Wharfedale Linton 85th Anniversary Review

displayname said:
Hooking up a 6ohm speaker to an 8ohm tap is something you can sometimes get away with, but it's not advisable.
Whenever possible you should use a tap with an equal or lower rating than your speakers. Knowing that these do dip into 4ohms, it could potentially be stressing an amp on an 8ohm tap.
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I`ve been pretty happy with my Zu Souls since I got them earlier this year, but with one exception - bass. They could go deep if I fed them super bass heavy tracks, but on "normal" tracks, they just didnt bring a whole lot, even tonally. I regretted selling my sub, which I never needed with the Dirty Weekends.

The Souls are 8 ohms, so those are the taps I always used on my PrimaLuna ProLogue 5 power amp. Until today. Holy shit, what a difference! Bass depth and tone are vastly improved, and as a result dynamics are better.

Just to ensure I wasn't fooling myself, I quickly turned off my amp and switched back to the 8 ohm taps. Back to hollow bass and less dynamics. Flipped back again, and the bass and dynamics were there.

I've upgraded enough gear to know what real, audible improvements cost. I don't think I'm being hyperbolic in saying this change netted me a $1k upgrade on this system.

I'd been contemplating a different direction from Zu entirely recently (@HiFi Guy's review only reinforced some of my impressions), but after this simple switch, I`m feeling super satisfied with my speakers. That alone is certainly worth $1k.

If anyone out there hasn't played with the lower ohm taps, give it a whirl. Can't hurt.
 
Splunders said:
I`ve been pretty happy with my Zu Souls since I got them earlier this year, but with one exception - bass. They could go deep if I fed them super bass heavy tracks, but on "normal" tracks, they just didnt bring a whole lot, even tonally. I regretted selling my sub, which I never needed with the Dirty Weekends.

The Souls are 8 ohms, so those are the taps I always used on my PrimaLuna ProLogue 5 power amp. Until today. Holy shit, what a difference! Bass depth and tone are vastly improved, and as a result dynamics are better.

Just to ensure I wasn't fooling myself, I quickly turned off my amp and switched back to the 8 ohm taps. Back to hollow bass and less dynamics. Flipped back again, and the bass and dynamics were there.

I've upgraded enough gear to know what real, audible improvements cost. I don't think I'm being hyperbolic in saying this change netted me a $1k upgrade on this system.

I'd been contemplating a different direction from Zu entirely recently (@HiFi Guy's review only reinforced some of my impressions), but after this simple switch, I`m feeling super satisfied with my speakers. That alone is certainly worth $1k.

If anyone out there hasn't played with the lower ohm taps, give it a whirl. Can't hurt.
Click to expand...
There are a lot of advantages to tubes that don’t exist with solid state.
 
Splunders said:
I`ve been pretty happy with my Zu Souls since I got them earlier this year, but with one exception - bass. They could go deep if I fed them super bass heavy tracks, but on "normal" tracks, they just didnt bring a whole lot, even tonally. I regretted selling my sub, which I never needed with the Dirty Weekends.

The Souls are 8 ohms, so those are the taps I always used on my PrimaLuna ProLogue 5 power amp. Until today. Holy shit, what a difference! Bass depth and tone are vastly improved, and as a result dynamics are better.

Just to ensure I wasn't fooling myself, I quickly turned off my amp and switched back to the 8 ohm taps. Back to hollow bass and less dynamics. Flipped back again, and the bass and dynamics were there.

I've upgraded enough gear to know what real, audible improvements cost. I don't think I'm being hyperbolic in saying this change netted me a $1k upgrade on this system.

I'd been contemplating a different direction from Zu entirely recently (@HiFi Guy's review only reinforced some of my impressions), but after this simple switch, I`m feeling super satisfied with my speakers. That alone is certainly worth $1k.

