Wharfedale Super Linton Heritage

Wharfedale Super Linton Heritage (in Walnut)

So, you’re tasked with updating the highest selling Wharfedale loudspeaker of all time; what do you do? Well, it’s abundantly clear what Comeau and the crew over a Wharfedale decided to do. They said, let’s not faff about with cosmetic improvements. Let’s go straight for the jugular and spend every additional penny of the increased asking price on squeezing as much additional performance out of the Linton that we can. Now that increase, at least in Australian dollars, equates to another $1800 bucks, with Super Linton retailing (stands included) at $5,199.00.

So, what are the levers for improving Wharfedale’s highest selling loudspeaker of all time? It seems that you have three: drivers, crossovers, and cabinet construction. You need to improve the driver performance, clearly. But you also need to improve how they integrate with one another, and then improve how you house everything. So that the end result is not just a better sounding Linton but a supremely better sounding Linton. A Super Linton. So let’s check out what makes this new Linton so dang Super.

specifications

Super Linton is a 3-way standmount speaker featuring a high-performance 8-inch bass unit with a black woven Kevlar cone, and a brand new motor system, to deliver some serious low-end impact down to an impressive 32Hz. Its midrange driver measures in at five inches and also features a woven Kevlar cone, housed in a dedicated cylindrical chamber. And its all-new 1-inch soft dome tweeter, supported by a ceramic magnet motor system, delivers sweet, detailed treble with precise high-frequency dispersion.

Inside, the Super Linton boasts a brand-new split-PCB crossover network designed to remove any interference between bass and midrange/treble performance. Custom audiophile-grade components, including air-core inductors and polypropylene capacitors, ensure optimum signal transfer and neutrality. The cabinet construction features a layered MDF “sandwich” design with acoustic damping glue, – plus foam liner on internal cabinet walls as well as additional internal long-hair fibre damping. And the cabinets themselves are finished in Linton’s tried and tested walnut, mahogany, or black oak true timber veneers.

Super Linton’s dimensions come in at 605mm x 300mm x 330mm (allowing an additional 20mm for those rear speaker terminals) making it a perfect fit for the original dedicated stands. It has a nominal impedance of 6Ω, with 8Ω compatibility, and a sensitivity of 90dB, ensuring that this super version of Linton still runs run off the sniff of an oily rag. And while the Super Linton’s aesthetic upgrades are modest to say the least, the substantial sonic improvements from its vast inclusion of technical advancements are proof of the idea that not all heroes – super or otherwise – wear capes.

history

Now, before we dive into the vastly improved performance of Super Linton, it is important to provide a little context surrounding its legacy. Because when the original Linton became Wharfedale’s best-selling loudspeaker in 1965, they followed it up just two years later with an updated version called Super Linton.

Now, while the original Super Linton was little more than a cabinet upgrade, this modern revision takes upgrading the Linton to a whole new level by re-engineering the internals to deliver vastly superior performance. It’s more powerful, more refined, and far more capable of handling modern musical complexities, all while keeping true to those famed Linton roots.

At its heart, Super Linton was designed to bridge the gap between the standard Linton Heritage and Wharfedale’s flagship heritage model, the UK-Made Dovedale. For those who want the warmth, musicality, and the iconic look of the Linton but crave a speaker with additional power and precision, Super Linton steps in as the perfect go between.

driver technology

Super Linton improves on its forebear with an all-new 1-inch soft dome tweeter featuring a lightweight fabric weave dome, coated with a special damping material, and powered by a ceramic magnet motor system. This setup is said to deliver sweeter, more detailed treble, while improving high-frequency dispersion. The revised short horn profile around the dome ensures a smooth response, extending down to the upper midrange, while the new front plate design further enhances dispersion for a crisp, airy top-end that feels both spacious and refined.

