Wharfedale Denton 80th Anniversary Vs. KEF LS50 Comparison Review
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- Опубликовано: 24 янв 2019
- Wharfedale Denton 80th Anniversary Speakers
Price: $399.00 Pair.( January, 2019)
Overall Rating: ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ½
Pros: Build Quality, Good Mid-Range & Musicality.
Cons: Needs A Little More Dynamic Punch.
Build Quality: ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️⭐️
Highs: ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
Mid-Range: ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ½
Bass: ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
Low Volume Level Music Listening(45-55db); ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ½
Affiliated Links,
Wharfedale Denton 80th Anniversary Speakers; amzn.to/2Mh9vsx
KEF LS50; amzn.to/2LV7TEF
Marantz UD7007: amzn.to/21E6WSe
Behringer UCA202 DAC; amzn.to/2CFXloL
Canare 4S11 Speaker Cables: amzn.to/2ElpxzG
KnuKonceptz eKs BFA Style Banana Plugs: amzn.to/2ElpvYA
AudioQuest Cables: amzn.to/1R5jxcp
Associated Equipments;
Denon PMA-2000VIR Integrated Amplifier.
Marantz UD7007.
Denon DP-47F Turntable with DL-301MKii.
Sony Vaio Laptop with Behringer UCA202 DAC.
Canare 4S11 Speaker Wires, AudioQuest Diamondback RCAs, Oyaide Black Mamba Alpha AC Power Cable, PS Audio AC Power Cable, B&W 24" Speaker Stands.
![Finesse2Tymes - Pretty Ricky [Official Music Video]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/xIoP_mhYRT0/mqdefault.jpg)
By chance I dropped by our hifi audio store and saw a what looks like 1970-ish pair of speakers (which i thought i’d love to have) and was told it was a Wharfedale Denton 80th anni. special ed. and was asked if i wanted to hear them. Of course, i said and the store owner told me it was the only pair available at $400. After auditioning i left the store with the speakers and never looked back. They’re awesome to listen to not to mention great retro look. And they paired well with my PS Audio Sprout100! These speakers will stay with me forever! Cheers! 🎼👍
Awesome video description of the Denton! Totally agree, I have a pair of the Denton since oct 2017 they sounds really great! I paired them with my Marantz PM6006. It sounds very good also with my Harman/Kardon Hk3490.
Thanks very much for your frank review,i have the wharfedale and am really enjoying them,they really have a good sound to them,could listen to them for hours.
Thank you so much for a thorough, intelligent review.
Most direct, honest speaker comparison ever.
You sir, in my opinion are a very honest reviewer. I enjoy watching your videos and thank you kindly for your great work 👍
I just bought the Wharfedale Denton today on clearance sale for only 200 Dollars here in the Philippines!
@@Booneville2024 Thank you!
Just received my new Denton 80's and i'm in love.... Ordered a pair of Paradigm 200B and they burned my ears with detail, I now know that I don't like metal dome tweeters.
Thanks for the honest review. I ordered a pair yesterday. :)
Very interesting review, well done with lots of informations :)
Late seeing this, but yes, good review and I would have to agree. I had LS-50's but a financial catastrophe forced me to sell them. I only listened to them for about 3 months, but very much enjoyed them. After selling almost everything and starting over on a much smaller budget, I grabbed the Denton's - 2015. It's now 2020. In the meantime I went a completely different direction and bought vintage Altec Valencias from the 1960's. Two years and I sold them. I put the Denton's back in. They are very enjoyable, and I can't replace them at this moment. They just sound right. I agree with almost all the caveats you mentioned but I like this sound. And yes, sightly brighter electronics may help the top end. I drove the KEF's with a Quad 909. I had to replace that with an Adcom GFA 535, from the early 90's. Little amp, perfect match. I recently acquired another 909, but it ran into an issue and it's in the shop. I put the Adcom back in, and low and behold, there's just a touch of sparkle I was missing with the Quad. Two things that were holdovers were 2 Vandersteen 2WQ subwoofers. These are very good subs. And with them taking over around 70 Hertz, I'm missing nothing frequency wise. I feel like this system sounds better than the $20,000+ system I had at a fraction of the cost. I'm always looking for the next speakers, but I've grown so comfortable with the sound of these, it's probably going to take more than speakers for me to make a change.
Great information, thank you!
great video love uur new style cheers
I love the Kef LS50!!!
