Wharfedale - Denton 80th (Red Mahogany)

Product Information

And read somewhere that a user found a little adjustment to it, for the ones who have a different taste Given my experience, I wouldn't hesitate to go with the NAD 375 bee. Save a few extra dollars each month, and leave the amp on 24/7. Mine has lasted 6 years so far with no signs of failure yet. (fingers crossed) 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.

I like to build another system around Wharfedale Denton 80th Anv. speakers and looking to replace above components as I will move those from current to my secondary habitat. To mark Wharfedale’s 80th Anniversary, the brand is presenting an anniversary edition of one of its most popular loudspeakers, the Denton. The Denton 80th Anniversary is a classic, bookshelf two-way speaker. Beautifully crafted with hand veneered mahogany, an inset front baffle and traditional Tungsten cloth grille, the updated Denton is a classic update of the original speaker. These drive units are combined by a highly researched crossover that is near inaudible to the listener, resulting in a coherent, seamless musical output that is both thrilling and natural in its rendition of any source material. Rogers was one of the original manufacturers and here are "new ones" I mentioned. This pair would probably not exist if they would have not a chance to cash in on the antique market and the cult status of the classic. They are as loyal to the original as possible including the unfriendly prehistoric way the grilles should be placed and ripped off and the shiny plastic front hidint behind. With the difference being that they chose an exclusive type of wood.Pros: great bass extension, full mids, perfect aesthetics (for my taste, with my gear, with my ear, etc). The Denton's look and feel are miles ahead of the white Bowers & Wilkins 606 stand-mount speakers I auditioned in 2018 at the CNET office. Both speakers hail from UK-based manufacturers, and they're close to the same price, but the Denton looks a lot more expensive. In comes the Wharfedale Denton 85th Anniversary (of which 10 attemps to post different pictures of it here failed)

Wharfedale founder, Gilbert Briggs' focus on quality and value for money led the company to become one of the most famous loudspeaker manufacturers in the world. The Denton exemplified this through its balance fine craftsmanship, natural sound quality and affordability inside a compact loudspeaker that was bought in millions right across the globe. Anniversary Edition An amplifier's treble tone control generally works by boosting or reducing treble starting at a pre-set frequency. The pre-set frequency is determined by the amp manufacturer so there will be some variation between amps. Such tone controls add a peak (boost) or a trough (reduce) at set frequencies - the severity of the peak or trough is determined by the tone control "volume" setting. Adding a resistor in the way you plan reduces power fed to the tweeter so reduces output across the tweeters entire operating range and doesn't introduce significant peaks or troughs.

Do anyone have any of the amplifiers or pre/power combinations mentioned above driving the Denton’s and if “yes” how is the synergy between them? I like the character and the aesthetic of the 80s, but the misnomer about the 'treble roll off' kills it for me. With the family out of the way for an hour, I fired up the Thorens TD309 and spun my US copy of Pink Floyd's The Wall. At a higher listening level: within their dynamic limitations, the KEFs do a bit better here too. The busy sound effects come across cleanly and have real depth too. Definition - inner detail and body - are certainly not the best I've heard. These are, after all, no electrostatic speaker or an Altec 604 driver with a time-aligned crossover, but given the price the KEFs are more than acceptable. The old "PRAT" factor is high with lots of toe tapping enjoyment. Bass with the 6.5" driver is good but if you want to go deeper and louder a sub (or a larger Q-series) would be needed.

One I had my ears immediately hurt so I turned the volume down as I thought the song was pretty decent jazz tune. I kept turning it down to no avail as it was at a near minimum and it STILL hurt. I thought wtf? Something was coming out of that jazz tune which was not normal. Weird experience. Both speakers are highly capable, with the Dentons leaning more towards a lush presentation and the LS50's offering a more detailed, transparent presentation. The treble isn't rolled off, so much as there are frequencies of the upper audio spectrum that are missing (imagine listening to a recording with a clear plastic cup over each ear - that's a more extreme example of what these speakers sound like. They're just missing a lot of top end and some dynamic width. However, what they DO do, they do well. They open up a little with more volume, and become slightly more dynamic due to this).

Seamless musical output

My Dentons arrived yesterday, and I immediately set them up facing each other, out of phase, with a (bass-heavy) pop music station playing on the radio. I left it going for about 11 hours yesterday, while I was out of the house. They are nowhere near fully broken in yet, but that at least got them on their way. Amplification is from a recapped Yamaha CR-1020 receiver (75 wpc), which tends to be on the cool side of neutral IMO. The Dentons are noticeably more restrained on top, with a gentle roll-off that gives them their "touch of warmth," as their designer described it. In this respect they do remind me of vintage speakers from the '60s, which I believe was Peter Comeau's intention. What HiFi accurately summarized them thusly: "Smooth, rich and expressive presentation." The Dentons played okay on my 12 watt 6V6 tube amp, but started to give up when the volume crept up or during heavy bass passages. Switching to the 4 ohm tap improved things slightly, but you could still hear the amp straining and not quite waking up the speakers. Emphasised treble has made the new 85th Anniversary Edition more critical and less forgiving than the 80th Anniversary Edition. With Dire Straits Brothers In Arms LP (Mobile Fidelity, 180gm, 45rpm) repetitive cymbal strikes marking out the beat had very obvious presence, more so than I am used to from our reference Martin Logan X-Stat electrostatic panels. Alison Goldfrap’s Ride a White Horse (12in 45rpm single) pounded out strongly, the synth bass beat having a resonant strength characteristic of an old-style loudspeaker – and all the better for it I felt. Unfortunately, emphasis of sharp vocal sibilants wasn’t so good. Upon my return last night night, I rewired them in phase and put them into listening position. Stands are heavy, sand-filled metal (Target?), with the tweeters raised to proper ear level.