Wharfedale’s classic Linton loudspeaker gets a super upgrade

Wharfedale’s most popular loudspeaker, the Linton, has been upgraded with improvements to its drive units, crossover and cabinet. The Linton was one of Britain’s best-selling speakers from the Swinging Sixties to the late 1970s. It was too good to be dormant, so Wharfedale brought the Linton back in 2019 as part of its heritage line that sees speaker re-engineered with the latest techniques and technology.

Since the Linton’s relaunch, sales of the new version have exceeded Wharfedale’s expectations. It’s currently the brand’s best-selling speaker and the company claims it’s one of the most popular hi-fi speakers in the world, inspiring other brands to jump on the “newstalgia” bandwagon with launches like the new Quad 33/303-amp combo.

Although the Linton was selling well, Wharfedale engineers, led by Peter Comeau, felt the design could be improved. The team re-examined every element, from the cabinet to the drive units and crossover. The result is the new and improved Super Linton.

Wharfedale has a long history as an audio brand and first started producing loudspeakers in 1932, 25 years before the birth of stereo sound. Since then, Wharfedale has created some classic British speakers

While its footprint is the same as the regular Linton, the new Super Linton’s cabinet is 4cm taller, increasing the speaker’s internal volume. The construction consists of double layers of fibers coupled with a latex-based damping adhesive, specially formulated to reduce panel resonance below audibility. The interior is filled with long-pile fibers and strategically placed acoustic foam to absorb internal resonances.

The Super Linton’s larger internal volume has enabled Peter Comeau and his engineering team to improve the bass driver. Although it’s the same 200mm woven Kevlar cone as the Linton, Wharfedale has used a more powerful motor system with increased magnetic strength that deepens the lower frequencies to 32Hz. Improved transient performance provides more musical depth and detail.

The new speaker’s high-frequency unit bears similarities to that used in the £5,000-a-pair Dovedale speakers, with a 25mm dome made of a thin fabric coated with a special damping material. The diaphragm is driven by a motor system based on ceramic magnets, with a damped rear chamber to absorb rear exhaust.

This re-engineered tweeter reduces the resonant frequency down to the crossover region, allowing full treble detail and harmonics to be revealed while remaining sweetly integrated with the rest of the speaker output. A revised short-horn profile around the dome ensures a smooth response that extends into the upper range, while Wharfedale claims the new front plate design improves high-frequency distribution.

The Super Linton uses the same midrange unit as its regular Linton sibling, with a 135mm woven Kevlar cone. However, the driver is housed in a cylindrical chamber, with graded layers of long hair fibers to cancel the back wave from the back of the cone. Wharfedale says this contributes to a clean and smooth integration of all three drive units for a natural and realistic portrayal of instruments and vocals.

Mixing the output of the bass, midrange and treble units is a new crossover network in the Super Linton. The design is split into two separate circuit boards, eliminating electromagnetic interference from bass crossover components that affect higher frequency signals and incorporating specialized inductors and capacitors selected for their first-class audio performance.

The midrange and treble inductors are superior air-core designs, while the bass inductor, which must maintain low direct current resistance, is wound on a proprietary ‘Super-Power’ silicon iron laminated core ‘. Low-loss polypropylene capacitors are used for high-level transparency, along with low-inductance resistors. The inner cable has been improved, with a polyethylene dielectric and Linear Oxygen Free Copper conductor for optimal signal transfer.

The speaker grille in the Super Linton has an improved internally shaped design to dampen the power output of the midrange and treble units while improving pass through the crossover region.

Today’s speakers are different from those designed about half a century ago. Today’s solid state amplifiers offer more power and modern speakers need power usage to match. The demands placed on the frequency response by contemporary digital recordings and sources, particularly at the bass and treble ends, are also quite different from the midrange-focused vinyl records and turntables of the 1960s and ’70s.

Wharfedale claims the new Super Linton is ideally suited to these requirements, combining advanced drive units, crossover and cabinet construction. The speakers can work with a wide range of amplifiers with outputs from 25W to 200W per channel. With a high sensitivity of 90dB, even modestly rated amplifiers can drive the Super Lintons at high volume levels. The impedance barely varies from a nominal 6Ω over most of the frequency range.

The new Super Linton has hand-fit wood veneers, polished and lacquered to a satin finish. The speakers can be purchased with the same mounts developed for the Linton 2019, which position them at the right height and dampen unwanted vibrations. The stand’s rigid metal frame is complemented by matching wood veneer top and bottom panels.

Price and availability: The Super Linton’s are on sale now for $2,499 / £1,999 / €2,299 per pair with matching stands or $2,299 / £1,849 / €1,999 without a stand.

Technical characteristics:

• Speaker type: Three-way speaker.
• Closure type: Bass reflex (2x rear ports).
• Triple driver: 25mm fabric dome.
• Mid-range driver: 135mm woven Kevlar cone.
• Bass driver: 200mm woven Kevlar cone.
• Sensitivity (2.8V @ 1m): 90dB.
• Nominal impedance: 6Ω (8Ω compatible).
• Recommended amplifier power: 25 – 200 W.
• Frequency response (+/-3dB): 39Hz – 20kHz.
• Bass extension (-6dB): 32Hz.
• Crossover frequencies: 550Hz; 2.5 kHz
• Cabinet volume 6.6L; 33.4 liters.
• Speaker dimensions (HxWxD): 605 x 300 x 330 mm.
• Weight (each speaker): 19.8 kg.