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

[Tangband]

I'm SO glad these have been tested properly. This is more my price level as retirement looms ever closer (months now) and as the favoured modern Harbeth is three times the price and without stands (Lintons are £1250 inc. stands here), you can see why my hopes for this model were so high

I believe Peter Comeau designed these? I knew him forty odd years back in his Heybrook days (we were one of their largest dealers back then) and have always deeply respected his work.

In the UK, apparently they're not 'hip and trendy' enough looking (bloody Eye-Fi again) and don't sell hugely - our retro kick isn't as large as elsewhere in the world apparently, hence the relative lack of interest in JBL Synthesis models. I do hope reviews like the one above can get people shutting their eyes and start *listening* again.

Thanks Erin for the review and thanks to ASR Admin for allowing it to be posted here

Looks like nice speakers

Its the same constructor who did the Heybrook HB1. I remember those in the good old days of the late -80 ties.
They sounded really good and there was a ”rightness” of the sound making you wanna listen to more music.
Combining those with a Naim Nait 1 and a Rega planar 3 , the sound was awesome.

About Wharfedale Linton : The older, wider baffles wasnt as bad as many thinks. It seems like the crossover between the 8 inch bass and midrange is done at 630 Hz - probably at the frequency of the baffle step , so no correction is needed for the midrange because the 8 inch woofer fills up nicely.
Good engineering.

 

[tecnogadget]

I’ve seen a lot of fuzz for these Linton on some Facebook “audiophile” groups full of BS and A-Holes…and judging just by the looks and price I thought they were not going to be good…
Ohh boy I was mistaken, never judge a book by its cover. Measurements don’t lie, these performs like champions. And where I live are only 1000€ a pair, great price.

 

[Tangband]

Peter Comeau: Wharfedale Speaker Designer - Audio Emporium

“Most people think that a flat frequency response is the goal of a good loudspeaker design. I quickly found out that it wasn’t, at least not just on its own, and that the balance between the loudspeaker drive units and the crossover that tied them together was far more important. That led me to...

www.audioemporium.com

Really interesting interview with Peter Comeau about wide baffles and the baffle step corrections for this speaker.

” The problem is accentuated in smaller baffled speakers because the baffle step is pushed up in frequency to the upper midrange where it is even more obvious. If you switch from Linton to a thinner loudspeaker you’ll hear the difference immediately- there’s a depth and power to vocals and instruments like cello, woodwinds and acoustic guitar which is missing from the thinner speaker.”

 

[DanielT]

They were nice looking speakers too. I immediately thought that they must appeal to those who like vintage looks. Probably there are those who have them together with turntables. Very true. There is a Facebook group about them.Not only with turntables I see in that group, but in many cases.

Wharfedale Linton Heritage 85th Anniversary loudspeaker

www.facebook.com

They, in that Facebook group, have noted Erin's review of them:

 

[ThELiZ]

Peter Comeau: Wharfedale Speaker Designer - Audio Emporium

“Most people think that a flat frequency response is the goal of a good loudspeaker design. I quickly found out that it wasn’t, at least not just on its own, and that the balance between the loudspeaker drive units and the crossover that tied them together was far more important. That led me to...

www.audioemporium.com

Really interesting interview with Peter Comeau about wide baffles and the baffle step corrections for this speaker.

” The problem is accentuated in smaller baffled speakers because the baffle step is pushed up in frequency to the upper midrange where it is even more obvious. If you switch from Linton to a thinner loudspeaker you’ll hear the difference immediately- there’s a depth and power to vocals and instruments like cello, woodwinds and acoustic guitar which is missing from the thinner speaker.”

This explains something which I’ve never been able to explain! It's the reason why I seem to be drawn to the sound of wider baffle/larger driver speakers.

 

[Dennis Murphy]

This explains something which I’ve never been able to explain! It's the reason why I seem to be drawn to the sound of wider baffle/larger driver speakers.

You can build baffle step compensation into the crossover, so I'm not sure what the issue is.

 

[DSJR]

You can build baffle step compensation into the crossover, so I'm not sure what the issue is.

Slim small columns can have sensitivity issues, so adding eq in the crossover reduces it further. Always one of the compromises between bass or sensitivity...

 

[ROOSKIE]

You can build baffle step compensation into the crossover, so I'm not sure what the issue is.

Some folks like the dispersion character of the wide baffle.
Where the baffle is still keeping the output moving forward to a lower frequency vs transitioning to 4pi much higher up.

More controlled lower mids and upper midbass.

I researched this endless awhile ago and found a lot of cool opinions and some cool philosophy but not a lot of testing to back it up.
I am still interested in making a DIY wide baffle and a narrow one with the same drivers and doing my best to see what I get between the two.

