In this review, we will be comparing LINTON Heritage and Denton 85, two Passive Bookshelf speakers by Wharfedale.
Let's have a brief look at the main features
of Wharfedale LINTON and Wharfedale Denton 85 first before getting into our more
detailed comparison.
| Key Specs | Wharfedale LINTON | Wharfedale Denton 85 |
|---|
| Brand | Wharfedale
United Kingdom · founded 1932 | Wharfedale
United Kingdom · founded 1932 |
|---|
| Design | 3-way | 2-way |
|---|
| Tweeter | 1" Soft-dome | 1" Soft-Dome |
|---|
| Midrange | 5" | — |
|---|
| Woofer | 8" Woven Kevlar | 6.5" Woven Kevlar |
|---|
| Frequency response | 40-20k Hz | 45-20k Hz |
|---|
| Sensitivity | 90 dB | 88 dB |
|---|
| Impedance | 6 ohms | 4 ohms |
|---|
| Power range | 25-200 watts | 20-120 watts |
|---|
| Weight | 18.40kg / 40.5lbs | 9.00kg / 19.8lbs |
|---|
| Dimensions (H x W x D) | 22.2" x 11.8" x 14.2"
565.0 x 300.0 x 360.0mm | 13-7/16" x 9-7/16" x 11-15/16"
342.0 x 240.0 x 304.0mm |
|---|
LINTON Heritage and Denton 85 are members of Wharfedale's Heritage series of speakers. Below you can find the loudspeakers from this series.
Wharfedale Heritage Series
History
What size room are the Wharfedale LINTON and Wharfedale Denton 85 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* |
Wharfedale LINTON |
Wharfedale Denton 85 |
| Near-field |
Poor |
Poor |
| Small Room |
Average |
Average |
| Mid-size Room |
Good |
Good |
| Large Room |
Average |
Average |
| Very Large Room |
Poor |
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.)
The sections below take each area in turn: drivers, frequency response, physical size and what you get in the box.
Drivers
One of the fundamental differences between these two speakers is that LINTON Heritage is a 3-way design whereas the Denton 85 is a 2-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.
Wharfedale LINTONWharfedale Denton 85
TweeterMidrangeWoofer
Front view, drawn to scale - cabinets and drivers share one scale, so sizes are directly comparable. Hover a driver for its size.
| Driver |
Wharfedale LINTON |
Wharfedale Denton 85 |
|
Driver Setup
|
3-way
|
2-way
|
|
Tweeter
|
1-inch
|
1-inch
|
|
Midrange
|
1 x 5-inch |
- |
|
Woofer
|
1 x 8-inch
|
1 x 6.5-inch
|
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. On the other hand, the Denton 85 features a 1" woven textile Soft-Dome Tweeter and 1 x 6.5" Woven Kevlar Woofer with a Crossover frequency at 3100Hz.
Frequency Response
LINTON Heritage has a frequency range of 40-20k Hz whereas Denton 85 has a frequency range of 45-20k Hz. With a minimum frequency of 40Hz, the LINTON Heritage can go significantly deeper on the low side and provide stronger bass compared to the Denton 85's min frequency of 45Hz.
The graph below depicts how these two speakers compare with the max, min and average Low Frequency values of other speakers in the Bookshelf class in our database.
Low Frequency
Bookshelf 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
LINTON Heritage is a 6 ohms speaker compared to the Denton 85 which has a nominal impedance of 4 ohms. Lower impedance speakers, especially the ones that are rated at 4 ohms may put more pressure on the amplifier unit especially when played at high volume levels, so make sure the amp you pair with the Denton 85 can provide this impedance level.
These two speakers also have different sensitivity levels. LINTON Heritage sensitivity is rated at 90 dB and the Denton 85's is rated at 88 dB. This 2 dB difference makes the Wharfedale LINTON a more sensitive speaker compared to Wharfedale Denton 85, hence will play louder with the same amount of watts.
Sensitivity
Bookshelf 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.