Hey, Tharbamar, I don't know if you'll have budget to review the Kef R3 anytime soon, but I just want to say I listened to them in a well treated room and compared them to the R300. There was a lot of noticeable improvement which is something I did not expect. Also the R300 sounded recessed in the upper midrange which is what I've heard from your video recordings and all 4 of us in the room agreed. Anyway the R3 has flatter response, tighter bass, more details and better dynamics, better instrument separation and slightly bigger soundstage. Very impressive and well worth the current price difference from the R300!
Kef is very smart. Used an already high priced R300 to then justify the price of the even costlier R3. Nobody saw that. Kef marketing is genius.
Nice review I love it, thank you so much 👍
Exactly that foward midrange is what i miss in my ls50w.
I got musical fidelity m2si and a pair of Wharfedale's denton-80, can't wait for the shipping
I have this same amp. How do you find the paring with the Dentons?
Those are beautiful speakers! I just bought Kef q150 or I’d really consider these.
Same, I just saw these Dentons but I've already purchased the Q150's. To me the Q150's sometimes sound metallic due to their design. But it is also because of my room which boosts high frequencies. But I love the detail they bring, same with my Q100's (surrounds).
Good thing is I got the Q150's for 249€ brand new, due to a pricing error by the store :)
Awesome review ! appreciate it but for 400.00 bucks well that's a winner that kef being 3x the price of you don't mind how did the Klisch RP-160m hold up against Denton?
Man, you're lucky one... have a chance to touch and listen both wonderfull speakers, it must be incredible experiance, isn't it?)
Hope you can review the Linton.
I was not interested in retro gear but your review has moved me.
This is a very helpful review. I've just ordered the Dentons ;)
Hope you enjoy it!
Really like your new video set-up, can you do a review on the mission qx2. Would like to hear what you think of them.
I would love to but I’m not sure if I can get them here, thanks
I think the Wharfdale Diamond 12 or 11 would have been a more fair comparison since you are essentially comparing a $1000 speaker with a $400 speaker. I like the KEF LS50 for its analytical sound and all the attributes you stated, dead on. Maybe consider the LS50 up against the Wharfdale Diamond 12.
I own both the ls50 and denton 80, both are great speakers.
does the dnton sound bright?
@@myplaguesify they say it rolls off highs, so it would be opposite.
Good morning. If you have to choose: denton 80th or elac b6.2? Thank you
Did you try bi-amping the Dentons? I have both the Diamond 225 and Denton 80th Anniversary and I found that bi-amping them improves the sound by producing better instrument separation/space and refinement. You should try it with your Denon PMA-2000IVR using both A & B speaker outs so the A speaker outs will drive the woofer and the B speaker outs will drive the tweeter section.
I didn’t and I no longer have them in my system I will try it if I ever get them again, thank you.
Trent Walker what do you prefer dentn or 225? Do you agree with tharbamars take on denton vs 225?
I have the 225. And am thinking to get the Denton’s. Do you think it’s worth the upgrade ?
Would simple bi-wiring help the Dentons with soundstage and separation?
Never tried it, but tempted to pick up some more speaker cable if it's worth a shot.
@@nicksummers2252 Honestly this might have been placebo on my part. I will say subjectively when I tried it with both the Dentons and Diamond 225's that I thought I noticed a difference with the 225's and not so much with the Denton's, but all of this was sighted listening impressions which are not reliable. Maybe borrow some speaker cables from someone and try it out before investing in new cables?
Hello
Thank you for your great work.
How du the wharfedale Denton 80 compare to the wharfdale evo 4.2
Thank you
Hi! I Like your videos. Tho i hope you can mic up your voice better in future videos. Keep it up!
Thank you.
Thank you for this clear review. Do you have a list of your favorite speakers summed up somewhere?
Scarbir that would be great!
There's a new Denton 85th anniversary edition now that really is a step up ... Sadly in price too.
which one is best for near field low volume in a desktop setup ? is there something better you can recommend for this setup ? thanks
I grabbed a pair of EVO 4.2 over the lS 50 and is currently very happy with my choice. If you got a chance, compare the Evo with the LS since they are in the same price range.
I will do that when I can, thanks
Loved your review, as always!!!! Can you please compare the Denton 80th to the Diamond 225 that you previously reviewed and loved!!! I'm on a budget and would really like to know if you think the Denton 80th is worth double the price as right now the 225 is $300 and the Denton 80th is $600. I prefer a smoother sound as I my ears get treble fatigue. Currently have the Sony SSCS5's and using a Marantz PM7000N. Thank you!!!!