Be much better if you did it though with your skill set

GRIMM is into it

Loudspeakers - Grimm Audio

A good loudspeaker combines a high degree of accuracy with untrammeled musicality

www.grimmaudio.com

And I think many systems like Geddes stuff and the JBL M2 are using the wide is different/maybe better philosophy.

Also another example of wide 1st.

Model M1 - Active loudspeaker for immersive sound experiences.

Model M1 is a compact and digital 2.5-way active loudspeaker, equipped with waveguide, cardioid bass and FIR filters. Listen for yourself →

ggntkt.de

 

[Dennis Murphy]

Slim small columns can have sensitivity issues, so adding eq in the crossover reduces it further. Always one of the compromises between bass or sensitivity...

I think that depends much more on the inherent sensitivity of the woofer than the width of the baffle. In any event, my point was that there's no inherent reason why a speaker with a somewhat wider baffle will have less of a baffle step issue than there will be with a somewhat narrower baffle.

 

[3125b]

And where I live are only 1000€ a pair, great price.

878€ here and it's indeed hard to argue with that value proposition. The stands are 300€ extra though.

They can be placed on a (deep) low board next to a TV or something, making them a little more flexible than normal floor standers, but they are wide wich may be an issue in smaller rooms. In-room bass extension should be fine without a sub for most people and they play loud enough for normal home use situations with remarkably low distortion. And unlike most speakers they do sound better with the grille on, so for pet owners or parents that might be an advantage.

All in all surprisingly competent speakers that I'm now looking at myself. I'll probably get something bigger though.

 

[ThELiZ]

I think that depends much more on the inherent sensitivity of the woofer than the width of the baffle. In any event, my point was that there's no inherent reason why a speaker with a somewhat wider baffle will have less of a baffle step issue than there will be with a somewhat narrower baffle.

I understand what you are saying based on my comment.

I wish I knew why I prefer wider baffle designs in general. Maybe I’ve just preferred the ‘voicing’ of the ones I’ve heard.

Saying that… I didn’t care for the L100 Classic. I certainly don’t know what’s going on

 

[tomtoo]

Are this different lintons?

 

[McFly]

Same lintons

 

[BrokenEnglishGuy]

Subjectivly in the facebook group of my country, the lintons are one of the speaker that sell a lot, but at the same time most people find them very colored/undetailed and boomy and re-sell them

I remember a guy posting that please do not buy the linton, first listen the kef r3. Most people aggre that the linton have just a bad tweeter and its fine at 1000usd.. Lol

Lintons sells a lot in my country, folks here like vintage looking, sadly mostly dont like them as they like his vintage jbls.

 

[Tangband]

You can build baffle step compensation into the crossover, so I'm not sure what the issue is.

Yes, but one will then loose 3 - 6 dB in headroom at certain freq, compared to a wide baffle. ( as you know )

 

[Tangband]

I think that depends much more on the inherent sensitivity of the woofer than the width of the baffle. In any event, my point was that there's no inherent reason why a speaker with a somewhat wider baffle will have less of a baffle step issue than there will be with a somewhat narrower baffle.

Correct. It can be done in a dsp or passive crossover. The narrower speaker will need bafflestep correction from a higher freq and downwards. We will loose some headroom compared to a wide baffle.

How much one lose depends on how the speaker is constructed - If its made for wall placement theres sometimes no need for baffle step correction in the crossover ( as you know ).

Sadly, there are many loudspeakers out there, even expensive ones, that have no compensation even for free standing placement.

 

[norcalscott]

Are this different lintons?

I think he is really overreaching on this one - spend 50% of the speaker price on his kit to get, what, 5% improvement? I am actually impressed with what we can see of the factory crossover - it looks a lot more elaborate than I would have thought.

 

[Tangband]

GRIMM audio was mentioned, they use the wide baffle ( 52 cm ) to extend the freq to the needed bafflestep correction to below 300 Hz, below transition area.

In a more narrow baffle , one will need two 8 inch drivers, instead of the single one used in GRIMM LS1 to reach the same spl between 300 - 700 Hz.

I dont know If theres a sweet spot where most people would prefere the sound regarding a certain baffle width. Maybe 30 cm, or more ? Maybe less ?
The Wharfedale Linton is 30 cm wide.

 

[Rick Sykora]

Are this different lintons?

They are after Danny is done!

He is changing the spectral balance without knowing what the frequency response is below 200 Hz. He added a bunch of expensive damping despite the lack of evidence that it was needed. In another video, Danny ridiculed Amir for doing nearfield measurements. Seems to me, he is stuck in the past and really should not be modifying any existing speaker designs until he learns how to make more representative measurements!

 

[raest]

A lot of folks who cook tasty treats don't know the 1st thing about healthy eating for example. Or how to grow vegetables. Or how to get the best price on 100,000lbs of soy beans in China. Or how to budget the weekly grocery bill.

so what? how is that even remotely relevant to the point?

What I said is not a logical fallacy.

it is. it's a textbook example of one