 8m x 12m) compared with the D2s. The D2s have a bit of an uneven upper mid/treble in my room and bass is OK but you do need a sub. Here we go! Position and toe in as per above room photo for Lintons. Note I used tweeters on the outside to give better treble off axis for a couch on the side rather than my listening position.

1m gated comparison. Note Linton on lower stand so gating is 3.3ms vs 5ms for D2. Linton quite flat, slight rolloff, not as bad as Stereophile. D2 gentle lift and tweeter resonance, similar to Stereophile.
1m gated.jpg

1m ungated to give a vague idea of bass extension and any boost. Looks pretty flat but higher than D2 in bass so perhaps a bit of a boost. May go a bit lower in bass extension than the D2.
1m ungated.jpg

Distortion at 1m @96dBA. Quite good and similar to German measurement. I have a distortion measurement of D2 but at lower spl, it is better @0.5% max mostly.
Linton distortion 96 1m.jpg

In room measurements at 3.8m. Definately more bass than the D2 but meets a Harman style curve well. Better match in midrange than the D2 but more upper treble rolloff. Not an issue for my 52 year old ears. Note used 35 Hz rolloff in curve for Lintons, 40 Hz for D2s.
linton IR R.jpglinton IR R.jpgD2 IR L.jpgD2 IR R.jpg

Distortion in room for the Linton only. Strangely the right is some what better. Both 92dBA at 1m equivalent.
linton distortion ir 92 L.jpglinton disortion ir 92 R.jpg

In room with some basic eq on each channel (via RME ADI-2 pro). Can always use it's bass control to lift it a bit.
linton IR L eq.jpglinton IR R eq.jpg

In conclusion the Lintons are generally better in my room than the D2s. Little need to eq or use my subwoofer with them. Subjectively more and lower bass than the D2 but not as resolving. Generally a relaxing listen. Recommended if you have the room and aren't concerned about >15kHz.
 

restorer-john

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@dougi Excellent writeup! I really love the look of them and agree, the mahogany would be my choice.

They look fabulous. :)
 

dougi

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Sorry, in room left as is for Linton should be:
linton IR L.jpg
 

hawk01

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hi @dougi i hope you are happy and content with the lintons by now as your measurements show decent performance with nothing broken out of the ordinary. i am presently considering the lintons in my modestly treated 3.8 x 5.4m size dedicated HT room which is significantly a smaller area than yours. i am presently using revel m16s for mixed stereo music and HT fronts duty and i must say they are immensely good! perhaps their only known fault if its a fault at all is that their measured bass boost as per ASR review can manifest itself as boomy in some recordings if i had to nitpick but its otherwise generally a good thing in overall use.

my intent for considering the lintons:

1. the performance benefit of a 3-way speaker and better, deeper bass with the 8in woofer with larger volume cabinet.
2. i hope it will not exhibit the same boomy nature as the revel m16s in my room.
3. i hope these will fare well without any EQ and subwoofer augmentation since they shall be placed well into the room away from the walls.
4. amplification is a NAD C326BEE since i only have a small room and this one has decent low impedance drive capability.

the speakers are presently being demo’d and inspected by my local retailer as i allowed him to check for any flaws. funny he remarked how off it sounded out of the box! bass was nonexist as with all the dynamics on day1. day2 according to him was an immensely different experience. everything is falling into place and such… as a non-believer of break-in BS i just took his words with a huge grain of salt. although it had me thinking since he claims never to have encountered such a remarkable change in performance from any speaker he has unboxed. oh well had it not been for covid19 i would have savored that experience myself!

i shall be taking the lintons home anytime soon when my sked allows. good thing about my dealer is the return policy should i find it ill fitting with my listening room. it has very big shoes in the form of revel m16 performance. looking forward to your inputs sir!
 

dougi

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hi @dougi i hope you are happy and content with the lintons by now as your measurements show decent performance with nothing broken out of the ordinary. i am presently considering the lintons in my modestly treated 3.8 x 5.4m size dedicated HT room which is significantly a smaller area than yours. i am presently using revel m16s for mixed stereo music and HT fronts duty and i must say they are immensely good! perhaps their only known fault if its a fault at all is that their measured bass boost as per ASR review can manifest itself as boomy in some recordings if i had to nitpick but its otherwise generally a good thing in overall use.

my intent for considering the lintons:

1. the performance benefit of a 3-way speaker and better, deeper bass with the 8in woofer with larger volume cabinet.
2. i hope it will not exhibit the same boomy nature as the revel m16s in my room.
3. i hope these will fare well without any EQ and subwoofer augmentation since they shall be placed well into the room away from the walls.
4. amplification is a NAD C326BEE since i only have a small room and this one has decent low impedance drive capability.

the speakers are presently being demo’d and inspected by my local retailer as i allowed him to check for any flaws. funny he remarked how off it sounded out of the box! bass was nonexist as with all the dynamics on day1. day2 according to him was an immensely different experience. everything is falling into place and such… as a non-believer of break-in BS i just took his words with a huge grain of salt. although it had me thinking since he claims never to have encountered such a remarkable change in performance from any speaker he has unboxed. oh well had it not been for covid19 i would have savored that experience myself!

