Wharfedale’s modern, re-engineered iterations of its classic Linton and Denton speakers have gained a companion centre speaker for AV configurations.
Wharfedale’s Heritage Series celebrates the company’s history of loudspeaker design that began in Yorkshire in 1932. New versions of the Linton and Denton – speakers with their origins in the ‘196’0s, re-engineered for modern times – have made these classics bestsellers once again, while retro-inspired signature models such as the Dovedale and Aston have brought Wharfedale manufacturing back to Britain.
These are all stereo speakers, however the demand for a dedicated Heritage centre speaker has proved popular. The Heritage Centre is purpose-built to work seamlessly with the existing Heritage Series models in a home cinema speaker system.
Like the Linton, Super Linton, Super Denton and Dovedale, the Heritage Centre is a three-way design with a dedicated midrange driver, working in tandem with twin bass drivers and a treble unit. The drivers themselves are adapted from those developed for the Super Denton, sporting diaphragms of the same size.
The midrange driver’s 50mm fabric dome delivers the critical ‘presence band’ frequencies from 900Hz to 2.7kHz with aplomb, enhancing vocal projection and dialogue clarity.
The treble unit combines a ceramic magnet motor system with a 25mm fabric dome and a damped rear chamber to absorb the output from the back of the diaphragm. This reduces the resonant frequency of the treble unit to well below the crossover region, allowing full high-frequency detail and harmonics to be smoothly revealed.
The output of these drivers blends seamlessly with the bass and lower-midrange frequencies delivered by the 165mm Kevlar cones which flank them.
Measuring 55x25x30cm, the Heritage Centre’s cabinet is carefully proportioned to incorporate all four drivers with sufficient internal volume to match the other Heritage models sonically, without being so bulky that it won’t fit on a typical AV support.
Its construction uses a combination of woods to scatter panel resonances rather than having a single, audibly obvious 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.
Critical analysis of the performance of each cabinet surface has resulted in the application of precisely shaped and positioned internal bracing, combined with specially sourced damping material. This ensures that cabinet resonances are controlled to well below the level of the audio signal, enabling crisp, clear and transparent sound with all manner of AV entertainment, from music and films to TV shows and video games.
Real-wood veneers in walnut, mahogany or black oak are applied to the cabinet’s top, bottom, back and sides, hand-polished and lacquered to a satin finish.
As with every Heritage model, the Heritage Centre’s design was overseen by Peter Comeau, Wharfedale’s Director of Acoustic Design. Speaking about its development, he says, “The Heritage Series was originally conceived purely for the enjoyment of stereo music, but the speakers’ richly expressive sonic qualities lend themselves perfectly to other forms of AV entertainment. When the demand for a dedicated centre speaker for people building multichannel systems with Linton and Denton speakers became clear, we embarked on the project with the rigorous attention to engineering detail applied to every Heritage model.
“Through precise and acoustically tuned crossover engineering, driver matching and enclosure tuning, the Heritage Centre provides natural tonality coupled with superior vocal intelligibility. Dialogue is delivered with authority, clarity and scale, conveying film soundtracks with the same depth and presence that characterises the Heritage line with stereo music.”
The Wharfedale Heritage Centre speaker is available from late May in a choice of walnut, mahogany or black oak wood veneer at an RRP of £649.