@erik_squires
Thank you for the suggestion. I may open these up and roll in some high quality caps. I hope they have values on them!
Oh, and you're right...Wharfedale soft dome tweeters are really excellent. They are so smooth sounding without losing detail. |
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Great questions and points.
I've had them for a few days only. I plugged them into my 300B amp first, knowing that they would be underpowered; the 300B was already hooked up. The 300B wasn't great at driving them. Sounded fine, but I knew they needed more juice. I popped in my Primaluna Dialogue HP integrated. Plenty of power for the Lintons--even in triode mode in my sizable room (24' x 15' x 10 high).
My front end is either a Technics 1200 GAE fed by a Manley Chinook phono pre or its Tidal -> Bluesound Node -> Doge DAC.
The stands are included for $1500. I'd be shocked if someone wasn't impressed by the build quality. Fit and finish is top notch.
I thought they would be stretched out Dentons, but they are much bigger.
I just had to try these and I'm glad I did. |
I agree. I,too, heard them at Axpona.
At the show they were fed by an all in one Quad lifestyle integrated, modestly priced. Wharfedale told me they wanted to show off what they could do with reasonably priced equipment. MoFi/Music Direct (the US Distributer that sponsored the room) could’ve given Wharfedale a Luxman, McInstosh or other more premium amp. |
@big_katydid, like you I wondered the same thing—all my current speakers cost more than double to triple the cost of the Lintons. And now with the Lintons in the system they are sounding just as good. |
@big_katydid , that's a very interesting point and it's where I am at too in some real ways. There were a couple of loudspeakers I heard at AXPONA that were amazing but for the most part I have 3-4 sets of speakers that compete really well with much of what I heard. And, the Linton's fit into the mix and they are my cheapest speakers but in no way the worst--just different. Music Direct's return policy is solid. The fact that you get custom made stands for this price is amazing.
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I have heard the Denton 80th. I bought a pair for my father.
The Linton is not harsh or shrill--at least with my gear, in my room. It sounds better than the Denton as it covers a broader frequency range. I haven't tried the Linton with solid state yet, but I did run the Dentons on a Creek Evolution 100 and they sounded really nice.
I think the Denton Heritage sound signature is smooth, musical and listenable. There's a touch of romanticism coming from the dome tweeter and midrange. The Heritage stuff is arguably not the most accurate. But I find it musical and keeps me listening longer. I chose the Dentons for my dad after auditioning them for months with KEF LS50s. The KEFs were really something in how they could disect the music. But I think the Wharfedales cast a better picture. |
That's right, MoFi is getting aggressive. They also paired this setup with a MoFi turntable and a nice cartridge that wasn't Lyra expensive. I think it made a statement. I was very impressed with the turntable too.
Competition is really great right now. There's so much in the $1-$2.5k range of all categories that can provide compelling and beautiful sound.
I should, however, note that I am driving the Lintons with a pretty nice amp. I only wish my 300B could drive them to louder volume because it is my best amp.
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Anyone in or near Chicagoland and want to test drive them? Happy to meet fellow music lovers. |
@sumaato , I'm still breaking them in. I like the bass alot. I think it's more prominent than more Klipsch Forte IIIs, which is interesting. The Forte IIIs use a passive radiator on the rear. The Wharfedale uses rear bass reflex ports. I haven't gotten enough time with them to give a review of how the Linton's truly perform. I will say, the 8" woofer gives a good sense of visceral presence to the mid lows and low end. Unlike the Dentons, these are not small bookshelf speakers. I'd feel more comfortable give you more opinions if I heard them in different size rooms too. They certainly aren't bass shy to me. Let me see if I can put some miles on them and get back to you. |
That’s cool! I’m honored but want to be careful not to understate or overstate anything.
Im going to listen tonight. I’m going to give them a few hundred hours of listening to see what opinions and thoughts develop. Initially I think they are a fantastic deal. |
avanti1960, No, I’m not saying that the Lintons have more bass than the Klipsch Forte III. What I said was the bass in the Linton was more "prominent". To be more precise, I’ll be very explicit. I think the Forte III is more even across the spectrum and the Linton has some mid bass boost--not a ton but it’s there in my room.
Now, here’s the deal. I’m not familiar with the Quad amp they ran the Lintons with at AXPONA. But what I can tell you is this--there is bass and warmth. It could be that my tube amps have more bass than my solid state amps. I know that sounds nuts to folks but it’s true. Bass is about bandwidth and large power supplies.
The other issue may be (other than differences in our ears) is differences in room and positioning.
I don’t take offense at all. Come on over. I have plenty of junk to play and kit to compare them to. Maybe they’ll break in further and they will sound different (more midrangey as you heard them).
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One more thing--yes, the Forte IIIs rock the house. They are dynamic and I think they are better than many loudspeakers double and triple the cost. |
I own the Forte III and the Linton and they are now my two "flavors". I'm having second thoughts on selling my PSB Imagine T2s, as they might be the perfect third flavor. |
I swapped out my favorite tube (7581A) for an octet of KT150s last night. The Lintons do sound better with more power than EL34 variants can give. |
Where’s the pot in the video? I met be too tired to find it. |
Sumaato,
I've now had these running for about a month. Here's what I can say (no final conclusions yet)
-My 300b amp cannot drive them.
-My Primaluna can and they sound great with them.
-Oddly, My Creek EVO 100 sounds better with them than the Primaluna.
-They sound so good that while I've certainly thought about rotating my Klipsch Forte IIIs back in, I haven't done it.
--I thought the Lintons sounded a bit harsher with tubes than solid state. But keep in mind I have only compared 3 amps with them thusfar.
Maybe there's some serious synergy between the British Creek and the British Lintons?
I have no lack of bass. I have a big room and they have low end drive. I'm not sure what the dude (above) heard, but I respect we all hear differently and different rooms and kit make a difference.
I'm going to hold off on a very specific review because I think I need to live with stuff for months to truly know it. I'll say this though; the Lintons are a killer bargain. They reveal differences in front end equipment better than I expected. I would recommend an audition for people looking for great musical value. Pick your saying, phrase or idiom--they punch about their price.
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One thing I’m confident about: the Lintons need to be placed and spaced precisely to lock in imaging. They are not fickle in placement from the front wall in my room but they do require precision in spacing and tie in to lock the sound picture together seamlessly. |
I finally got around to swapping out the Lintons and moving the Forte IIIs back in. I enjoyed comparing but not enough to keep the Fortes in position. I moved the Wharfedales back in. I'm very pleased with these speakers. I'd like to put them head to toe with some Harbeths. |
+1 on chrisr view. They do lack a bit of air so they sound better in my more lightly furnished rooms. Or they open up with certain preamp tubes if I’m running a tube amp.
At at some pint I’d like to open them up and see the crossover capacitor values. I’m thinking the caps might be generic or inexpensive caps rebranded. I have to remember what price class these are in and not too expect Class A performance from such a budget component. The looks and fit and finish suggest a more expensive product. |
Because I’m lazy and or super busy, I emailed Wharfedale for data on the crossovers. I’ll definitely drop a post after I do it. |
Hificrazed, I have both as you may recall from another discussion we both were involved with.
The Fortes are overall a better speaker but the Lintons are not faulty. In fact they kept my Fortes on the bench longer than I expected.
They are are very different. I like having options to suit my taste on a particular day-kind of like having different meals. |
