Wharfedale Super Denton Speakers
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.
Following on from the aforementioned models, Wharfedale's loudspeaker engineers, led by the revered Peter Comeau as Director of Acoustic Design, have sought to extend the series by taking another price-point-defying model from the archives and subjecting it to innovations and improvements learned over Wharfedale's decades of loudspeaker development. The result of this project is the all-new Wharfedale Super Denton!
Taking inspiration from the Denton 3 - a loudspeaker that, in 1971, was acclaimed for surprising comparisons to the more regular large-format speakers of the time – Denton has now evolved to the 'Super' status – a term originally applied to improved 'Super' and 'Super Power' Wharfedale models of the 1970s. The new Super Denton follows suit in creating another modern classic with all the romance of heritage design matched by the latest in loudspeaker engineering.
Denton, in all current iterations, holds its place as a standmount/bookshelf speaker that is easy to fall in love with — thanks in no small part to the proportions of its quality veneered cabinet. The new Super Denton takes the 'Super' aspiration to a new level and brings back the classic 3-way design of the Denton 3, but rather than follow the Linton model with another large-format cabinet design, the Super Denton remarkably keeps to the compact standmount/bookshelf format and is a mere 20mm taller than the Denton 85 model!
The industrial design and cabinet engineering required incredible effort to support such a complex array in a small volume, small footprint cabinet. 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. As with all models in the Heritage series, the Super Denton cabinet is wrapped with hand-matched wood veneers for a furniture-grade finish befitting any living environment – classic or modern.
The premium, cast chassis 6.5" (165mm) bass unit is tuned to the cabinet for bass extension down to 40Hz – astonishing for a loudspeaker of this size - with the woven Kevlar diaphragm providing realistic performance from instruments and vocals in the lower midrange.
The midrange unit is based around a 2" (50mm) dome design – inspired by Wharfedale's award-winning EVO4 series. This driver provides the ideal transition from the fundamental tones carried by the bass unit to the harmonic overtones higher in frequency. The wide dispersion of this dome diaphragm is responsible for the clarity and finesse that brings the musical performance alive.
Sonic detail and air at high frequencies comes via a new 1" (25mm) soft dome treble unit that inherits design traits from the Wharfedale Dovedale model, including the ceramic motor system and rear chamber. This chamber helps reduce the resonant frequency to below that of the crossover region for a more natural and seamless transition between the drive units.
The three drivers are neatly arranged for smooth integration into this 3-way design, managed by a highly researched crossover network that features air-core coils and polypropylene capacitors in the midrange and treble circuits for distortion-free performance. As with all Wharfedale models, the design is accelerated by critical measurements allied to advanced computer modelling, but final tuning is achieved throughout 1000s of hours of listening tests – just as Wharfedale founder Gilbert Briggs would emphasise: "Response curves alone can hide a multitude of sins!"
The development of Super Denton involved intricacies and attention to detail comparable to a model pitched at twice its humble price tag, as the lead designer says; "even the grille incorporates internal shaping to maximise the power performance of the drive units and avoid interference from reflections from the edges of the cabinet".
The result is a musical output that suits all genres of music and sources, whether analogue or digital. You can rest assured that Super Denton will delight and satisfy listeners with musical entertainment for years to come.
More Than a Reintroduction: Fashions come and go. Class lasts a lifetime. The Wharfedale Super Denton portrays the timeless beauty of a stunning loudspeaker cabinet with an authentic legacy. Traditional, simple, beautiful yet highly evolved and a thoroughly modern design.
Bang up to date - utilising a mixture of traditional and advanced technology, for optimum performance whilst staying true to the legacy. Super Denton is a three-way speaker 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 bass unit uses Wharfedale's woven Kevlar® cone technology as featured in Denton and Linton models. The dome midrange is evolved from the award-winning EVO4 series for incredible dispersion. The treble unit is derived from the high-end Dovedale model, taking design hints such as a ceramic magnet motor system and custom-engineered engineered rear-chamber for resonant frequency extension
Good Things, Small Packages: The Wharfedale Super Denton astonishingly fits a 6.5", 3-way design into a cabinet that measures a mere 246 mm wide, 360 mm high and 275 mm deep.
