Wharfedale Denton 85 Mahogany Bookshelf Speakers (Pair)

Lovely flat and expressive midrange treble tuneful weighty bass very nice with quad vena ii

I had several pairs of the originals in the 70s. All I remember is the multiple trips to Tottenham Court Road to get them repaired. I think that was due to the mixture of Akai cassette deck and Amstrad amplifer sending a distorted signal. When I saw these 85 editions I had to have them, I normally buy black speakers but the mahogany is gorgeous. They came next day and were soon singing beautifully on expensive 24" wooden stands. Others have spoken of improvement as they run in, so hopefully better sound to follow. I initially used these hooked to a Rega Elex-r. But with time on my hands I wired up my Naim 72/HiCap/180. Wow, stunning. Am curious now about the Super Dentons but space might limit them. Meanwhile I am going to enjoy these. They are beautiful in all aspects, fit and finish, colour, sound and vfm. Thanks for reading.

The Wharfedale Denton 85th Anniversary, limited edition speakers arrived boxed. Inside a pair of beautifully packed cotton bags with a drawstring to fasten them. They come with a pair of soft white cotton gloves to protect the cabinets from handling. Out of the cotton bags I was impressed right away with the build quality, beautiful quality. A prestean mahogany lacquered vanear finish, each with dual gold binding posts, stunning! I connected the speakers to my hi end class A Master Reference Amplifier. I played many styles of music, from rock, pop, jazz, drum and bass etc. Instruments, especially simbols, (jazz), sounded in the room, hi-end. All Instruments had crystal clear definition totally separated, nicely reproduced. Bass was full and rich, with strong lowes and impressive balanced midrange. The crisp shimmer of Symbols, crystal clear without sibilance, amazing! It's showroom sound in my living room, and all this without hardly any break in time. Also my room is not treated at all. I have other good quality name brand speakers, Elac Debut reference, to name but one, but these are truly electrifying! Beautifully classic with modern technology I have not heard sound this good at this price point. I have watched and listened to more than 50 Hi-Fi speaker reviews and sound demo's over 3 month period before buying these speakers. Very high quality speakers at an affordable price.

Muy bonitas cajas, y muy musicales. Al principio suenan muy agudas, necesitan un rodaje de unas 30 horas, luego su sonido mejora y suaviza. Definidas.

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.

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.

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.

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.