Wharfedale Linton 85th Anniversary Review

JohnnyCashFan said:
Here is a Linton vs the popular Kef LS50 comparison as well. Linton again the winner IMHO.

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I don't doubt it for a minute. Again, I'm not sure its great speaker to compare with the Linton (the LS50). What excites me about the Linton is it looks like it has a big old cabinet & bass unit. Just looking at it reminds me of some of the now vintage speakers I heard in Hi Fi shops when I was a kid, with beautiful bass, but fantastic clarity & mid range. I'm really intrigued because they could be (I'm sure that they are) a fantastic blend of old & new.

Although I know people say the LS50's are great. They are small units, just look at the pictures the cabinet of the Linton looks 3 times the size of it. It would be good if they did a shoot out with a more similar speaker. It doesn't feel like for like.
 
I have no money to spend. I have no business spending money. I'm here to spend money........maybe.

Infinity Kappa 7 vs Wharfedale Linton.

I adore my Infinity's. I'm not even sure why I'm posting this. Likely peer pressure - it seems all the cool kids are doing it.

Talk me into it. Talk me out of it. Pros? Cons? Hell, I don't care which way you lean.

@HiFi Guy - I know you have experience with both. You're my voice of reason.
 
Yer Ol' Uncle D said:
I have no money to spend. I have no business spending money. I'm here to spend money........maybe.

Infinity Kappa 7 vs Wharfedale Linton.

I adore my Infinity's. I'm not even sure why I'm posting this. Likely peer pressure - it seems all the cool kids are doing it.

Talk me into it. Talk me out of it. Pros? Cons? Hell, I don't care which way you lean.

@HiFi Guy - I know you have experience with both. You're my voice of reason.
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I don't know, these sound (and look!) pretty good.....



How long have you had the Infinitys? At some point, just the idea of change is appealing! I have Totem Acoustic Hawks that were more than double the price of the Wharfedale Lintons, perhaps rightfully so, but perhaps not! So yeah, I'm intrigued by what all the cool kids are doing too.
 
Russ I said:
I don't know, these sound (and look!) pretty good.....



How long have you had the Infinitys? At some point, just the idea of change is appealing! I have Totem Acoustic Hawks that were more than double the price of the Wharfedale Lintons, perhaps rightfully so, but perhaps not! So yeah, I'm intrigued by what all the cool kids are doing too.
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My issue about swapping out the Forests too. That and no one will give me a part ex and I can't be arsed to go through the hassle of selling them

And I still can't shake the Harbeth 30.1/30.2 long term urge
 
Yer Ol' Uncle D said:
I have no money to spend. I have no business spending money. I'm here to spend money........maybe.

Infinity Kappa 7 vs Wharfedale Linton.

I adore my Infinity's. I'm not even sure why I'm posting this. Likely peer pressure - it seems all the cool kids are doing it.

Talk me into it. Talk me out of it. Pros? Cons? Hell, I don't care which way you lean.

@HiFi Guy - I know you have experience with both. You're my voice of reason.
Click to expand...
If you adore them I would just keep them. My move to the Lintons was an upgrade from a very good speaker at its price point but but more of an entry level type speaker.
 
Yer Ol' Uncle D said:
I have no money to spend. I have no business spending money. I'm here to spend money........maybe.

Infinity Kappa 7 vs Wharfedale Linton.

I adore my Infinity's. I'm not even sure why I'm posting this. Likely peer pressure - it seems all the cool kids are doing it.

Talk me into it. Talk me out of it. Pros? Cons? Hell, I don't care which way you lean.

@HiFi Guy - I know you have experience with both. You're my voice of reason.
Click to expand...
I kept and enjoyed my Infinity Kappa 6.1s for 15 years. They were really good speakers. I like the Lintons better.

So I’m going to tell you to buy new speakers, right? Nope. You have the original Kappas. Those were better. You have better drivers than I did- you’ve got EMITs- Infiinity speak for their diaphragm tweeter drivers. Those are quite special. If something goes wrong, you can still have them rebuilt. The parts are inexpensive and easily sourced. Same with woofer surrounds. The midrange is no longer available, but they rarely fail.

The only thing I’d consider at this point is a possible crossover rebuild/upgrade. Your speakers are, what....30-35,years old? It’s probably time. I mentioned Gary at GR Research in TX a few pages ago. He can rebuild the crossovers with higher quality parts of the same value. You’d end up with speakers that sound better than new for a fraction of the cost of new speakers. Crossovers are where manufacturers cut corners- the consumer doesn’t see them so they don’t know. Most consumers wouldn’t know what they were looking at anyway. I saw a recent video where a $629 pair of speakers used $4 of parts in the crossover. And that was at retail, the manufacturer is certainly paying far less.

The other thing to be aware of with the original Kappas is that they can be challenging to drive. If I recall correctly, you have an Adcom power amp. If I’m right, you made an excellent choice and you are good.

Your speakers are true classics- the last ones before Art Nudell sold Infinity to Harman International. Harman has since been sold to Samsung. Sad. I have fond memories of your speakers as they were current when I first got into stereo sales. We were dealers and they were quite popular. They were one of my favorites.

If you decide you want new speakers anyway, I may be interested in the Kappas. I keep saying I need another system for times when my wife wants to watch TV and I’d rather not.
 
@Yer Ol' Uncle D The best speakers I’ve ever heard (by far) were the Infinity Reference Standard. It was like hearing the voice of God. Truly unforgettable. They were $100,000 when last available. I saw a mint pair for $62,000 a few years ago. If I ever won the lottery, I’ll get a set. I’d have to start playing the lottery first, so there’s that. 🤣

Here’s one channel. They are 7.5 feet tall. Paul McGowan of PS Audio acquired a pair a few years ago for their listening room at the factory.