LINTON Heritage can handle a max power of 200 watts RMS, whereas Denton 85 has a max power handling value of 120 watts RMS, 80 watts less than the LINTON Heritage.
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.
Input Type and Bi-Amping / Bi-Wiring
Both LINTON Heritage and Denton 85 features dual binding post speaker terminals for bi-amping or bi-wiring.
Wharfedale LINTON's Post terminals allows Bi-amping or bi-wiring
Wharfedale Denton 85's Post terminals allows Bi-amping or bi-wiring
Cabinet Type and Port Position
Both LINTON Heritage and Denton 85 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
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 Wharfedale LINTON's and Wharfedale Denton 85's external dimensions. Wharfedale LINTON has external dimensions of 565.0 x 300.0 x 360.0mm (22.2 x 11.8 x 12.9inch) whereas Wharfedale Denton 85 has external dimensions of 342.0 x 240.0 x 304.0mm (13-7/16 x 9-7/16 x 11-15/16inch).
Wharfedale LINTON is clearly the larger of the two speakers. Its body is 60mm wider, 223mm taller and 56mm deeper than Wharfedale Denton 85.
Below you can see the front view size comparison of Wharfedale LINTON and Wharfedale Denton 85 in scale.
Comparison image of Wharfedale LINTON and Wharfedale Denton 85 Size and External Dimensions
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 Wharfedale LINTON is approximately 1080.0cm2 / 167.4inch2 and base area of the Wharfedale Denton 85 is approximately 729.6cm2 / 113.1inch2. The LINTON Heritage requires 48% more surface area than the Denton 85 which gives it a small disadvantage on placement in tight spaces.
Weight Comparison The weight of a loudspeaker can become an important factor if you need to move and reposition the unit often. Weight of a speaker can also "sometimes" be an indicator of the rigidity of the enclosure and the quality of the internal components used. The Wharfedale LINTON weighs 18.40kg / 40.5lbs and the Wharfedale Denton 85 weighs 9.00kg / 19.8lbs. This makes the LINTON Heritage 104% heavier than the Denton 85.
Here is a comparison of how LINTON Heritage and Denton 85's weights compare with the average, max and min weights in Passive Bookshelf class.
Weight
All Bookshelf Speakers
What's in the Box of Wharfedale LINTON?
Here are the items that are included inside the box of LINTON Heritage:
- Bookshelf loudspeaker
- Grille (pre-installed)
- 4 Self-adhesive rubber feet
- Pair of white gloves
- User's Manual
What's in the Box of Wharfedale Denton 85?
Here are the items that come with the Denton 85:
- 2 Bookshelf loudspeakers
- 2 Grilles
- 4 Jumper-bars (pre-installed)
- 8 Self-adhesive rubber feet
- Pair of white cloth gloves
- User Manual
 Max Input Power |
200 watts
vs
120 watts
|
Handle more power from your amplifier |
 Driver Setup |
3-way
vs
2-way
|
Have a dedicated mid-range driver |
 Sensitivity |
90 dB
vs
88 dB
|
Play louder with same amount of amplification power |
 Nominal Impedance |
6 ohms
vs
4 ohms
|
Less selective with amplifiers |
 Woofer Size |
8 inches
vs
6.5 inches
|
Larger woofer |
|
Low Frequency Response |
40 Hz
vs
45 Hz
|
Generates deeper bass |
 Minimum Impedance |
3.8 ohms
vs
3.5 ohms
|
Very low impedance levels puts more pressure on amplifier |
 Height |
342mm
vs
565mm
|
Easier to fit in smaller spaces |
 Base Surface Area |
729cm2
vs
1080cm2
|
Takes less floor space |
 Price per pair* |
999USD
vs
1500USD
|
costs less (*prices may change depending on the seller, location and time) |
| General |
Wharfedale LINTON Heritage |
