I had another store audition today of the Wharfedale Linton. Different music than last time. First off, the associated equipment was the same as last time, which is to say unfamiliar to me. I’m planning for an in home audition in perhaps a weeks time since I'm not sure about the effects of unfamiliar environment and gear. In the shop these are slightly midrange centric. Definitely more so than the Denton 80th. They are more extended up top and livelier sounding as well. They remained modest in the bass extension department, presumably due to room issues which were obvious to me. What they delivered in bass would be borderline acceptable without a sub (for me) but I’m expecting they will perform better in my room with some amount of room boundary reinforcement. Dynamics were snappy and the tone and timbre seemed spot on. Male and female vocals were well presented, full bodied, and largely upfront. Background vocals were well delineated in the mix. There's no pinpoint imaging, if that's your thing but instruments are separated and in a space of their own. Room ambiance where present was obvious. They handled guitar work and percussion very well on the material I provided. Nothing I heard is setting me on a different course. I'm wondering if these will have a markedly different balance and performance in my entirely different room with my gear. Hope to answer this question in the next week or so.
Just received a pair yesterday. Unfortunately one of the speakers is defective — no audio. Swapped cables, tried a different amp... nothing. So back it goes for a replacement. Beautiful speakers, though.
Follow-up: Got a pair in Red Mahogany delivered yesterday for an in-home audition. Same pair I've auditioned in store twice over the last few weeks so they've got some break-in on them already - they are not fresh out of the box. First impressions don't stray dramatically from what I heard in-store but I'm learning more. The midrange is better than anything I've had in house going back at least to my Epos ES-14's. It's open, clear, and natural. It avoids getting cluttered when there's a lot going on. Vocals just have a really nice presence, wholeness, and tonality. The bass is better in-house than in-store, as I'd expected. I'm not done working on placement and have not measured extension. I think they could go back towards the front wall another several inches as I have them well out into the room to start (30" from wall to rear of speaker). The looks of the speaker might render thoughts that it has an old fashioned warmth. I'm not getting that at all. There's not a smidgen of bloat, overhang, resonance or boom to this bass. It's taut, it's nimble, it's dynamic. Steve Guttenberg used the adjective "limber" which is also apt. At first blush, I'm thinking the subwoofer can be re-purposed. The treble from the soft dome doesn't call attention to itself either in a bad way or a good way. It's weird that I have almost nothing notable to say about it. It's like when you go to a party and the next day you recall a particular friend being there. He seemed to be having a good time, you know you spoke to him, but you can't recall what you discussed, what he was wearing, or who he was with. It just fits in. It doesn't ruin the party, it's not the life of the party, it's not the reason for the party, it just attends the party and has a good time. The Red Mahogany veneer is growing on me. I think it looks good in my room. The finish and fit on these speakers is incredible for the price. Guttenberg said if they cost double the price no one would have to apologize for the fit and finish and he's right about that.
Did someone of You tried Linton's with Audiolab 6000A and what do You think ? I saw many YT guys with this configuration.
FWIW, Music Direct has a pair of stands for $50. off. Both Walnut & Mahogany Wharfedale - Linton Speaker Stands (Walnut, Pair) **OPEN BOX**
Thanks. Fortunately I have a good local dealer. That reminds me to mention that Lance at Forefront Audio in Rochester NY has been very knowledgeable, helpful, and fair throughout the process.
I've had a demo session yesterday, comparing Evo 4.2 to Lintons. Also listened to Evo 4.4 few weeks back. Hard to describe exactly why, but I prefered Lintons to both Evo models. Maybe I'm used to sound character as I have Dentons 80 at home. To me Lintons sound richer and more coherent. They are extremely good for 70's rock music, same with newer rock and metal. Rock sounds like being played live in a garage or on stage. Jazz and vocal music is again very natural and has a live feel to it. Soundstage is huge, albeit not very precise. Makes you think your in a much larger room or a hall. Bass can be a bit much at times, not boomy... it gives darker feel to music than it should. Less complex classical music and solo instruments sound very rich. Evos win with complex music that has lots of instruments and fast passages. They better separate each instrument. They also play a bit faster, and more upfront - sound happens closer to your ears, but not by much. This is one of the reasons, I believe, why some say Lintons don't couse listening fatigue, same goes for Evos but less so. Also, Evos are better in imaging and could be better than Lintons in acoustically untreated rooms. I imagine Lintons could sound bass heavy in smaller or reflective rooms. As far as dynamics and low volume listening goes, they do simmilar, not the best if you ask me. Evos maybe do better with micro-dynamics. ... Evos for complex classical and electronic music, Lintons for rock, jazz, acoustic and everything else.
Yamaha a-s500. Should be fairly neutral. Will try again with my Sansui AU X701 when I get it back recaped from their service.
Jeez, I have some Monitor Audio Silver 8s, maybe those are similar to the Evo models ...? but the Lintons seem like a slightly different animal. I'm intrigued by the Evo 4.4 though, having the 2" soft dome midrange, which is similar to my original real stereo speakers, Pioneer Project 100As ... if money were no object, I'd get Evo 4.4s AND Lintons to play around with!
