What better way for the iconic loudspeaker brand to celebrate its 80th anniversary than by revisiting one of its most popular models? The new, limited-edition Denton compact standmounter does just that. In comes the Wharfedale Denton 85th Anniversary (of which 10 attemps to post different pictures of it here failed) Last friday I made up my mind and might have set the bargain record for a brand new pair after a little negotiation. Further listening with a variety of records revealed a clean midrange with only some minor veiling - again, compared to the best I've heard. ie - there is an ever-so slight blurring of aggressive guitar work and the leading edges of high-hats. The treble is, however, extended with shimmer and shine but still not etched. I was expecting some overdone brightness from the aluminum tweeter but my (aged) ears weren't driven out of the room.

And read somewhere that a user found a little adjustment to it, for the ones who have a different taste Can anyone who has used both sets of speakers clarify the differences and similarities between the two? 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. Highs are processed by a woven soft dome treble unit with high flux ferrite magnet, engineered for smooth, detailed HF extension. Drive units are combined by a near-audible crossover resulting in a coherent, seamless musical output that is both engaging and natural in its rendition of any source material. Denton 80 vs Denton 85Fire them up and the first thing you notice is the impressive timing and amazing amount of detail they manage to excavate. What you get with the new Denton is a decidedly retro looking loudspeaker boasting a beautifully veneered Mahogany cabinet, inset front baffle and traditional cloth grille. But beneath that 1960s fascia things inside are very different indeed. The original model’s paper cone mid/bass unit is replaced by Wharfedale’s own 21st century 125mm woven Kevlar driver while the tweeter is a bang-up-to-date 25mm textile soft dome.

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. The Q Acoustics 3020i bookshelf speakers offer excellent sound quality, versatility, and a modern design, making them a great option for audiophiles who prioritize accuracy and transparency in their sound system. The original Denton was known for its warm, rich sound and the 80th Anniversary Edition manages to retain the original character while giving a more detailed, seamless performance. Wharfedale successfully combines its strong history and modern technology in perfect fusion in this Denton 80th Anniversary Edition. Advanced Technology Underneath the traditional exterior, however, the Denton 85th Anniversary is bang up to date and utilises a mixture of traditional and advanced technology. The bass unit features Wharfedale’s innovative woven Kevlar cone mounted on a rigid die-cast chassis, this combination delivers a rich, detailed bass/midrange output with superb dynamic performance. High frequencies are handled by a woven textile soft-dome treble unit with high flux ferrite magnet, engineered for smooth, detailed HF extension. Seamless musical output The cabinet is reflex-loaded via twin rear-mounted ports, unlike the original’s infinite baffle design, and this confers dramatically better sensitivity (90dB up from 86dB) and bass extension (35Hz down from 60Hz). “It uses a sandwich of high-density chipboard with MDF skins that scatters panel resonance more effectively than the almost ubiquitous modern use of MDF alone”, he adds. “Finally the crossover has been designed using computer software together with hundreds of hours of listening tests and refinement”.

Retro looks and timeless sound make an appealing combination

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. The name Linton will ring like a bell to audiophiles of a certain age – myself included, as my father had a pair of 3XPs in the seventies. It was the poor man’s high-end loudspeaker; a true three-way with a real wood cabinet and a warm, musical sound. The new one is far larger, however, and instead of paper and polymer for its bass and mid drivers, it uses woven Kevlar in 200mm and 135mm sizes respectively. Also, the old soft-dome tweeter is now a 25mm fabric dome with a metal grille over it. Crossover frequencies are 630Hz and 2.4kHz. The Wharfedale Denton 80th Anniversary Edition measured flat on-axis, grill on or off. Slightly off-axis (i.e. pointing straight down a room and not at the listener), with grill on, it gave the result published. Taking the grill off made little difference, even above 10kHz where wavelengths are short, and off-axis balance differed little from on-axis so dispersion is good. Phase matching was also very good, response varying little with height. Although looking retro, the Denton was in fact better than most modern loudspeakers in these important areas. The drive units are very high quality.

The original Denton was known for its warm, rich sound and the 80th Anniversary Edition manages to retain the original character while delivering a more detailed, seamless performance. Wharfedale successfully combines its strong history and modern technology in perfect fusion in this Denton 80th Anniversary Edition. Truly a modern classic! 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

The Kef LS50 bookshelf speakers are highly recommended for their exceptional sound quality, versatile frequency response, unique design, and range of connectivity options, making them suitable for a range of music genres and listening environments. Advanced Computer Modeled Crossover: Denton’s crossover is based upon phase-perfect Linkwitz-Riley filters, modeled in Wharfedale's advanced crossover simulation software and then fine-tuned by ear to yield the traditional Wharfedale character of sound. Meantime Mrs. P immediately disliked them from the off. Once the proper height stands turned up there was a difference in terms of the boxy bass. Problem was they didn't sound retro to me: Sounding more modern than my PMCs, the midrange is quite prominent. The wife said they sounded "shrill" to her ears. Although not shrill to my ears they were brighter than I expected. The original Denton was known for its warm, rich sound and the 80th Anniversary Edition manages to retain the original character while giving a more detailed, seamless performance. Wharfedale successfully combines its strong history and modern technology in perfect fusion in this Denton 80th Anniversary Edition. Veritably a modern classic!