13E1C11C-FCFD-4BDD-A21A-F9085675171C.jpeg
 
Rowan said:
My issue about swapping out the Forests too. That and no one will give me a part ex and I can't be arsed to go through the hassle of selling them

And I still can't shake the Harbeth 30.1/30.2 long term urge
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Ahhh.......Harbeth. I'm kind of hung up on them as well, though realistically, I probably would be looking at the compact 7es-3.
 
HiFi Guy said:
I kept and enjoyed my Infinity Kappa 6.1s for 15 years. They were really good speakers. I like the Lintons better.

So I’m going to tell you to buy new speakers, right? Nope. You have the original Kappas. Those were better. You have better drivers than I did- you’ve got EMITs- Infiinity speak for their diaphragm tweeter drivers. Those are quite special. If something goes wrong, you can still have them rebuilt. The parts are inexpensive and easily sourced. Same with woofer surrounds. The midrange is no longer available, but they rarely fail.

The only thing I’d consider at this point is a possible crossover rebuild/upgrade. Your speakers are, what....30-35,years old? It’s probably time. I mentioned Gary at GR Research in TX a few pages ago. He can rebuild the crossovers with higher quality parts of the same value. You’d end up with speakers that sound better than new for a fraction of the cost of new speakers. Crossovers are where manufacturers cut corners- the consumer doesn’t see them so they don’t know. Most consumers wouldn’t know what they were looking at anyway. I saw a recent video where a $629 pair of speakers used $4 of parts in the crossover. And that was at retail, the manufacturer is certainly paying far less.

The other thing to be aware of with the original Kappas is that they can be challenging to drive. If I recall correctly, you have an Adcom power amp. If I’m right, you made an excellent choice and you are good.

Your speakers are true classics- the last ones before Art Nudell sold Infinity to Harman International. Harman has since been sold to Samsung. Sad. I have fond memories of your speakers as they were current when I first got into stereo sales. We were dealers and they were quite popular. They were one of my favorites.

If you decide you want new speakers anyway, I may be interested in the Kappas. I keep saying I need another system for times when my wife wants to watch TV and I’d rather not.
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Sound advice from The Master as always.

I thank you.

My wife likely thanks you more.
 
Russ I said:
Ahhh.......Harbeth. I'm kind of hung up on them as well, though realistically, I probably would be looking at the compact 7es-3.
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A friend of mine has the Super HLS Plus XD and, yes, they sound great but the Lintons are much more attractive to my eyes. All the exposed screws in the woodwork of the Harbeth make it look like it was built in someone’s garage.
 
Hey all - I have about 20-25 hours on these now, with about 10 straight hours yesterday at fairly high volumes, and all types of music (except classical). They are really starting to take flight. They feel much more open. The mids and highs are starting to come through, and the lows remain deep, but not muddy or boomy at all. In fact, the warmth is really coming through even on my Ortofon 2m Blue, which seems to really balance against the detail that cart pulls out. That's my review so far on these layman's ears. I may have another update after another week or two, but if not, consider these a keeper.
 
Joe Mac said:
Yeah I agree with the lads that the immediate sore thumb is the phono stage, you can do better than that in your current set up and definitely will want that upgraded if you go for the nicer speakers. I’d definitely have a look at forum favourites like the Musical Fidelity LX2-LPS and keep an eye on the review of the the Darlington one.

Id also medium term be looking at nicer amplifier too with having such a nice set of speakers. The marantz does have enough power for them and they do play nice with lower level gear. I need some new tubes so I’ve put my old Sony in while I wait for them to arrive from Britain and it’s sounding really surprisingly good. It’s hard to place it relative to the marantz because of its age, and it has a lot more power, but it’d be in and around its level. Equally, having used it with a better amp I know that there is more that the Lintons have to offer that is currently being left on the table.

The turntable is perfect, I’d not be looking to do anything with it at all beyond, if you get curious, experimenting with other types of cartridges.
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dansomeone said:
I think your 40w Marantz amp would drive the fairly sensitive Lintons well, so an upgrade isn't necessary there. You could benefit from upgrading your phono preamp though, the fluance unit looks pretty basic.
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Splunders said:
IMO, the best place for you to start is your phono preamp. You dont have to spend a ton to hear a big jump either. @HiFi Guy just got his mitts on a new preamp to review that retails for $329, and already sounds like it's a steal at that price.
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Well, thanks to some nudging I went ahead and ordered the Darlington phono preamp. Good deal, and it's already in the mail. Should have it next week to check out. Thanks for all your help, and to @HiFi Guy too! Looking forward to that review.
 
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Matt M said:
Well, thanks to some nudging I went ahead and ordered the Darlington phono preamp. Good deal, and it's already in the mail. Should have it next week to check out. Thanks for all your help, and to @HiFi Guy too! Looking forward to that review.
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Congrats! Which one did you get? The MM-6?

The owner/designer told me to leave it powered up for 72 hours the first time you hook it up. It does go through quite a transformation in the first 72 hours. I’ll go a step farther and recommend you just leave it on. Your power consumption will be negligible.
 
HiFi Guy said:
Congrats! Which one did you get? The MM-6?

The owner/designer told me to leave it powered up for 72 hours the first time you hook it up. It does go through quite a transformation in the first 72 hours. I’ll go a step farther and recommend you just leave it on. Your power consumption will be negligible.
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Yep, the MM-6! That's really good to know, I'll probably just leave it powered on then. Thanks for the info. The comapny has been really great to deal with so far, and shipped out pretty quick.

So by transformation, you mean that what I listen to on day one will be good but by day 3 there will be some difference?
 
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