In this review, we will be comparing LINTON Heritage and Dovedale, two Passive Bookshelf speakers by Wharfedale.
Let's have a brief look at the main features
of Wharfedale LINTON and Wharfedale Dovedale first before getting into our more
detailed comparison.
| Key Specs | Wharfedale LINTON | Wharfedale Dovedale |
|---|
| Brand | Wharfedale
United Kingdom · founded 1932 | Wharfedale
United Kingdom · founded 1932 |
|---|
| Design | 3-way | 3-way |
|---|
| Tweeter | 1" Soft-dome | 1" soft dome |
|---|
| Midrange | 5" | 5" |
|---|
| Woofer | 8" Woven Kevlar | 10" black woven Kevlar cone |
|---|
| Frequency response | 40-20k Hz | 36-20k Hz |
|---|
| Sensitivity | 90 dB | 89 DB |
|---|
| Impedance | 6 ohms | 6.5 ohms |
|---|
| Power range | 25-200 watts | 25-250 watts |
|---|
| Weight | 18.40kg / 40.5lbs | 26.20kg / 57.6lbs |
|---|
| Dimensions (H x W x D) | 22.2" x 11.8" x 14.2"
565.0 x 300.0 x 360.0mm | 26.0" x 14.6" x 16.4"
660 x 370 x 417mm |
|---|
LINTON Heritage and Dovedale 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 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* |
Wharfedale LINTON |
Wharfedale Dovedale |
| Near-field |
Poor |
Poor |
| Small Room |
Average |
Poor |
| Mid-size Room |
Good |
Good |
| Large Room |
Average |
Good |
| Very Large Room |
Poor |
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.
Drivers
Both LINTON Heritage and Dovedale are 3-way speakers.
Wharfedale LINTONWharfedale 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 |
Wharfedale LINTON |
Wharfedale Dovedale |
|
Driver Setup
|
3-way
|
3-way
|
|
Tweeter
|
1-inch
|
1-inch
|
|
Midrange
|
1 x 5-inch |
1 x 5-inch |
|
Woofer
|
1 x 8-inch
|
1 x 10-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 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
LINTON Heritage has a frequency range of 40-20k Hz whereas Dovedale has a frequency range of 36-20k Hz. With a minimum frequency of 36Hz, the Dovedale can go slightly deeper then the LINTON Heritage's min frequency of 40Hz.
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 Dovedale which has a nominal impedance of 6.5 ohms.
These two speakers also have different sensitivity levels. LINTON Heritage sensitivity is rated at 90 dB and the Dovedale's is rated at 89 DB. This 1 dB difference makes the Wharfedale LINTON a more sensitive speaker compared to Wharfedale Dovedale, 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.
Dovedale can handle a max power of 250 watts RMS, whereas LINTON Heritage has a max power handling value of 200 watts RMS, 50 watts less than the Dovedale.
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 Dovedale features dual binding post speaker terminals for bi-amping or bi-wiring.
Wharfedale LINTON's Post terminals allows Bi-amping or bi-wiring
Wharfedale Dovedale's Post terminals allows Bi-amping or bi-wiring
Cabinet Type and Port Position
Both LINTON Heritage and Dovedale 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 Dovedale'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 Dovedale has external dimensions of 660 x 370 x 417mm (23.6 x 14.6 x 16.4 inch).
Wharfedale Dovedale is clearly the larger of the two speakers. Its body is 70mm wider, 95mm taller and 57mm deeper than Wharfedale LINTON.
Below you can see the front view size comparison of Wharfedale LINTON and Wharfedale Dovedale in scale.
Comparison image of Wharfedale LINTON and Wharfedale Dovedale 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 Dovedale is approximately 1542.9cm2 / 239.1inch2. The LINTON Heritage requires 30% less surface area than the Dovedale which gives it a small advantage 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 Dovedale weighs 26.20kg / 57.6lbs. This makes the Dovedale 42% heavier than the LINTON Heritage.