Endless Development: A highly researched crossover was developed from hundreds of hours of listening tests to perfect the coherent, seamless musical output that is both thrilling and natural in its rendition of any source material
About Wharfedale
Wharfedale Wireless Works was founded by Gilbert Briggs in 1932, soon after he built his very first loudspeaker in the cellar of his home in Ilkley, Yorkshire. This sleepy little market town was located in the valley of the river "Wharfe" – an area known to this day as 'Wharfedale'. This unlikely location would see the birth of a brand that has become recognized all over the world, synonymous with quality in high-fidelity reproduction.
In 1981 the first Wharfedale Diamond speaker was born. The rather unassuming small box took the industry by storm. Small cabinets and the stiff, yet light polypropylene driver meant a very fast, tight sound and compact, accurate two-way drivers produced a fantastic stereo image. It quickly became a best seller and the Diamond range has continued to this day as a staple in the Wharfedale catalogue.
Now, with more than 90 years of setting the standards in perfecting loudspeaker performance, Wharfedale, in order to remain at the forefront of audio, has dedicated 1.5 million square feet to design & manufacturing in which every single product and process takes place in-house. With this ability to control every single part of the process, Wharfedale's speakers achieve a harmony in performance and design rarely seen elsewhere.
Our Take on the Wharfedale Super Denton
The 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. When the Denton 3 was introduced, in 1971, its brochure claimed that it "succeeds in combining 3 speakers … in a very small cabinet. The resulting sound will surprise anyone who believes that high fidelity is only obtainable with larger cabinets". Now, Wharfedale's engineers have replicated that concept with exactly the same aim in mind and they call it 'Super Denton' (tights and cape are optional).
Super Denton is formulated from three advanced drive units – a 6.5 inch (165mm) woven Kevlar cone bass unit, a 2 inch (50mm) dome midrange unit and a 1 inch (25mm) soft-dome treble unit. The bass unit and cabinet are tuned to achieve a remarkable bass extension down to 40Hz, below the fundamental E1 tuning of a standard bass guitar, with the woven Kevlar diaphragm providing realistic performance from instruments and vocals in the lower midrange. Upper midrange and lower treble output comes from a midrange unit based on the technology of the award-winning EVO 4 loudspeakers. Here the 2 inch fabric dome driver provides the ideal transition from the fundamental tones carried by the bass unit to the harmonic overtones higher in frequency. The wide dispersion of this dome diaphragm is responsible for the clarity and finesse that brings the musical performance alive into your living room. Perfectly matched to this advanced midrange dome unit is the new 1 inch soft dome treble unit, inheriting the ceramic magnet motor system and rear chamber used in the Dovedale Heritage, to better match the detailed performance of its companion drivers.
Naturally, the advanced performance of these three drive units requires an equally highly researched crossover. Developed over hundreds of hours of listening tests, the Super Denton crossover matches the acoustic performance of the drive units to achieve a seamless transition between them. Utilising air core coils and high-specification polypropylene capacitors for midrange and treble circuits, the crossover enhances the clear and realistic detailing that emerges effortlessly from this advanced bookshelf loudspeaker. Even the grille incorporates internal shaping to maximize the power performance of the drive units and avoid interference from reflections from the edges of the cabinet. The result is a musical output that suits all genres of music and sources, whether analogue or digital. You can rest assured that Super Denton will delight you and satisfy you with musical entertainment for years to come.
Main Features & Specifications
- Design: 3 Way, 3 Driver Standmount/Bookshelf Loudspeakers
- Enclosure Type: Bass Reflex (dual rear ports)
- Treble Driver: 1" (25mm) Fabric Dome
- Midrange Driver: 2" (50mm) Fabric Dome
- Bass Driver: 6.5" (165mm) Woven Kevlar Cone
- Sensitivity (2.8V @ 1m): 87dB
- Nominal Impedance: 6Ω (8Ω compatible)
- Recommended Amplifier Power: 25-120W
- Frequency Response (+/-3dB): 52Hz-20kHz
- Bass Extension (-6dB): 40Hz
- Crossover Frequencies: 940Hz & 4.6kHz
- Cabinet Volume: 14.7L
- Available Finishes: Black Oak, Mahogany & Walnut
- Dimensions (WxHxD): 246 x 360 x 275mm
- Weight: 9.2 kg each
- Manufacturer's Warranty: 5 Years
Note: Features & Specifications Subject To Change Without Notice. E&OE