If anyone out there hasn't played with the lower ohm taps, give it a whirl. Can't hurt.
Click to expand...
That's great to hear! I actually only use the 4ohm tap on my amp. My dealer advised sticking with 4ohm unless I ended up with speakers that sounded off with them. So far I haven't had a speaker that in any way called for me to question this advice. Maybe if I was messing with some super efficient horns, but that hasn't happened so far. The reality of it seems to be that most speakers (even those rated at 8ohms) tend to dip into 4ohm or lower loads, especially in big bass passages or higher dynamic swings.

My favorite shining example is the LSiM 707 rated at 8ohm with dips down to 3.75.

Polk LSiM707 Surround Speaker System HT Labs Measures

HT Labs Measures L/R Sensitivity: 88.5 dB from 500 Hz to 2 kHz Center Sensitivity: 90 dB from 500 Hz to 2 kHz Surround Sensitivity: 88.5 dB from 500 Hz to 2 kHz This graph shows the quasi-anechoic (employing close-miking of all woofers) frequency response of the LSiM707 L/R (purple trace)...
www.soundandvision.com www.soundandvision.com
 
displayname said:
That's great to hear! I actually only use the 4ohm tap on my amp. My dealer advised sticking with 4ohm unless I ended up with speakers that sounded off with them. So far I haven't had a speaker that in any way called for me to question this advice. Maybe if I was messing with some super efficient horns, but that hasn't happened so far. The reality of it seems to be that most speakers (even those rated at 8ohms) tend to dip into 4ohm or lower loads, especially in big bass passages or higher dynamic swings.

My favorite shining example is the LSiM 707 rated at 8ohm with dips down to 3.75.

Polk LSiM707 Surround Speaker System HT Labs Measures

HT Labs Measures L/R Sensitivity: 88.5 dB from 500 Hz to 2 kHz Center Sensitivity: 90 dB from 500 Hz to 2 kHz Surround Sensitivity: 88.5 dB from 500 Hz to 2 kHz This graph shows the quasi-anechoic (employing close-miking of all woofers) frequency response of the LSiM707 L/R (purple trace)...
www.soundandvision.com www.soundandvision.com
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My Focals are 8ohms and dip down to 2.9 @118Hz!
 
I actually never tried the 4ohm taps on the JoLida. @Jango, be sure to give both a shot and let me know if you hear a difference.

I could definitely tell a difference toggling the hi/low impedance switch on the Decware, although I'm actually not sure which direction is which in that case.
 
So I did a thing...

I’d been set on the Q Concept but the more I thought the more they’re just too expensive for me and this review kept looping in my head!

Damnit!

But won’t arrive provisionally till January, might be earlier though...

Sad but a wharfedale holding warehouse was supposedly targeted for a burglary and so was completely wiped of a big chunk of Christmas stock. Some models did get out to the distribution warehouses but it’s unclear which ones so the dealer just said order and expect late January but might be earlier if the Linton isn’t an affected model.
 
Joe Mac said:
So I did a thing...

I’d been set on the Q Concept but the more I thought the more they’re just too expensive for me and this review kept looping in my head!

Damnit!

But won’t arrive provisionally till January, might be earlier though...

Sad but a wharfedale holding warehouse was supposedly targeted for a burglary and so was completely wiped of a big chunk of Christmas stock. Some models did get out to the distribution warehouses but it’s unclear which ones so the dealer just said order and expect late January but might be earlier if the Linton isn’t an affected model.
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Which finish did you get? You got the stands, right?
 
Joe Mac said:
Walnut, mahogany is not to my taste, and yeah the local store only sells them with the stands, they don’t offer them on their own. The stands look like a good new home for my 12” singles and EPs! It was €1,199 ($1436) for the pair delivered.
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Gratz! These will probably work their way into my system, then the shootout for which set (Linton or ZU) end up on which system will begin, lol. Can't wait to hear your thoughts :)
 
AnthonyI said:
Gratz! These will probably work their way into my system, then the shootout for which set (Linton or ZU) end up on which system will begin, lol. Can't wait to hear your thoughts :)
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Cheers! Hopefully they’ll arrive sooner rather than later and i can let you all know what I think. They’re going to be a big step up from what I have regardless though I’d imagine. I’m actually pretty stoked with the looks too, should hopefully fit right in with the rest of my system.