Here is a comparison of how LINTON Heritage and Dovedale'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
 Sensitivity |
90 dB
vs
89 dB
|
Play louder with same amount of amplification power |
 Height |
565mm
vs
660mm
|
Easier to fit in smaller spaces |
 Base Surface Area |
1080cm2
vs
1542cm2
|
Takes less floor space |
 Price per pair* |
1500USD
vs
5000USD
|
costs less (*prices may change depending on the seller, location and time) |
 Max Input Power |
250 watts
vs
200 watts
|
Handle more power from your amplifier |
 Nominal Impedance |
6.5 ohms
vs
6 ohms
|
Less selective with amplifiers |
 Minimum Impedance |
3.6 ohms
vs
3.5 ohms
|
Very low impedance levels puts more pressure on amplifier |
 Woofer Size |
10 inches
vs
8 inches
|
Larger woofer |
|
Low Frequency Response |
36 Hz
vs
40 Hz
|
Generates deeper bass |
| General |
Wharfedale LINTON Heritage |
Wharfedale Dovedale |
| Brand |
Wharfedale |
Wharfedale |
| Speaker Type |
Bookshelf speakers |
Bookshelf speakers |
| Power Range |
25-200 watts |
25-250 watts |
| Sensitivity |
90 dB |
89 DB |
| Impedance |
6 ohms |
6.5 ohms |
| Impedance |
3.5 ohms |
3.6 ohms |
| Frequency Response |
40-20k Hz |
36-20k Hz |
Drivers |
|
|
| Woofer Quantity |
1 |
1 |
| Woofer Size |
8" |
10" |
| Woofer Composition |
Woven Kevlar |
black woven Kevlar cone |
| Woofer Surround Material |
Rubber |
Rubber |
| Tweeter Size |
1" |
1" |
| Tweeter Type |
Soft-dome |
soft dome |
| Aimable Tweeter |
No |
No |
| Midrange Driver |
5" |
5" |
| Crossover Frequency |
630Hz and 2400Hz |
560Hz and 2900Hz |
| Firing Direction |
rear |
rear |
Physical Specs |
|
|
| Height |
565.0mm (22.2") |
660.0mm (26") |
| Width |
300.0mm (11.8") |
370.0mm (14.6") |
| Depth |
360.0mm (14.2") |
417.0mm (16.4") |
| Weight |
18.40kg (40.5lbs) |
26.20kg (57.6lbs) |
| Enclosure |
Bass Reflex |
Bass Reflex |
| Finish |
MDF/Wood Veneer |
MDF/Wood Veneer |
| Available Colors |
Walnut, Red Mahogany, Black |
Walnut |
| Mounting Bracket |
No |
No |
| Recommended Stand Height |
18-22" |
n/a |
| 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 | B | Wharfedale Dovedale digs deeper - 36Hz against 40Hz. A subwoofer would even that out. |
| Amplifier needs | evenly matched | Similar sensitivity (90dB vs 89dB) - both want much the same power. |
| Amplifier match | B | Wharfedale Dovedale is the easier load at 6.5 ohms. |
| Headroom | B | Wharfedale Dovedale takes more power (250W vs 200W) - more in hand in a big room. |
| Size | depends | Wharfedale LINTON is easier to place; Wharfedale Dovedale is bigger, which usually goes with fuller bass. Your room decides. |
| Expandability | depends | Wharfedale LINTON: bi-amping; Wharfedale Dovedale: bi-amping. |
| Price | A | Wharfedale LINTON is cheaper - $1,500 against $5,000, about 70% less; arguably a different class. |
A Wharfedale LINTON B Wharfedale Dovedale
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 Dovedale measures better, Wharfedale LINTON costs about about 3.3x the price% 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. Match it to your room: we rate Wharfedale LINTON the better fit for a small room, and Wharfedale Dovedale for a large room and a very large room. In a large or open-plan room, Wharfedale Dovedale has the cabinet volume to fill it more easily; in a small room, near a wall or at desk distance, Wharfedale LINTON 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.