Wharfedale’s Heritage loudspeaker range has been given a significant boost with the addition of the Linton Heritage, a reimagined version of the original Linton that was at the cutting edge of British speaker design in the 1970s and 80s.
The Linton, according to Wharfedale, epitomised quality and value back then, and the same principles have been applied to the reborn, 21st Century version, which made its world debut at last week’s High End show in Munich.
Like before, the new speaker oozes craftsmanship and the British tradition of speaker design. A large, three-way stand-mounted speaker, it combines those nostalgic traits with up-to-date technology.
So, don’t be fooled by the hand-laid real-wood veneer, the recessed front baffle in contrasting black, and the cloth grille. The drive units, crossover and acoustic design are bang up to date.
Woven Kevlar is used for the cones of both the 200 mm bass driver and the 135 mm midrange, with the latter housed in its own, dedicated compartment. The soft-dome tweeter features a woven dome material, and a high-flux ferrite magnet.
Wharfedale claims that the thousands of hours of were spent on listening tests during the development of the crossover in an effort to achieve optimum coherence and seamless tonality.
The heavily braced enclosure is large for a standmount (565 mm high, 300 mm wide and 330 mm deep) and features dual, rear-firing ports. It comes with cleverly designed, dedicated stands that also offer integrated storage for LP records – another nod at the Linton’s history.
The Wharfedale Linton Heritage will become available in South Africa in June, at a recommended retail price of R20 000, including the stands.