Moving down, Super Linton’s midrange has been given a housing makeover. It’s still a 5” woven kevlar woofer housed in its own chamber, but that chamber is now a generously proportioned cylindrical design with graded layers of long-hair fibre damping to cancel out the back wave from the rear of the cone. The result, says mister Peter Comeau, the lead designer of Super Linton and IAG’s director of acoustic design, is a far more natural and lifelike reproduction of vocals and instruments – that all important midrange – delivering a kind of purity that places you right in the middle of every performance.

And last but not least is Super Linton’s bass. The 8-inch woven Kevlar cone remains, but it’s Super Linton’s new bass motor system that really brings the thunder. With a more powerful motor and increased magnet strength, it pushes low-end performance to new depths, extending down to a whopping 32Hz (3Hz lower than Linton Heritage). More importantly, its the improved transient performance of Super Linton’s bass that delivers a tighter, more controlled and timely execution, ensuring that the foundations of your music are handled with far greater precision than any Linton that’s come before.

Wharfedale Super Linton Heritage (Crossovers)

a super crossover

The Super Linton crossover step up from Linton Heritage is all about separation. Where the Linton Heritage employed a highly researched single crossover, Super Linton takes things further with a split-PCB design. What does that mean? Well, It splits the bass crossover components from the midrange and treble circuits, eliminating any chance of electromagnetic interference messing with the finer frequencies. The result is a cleaner, more precise handover between drivers, ensuring that each frequency band operates with laser-like focus.

Now, this advancement doesn’t just read well on paper; it’s something you’ll actually hear. With bass and midrange/treble circuits isolated, every element of the music has room to breathe. Low-end tones are weightier yet more controlled, midrange vocals and instruments sit perfectly in their own space, and treble details sparkle with clarity. In practice, it’s like peeling back the layers of your music, revealing subtleties and textures that would otherwise be buried. Simply put, the Super Linton’s crossover is a pretty major overhaul, inviting you to hear your favourite tracks in truly refined detail.

that new cabinet feel

While its width and depth remain untouched, Super Linton cabinets have stretched north by 2”, going from 565 to 605mm. This greatly increases Super Linton’s cabinet volume, which, when paired with the upgraded bass motor system, allowed its engineers to significantly improve bass performance, extending all the way down to 32Hz. But all that additional bass ain’t worth a lick of spit if you can’t control it, right?

Well, the cabinets are built using a “sandwich” construction, combining layers of MDF and particle board, bonded with a latex-based damping glue to reduce panel resonances below audibility. An essential ingredient for finely tuning those thunderous lows.

Inside, the Super Linton takes resonance control even further. Thick pads of acoustic damping foam line the cabinet walls, while the internal space is filled with long-hair fibre to absorb residual vibrations. This approach helps to eliminate any internal resonances, ensuring that nothing detracts from driver performance. The result is a far more stable and focused soundstage, allowing every note to be delivered with pinpoint accuracy and absolute clarity.

And as if those cabinet additions weren’t enough, Super Linton even upgrades the grille. Now, no, we didn’t get magnetic grilles with the Super iteration of Linton like with did with Super Denton (probably because grilles on gives you the best audible performance). But, the new grilles have been further refined to smooth out the power output of the midrange and treble units. And according to Mr. Comeau, this design also improves the transition through the crossover region, allowing for a seamless integration of all three drivers.

where does super linton stand?

So to sum up this new boy wonder, Super Linton takes everything the world has come to love about Linton Heritage – this gorgeous, easy to listen to three-way, full of energy but maybe lacking a touch of dynamic vigour and high frequency refinement – and elevates everything to a whole new level. Yes, it’s still the same Linton character we know and love, but now there’s a higher degree of dynamic agility, detail, and air. In short, Super Linton is a vastly improved sonic experience, but it never loses sight of what made the original so special.

At its heart, Super Linton was designed to bridge the gap between the standard Linton Heritage and Wharfedale’s flagship heritage model, the UK-Made Dovedale. For those who want the warmth, musicality, and the iconic look of the Linton but crave a speaker with additional power and precision, Super Linton steps in as your perfect go between.