Wharfedale Linton Heritage Speakers (Pair) Walnut

Product Information

The soundstage width is impressive. At about ±70° through the upper midrange, it is wide but not so wide that it results in a diffuse soundstage (at least in my setups). However, in stereo, it was very difficult to make out any big difference in them. This could be down to the time it took to switch between them while playing different songs. A cookie set by YouTube to measure bandwidth that determines whether the user gets the new or old player interface. 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. Driver complement: 200mm woven Kevlar cone bass, 135mm woven Kevlar cone midrange, and 25mm fabric soft-dome tweeter.

I kept and enjoyed my Infinity Kappa 6.1s for 15 years. They were really good speakers. I like the Lintons better. AS: What were your main design goals with the 6000 series and how would you describe the main differences between the 8300 and 6000 series of Audiolab? The reference plane in this test is at the tweeter height but middle of the baffle (the speaker has an offset tweeter by approximately 20mm). Upon listening to and measuring the speakers I found that the best overall response for this speaker is when the grilles are on. Therefore, the data for this speaker is based on grille on, though, I do provide some data for grille off at the end of the review. While generally this isn’t standard, I encourage you to consider using the grilles. The performance is truly better this way. Their sound is on point, and it would be hard to find a living space that they wouldn't fit into or elevate. I'd be more than happy to have these front and center in my living room."The room response must be averaged to recognize trends in the summation of direct and reflected signals at the microphone. The resulting curves must not be taken as a 1:1 representation of what is heard as loudness at different frequencies. The room response gives a picture of the steady state SPL, where sound generation and sound dissipation in the room have reached their equilibrium." -Linkwitz Sometimes the screen would go blank, sometimes RPT would show, and on other occasions it would switch from Phono to OP1. Go large! The Linton in its full 1970s glory on Wharfedale’s dedicated stand, also strong and functional. Below there is space for LPs. Single gold plated terminals don’t accommodate modern fangled ideas like bi-wiring. The ESS Sabre 9018 reference DAC chip in the 6000A is an old acquaintance of the Audiolab engineers, they've already operated it with success in several standalone DACs and the 8300CDT. Their actual implementation offers three DAC filters: FAST, SLOW & PHASE, selectable via the remote control menu function. I’ve identified the phase filter as best sounding for my ears. The inputs for the conversion are limited to COAX and Toslink up to 24bit and 192kHz and in line with the needs of the 6000 CDT player. By design an USB input option is excluded. Here are 2 cues for better sound, taken from the designer’s note sheet, which I have added to the Zip-file with some other product documentation at the end of the review

AS: When did you start with design phase of the Lintons and have you already been influenced by the return of Vinyl into the audio-culture of the 21st Century then? our measurements show the grille is acoustically transparent and makes little difference to the sound balance, unlike the Denton 85th Anniversary Edition; Wharfedale seem to be in two minds about all this. Initial (sighted/biased) impressions: The Linton speakers sound quite good. Very non fatiguing, can listen for a long time. Good imaging, and music seems to envelop the room. The bass is good, with drums sound very nice on them. I do not feel any sharpness in the midrange or treble that can cause discomfort over long listening sessions. I can't hear much above 12k and suffer from tinnitus, so take my impressions for they are worth. The data shows a very linear speaker within about ±2dB above about 70Hz and an F3 of 50Hz, putting typical in-room extension to around 40Hz. Horizontal directivity looks really good until around 1-2khz where the tweeter crossover is. Sensitivity is about 85dB @ 2.83v/1m. Put simply, as the baffle size decreases, the point at which the acoustic radiation changes from hemispherical to spherical goes up in frequency. It also becomes sharper and narrower in bandwidth as the sides of the cabinet, and the walls and floor of the room, are further removed from the equation. So, this 6dB step in the power response becomes acoustically more obvious.

What I want to underline is my desire for the timeless & beautiful design of the 6000CDT. I have no idea why, but it flashed some 60s James Bond scenes in my mind, although I would contextualize it rather with Bauhaus design inspiration. Sound Power Directivity Index (SPDI): In this standard the SPDI is defined as the difference between the listening window curve and the sound power curve. Early Reflections Directivity Index (EPDI): is defined as the difference between the listening window curve and the early reflections curve. In small rooms, early reflections figure prominently in what is measured and heard in the room so this curve may provide insights into potential sound quality. The Linton Heritage offer all of the midrange resolution and natural sound of the original, but with a lot more detail, speed and transparency. They deliver scale and image rather well considering their boxy looking cabinet."

Unusually, they are designed specifically for use with the grilles on. Not only does doing so help to maintain that low visual profile, the grilles actually improve the sound thanks to their shape ameliorating interference from reflections from the edges of the cabinet. The classic style remains put the sound quality has come on by leaps and bounds since the first Linton speakers. At the time of the first Lintons, woven Kevlar would be an exotic material for the likes of NASA only. With the current Linton, though, the material is put to good use in the bass and mid-range drive units. Combined with the soft dome tweeter, it gives the Linton speakers an expansive sound with powerful bass and detailed treble.

Listening to the Dentons

After some experimentation, I ended up with the Lintons' cabinet fronts about 43" from the wall behind them. I liked having the Lintons toed in so that the tweeters' lines of sight crossed just in front of my nose. In this position, the Dead's "Ripple" still had a touch more bass swell than I prefer, but the sound was sweet, deep, elegantly detailed, and harmonically extended overall. The Lintons are fitted with two rear-firing bass ports on each speaker. While they’re not too fussy about positioning, we’d recommend starting at around 50cm from the wall and moving in from there.

Stay at tweeter level. If you go even 10° above or below the tweeter level, the timbre of the speaker is noticeably different and worse. The original Denton was well known for its warm, rich and natural sounding character and the 85th Anniversary Edition retains that character but imbues it with an open, detailed performance that will entice you to explore your whole music collection.During the preparation, IAG also equipped me with the Audiolab's 6000A integrated amplifier and the CD transport 6000CDT, their recent entry-level models of another British treasure brand inside the International Audio Group, whose performance is also also part of this review. I had seen requests for that CD spinner in the forums, which made me curious about it and accepted the offer in a heartbeat. Most of you may have already read this review about the 6000CDT, and while I found it fun and entertaining to read, it can't hide the air of product marketing. Personally, I perceived the CDT’s sound signature in my listening scenario as well tempered or "balanced", an adjective we can hear/see often in the context of Audiolabs tonal presentation and as well the characterization we have heard from Dave about the Linton Heritage speaker. This, of course, brings us to the most important question of all: namely, do the Linton 85s deliver the promised element of “natural sound quality”? Id also medium term be looking at nicer amplifier too with having such a nice set of speakers. The marantz does have enough power for them and they do play nice with lower level gear. I need some new tubes so I’ve put my old Sony in while I wait for them to arrive from Britain and it’s sounding really surprisingly good. It’s hard to place it relative to the marantz because of its age, and it has a lot more power, but it’d be in and around its level. Equally, having used it with a better amp I know that there is more that the Lintons have to offer that is currently being left on the table. Construction seems good overall and I like that the midrange driver has its own enclosure inside the speaker. Not only does it have its own enclosure but the enclosure is round. Meaning there is less chance for standing waves compared to big rectangular speakers. There is also a liberal amount of insulation in the enclosure. Overall, I am really happy to see such thoughtfulness put into the build quality of this speaker.