Wharfedale Linton Heritage
A dale is a broad valley. The Yorkshire Dales are broad, picturesque valleys in Northern England, mostly named for the rivers or streams that run through them. One of these is Wharfedale, which is the upper valley of the River Wharfe—and which was the original home of British firm Wharfedale Wireless Works, founded in 1932 by Gilbert Briggs.
I grew up in backwoods America. I never heard of Wharfedale speakers (or the River Wharfe) until 1982, when the company introduced a squat, cubic loudspeaker called the Diamond. At less than $100/pair, the Diamond delivered a satisfying portion of the natural tone and pinpoint imaging of the popular Rogers LS3/5a, at a fraction of the cost. (In 1982, the Rogers LS3/5a cost around $500/pair.) Since the advent of the very popular Diamond, Wharfedale has continued to expand its reputation as a maker of affordable, audiophile-quality—and distinctly British—loudspeakers.
To celebrate their corporate longevity and place of pride among traditional British loudspeaker manufacturers, Wharfedale has introduced a third “Heritage Series” model: the 85th anniversary Linton Heritage. (Its ancestral namesake debuted in 1965.) The new Linton joins its smaller brothers, the 85th anniversary Denton 85 and the 80th anniversary Denton 80, in mixing traditional Wharfedale style and old-school speaker technology with 21st century crossover and driver design.
Description
The Linton Heritage is a three-way bass-reflex design with an 8" woven-Kevlar woofer, a 5" woven-Kevlar midrange, and a 1" soft-dome tweeter. Its rear-ported cabinet is made from veneered chipboard/MDF—the front baffle is painted black—and measures 22.25" tall by 11.8" wide by 13" deep, with a weight of 40.5lb. Lintons cost $1198/pair, or $1498/pair with their companion 17"-tall steel and wood stands. They look and feel luxurious, like a vintage Jaguar saloon.