Oops! I watched till the end! Haha!
Hi! Tharbamar How’s it going?
I enjoy every time your Channel.
Your explanation was easy to understand every time!
I’m rooting for you and please keep going.
Good video. What do you think about Dali Oberon?
I haven’t had chance to try them yet.
So I have to ask a question.
Why is there such a huge jump in prices on speaker stands?
Is this just snake oil?
Or is there things to look for when looking to purchase a set of speaker stands.
I just bought some JBL Studio 230's that I need to purchase some stands for.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
This one would do the job; amzn.to/2FWTqrp
How do these compare to psb alpha p5?
Have you ever heard any of the Epos speakers. Im also interested in the Denton 80th, but wonder if it would be a step up or down when compared to Epos Epic 2?
I have not heard them, one time I was very interested one of the speaker but I never had a chance to try them yet, thanks
Woooa same Epos and same doubt in here....I own the Epic 2 and the Wharfedale diamond 225.....the epos have this brighter sound. Do you have any about how the Epics could be compared to the 80ths?
Kef's R5!!
have u compared the Wharfedale Denton 80th against the Harbeth P3ESR and Falcon LS-3/5A?
Gilbert if your still interested, I own the Denton 80’s and the Harbeth p3’s. But only heard the falcon’s at shows (very impressive). The denton’s have a grander sound than the p3’s due to bigger cabinets. The p3’s are just more refined overall. But in terms of sheer value for money the dentons are incredibly good value. Best sub £1000 speaker I’ve heard/owned. I’d go denton’s and spend extra on better amplifier or dac.
tharbamar i really need your helph which one is you will recommended for me the denton or the klipsch rp 160m
which one will sound richer and fuller
klipsch rp160m or denton 80th? thanks
Totally different sound signature on those speakers, if you like smoother sound Denton 80th, if you deeper bass performance and If you want to play very loud rp160 would be better choice.
LS50 more 'width', Denton more 'depth'. Nice way to put it. It's true. I have Lintons, by the way. Similar good buy at their price range (1150 euros a pair incl stands).
More width but completely flat....awful speaker.
Would you recommend an amp/avr like marantz, denon or Yamaha to drive these dentons?
I would love to pair them with PM8006 or PMA1600NE, AS1100 base on price/performance/reliability etc.,
Kefs are too bright for my ears. Kef, Focal, Monitor Audio, Triangle, Klipsh, Dali and Proac are too bright in my opinion. Clarity and brightness aren't always better and becomes fatiguing to the ears. These Wharfedale Denton in my opinion are absolutely fantastic not to mention gorgeous. Even at the original price of $1000, they are still a bargain. They sound better than my previous owned Quad 12L, Vienna Acoustic Hayden, Dynaudio Audience 52 and DM 2/7. Rich, bold and fully of details are the characteristic of these Denton. I have them hooked up to tubes and they sound incredible. I would take these over the Kef LS50 anyday.
how would they pair with Naim Uniti2?
@@rustypipe
Only you can tell. Order from Music direct and try them. Open the package VERY CAREFULLY and put them back in th exact same condition. Free trial. Not sure about cost to ship them back.
With the money you save by buying the Dentons, almost $1000 compared to the KEFs, you can invest in a better Amp and CD player.
Hi, please check the Monitor Audio Silver 100
Many thanks & keep up the good work man
Thank for this review, sorry i’m not speak inglés, uso traductor. I’m suscrited.. I like Denton for The bass profund.. but ls 50 is espectacular sound
Can you please do a comparison between the Dentons and the Wharfedale Diamond 225? I'm curious how much better the Dentons sound over the D225s.
I did in this video towards the end but I no longer have Diamond 225 to do detail comparison.
@@Tharbamar Yes, I saw it towards the end and actually that is what made me curious. :-P I meant to say a sound test comparison between the two in your signature style. Sorry, I didn't phrase it correctly. But I totally understand that the other speakers might not be around for a comparison test. Thanks for the reply, Bro. BIG fan of your work. ☺️
@@Tharbamar Does the price difference of the 225 vs denton worth it?
Are you looking to sell your Denton 80th? I'm looking for a good deal on a used pair of walnut.
