Wharfedale Denton 85th Anniversary

Audio equipment

Wharfedale Denton 85th Anniversary

For those seeking timeless musicality

Few brands can boast of celebrating their 85th anniversary in perfect magazine condition. Wharfedale It is one of them and with the compact monitor Denton 85th Anniversary Not only does it improve the already notable performance of the model of the same name created to celebrate the 80th birthday of the legendary British brand, but it updates with renewed force a concept that many young fans are unaware of: the so-called “English sound”a unique amalgamation of design elements in loudspeakers that results in a placid and vibrant sound capable of providing a new perspective to the enjoyment of music.

All this from a speaker system with a compact format and vintage aesthetics whose interior houses carefully updated engineering solutions. In short, it is the Denton 85th Anniversary a product in keeping with its own legend that fits perfectly to configure a Hi-Fi system without complicating your life.

The value of compact monitors with classic design

When at the beginning of the 80’s of the last century what we now know as High End saw the light, music lovers and audiophiles of our country discovered a concept of sound presentation in which naturalness, understood as a rich but non-aggressive combined with a virtually flat – or almost – subjective frequency response curve made the difference.

It is true that, by its very essence, the idea of ​​“subjective frequency response curve” is not free from controversy since what is flat for one user may not be flat – either due to excess or by default – for another. Even so, such naturalness existed, to the point that the products that displayed it were much “easier”, more pleasant, for listening to music than those conceived according to the canons of the time, canons in which the obsession with minimizing numbers of distortion measured by devices whose behavior differed greatly from that of our ears was the norm.

Among the aforementioned products, the competitively priced speakers from a series of brands that managed to create their own sound aesthetics shined with their own light: what was called “English sound” at the time. The secret? A global conception respectful of music – after all the term “High Fidelity” means something, right? – supported by the use of high-quality speakers properly harmonized… and little else.

In short, minimalism well understood at a time when minimalism in design and conception was not yet fashionable and that companies like the very veteran Wharfedale knew how to masterfully capture it in their products a couple of decades in advance, as they were in charge of demonstrating their achievements. like the original version of the one featured in this blog: the Denton model.

The quintessence of the English sound

Distinguished – for “neutral” and classic – and compact, although without reaching the qualification of mini-monitor, the Denton 85th Anniversary is a two-way bookshelf speaker that immediately stands out for its completely handcrafted construction, the beauty of its mahogany finish and the traditional – a true “British” icon, it must be said – protective grille with tungsten mesh. Wharfedale, all elements that make this monitor a respectful update of the original model. But times change, in many ways for the better, which is why the new Denton It includes not only a double set of practical connection terminals – very beautiful and also gold-plated – to facilitate bi-wiring but also an interesting fine adjustment element unthinkable in a product of its price: a -+ve- connection that can be replaced by a resistance to reduce the treble level without touching the rest of the curve… a detail for the most purists.

Under the hood, the Denton 85th Anniversary It is a perfect blend of traditional and advanced technology. Thus, the speaker mid/bass incorporates an innovative cone of fibers Kevlar intertwined developed by Wharfedale mounted on a highly rigid metal chassis and loaded in bass-reflex with dual rear port, a solution that allows you to better control the extension of the bass response than using a single large port. On the other hand, the use of a 165mm transducer in diameter instead of the model of 125mm used in the Denton 80th Anniversary and a slight increase in the volume of the enclosure makes it possible for the protagonist of this blog to exhibit a frequency response curve that ranges from 45 up 20,000 Hz, +/-3 dBan impressive record that in practice translates into an almost flat subjective tonal curve with a wide spectrum of musical recordings.

The electroacoustic equipment of the Denton 85th Anniversary It is completed with a dedicated textile dome tweeter. 25mm in diameter that equips a high magnetic flux ferrite magnet, the aforementioned “midwoofer” completes a perfectly integrated speaker system thanks to a carefully designed frequency divider filter. A more than interesting “side effect” derived from the acoustic configuration that we have just described is an increase in sensitivity with respect to that of the previous model and a minimum value of impedance. -3.8 ohms- which make the choice of attack electronics considerably more flexible, to the point of allowing us to affirm that the Denton fits perfectly to complete highly musical compact audio systems.

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Simon Müller

Simon Müller is the driving force behind UMusic, embodying a lifelong passion for all things melodious. Born and raised in New York, his love for music took form at an early age and fueled his journey from an avid music enthusiast to the founder of a leading music-centered website. Simon's diverse musical tastes and intrinsic understanding of acoustic elements offer a unique perspective to the UMusic community. Sporting a dedicated commitment to aural enrichment and hearing health, his vision extends beyond just delivering news - he aspires to create a network of informed, appreciative music lovers. Spend a moment in Mueller's company, and you'd find his passion infectious – music isn’t simply his job, it’s his heartbeat.