I really play a little of everything. From the Beatles and Beach Boys to Arcade Fire and St Vincent to Taylor Swift and Olivia Rodrigo.
Okay, so, my thoughts on the 80ths 'cold', right out of the box, maximum 10 hours playing time. Not good. Sad to say, but the soundstage is incredibly narrow, and the mids that I had expected really don't sound as warm as I had imagined based on the reviews. But, as I'm aware, these generally need somewhere in the region of 100 hours to break in, so - early days. I will say this: so far, and again take this for what it's worth with only 10 hours on them, but my old budget Diamond 220s beat them hands down in terms of soundstage and dynamics. The Denton's do have a deeper bass response (and, thankfully, aren't boomy - even at 3" from the rear wall). More listening later. Hopefully, they'll open up and deliver. At the moment they're making my AAA first presses sound like CDs. Anyone here bi-wiring? Maybe I should give that a try with the Dentons.
They take a while to break-in for sure. I enjoy mine in an equilateral triangle, 5-7ft away. Beyond that, yes the either the Denton 85 or Lintons may be a better choice. I remember when I first tried the Dentons, I re-packed them after a couple days ready to return... but after second try and more hours, I really started to enjoy the smoothness.
In every position I could imagine, with stands, without, etc. Settled on slightly toed in, placed atop wooden vinyl cubes, grills off, which has yielded the best results so far.
Did they ever open up with regards to soundstage and dynamics? I actually had the Lintons for a while. They sounded excellent to my ear, but were just too much speaker for the room here in the apartment (we're between houses - our purchase fell through last minute due to the seller having problems with their chain, so we're back to square one for the meantime). I was hoping that the Dentons would be in the same vein as the Lintons, just smaller in every way, and a marked improvement on the Diamonds. My admittedly modest system leans towards the analytical, and I'd imagined that the Dentons would add a touch of warmth, roll off a little of the highs, add an expansive mid range (in comparison) - and if they added a little more imaging/dynamics that would've been welcome, too.
Sorry to hear about your experience with the speakers! I wouldn't describe the soundstage as narrow at all, but that's my ears in my room with my set up. It's going to be different to everyone. I actually thought the Elacs didn't have that wide of a soundstage and that the Dentons do. I've never heard a pair of Diamonds so I can't compare. Apparently from what I've read here, the speakers start out a little cold, then get super warm and then even out exactly where you want them. But if I were you, I wouldn't wait around too long for them to be what you want. I did that with my 85s and after a few months, they still never gave me the sound I was hoping for. Speakers are very personal and everyone has different tastes.
Try Kaki King "thoughts are born" loud, play with toe-in, and some hadouk trio tracks. The dentons are not monsters of details at all, not sure what you had before, so they won't soundstage like something like the kef ls50, or give you tons of spatial cues... But the tonality is really enjoyable and imaging is precise, just not super layered like the kef.
Update on the Dentons: 10 more hours and the soundstage is beginning to open up. It's still got a little way to go in order to meet the Diamond 220s, but the frequencies seem to be falling in line and there is noticeable extension in bass and mids in comparison to the 220s. Grill off is working for me at this stage of break in.
I was toeing in my Lintons more and more (facing at my nose) but noticed that less treble was going into the room. Now I have them slightly toed in and it's so much better. I first listened with grilles on (because Wharfedale and reviewers told me so), then, a week later, I removed them and thought I heard more detail in the highs. But every now and then I had the impression that, when I raised the volume, the sound was becoming unpleasant. Today I remembered the words of a reviewer who said that, with grilles off, the Lintons are somewhat shouty. I think he's right. With grilles on I can play louder without the sound becoming harsh.
The Lintons really are totally different to the Dentons. They're more expansive in every possible way, and have a huge soundstage in comparison with a much greater emphasis on the top end (again, in comparison to the Dentons, and not in general or in comparison to, say, Kefs).
I wonder if you would have liked the 85s then. I thought the top end was way too emphasized and overly prominent, but perhaps that is what you are looking for.