I have a like new pair in Walnut that I'm looking to sell if you're still interested. Let me know.
Does 85th better?
nyah i would say wharfedale has much bigger soundstage than kef
the high if crisp and colorfull sound for me wharfedale is my choice than kef but i iam not saying the kef is not sound good no it was high end audio.
but sonus faber is my best sounding speaker i ever heard
What about b&w 606 ? Is it better than denton?
How do the Dentons compare to the Diamond 225?
More refinement and more musical sound.
Yeah but if you get the elac for 150 a pair, now what's the better speaker for the money?
ELAC is still better buy for money even at the full retail price.
Which Elac ?
Dentons. Much better speakers then kef.
I can’t decide between the Elac Unifi UB5 and the Dentons, you had demos for the ub5 but I never saw you review of those. What would be your pick?
I'm not a fan of UB5 sound, they do have detail sound but not in the way like Dentons to get me evolve into musical enjoyment.
Tharbamar thanks for your reply. I appreciate your straightforward reviews and value your opinion. I have too many clinical sounding speakers already and it’s time to go laid back with these Dentons.
o v s audio those audio notes look quite intriguing. What price do they go for.
Demton sounds a little bit like there's a thin blanket over them..or buttery smooth whichever description you like best.. Great for bright 60s recordings. Musical because they are smooth and listneable. But not dynamic, not detailed.
The ub5s SHOUT, with forward midrange. They may make you feel that they are dynamic but they are not.
The UB5s will give a lot more detail and air than denton. They are forward whereas the dentons are laidback. Two different animals.
Chris R thanks for confirming the sound signature. Will go for that laid back warm sound. It’s for a vintage looking setup and entertaining in the background. I have dedicated listening systems for different purposes.
What happened to your PARASOUND AMP???
I sold them for old trusty Denon I had and I prefer the synergy with LS50.
With my LS50, Denon have bigger sound stage and more immediate dynamic sound with warmth tint on sound signature, which I loved.
I was also having some QC issues with them as well but they did fix it for free of charge.
What is the width and height?
Wharfedale winn!
Opinión of how 80th is different from 85th on the wharfedale?
85th is a bit brighter than 80th.
Are these 80ths brighter than the Linton's?
No, actually much more accurate and natural sounding than Linton.
Great! review and for me the Wharfedale Denton's look and have the build of an HiFi speaker and is built for that purpose. The KEF's are really only something you would use for your Computer and not an HiFi at all and in all honesty they do not even look the part to use with an HiFi either. I had the original Denton's back in the 70's and to be honest they did not look anywhere near as appealing as these 80th Anniversary Edition's which to me look way better in the build quality than those old Denton's with paper cones. I also replaced my old Denton's with the Wharfedale Linton's eventually back in the 70's too.
Over the years I have had many Wharfedale Speakers and oddly enough I would say the best speakers I personally had of their's and did have for 24 years before I sold them. Was the Wharfedale E90 Pros which were built by them for the Rank Organization for Cinema Houses. Those were 300 watt 4 way speakers and weighed more than an 100 weight.
These days I am more into AV Surround sound and have a 7.1 set up and I have a set of Wharfedale Diamond 9.1's also with the matching Wharfedale SW250 Subwoofer along with a Yamaha AV Receiver. I am quite happy with my set up and it's quite well balanced and matching so it looks much more homely than my old HiFi systems used to be, especially having great big speakers like the Wharfedale E90 Pros :)))))))). Though no doubt those speakers were amazing for stereo, but to me 5.1 is very much a different ball game and you do not really need big speakers at all to achieve just as good results.
But I am quite impressed by these new Denton's. But I am not sure I will be changing my speakers for them being happy with what I have. If I was just into stereo HiFi I would of most certainly have replaced my old Diamonds with these for sure, and no doubt these are better quality than the Diamonds. But they are also twice the price, so that is to be expected.
u need a good mic
In my experience: forward midrange equals listeners fatigue
Not with Denton, thanks
I depends if it is a vowel colouration is from cone breakup or from box resonance and standing waves. If the Bass is critically damped and the highs roll off then it may offend less as the total distortion will be less.
For myself, a rising treble response is the cause of fatigue. On speakers that offer a tweeter level control, I always end up setting it to the lowest position.
Also have the Denton. It's true that the tweeter is the weakest link. And the midrange is the strongest. This speaker was designed for 60's to mid 80's recordings. These are the perfect speakers for those genre. Play something more modern and I'm sad to say you'll be disappointed. Tweeter loses a lot of details.
