In this review, we will be comparing two different types of speakers. Klipsch Heritage Klipschorn 80th Anniversary is a Floor-standing speaker whereas the Dovedale is a Bookshelf speaker.
Let's have a brief look at the main features
of Klipsch Heritage Klipschorn 80th Anniversary and Wharfedale Dovedale first before getting into our more
detailed comparison.
| Key Specs | Klipsch Heritage Klipschorn 80th Anniversary | Wharfedale Dovedale |
|---|
| Design | 2-way | 3-way |
|---|
| Tweeter | Compression Horn | 1" soft dome |
|---|
| Midrange | — | 5" |
|---|
| Woofer | 15" Paper | 10" black woven Kevlar cone |
|---|
| Frequency response | 34-20k Hz | 36-20K HZ |
|---|
| Sensitivity | 103 dB | 89 DB |
|---|
| Impedance | 8 ohms | 6.5 ohms |
|---|
| Power range | 100-400 watts | 25-250 watts |
|---|
| Weight | 65.70kg / 144.5lbs | 26.20kg / 57.6lbs |
|---|
| Dimensions (H x W x D) | 51-15/16" x 31-1/2" x 24"
1320.0 x 800.0 x 610.0mm | 23.6" x 14.6" x 16.4"
660 x 370 x 417mm |
|---|
Klipschorn 80th and Dovedale are members of Wharfedale's Heritage series of speakers. Below you can find the loudspeakers from this series.
Klipsch Heritage Series
History
What size room are the Klipsch Heritage Klipschorn 80th Anniversary and Wharfedale Dovedale 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* |
Klipsch Heritage Klipschorn 80th Anniversary |
Wharfedale Dovedale |
| Near-field |
Are you nuts? |
Poor |
| Small Room |
Poor |
Poor |
| Mid-size Room |
Average |
Good |
| Large Room |
Good |
Good |
| Very Large Room |
Good |
Average |
(* 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.)
The sections below take each area in turn: drivers, frequency response, physical size and what you get in the box.
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Drivers
One of the fundamental differences between these two speakers is that Klipschorn 80th is a 2-way design whereas the Dovedale 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.
Klipsch Heritage Klipschorn 80th AnniversaryWharfedale Dovedale
TweeterMidrangeWoofer
Front view, drawn to scale - cabinets and drivers share one scale, so sizes are directly comparable. Hover a driver for its size.
| Driver |
Klipsch Heritage Klipschorn 80th Anniversary |
Wharfedale Dovedale |
|
Driver Setup
|
2-way
|
3-way
|
|
Tweeter
|
-inch
|
1-inch
|
|
Midrange
|
- |
1 x 5-inch |
|
Woofer
|
1 x 15-inch
|
1 x 10-inch
|
Klipschorn 80th features a " K-692 with K-5-K aluminium horn Compression Horn Tweeter and 1 x 15" Paper Woofer with a Crossover frequency at 350Hz. On the other hand, the Dovedale features a 1" soft dome Tweeter, a 5" Midrange and 1 x 10" black woven Kevlar cone Woofer with a Crossover frequency at 560Hz and 2900Hz.
Frequency Response
Klipschorn 80th has a frequency range of 34-20k Hz whereas Dovedale has a frequency range of 36-20K HZ. With a minimum frequency of 34Hz, the Klipschorn 80th can go slightly deeper then the Dovedale's min frequency of 36Hz.
The graph below depicts how these two speakers compare with the max, min and average Low Frequency values of other speakers in the Floor-standing class in our database.
Low Frequency
Floor-standing Speakers
Neither pair reaches down to 20Hz, the usual definition of full-range, which is normal for speakers of this size. If you want the bottom octave for movies or bass-heavy music, add a subwoofer to whichever you choose. Visit our Powered Subwoofers section to find out more about the available options.
Impedance and Sensitivity
Klipschorn 80th is a 8 ohms speaker compared to the Dovedale which has a nominal impedance of 6.5 ohms.
These two speakers also have different sensitivity levels. Klipschorn 80th sensitivity is rated at 103 dB and the Dovedale's is rated at 89 DB. This 14 dB difference makes the Klipsch Heritage Klipschorn 80th Anniversary a more sensitive speaker compared to Wharfedale Dovedale, hence will play louder with the same amount of watts.
Sensitivity
Floor-standing Speakers
Power Range
Power
range is the range of input power in watts RMS that a loudspeaker is designed to handle. Staying
within that range gives nominal performance; driving the speaker beyond its maximum wattage can damage it.
Klipschorn 80th can handle a max power of 400 watts RMS, whereas Dovedale has a max power handling value of 250 watts RMS, 150 watts less than the Klipschorn 80th.
Note that higher power handling does not make a speaker louder: that depends mainly on
sensitivity and impedance. The calculator below shows how loud each of these actually plays
on a real amplifier.
Which plays louder on your amplifier?
Starting with a popular amplifier — change it to the one you own, or any you are
considering, and watch both numbers move.
Klipsch Heritage Klipschorn 80th Anniversary
Input Type and Bi-Amping / Bi-Wiring
Klipschorn 80th features Post type posts and Dovedale has a Post type posts. None of these speakers feature bi-amping/bi-wiring.
Wharfedale Dovedale's Post terminals
Cabinet Type and Port Position
Klipschorn 80th has a front firing port whereas Dovedale has a rear firing ports. Klipsch Heritage Klipschorn 80th Anniversary's front-firing port gives more flexibility in placement in regards to proximity to walls compared to Wharfedale Dovedale with its rear-firing port.
Physical Specs
The size of a speaker can sometimes be an important decision factor due to space constraints or in some cases purely for esthetic reasons. In this section, we are going to compare Klipsch Heritage Klipschorn 80th Anniversary's and Wharfedale Dovedale's external dimensions. Klipsch Heritage Klipschorn 80th Anniversary has external dimensions of 1320.0 x 800.0 x 610.0mm (51-15/16 x 31-1/2 x 24inch) whereas Wharfedale Dovedale has external dimensions of 660 x 370 x 417mm (23.6 x 14.6 x 16.4 inch).
Klipsch Heritage Klipschorn 80th Anniversary is clearly the larger of the two speakers. Its body is 430mm wider, 660mm taller and 193mm deeper than Wharfedale Dovedale.
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 Klipsch Heritage Klipschorn 80th Anniversary is approximately 4880.0cm2 / 756.4inch2 and base area of the Wharfedale Dovedale is approximately 1542.9cm2 / 239.1inch2. The Klipschorn 80th requires 216% more surface area than the Dovedale which gives it a small disadvantage on placement in tight spaces.