Wharfedale Super Denton Bookshelf Speakers (Pair)

Wharfedale’s new SUPER DENTON is part of Wharfedale’s Heritage series, based on classic designs from Wharfedale’s past but brought right up to date with modern drive unit, cabinet and crossover technology.

The Heritage series commenced, in 2014, with the Denton 80 anniversary model, followed by the Denton 85 and the trend-setting Linton model – which reignited a passion for the traditional, large stand mount loudspeaker.

More recently complemented by the high-end Dovedale model, which signalled the return of UK manufacturing, the Heritage series emphasises why no loudspeaker manufacturer can claim a richer heritage than Wharfedale.

The SUPER DENTON Anniversary speakers are now available in 3 different finishes. Walnut, Mahogany, and now Black oak.

More Than a Reintroduction

One of the notable things about the original Denton was its compact size, helping to popularise the concept of ‘bookshelf’ speakers at a time when hi-fi speakers were usually bigger, bulkier boxes.

Most Denton iterations were two-way designs, combining a mid/bass driver with a treble unit, and the same is true of the two existing 21st-century models.

However, in 1971, Wharfedale launched the Denton 3, sporting a three-way driver configuration with separate bass, midrange and treble units – in doing so, Wharfedale created the smallest three-way speaker on the market, claimed to be capable of delivering the performance of much larger speaker systems.

The Wharfedale SUPER DENTON portrays an authentic legacy.

Traditional, simple, and beautiful yet highly evolved, it has a thoroughly modern design that is bang up to date – utilising a mixture of traditional and advanced technology for optimum performance whilst staying true to the legacy in the classic Wharfedale tradition – beautifully hand-veneered with an inset front baffle and traditional cloth grille.

A Three-Way Design with Family History and Precedent

The industrial design and cabinet engineering required incredible effort to support such a complex array in a small volume, small footprint cabinet. Measuring 360 x 246 x 275mm (HxWxD), the SUPER DENTON’s size is similar to the Denton 3, making it one of the world’s smallest three-way hi-fi speakers – if not the smallest, just like the Denton 3 over 50 years ago.

The midrange and treble units are offset from the centre, which helps maintain the speaker’s compact stature and scatter reflections from the cabinet edges.

The SUPER DENTON cabinet features critically placed bracing and internal acoustic damping using layers of long-hair fibre, and the midrange and treble units have their own rear enclosures. The cabinet itself uses a combination of woods to scatter panel resonances rather than having a single, audibly apparent resonant frequency. An inner layer of high-density particle board is bonded to an outer layer of MDF by an inter-layer of special glue with resonance-damping properties.

The SUPER DENTON is supplied in matched, mirror-imaged pairs. With one speaker optimised for the left channel and the other for the right, accurate stereo imaging within a deep, broad soundstage is assured when the speakers are sited appropriately.

As with all models in the Heritage series, the new SUPER DENTON cabinet is wrapped with hand-matched wood veneers for a furniture-grade finish befitting any living environment – classic or modern.

• General description: 3-way vented-box/standmount
• Enclosure type: Bass Reflex
• Transducer complement: 3-way
• Bass driver: 6.5" (165mm) Black Woven Kevlar Cone
• Midrange driver: 2" (50mm) Soft Dome
• Treble driver: 1" (25mm) Soft Dome
• Sensitivity (2.83V @ 1m): 87dB
• Recommended amplifier power: 25-120W
• Peak SPL: 103dB
• Nominal impedance: 6Ω (Compatible 8Ω)
• Minimum impedance: 3.4Ω
• Frequency response (+/-3dB): 52Hz - 20kHz
• Bass extension (-6dB): 40Hz
• Crossover frequency: 940Hz & 4.6kHz  
• Cabinet Volume (in litres): 14.7L
• Height (on plinth): 360mm
• Width: 246mm
• Depth (with terminals): (275+20)mm
• Carton size: 660*390*475mm
• Net weight: 9.2kg/pcs
• Gross weight: 21kg/ctn