Wharfedale Denton 85 |
| Brand |
Wharfedale |
Wharfedale |
| Speaker Type |
Bookshelf speakers |
Bookshelf speakers |
| Power Range |
25-200 watts |
20-120 watts |
| Sensitivity |
90 dB |
88 dB |
| Impedance |
6 ohms |
4 ohms |
| Impedance |
3.5 ohms |
3.8 ohms |
| Frequency Response |
40-20k Hz |
45-20k Hz |
Drivers |
|
|
| Woofer Quantity |
1 |
1 |
| Woofer Size |
8" |
6.5" |
| Woofer Composition |
Woven Kevlar |
Woven Kevlar |
| Woofer Surround Material |
Rubber |
Rubber |
| Tweeter Size |
1" |
1" |
| Tweeter Type |
Soft-dome |
Soft-Dome |
| Aimable Tweeter |
No |
No |
| Midrange Driver |
5" |
No |
| Crossover Frequency |
630Hz and 2400Hz |
3100Hz |
| Firing Direction |
rear |
rear |
Physical Specs |
|
|
| Height |
565.0mm (22.2") |
342.0mm (13.5") |
| Width |
300.0mm (11.8") |
240.0mm (9.4") |
| Depth |
360.0mm (14.2") |
304.0mm (12") |
| Weight |
18.40kg (40.5lbs) |
9.00kg (19.8lbs) |
| Enclosure |
Bass Reflex |
Bass Reflex |
| Finish |
MDF/Wood Veneer |
MDF/Wood Veneer |
| Available Colors |
Walnut, Red Mahogany, Black |
Walnut, Mahogany, Black |
| Mounting Bracket |
No |
No |
| Recommended Stand Height |
18-22" |
24-28" |
| Grille |
Yes |
Yes |
| Moisture Resistancy |
No |
No |
Connections |
|
|
| Biamp Inputs |
Yes |
Yes |
Other |
|
|
| Parts Warranty |
5 Years |
5 Years |
| Labor Warranty |
5 Years |
5 Years |
Siblings in Wharfedale's Heritage series, so they share a family sound. It comes down to size, output and price.
| Area | Better | Why |
|---|
| Bass | A | Wharfedale LINTON digs deeper - 40Hz against 45Hz. A subwoofer would even that out. |
| Amplifier needs | A | Wharfedale LINTON is more sensitive (90dB vs 88dB), so it goes louder on the same amplifier. |
| Amplifier match | A | Wharfedale LINTON is the easier load at 6 ohms; the other is 4 ohms and wants an amplifier rated for it. |
| Headroom | A | Wharfedale LINTON takes more power (200W vs 120W) - more in hand in a big room. |
| Size | depends | Wharfedale Denton 85 is easier to place; Wharfedale LINTON is bigger, which usually goes with fuller bass. Your room decides. |
| Expandability | depends | Wharfedale LINTON: bi-amping; Wharfedale Denton 85: bi-amping. |
| Price | B | Wharfedale Denton 85 is cheaper - $999 against $1,500, about 33% less. |
A Wharfedale LINTON B Wharfedale Denton 85
depends neither is better in the abstract - it turns on your room, your system or how you will use them. Only specs published for both speakers are judged; anything missing on either side is left out rather than guessed.
Which should you choose?
The usual trade-off: Wharfedale LINTON measures better, Wharfedale Denton 85 costs about about 50% more% less. Whether that gap is worth the money is the call only you can make - and in a normal room it is often smaller than the numbers suggest. If a subwoofer is in your plans, the bass gap largely stops mattering - you would be crossing over above 45Hz anyway, which makes the cheaper Wharfedale Denton 85 much easier to justify. In a large or open-plan room, Wharfedale LINTON has the cabinet volume to fill it more easily; in a small room, near a wall or at desk distance, Wharfedale Denton 85 is the easier speaker to get right.
And remember what a spec sheet cannot show: how each looks in your room and whether the finish suits it, what dealer support and warranty are like where you live, and how they actually sound to you. If you can hear them first - ideally with your own music - that will tell you more than any number above.