Sad to let the Concept 500 dream die but €4K is a lot of money, not that €1,200 isn’t, but it’s also a lot less!

Had to order new speaker cables from blue jeans too because the Lintons don’t bi-wire 🤦🏻! Oh well those almost new bi wire set will be held with my tannoys and old Sony integrated for the day I move from apartment to house and may have scope for systems in two rooms...
 
Joe Mac said:
Cheers! Hopefully they’ll arrive sooner rather than later and i can let you all know what I think. They’re going to be a big step up from what I have regardless though I’d imagine. I’m actually pretty stoked with the looks too, should hopefully fit right in with the rest of my system.

Sad to let the Concept 500 dream die but €4K is a lot of money, not that €1,200 isn’t, but it’s also a lot less!

Had to order new speaker cables from blue jeans too because the Lintons don’t bi-wire 🤦🏻! Oh well those almost new bi wire set will be held with my tannoys and old Sony integrated for the day I move from apartment to house and may have scope for systems in two rooms...
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Did you get a chance to demo before ordering?
 
Joe Mac said:
Walnut, mahogany is not to my taste, and yeah the local store only sells them with the stands, they don’t offer them on their own. The stands look like a good new home for my 12” singles and EPs! It was €1,199 ($1436) for the pair delivered.
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Sweet! Keep us posted on how they sound when they arrive! Eventually when I move into a house, I think the new speaker desire will rear it's head again for me. The Zus were on the top of my list after everyone here spoke so highly of them, but the Lintons are also climbing up there too since I'm digging the Wharfedale bookshelf speakers I just got.

The mahogany finish looks real nice but those Walnut ones also look great. The stands look rad too.
 
MikeH said:
Sweet! Keep us posted on how they sound when they arrive! Eventually when I move into a house, I think the new speaker desire will rear it's head again for me. The Zus were on the top of my list after everyone here spoke so highly of them, but the Lintons are also climbing up there too since I'm digging the Wharfedale bookshelf speakers I just got.

The mahogany finish looks real nice but those Walnut ones also look great. The stands look rad too.
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Yeah mahogany just isn’t my thing, it’s too rich, reddish, and dark for my sensibilities. Is a bit my parents living room circa 1985 lol! The walnut is much more the mid-century meets scandi that I kinda dig. That said if they’d had them in a natural oak that’s where I would have gone!
 
Joe Mac said:
Yeah mahogany just isn’t my thing, it’s too rich, reddish, and dark for my sensibilities. Is a bit my parents living room circa 1985 lol! The walnut is much more the mid-century meets scandi that I kinda dig. That said if they’d had them in a natural oak that’s where I would have gone!
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Totally agreed.
 
Joe Mac said:
Cheers! Hopefully they’ll arrive sooner rather than later and i can let you all know what I think. They’re going to be a big step up from what I have regardless though I’d imagine. I’m actually pretty stoked with the looks too, should hopefully fit right in with the rest of my system.

Sad to let the Concept 500 dream die but €4K is a lot of money, not that €1,200 isn’t, but it’s also a lot less!

Had to order new speaker cables from blue jeans too because the Lintons don’t bi-wire 🤦🏻! Oh well those almost new bi wire set will be held with my tannoys and old Sony integrated for the day I move from apartment to house and may have scope for systems in two rooms...
Click to expand...
I'd just use the old wires and wrap the extra leads in electrical tape. :LOL:
 
kvetcha said:
I'd just use the old wires and wrap the extra leads in electrical tape. :LOL:
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The problem is that they are soldered into a pair of bananas at amp end and a quad a speaker end so...

Otherwise totally agree 😂
 
Joe Mac said:
The problem is that they are soldered into a pair of bananas at amp end and a quad a speaker end so...

Otherwise totally agree 😂
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I think, electrically speaking, it shouldn't be an issue. Dead leads won't draw any power.
 
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