If your Dentons are in walnut I'll take them off you
valuable comment.
Hi Fascination Street (nice name by the way). I have the Denton's too but am very happy with the treble. Actually I disagree and to my ears it is the bass that is the only weak link. Overall quality is good and the only reason I am selling them is because I managed to grab a pair of Spendor D1s.
After returning some Paradigm Premier 200B that burned my ears..... yes, they had detail and treble..... that left a migraine after 20 minutes. My new Dentons are nice and smooth, there is a such thing as TOO much detail.
I don't find any fault with the treble and most of my listening is electronica. I honestly think they are fabulous speakers.
The Owner's Manual on ALL Wharhfedale states to not touch the wood...every reviewer does the opposite. White gloves were includdd.
Not a fan of slippery and useless white gloves,
as a wood working hobbyist and also build own speakers my self, good quality real wood veneer can take good amount of abuse unless it’s made cheap thin veneer.
Please invest a little on mic, the topic is audio so you should also sound better than this
Do I need better than Sony C100?
the ls50 is too much money 💰💰💰😵😵😵
I listened to the Kefs in an audio store. I thought that they absolutely stank. Muddy midrange, no soundstage, disjointed highs. Granted, they were hooked up to a low end receiver, but I don't think that matching them to my Krell, would help all that much. I was very disappointed after all the hype.
KEF LS50 is one of the most placement and pairing component sensitive speakers, one inch adjustment can change the sound and sound stage.
Muddy sound means it must be toed in and average receivers can’t bring the best out of them.
Hi thnks cud i use 1609 marantz for these speakers wd there b any
Diffrents in sound qluality pls
Ive had both the Denton and the LS50's, and they're both great speakers. I run stand mounts with a REL sub, and IMO opinion got something better than both! for $900.00 US
What
What?
We will never know
It would help if there is less talk and more action from the speakers. If you plan to talk about the speakers give an example how it sounds.
Do you know there is some sound sample videos about these speakers in my channel? Didd't I say how it sound?
Maybe but not on this one.
If you look at cabinetry alone, yes the denton are $1,000k.
But on objective sonic capabilities, i.e. transparency, detail, imaging, soundstage, it is a $300 speaker, not really comparable to ls50s, i dare to say barely comparable to my b&w 601s1 ($400 in 2001). With that said, yes there's a seductive sound signature and they are not all that bad for $400. But don't expect killer for the money.
The KEF LS50 are colored sounding. Still a very nice speaker overall but flawed. They are simply NOT what they were hyped up to be in all the positive reviews a few years back.
LS50s are so overrated...... they are bright and fatiguing with raised output between 2kHz and 5 kHz and very shallow soundstage and no real bass. I sold mine after just a few months......
What amp are you using? Assuming you know that are current hungry.
@@bryandrewong Yes I know. That doesn't affect their voicing by design......
Agree, I demoed both and chose the Dentons. I have tinnitus so bright speakers and equipment are a no go area, besides I like big soundstage, smooth, lush etc so use Arcam with the Dentons. They superb in the bass/midbass being so tight and the midrange is glorious.
KEF's are so ugly! Denton's are worth the $$$ if you keep them forever!
Where is the sound comparison? I want to hear their sound not yours. 🤣
Очередной болтун, нет чтобы музон прокрутить...
I find Wharfedale Denton 80s quite sibilant and this is annoying because I bought them for their soft high frequancy characteristic and warmer presentation. I've never thought the voices will sound sibilant. Listening Radio Paradises challange instead of relax because of that. I'll give it month or two and if it doeasnt' improve they're going on ebay.
You cannot judge speakers listening to radio... 😣
@@steven2809 if you listen a lot of radio on your hifi or spoken word / podcasts why not? in case Radio Paradise sounds sibilant even on my Sonos I'm super sensitive to sibilance to that point it ruined my HiFi journey
@@rustypipe Because you are probably hearing artefacts in the highly compressed audio signal of radio. The better the speaker...the more you will hear it!
@@steven2809 that make sense that is why downgraded to these from Russel K Red 50s four times the price of Dentons. I run it with Naim amp mybe I'll chage to valves.
Dentons have zero sibilance with my Arcam SA10 and CDS27 etc.
I wouldn't tolerate them otherwise.
Hideous Wharfedale logo