Wharfedale’s founder, Gilbert Briggs built his first loudspeaker in 1932 in his home in Ilkey, Yorkshire; the town was based in the valley of the river “Wharfe.” Briggs opened Wharfedale Wireless Works in 1933 supplying advanced loudspeaker drivers to the growing radio industry and the company became a leading supplier selling more than 9,000 units per year until the outbreak of World War II.
The company flourished after the war and became one of the first companies to offer a two-way loudspeaker in 1945 – the prototype for the modern loudspeaker. Briggs would be quite impressed with the Wharfedale Super Linton Heritage speakers more than 7 decades later.
Presently, Wharfedale celebrates its past with the Heritage Series – a range of classic stereo speakers from the 1960s and 1970s, re-engineered for the modern age. This range sits alongside the company’s latest highly acclaimed contemporary designs.
However, Wharfedale is not resting on its laurels, they are applying new technologies and design to its speaker lines, without sacrificing the sound quality fans are used to.
The first speakers to join the newer Heritage line were the Denton 80 and Denton 85, launched to celebrate Wharfedale’s 80th and 85th anniversaries. These were followed in 2019 by the current Linton. In 2023, the flagship Dovedale was introduced.
Wharfedale has added two “Super Heritage Series speakers in 2024 – premium-level designs that take an existing model and upgrade key elements in specific ways to deliver elevated performance.
First was the compact three-way Super Denton; and now brand new Wharfedale Super Linton has been introduced.
The Super Linton
Wharfedale’s Linton has been a big part of their speaker line for decades. Originally one of Britain’s best-selling speakers between 1965 and the late 1970s, Wharfedale brought it back in 2019 as part of its Heritage line.
Since 2019, sales of the most recent Linton have surpassed Wharfedale’s expectations. Not only is it the company’s best-selling current speaker, but Wharfedale claims it is one of the most popular hi-fi speakers in the world.
However, Wharfedale is not standing still and Wharfedale’s engineers – led by Director of Acoustic Design, Peter Comeau – went to expand its design further. This has resulted in an upgraded Super Linton.
Making the Linton ‘Super’
The original 20th Century Linton incarnations began in 1965 with a two-way design and ended as a three-way with 1975’s Linton 3XP. Styled by Robert Gutmann of the British Design Council, its cabinet was designed to hold a large bass unit but not be overly unwieldy by the standards of the day. Sound reproduction was rich, natural, and full-bodied, hi-fi speaker that was not excessively priced.
The 2019 Linton, which remains current, is built on the three-way configuration of the Linton 3XP and Gutmann’s classic styling but has been re-engineered and redesigned with a mix of vintage style and elevated sound reproduction.
The new Super Litton has the same look, evolved from Gutmann’s original design, but the cabinet is now a little taller and its construction is beefed up to improve acoustic performance.
The three drivers have been upgraded, including a new treble unit and an updated motor system for the bass driver. The crossover has been redesigned and split into two boards utilizing superior circuit components. Even the speaker grille has been improved.
The result of the above refinements is the retention of what makes the 2019 Linton popular, whilst designed to enhance performance across the frequency range. The Super Linton maintains the effortless, full-bodied ‘fun factor’, adding more detail, control, extension, and impact.
While sales of the still-available 2019 Linton are doing very well, the Super Linton is being offered as a new premium option, beneath only the flagship Dovedale in Wharfedale’s Heritage Series hierarchy.
Cabinet
The Super Linton footprint is the same as the regular Linton, but the Super Linton cabinet is 4 cm taller, which increases internal cabinet volume. Its construction incorporates dual layers of fibreboard coupled with latex-based damping glue.
This reduces panel resonance to below audibility. The interior space is filled with long-hair fiber and strategically placed acoustic damping foam, which aids internal resonance absorption.
Bass Driver
The Super Linton’s greater internal volume has allowed for improvements to the bass driver. While the 200mm woven Kevlar cone is the same, a more powerful motor system with increased magnet strength supports low-frequency extension to 32Hz and delivers improvements in bass control and impact. Improved transient performance from the bass unit and cabinet combination improves musical depth and detail.
Treble Unit (Tweeter)
The Super Linton’s high-frequency unit (tweeter) inherits much of its design from the one used in the flagship Dovedale. It consists of a 25mm dome formed from a fine fabric weave coated in a special damping material.
The diaphragm is driven by a ceramic magnet-based motor system, with a damped rear chamber to absorb output from the rear. Resonant frequencies are also reduced and a revised short horn around the dome ensures a smooth response extending down to the upper midrange, while the new front plate design enhances high-frequency dispersion.
Midrange Driver
The Super Linton uses the same midrange unit as its regular Linton, with a 135mm woven Kevlar cone. However, the driver placed in the Super Linton is housed within a proportioned cylindrical chamber, with graded layers of long-hair fiber to cancel out the back wave from the rear of the cone. This contributes to a cleaner, seamless integration of all three drive units, resulting in the natural and realistic reproduction of instruments and vocals, with more impressive scale, expression, and transient impact.