i shall be taking the lintons home anytime soon when my sked allows. good thing about my dealer is the return policy should i find it ill fitting with my listening room. it has very big shoes in the form of revel m16 performance. looking forward to your inputs sir!
I imagine you may have a similar experience to me going from my D2s. Deeper bass, warmer balance, less resolving but hopefully more enjoyably musical. In my room I still need 2db bass boost to get to a Harman target. Hopefully in your room, carefully positioned, they will be just right. I don't bother to use my subwoofer with them. I do use room correction though.
 

hawk01

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hello again @dougi! been listening to the lintons for the past few weeks and as expected low end region needs to be tweaked in my size room. btw what room correction are you using? i have not yet implemented any form of correction by way of REW and minidsp. so far, i just hooked my laptop source into the loop and used Equalizer APO to make some eyeball adjustments on the low end. so far i realized a world of difference just pulling down the 30-50Hz typical trouble region a few dBs.

if i should ever go for the minidsp i may only use it with REW (with UMIK-1) to identify the trouble spots in the 20-150Hz region where it counts (and annoys) the most. then i assume it has a decent EQ feature to address the modal issues, and not necessarily to integrate subwoofers in the mix. as i am not yet familiar with this whole EQ thing, am i headed in the right direction?
 

dougi

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hello again @dougi! been listening to the lintons for the past few weeks and as expected low end region needs to be tweaked in my size room. btw what room correction are you using? i have not yet implemented any form of correction by way of REW and minidsp. so far, i just hooked my laptop source into the loop and used Equalizer APO to make some eyeball adjustments on the low end. so far i realized a world of difference just pulling down the 30-50Hz typical trouble region a few dBs.

if i should ever go for the minidsp i may only use it with REW (with UMIK-1) to identify the trouble spots in the 20-150Hz region where it counts (and annoys) the most. then i assume it has a decent EQ feature to address the modal issues, and not necessarily to integrate subwoofers in the mix. as i am not yet familiar with this whole EQ thing, am i headed in the right direction?

@hauk01. I am lucky enough to have a Lyngdorf DPA-1 preamp which has their RoomPerfect system. I do, however, measure pre/post with REW and an independent calibrated mic to be happy with what it does. I then add any additional house curves or tweaks with the RME ADI-2 which sits on the digital output of the DPA-1.

Equaliser APO is very capable and yes just pulling down the key modes (mine are 43 Hz and 70 odd at my LP) will get you most of the way there.
 

Slyman

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hi @dougi i hope you are happy and content with the lintons by now as your measurements show decent performance with nothing broken out of the ordinary. i am presently considering the lintons in my modestly treated 3.8 x 5.4m size dedicated HT room which is significantly a smaller area than yours. i am presently using revel m16s for mixed stereo music and HT fronts duty and i must say they are immensely good! perhaps their only known fault if its a fault at all is that their measured bass boost as per ASR review can manifest itself as boomy in some recordings if i had to nitpick but its otherwise generally a good thing in overall use.

my intent for considering the lintons:

1. the performance benefit of a 3-way speaker and better, deeper bass with the 8in woofer with larger volume cabinet.
2. i hope it will not exhibit the same boomy nature as the revel m16s in my room.
3. i hope these will fare well without any EQ and subwoofer augmentation since they shall be placed well into the room away from the walls.
4. amplification is a NAD C326BEE since i only have a small room and this one has decent low impedance drive capability.

the speakers are presently being demo’d and inspected by my local retailer as i allowed him to check for any flaws. funny he remarked how off it sounded out of the box! bass was nonexist as with all the dynamics on day1. day2 according to him was an immensely different experience. everything is falling into place and such… as a non-believer of break-in BS i just took his words with a huge grain of salt. although it had me thinking since he claims never to have encountered such a remarkable change in performance from any speaker he has unboxed. oh well had it not been for covid19 i would have savored that experience myself!

i shall be taking the lintons home anytime soon when my sked allows. good thing about my dealer is the return policy should i find it ill fitting with my listening room. it has very big shoes in the form of revel m16 performance. looking forward to your inputs sir!
Did you end up getting them? How was your liking? And could your NAD C326BEE run them :~)?
 

hawk01

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Did you end up getting them? How was your liking? And could your NAD C326BEE run them :~)?
hello there! yes as i mentioned above, i do have them and its was an overall excellent purchase. while the low end may need some tweaking (as with any room dependent speaker system) to get the very best performance, fortunately the speaker does not have boomy characteristics at all (in my use case) maybe except for some material with really heavy bass. the NAD326BEE is more than substantial to run these as well and i do not need any more. having EQ will be more beneficial than higher powered amplification if i must say. moving forward, i am in the process of investing in something modest which can deliver class-D amplification and have EQ with proper room measurement if that will ever exist in a more affordable price point! cheers!
 
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