I wonder how Monitor audio Silver 200 or 300 compare... Lintons are special speakers, maybe they could sound a bit lighter, "fresher" but then we probably talk about higher prices. For musicality (x factor) choose Lintons, for detail find something other than Evos.
I imagine the Silver 300 are similar to the Silver 8, hopefully even more refined. Guessing the Evo 4.4 may be comparable. Not sure what you mean. Evos not detailed enough? Sounds like they could be just fine.
They are detailed, just not analytical and as fast sounding as I would like. Maybe I'm to critical... Need to test them with my amp. Really hope they'll sing.
OK, I don't have any idea how the Evo 4.4s would compare to the Silver 300s (or other speakers) ... I imagine as you said the Lintons are NOT in the same category of detail retrieval and/or imaging precision but that's not what they're all about. I need to complete my setup in the new house, currently have the components listed in my sig as my main stereo setup, but now have the Silver 8s which will occupy the same space. Previously these were in a surround system in a different room, driven by a Marantz 9.1 channel AVR. The AVR is currently back in CA and may be included with a home we're selling (it also has 7 channel ceiling speakers plus a powered sub package). Thinking eventually I'll get a Parasound A21 to drive the S8s and try those as main stereo for a while. If things aren't quite musical enough thinking the Lintons could be just the ticket (or alternate to the S8s). If that's satisfying will pass my Bottlehead SET amps and Titus monitors to someone who wants to experience that sound. It's great but has been my main stereo for 10+ years now. Gonna keep the Oval 9 cables though! PS/edit: alternate dream is to get the Kii Three system and be done with everything! but that's like $15k so ...
Hello all! I just setup my Lintons today and they are beautiful! I love their look so much. I have a few amplifiers and I thought I would ask the forum which one they thought would have the best synergy with the Lintons. I’m sure I’ll end up messing around with all of them at some point but it’s nice to hear from people with probably better knowledge than myself My power amps are: Marantz MM7025 Power Modules Belles 150 A Hot Rod Kenwood L-07M Monoblocks Thanks for any advice in advance!!! cheers, Jason
WOW, congrats on the Linton purchase! You have quite a gamut of interesting amplifiers there, I would venture a guess that likely NO ONE here has ever heard the Lintons with ANY of those! but I might be surprised. The Lintons seem to be not super-challenging to drive, but do have 4 ohm impedance and etc., so the amp needs to be comfortable driving 4 ohm loads. I think all of us will be interested in YOUR opinions on how they sound with these amps. Wharfedale Linton Heritage loudspeaker Measurements for measurements. The Lintons are pretty efficient, so as long as the amp is fine with 4 ohm loads, it doesn't need a huge amount of oommph to get decent SPLs from them. PS: OOOOOHHHHH, now I'm really intrigued, I see you have some Triangle Antals! Looking for your impressions vs. the Lintons. I have the little monitor siblings (Tituses) ...
Hi again, have owned my Linton’s now for about 10 months have tried them with no less than five different amplifiers, and what I can tell you is, they sound the best with all three of the luxman amps, And of course this is just my opinion , my ears, my room. The first was Mcintosh C 2500 and Mc452 combination. (450W) The sound was good and detailed but I really can’t say anything more than that. That combination should have been at the top of the list, but it wasn’t. The next amplifier I tried on them was a Marantz Classic 2270 receiver again the sound was good and I also have a 2245 and the sound again was good. I also have an old Luxman receiver rx1060 and integrated amp L-5 this is when the speakers changed for me. Everything changed high’s, mid’s and low frequency. At the same time I was thinking about selling my Mcintosh and buying a new Luxman integrated, and this Literally help me make that decision. I won’t get into why I disliked Mcintosh because I know it’s it’s well loved in the audio world but I’m a Luxman guy at heart and always have been. Bought the Mcintosh in 2014 but was never really happy with the sound, and that’s all I’ll say. I auditioned the Luxman integrated amp a number of times, and decided it was going to be my final purchase when it comes to my audio life, been doing this a long time. The new luxman L- 509X Makes the Lintons worth keeping. My main speakers that I listen to most of the time are BMW 803D2’s but comparatively speaking if I had to make a choice with speakers that I had to listen to all day long for the rest of my life with all types of music I would take the Lintons the BMWs are great speakers, but sometimes they’re too revealing. Please remember this is just my opinion but I think the Linton‘s were built for Luxman amplification. I know there are other amplifiers out there that would make the Linton‘s sing but my suggestion to anyone is you should have at least 80 W because reserved power is important. Enjoy the music
Thinking about picking these speakers up and just not a fan of the stands. Thinking about using these JBL JS80 stands (used for the L82) instead. That would put the height of the speaker a little less than 4 inches higher than the Wharefdale stands and a 7 degree angle upwards. Is this fine or completely idiotic? Please be nice!
I think that would be a mistake. I’m not a fan of angled stands and the Linton stand really suits the speaker both functionally and aesthetically.