The Lintons, though I could hear the quality immediately, really were too much speaker for this room, and the reflections were terrible. The Diamond 220s, which were my first pair of budget speakers 8 years back - upon finally getting back into hifi - are the current benchmark to improve on.
I keep asking myself that same question. The only thing that held me back was the reported sibilant edge to high vox, which would rule them out instantly.
Yeah, the sibilance was undeniable. My girlfriend, who isn't super into audio or anything, even noticed it and complained about it.
Fleetwood Mac's Dreams was particularly bad. Stevie's vocals and the cymbal crashes. The speakers just made everything "hotter" IMO.
The cymbal crashes on the 2004 remastered CD sound very coarse but if you listen to the older, non-remastered version, it's much better.
I have the 2013 remaster, can't comment on the 2004. It obviously isn't just that album that had issues. The speakers really exaggerated any mastering issues that a track had. Anything not mastered better than "Good" were extremely irritating to listen to. This review expresses exactly how I felt about the speakers and is dead on with my experience with the 80s and 85s: "The Denton 85s emphasised its problems, making for a not especially pleasant rendition; “unforgiving” my notes say. Distinctive in a bad way here...emphasised treble has made the new 85th Anniversary Edition more critical and less forgiving than the 80th Anniversary Edition" Wharfedale DENTON 85 Review: Past power « 7Review
Okay, we're 30 hours in, give or take. I'm growing mildly frustrated, but - once again - there's still a long way to go with break in, which makes it unfair to judge at this point. Main complaints so far: Narrow soundstage (in comparison to much cheaper, entry level models by Wharfedale). Lack of detail and air with some mid-range graininess, getting muddy with more demanding passages. Pros at this point: good bass response, great aesthetics, pleasant degree of vocal presence. I'll update in another 10.
I purchased both the 80s and the 85s about 3 months ago, intending to keep one, and sell the other. I usually don't put much faith in the breaking-in of stereo components, but with speakers I do. I thought both speakers were a little shouty out of the box. It took a few weeks for both sets to settle down. I pondered the Lintons, but those are way too much speaker for this room (300 sq ft). I've read the 7Review article. I would agree out of the box. After three months, I completely and totally disagree with his take on the 85s. I thought both sets settled in nicely, but that the period of time was at least a 100 hours. In the end, I kept the 85s, and sold the 80s last week. I found them to be very similar, as expected, and thought the extra surface on the 85s woofer made a difference in "fullness." I'm not surprised with the comparison of the 220s and the 80s. The 80s seemed to need a long break in time as compared to some other stuff I've had in the past. And the 220s are a good speaker with years of use on them.
I went down the Linton road, too, and - like you - found that they were just too much speaker for my room (which is a crime, as they look great). How did you find the 80s changed during your 100 hour break in period? I'm debating whether to keep them or not (30 day return window - I'm only on day 4 so far). I was hoping that they would be an upgrade to the 220s in as much as a richer mid range and a slightly sweeter top end, with a little wider soundstage to reflect the price point. Maybe I should've gone with the 85's? What kind of music are you listening to? We're throwing everything from 60's psyche, 70s rock, to new wave/synth wave and 80s pop. Some AAA, some digital. All vinyl. Film score. Heavy metal. Progressive metal. Laura Brannigan. The Beatles. Elvis. The Doors. Alice Cooper. 13th Floor Elevators. Van Halen. Crosby, Stills, Nash, & Young. Talk, Talk. Bowie. Joy Division. The Cure.
Middle-lows better sustain, toms and snares less shoutiness up top. At least 90% of my listening is done on vinyl. 50/60s vocal/jazz (think Sinatra), 60-70-80s rock (Allman Bros, Neil Young, Police). I've seen your post about speaker mods. My advice? Get out to 20 days or so before making a judgement on the Dentons. If you still are underwhelmed, I'd send them back rather than chasing sound that can be easier achieved with a different speaker. In the end, the 220s aren't hugely different from the Dentons in construction, it's still a kevlar based woofer bookshelf, albeit with a cast enclosure (on the 80s).
I didn't think the Denton's settled in until about the 60 hours mark. Before then they change almost daily. Or so it seemed.
