In this review, we will be comparing Aon 3 Bookshelf Monitor and LINTON Heritage, two Passive Bookshelf speakers from GoldenEar and Wharfedale.
Let's have a brief look at the main features
of GoldenEar Aon 3 and Wharfedale LINTON first before getting into our more
detailed comparison.
GoldenEar Aon 3 Key Specs
- 2-way Design
- " Folded Ribbon Tweeter
- 7" Polypropylene Woofer
- 38-35k Hz Frequency Response
- 90 dB Sensitivity
- Impedance: 8ohms
- Power Range:10-250watts
- Weight:6.82kg
- Dimensions (H x W x D): 356.0" x 9" x 11-1/16"( 356.0 x 229.0 x 281.0mm )
Wharfedale LINTON Key Specs
- 3-way Design
- 1" Soft-dome Tweeter
- 5" Midrange
- 8" Woven Kevlar Woofer
- 5" Midrange
- 40-20k Hz Frequency Response
- 90 dB Sensitivity
- Impedance: 6ohms
- Power Range:25-200watts
- Weight:18.40kg
- Dimensions (H x W x D): 565.0" x 11.8" x 14.2"( 565.0 x 300.0 x 360.0mm )
What size room are the GoldenEar Aon 3 and Wharfedale LINTON speakers good for?
The size of the room in which you are planning to use these loudspeakers is an important decision
factor. Here we have compared their suitability to various sizes of environments considering their size
and max power parameters:
| Listening Environment* |
GoldenEar Aon 3 |
Wharfedale LINTON |
| Near-field |
Poor |
Poor |
| Small Room |
Poor |
Average |
| Mid-size Room |
Good |
Good |
| Large Room |
Good |
Average |
| Very Large Room |
Average |
Poor |
(* Approximate Room sizes: Small < 100sq. ft / 9 m2,
Mid-size: 100-220 sq. ft / 9-20 m2, Large 220-400 sq. ft / 20-36 m2, Very Large: >
400 sq. ft / 36 m2.
Average Floor Height: 9" / 2.7m. Typical room sizes differ from country to country, and the actual
listening experience changes depending on floor height, room shape, surface materials, listening
position, speaker locations, etc.)
In the following sections, we will get into more detail in order to better understand how the GoldenEar Aon 3 and Wharfedale LINTON compare and hopefully end up with enough arguments to decide which one of these loudspeakers is the better choice for you.
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Drivers
One of the fundamental differences between these two speakers is that Aon 3 Bookshelf Monitor is a 2-way design whereas the LINTON Heritage is a 3-way speaker. 3-way designs utilize a midrange driver in addition to the tweeter and woofer on 2-way designs. Designing a crossover for a 3-way speaker is a complicated process and generally increases the overall cost of the speaker.
| Driver |
GoldenEar Aon 3 |
Wharfedale LINTON |
|
Driver Setup
|
2-way
|
3-way
|
|
Tweeter
|
-inch
|
1-inch
|
|
Midrange
|
- |
1 x 5-inch |
|
Woofer
|
1 x 7-inch
|
1 x 8-inch
|
Aon 3 Bookshelf Monitor features a " Folded Ribbon Tweeter and 1 x 7" Polypropylene Woofer . On the other hand, the LINTON Heritage features a 1" woven textile Soft-dome Tweeter , a 5" Midrange and 1 x 8" Woven Kevlar Woofer with a Crossover frequency at 630Hz and 2400Hz.
Frequency Response
Aon 3 Bookshelf Monitor has a frequency range of 38-35k Hz whereas LINTON Heritage has a frequency range of 40-20k Hz. With a minimum frequency of 38Hz, the Aon 3 Bookshelf Monitor can go slightly deeper then the LINTON Heritage's min frequency of 40Hz.
Below graphs depict how these two speakers compare with the max, min and average values of the Min and Max Frequencies of other speakers in the Bookshelf class in our database.
Low Frequency
Bookshelf Speakers
High Frequency
Bookshelf Speakers
None of these speakers achieves full range experience which is commonly agreed as 20Hz-20kHz. In order to achieve lower lows / deeper bass, we recommend you pair these with a subwoofer. Visit our Powered Subwoofers section to find out more about the available options.
Impedance and Sensitivity
Aon 3 Bookshelf Monitor is a 8 ohms speaker compared to the LINTON Heritage which has a nominal impedance of 6 ohms.
On the other hand, they have the same sensitivity of 90 dBdB.
Sensitivity
Bookshelf Speakers
Power Range
Power
range is the range of input power in watts RMS that a loudspeaker is designed to handle. While using
an amplifier within this range ensures the nominal performance , inputting a power that is higher than the
max wattage can result in a damaged speaker.
Aon 3 Bookshelf Monitor can handle a max power of 250 watts RMS from the amp the whereas LINTON Heritage has a max power handling value of 200 watts RMS, 50 watts less than the Aon 3 Bookshelf Monitor.
Keep in mind that a higher max power handling value doesn't necessarily make that a louder speaker
compared to a lower max handling speaker. Loudness or the sound level is also impacted by parameters
such as Impedance, sensitivity and system efficiencies.
Input Type and Bi-Amping / Bi-Wiring
Aon 3 Bookshelf Monitor features Post type posts and LINTON Heritage has a Post type posts. None of these speakers feature bi-amping/bi-wiring.
GoldenEar Aon 3's 5-way post terminals
Wharfedale LINTON's Post terminals
Cabinet Type and Port Position
Both Aon 3 Bookshelf Monitor and LINTON Heritage have rear firing ports. Rear ported speakers generally need more room between the backside of the speaker and the wall compared to sealed and front/bottom ported speakers. Placing the speakers too close to the walls may cause the bass to sound boomy.
If you are limited in space and can't get the speakers away from the backwall, check our Speakers with Front Firing Ports page.
Physical Specs
Size of a speaker can sometimes become an important decision factor due to space constraints or in some cases purely for esthetic reasons. In this section, we are going to compare GoldenEar Aon 3's and Wharfedale LINTON's external dimensions. GoldenEar Aon 3 has external dimensions of 356.0 x 229.0 x 281.0mm ( 14 x 9 x 11-1/16inch) whereas Wharfedale LINTON has external dimensions of 565.0 x 300.0 x 360.0mm ( 22.2 x 11.8 x 12.9inch) .
Wharfedale LINTON is clearly the larger of the two speakers. Its body is 71mm wider, 209mm taller and 79mm deeper than GoldenEar Aon 3.
Base Surface Area Comparison
Base surface area of a loudspeaker may become a determining factor when the space in your room or desk is limited.
The base surface area of the GoldenEar Aon 3 is approximately 643.5cm2 / 99.7inch2 and base area of the Wharfedale LINTON is approximately 990.0cm2 / 153.5inch2. The Aon 3 Bookshelf Monitor requires 35% less surface area than the LINTON Heritage which gives it a small advantage on placement in tight spaces.