Crossover
The new crossover design is split onto two separate circuit boards, eradicating the possibility of electromagnetic interference from the bass crossover components affecting higher frequency signals and incorporating specialized inductors and capacitors selected for their first-rate audio performance.
The crossover’s midrange and treble inductors are air-core designs, while the bass inductor, which must maintain low DCR (Direct Current Resistance), is wound on a proprietary ‘Super-Power’ laminated silicon-iron core.
Low-loss polypropylene capacitors are used for top-tier transparency, alongside lowinductance resistors.
The internal cabling has been upgraded, with a polyethylene dielectric and LCOFC (Linear Crystal Oxygen Free Copper) conductors for improved signal transfer.
Speaker Grille
The Super Linton’s speaker grille is an improved design. It incorporates internal shaping to smooth the power output of the midrange and treble units and enhance the transition through the crossover region.
Comparison
| Super Linton | Linton Heritage | Dovedale Heritage | |
| Price (pair) | $2,799 with stands $2,499 w/o stands |
$1,799 with stands $1,499 w/o stands |
$6,995 with stands |
| Speaker Type | 3-way standmount | 3-way standmount | 3-way Standmount |
| Enclosure Type | Bass reflex (2x rear ports) | Bass reflex | Bass reflex (2x rear ports) |
| Treble Driver (Tweeter) | 25mm fabric dome | 1″ (25mm) soft dome | 1-inch (25mm) soft dome |
| Midrange Driver | (5″) 135mm woven Kevlar cone | 5″ (135mm) black woven Kevlar cone | 5-inch (135mm) black woven Kevlar cone |
| Bass Driver | (8″) 200mm woven Kevlar cone | 8″(200mm) black woven Kevlar® cone | 10-inch (250mm) black woven Kevlar cone |
| Sensitivity (2.8V @ 1m) | 90dB | 90dB | 89dB |
| Nominal impedance | 6Ω (8Ω compatible) | 6Ω (8Ω compatible) | 6Ω (8Ω compatible) |
| Recommended Amp Power | 25-200W | 25-200W | 25-250W |
| Peak SPL | Not Indicated | 110dB | 112dB |
| Frequency response (+/-3dB) | 39Hz-20kHz | 40Hz ~ 20kHz | 36Hz ~ 20kHz |
| Bass extension (-6dB) | 32Hz | 35Hz | 25Hz |
| Crossover frequencies | 550Hz; 2.5kHz | 630Hz & 2.4kHz | 560Hz and 2.9kHz |
| AV Shield | No | No | No |
| Cabinet Volume | 6.6L; 33.4L | Not Indicated | 8.6L, 64.7L |
| Speaker dimensions (HWD – includes terminals) | 605 x 300 x 360 mm 23.82 x 12 x 14.2 inches |
565 x 300 x 360 mm 22.24 x 12 x 14.2 inches |
660 x 370 x 447 mm 26 x 14.6 x 17.6 inches |
| Weight (each speaker) | 19.8 kg (43 lbs 10 oz) |
18.4kg (40 lbs 9 oz) |
26.2kg (57 lbs 12 oz) |
| Finish | Walnut, Mahogany Black Oak veneers | Walnut, Mahogany | Walnut, Real Wood Veneer |
The Bottom Line
The vintage vibe is extremely strong with the new Wharfedale Super Linton and we applaud the company for not removing the existing Linton from the lineup — the speaker continues to outsell everything else they make and represents one of the better options below $2,000 right now.
Looking through the design changes and new specifications, there appears to be a more refined and updated design that should (in theory) offer a superior sonic experience.
A look at the price structure reveals that the new Super Linton are $1,000 more than the existing Linton (with or without the stands) — for a loudspeaker that is only slightly larger and (on paper) not all that different in terms of its frequency response and low end performance.
Neither loudspeaker is all that difficult to drive, but based on our own experience, one is better off using an amplifier with not only more power (8/4 ohms), but a lot of control in the bass range.
The new tweeter, and refinements to the existing midrange and woofer convince us that the Super Linton probably speaks with a different voice and that the extra cabinet volume and new crossover impact the overall presence and coherency of the loudspeaker.
We expect these to offer greater impact, a more refined treble range, and deliver an enlarged soundstage.
Wharfedale’s parent company, IAG, also owns Quad and we don’t think it was a coincidence that the iconic British manufacturer announced the release of the redesigned Quad 303 and 33 last week.
We suspect that dealers will be packaging the Super Linton with the Quad 303 Power Amplifier and 33 Pre-amplifier or more recent offerings from Audiolab and Leak to maximise profitability and keep it all in the family.
Price & Availability
The Super Linton’s MSRP is $2,799 per pair including matching stands, or $2,499 per pair without stands. Super Linton will be available beginning in mid-November 2024.
The 2019-edition Linton continues at $1,799 per pair with stands and $1,499 without.
The stands are priced at $499 if purchased separately. (Super Linton speakers will fit on 2019 Linton Stands)
Wharfedale Speakers and related accessories (such as stands) are available through Authorized Dealers in the US, and UK, and through a Global Distributor Network.