WharfedaleDenton 85th Anniversary (Red Mahogany)

This is my second pair; Denton 85s are very listenable, and play all kinds of music very well.I also have Elysian 1 & 2, and all Wharfedale speakers are meticulously made, and are just a pleasure to listen to.

The media could not be loaded. I’ve had the Denton 85s since early 2022 and have been blown away by them. I liked them so much that when the wife approved the budget for a guest/gaming room set up that I bought another Wharfedale product, the discontinued 240s.The Denton 85s have a warm sound, definitely best suited for rock n roll. Vocals are very clear. The sound stage is absolutely fantastic on these as well, I feel like I’m in the concert. I did contact Wharfedale prior to purchasing asking the difference between the 85th and 80th editions, which is essentially bigger bass driver which means bigger housing in general. Back when I was buying it was a $200 difference, now it’s $400+, so not sure if it’s worth it but either choice of the 85th or 80th I imagine wouldn’t be a bad choice.These speakers have a warmth to them. I do leave the grills on when playing. There is absolutely ZERO listening fatigue.I do suggest pairing a subwoofer with them if it is your primary listening, but I suggest that for ANY system and is not a fault of the Wharfedales.Wharfedale has definitely made me a brand fan.

I have a pair of very high quality Paradigm speakers, they sound very nice, but boy oh boy, I am so glad I purchased these pair of Dentons (from a different vendor) and these speakers blew my socks off!!! These speakers are not only gorgeous looking but the sound output OMG. Simply jaw dropping.I am running these on a NAD T753 receiver with a NAD C272 150W amplifier and oh man what a sound!!! The sound these puppies produce is simply astounding, very musical and crisp. The vocals oh-my-god. They are worth every penny.

Really wanted to like these, but ended up returning them despite the beautiful appearance. The 85th is a little bright around 6khz, but not objectionably so. The biggest flaw is these speakers lack detail and fullness; everything's a bit smeared together. I purchased a pair of JBL HDI 1600 instead that I'm much happier with.

The media could not be loaded. Upgrading my system one piece at a time. It’s a tough job with less audio stores around. You can read all the reviews, YouTube videos, and talk to online store sales staff but how do you match up electronics and feel sure about your selection. I have older class A/B amp and preamp, an early Philips CD player (actually built in Belgium) 1989. Bought new Fluance RT85, nice platter, that went ok. Then speakers.....I narrowed it down to three bookshelf speakers based on reviews. Don’t have the space for any floorstander. Started with KEF LS50 Meta. Great speaker, nice design, really wanted it to work. Lots of detail, very good sound stage, but seemed too analytical and vocals somewhat veiled. Sent em back. Next the Wharfedale Denton 85. Really liking this so far. Wonderful vocals, adequate detail and soundstage. Not to mention a really beautiful finish and almost half the price of the KEF. Got the Mahogany. So going to stay with these. Both LP’s and cd’s are very good to excellent. These speakers are revealing. Have a 47 yr old Bread LP. Wow, sounds fantastic. Going through all my Classical, Rock, folk, and jazz and having fun. After all, that’s what it should be all about. Recommended. My next stop will be B&W 706 if I feel I still need to compare. Right now though things are going well. Revealing without being analytical.Update: 7/4/21. Yep these are keepers. There are some that would argue that speakers do not need a break in period. I say they do. The Denton’s have improved significantly since my 1st review, particularly in bass response. Of course this may be somewhat subjective but I believe they have opened up a bit as well. The more time I spend with them the more I like them. Are they the perfect speaker? No, but they do satisfy my listening requirements and I tend to be fussy and I know my music collection well. So I’m a happy camper. Been Bluetooth streaming and have purchased new LP’s and cd’s. This stuff is fun. Enjoy!Update: 7/17/22. Still enjoying the Denton 85’s. Still very happy with my purchase. Saw another review here that said these speakers sound bright. Wow, this cannot be further from the truth. The vocals are neutral to warm and involving. The Denton’s draw you into the music. They can be revealing particularly with poorly recorded or remastered material. Just pair them with some quality electronics. I’m using class A/B components.

Did weeks of research for new speakers as an upgrade, read all the reviews. This speaker seems super popular, loved other Wharfdales (11.2, 220) I have had, so got a pair. Big mistake. Super, super bright, harsh on many recordings. Very little bass to counter the jacked up highs. Did not integrate well with a sub. Found myself searching for recordings that sounded good, I did find many that sounded great, but many more that were just blown out and almost unlistenable due to the harsh treble. Lots of listening fatigue, the louder you go the worse they sound. Tried all sorts of positions in and out from the back wall, varying amounts of toe in, etc, just a harsh, sharp sounding speaker no matter what I did, even with my tube gear running vinyl. This is in a heavily treated room with sound treatments, carpet, heavy drapes, etc, so it isn't room induced brightness. 200 hours of burn in had no effect. Even tried different arrangements of my absorption and diffuser panels with no improvement. They do look nice, and seem to have good build quality. But, not recommended. Several models of Elac sound better and are cheaper along with many others that are better sounding options than these in this price range.

If you like warm, vintage sound, these are the best speakers under $1000. Look no further.