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

[Zvu]

Interesting because there are also "single" boxes so that they ship separately (mine did, although one of the two came in a non-original box, but the other did). I also don't see any markings as "left" or "right" on my serial number but presumably it's on the labels somewhere and on the box. I'll try to remember to check later.

Lintons are packed in single boxes because of their size. Left/Right markings are inside, on white felt bags that cabinets are in.

Only reason i can think of why would they ship separately is if someone wants HT with Lintons (i can't imagine how would that even look like ).

 

[Emulator II]

So, i've just used spectrum analyzer. Those sounds you hear at the begining of first YT video are two component tone - spikes located at around 140Hz and 280Hz and moving up to 360Hz. That rules out the midrange since the crossover point between it and woofer is at quite high 630Hz.

I just looked at the Stereophile review again. Among other things, a strong, high-Q mode at 281Hz was measured there, which was present on the side walls as well as on the top and rear panels.

That would explain the behavior of the Lintons when playing the track.

Wharfedale Linton Heritage loudspeaker Measurements

Sidebar 3: Measurements

www.stereophile.com

 

[Zvu]

Unfortunately, i don't have accelerometer at my disposal, but you're probably right. The vibrations are on the sidewalls so that excludes midrange and turns attention to the woofer.

 

[Kachda]

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.

Could this be a YouTube encoding problem ? I listened to the tracks on Apple Music and it doesn’t sound as resonant as YouTube. Both tracks definitely have a lot of low frequency energy, so without room correction I can imagine them sounding very boomy

 

[Emulator II]

Probably not. I first noticed the resonances when I streamed via Qobuz.

 

[MrOtto]

The Dovedale:

DOVEDALE – WHARFEDALE

www.wharfedale.co.uk

Bass Extension (-6dB)

25Hz

Linton:

Bass Extension(-6dB)

35Hz

 

[_Piotr]

I was always a headphone guy but today I've become an owner of a pair of Linton's. They sound ok-ish but I still prefer headphones

 

[Kachda]

I was always a headphone guy but today I've become an owner of a pair of Linton's. They sound ok-ish but I still prefer headphones

View attachment 276272

That is a very bare room with lots of reflective surfaces, consider getting a thick rug and some more chairs or curtains to reduce the reflectiveness. You also need to use eq to tamp down the bass modes in the room.

 

[_Piotr]

That is a very bare room with lots of reflective surfaces, consider getting a thick rug and some more chairs or curtains to reduce the reflectiveness. You also need to use eq to tamp down the bass modes in the room.

That's true, it's a 41m room but other then the kitchen there is only a table and a couch. I'm still in the middle of decorating the place. I was planning to buy a Minidsp SHD next and do a room correction. But I don't want rugs or curtains instead I want a minimalistic design with not too many elements.

 

[mhardy6647]

^^^ That's a lively looking acoustic space.

 

[Kachda]

That's true, it's a 41m room but other then the kitchen there is only a table and a couch. I'm still in the middle of decorating the place. I was planning to buy a Minidsp SHD next and do a room correction. But I don't want rugs or curtains instead I want a minimalistic design with not too many elements.


View attachment 276286

I’m afraid a room like that with lots of hard surfaces is not the best for speakers to sound good

 

[radix]

So are there any conclusions on the Denton 80th vs Denton 85th? The 80th are at quiet the discount nowadays.

 

[Snoopy]

That's true, it's a 41m room but other then the kitchen there is only a table and a couch. I'm still in the middle of decorating the place. I was planning to buy a Minidsp SHD next and do a room correction. But I don't want rugs or curtains instead I want a minimalistic design with not too many elements.


View attachment 276286

Mini DSP is great but you will still need some absorber panels , at least behind you.

Search for gik acoustics to get a idea. And U will get much better results from the mini DSP as well

 

[audio2920]

It's a nice looking room, and the Linton's look great in there, but I agree with @Snoopy , if you can face having some kind of treatment at least on the wall behind you, it'd likely make a decent difference. MiniDSP won't help much with the splashy nature of the room acoustics, it'll mostly just help you even out up to 300Hz(ish) a bit. (Well, tuning the overall tonality to preference can help a little, but that really is more preference than outright improvement.) But I'm sure you know all this.

 

[Chazz6]

Thinking about getting the Wharfedale Linton Heritage, but would need to lay them horizontally. The height would be okay for tweeters to ears, but does this setup have other problems?

 

[ahofer]

Thinking about getting the Wharfedale Linton Heritage, but would need to lay them horizontally. The height would be okay for tweeters to ears, but does this setup have other problems?

Check out the vertical dispersion. Usually not good to make that your horizontal dispersion, as it is generally much worse.

Wharfedale Linton 85th Anniversary Speaker Review

Wharfedale Linton 85th Anniversary Review

www.erinsaudiocorner.com

 

[Head_Unit]

But I don't want rugs or curtains instead I want a minimalistic design with not too many elements.

I get it, similar here. Maybe get an actual acoustic rug to bring out for serious listening? https://www.acousticsciences.com/artblog/acoustic-carpets/
and maybe in the back some kind of large/wide decorative fabric/painting that goes with the rest, with deep acoustic foam inside.