Rega elex r paired with wharfedale denton

SteveH72

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The Elex-R is an outstanding amplifier but, in my opinion, deserve a much better speaker than the Dentons. You may love them but I’m afraid I found them overly warm and treacly; they’ll suck all the vim and rhythm from the Rega. Could be a good balance but I don’t think they’ll show you what the Elex can do. Just my experience, yours could be very different.
 
Hi all, just wondered if anyone has any experience with the elex r paired with the wharfedale Denton 80th speakers?
No. I owned those 80th Anniversary version and kept them for about 2 weeks before moving them on. Not a bad speaker for its price point, but quite an imbalance with the Leema. Although fairly smooth and inoffensive, with some female vocals I found the tweeter to be out of kilter and sounded slightly shrill. I compared the RS6s, which has a metal domed tweeter but they had a more composed HFs.
 
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Snake charmer

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Hi cheers for that, that was also one of my concerns, maybe the 85s would be a better choice? Am open to any suggestions of warmer sounding speakers to match my elex r . Room approx 15’x15.
 
Are you looking for warmer or better balanced speakers? There is definitive difference between the two. Last year, another poster had an older NAD amp with B&W speakers but wanted a "warmer" presentation. Those old NADs don't come much warmer. @Al ears and I suggested Rotel which gave the B&Ws a better balance. He seemed to be wowed by the sound.

Based on that, either the amp isn't right for you or there's an imbalance.

Amps:
Arcam A85
Creek Evo 2
Roksan Kandy K2

Speakers:
Dynaudio
Cheaper Dali Oberon 1
Monitor Audio Silver
Rega own brand

Hi-fi is all about finding that ideal synergy, regardless of reputation, review star ratings
 

Edbostan

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The Elex-R is an outstanding amplifier but, in my opinion, deserve a much better speaker than the Dentons. You may love them but I’m afraid I found them overly warm and treacly; they’ll suck all the vim and rhythm from the Rega. Could be a good balance but I don’t think they’ll show you what the Elex can do. Just my experience, yours could be very different.
Have you considered the Kef Q range? I have a pair of iq10s the smallest bookshelf. The latest incarnation is the Q150. To my ears they give a balanced presentation with very clear treble. If the q150 are as good as the iq10s you won't be disappointed .
 

Tinman1952

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That is a possibility, but do love the vintage warm style speaker. The dentons may not show the elex r potential , as previously a member mentioned.
I doubt that will be the case...
Interesting that some find the Dentons 'warm and treacly' and some find them 'shrill'....🤔 just shows how subjective it is... I find them very detailed and easy to listen to for hours on end...
They do need power to come alive though but then the bass weight is surprising for a speaker of this size. The 85th model is said to be much brighter...which would put me off I'm afraid.
As ever... a personal audition is advised.
 
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Tinman1952

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As a final point on the Denton 80s.....they take a lot of running in..
Out of the box they sound 'woolly' but suddenly open up at the 70 hour mark...and again at 100 hours...but it really takes 150 hours for that kevlar driver to loosen up and show what it can do. The soft dome tweeter is excellent...very detailed but not harsh ... and not 'warm'.
I do wonder if some of the comments about these speakers were by those who hadn't given these speakers time to 'bed in'.....🤔
In my book a speaker which does not sound excessively bright and forward is not 'warm' unlike some 30 second reviews out there...
 

SteveH72

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As a final point on the Denton 80s.....they take a lot of running in..
Out of the box they sound 'woolly' but suddenly open up at the 70 hour mark...and again at 100 hours...but it really takes 150 hours for that kevlar driver to loosen up and show what it can do. The soft dome tweeter is excellent...very detailed but not harsh ... and not 'warm'.
I do wonder if some of the comments about these speakers were by those who hadn't given these speakers time to 'bed in'.....🤔
In my book a speaker which does not sound excessively bright and forward is not 'warm' unlike some 30 second reviews out there...
Pair I heard were well “run in” after hundreds of hours use, paired with an Audiolab 6000A. I haven’t read anywhere about anybody finding the 80s having a harsh top end, unlike the 85s. I can only comment on my experience. If others’ differs, fair enough.
 

Snake charmer

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Well, I’ve just sold my Oberon 5s , so need some speakers…thanks for all the advice, finally going to plump for the denton 80s and if don’t work well with the elex r will just sell them on. Next question rega p3 with upgrades or the clear audio concept?
 

Gray

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Interesting that some find the Dentons 'warm and treacly' and some find them 'shrill'....🤔 just shows how subjective it is...
That's what I thought as I read their descriptions.
If you didn't know, you'd think they were talking about two different speakers.

Mind you, my bright, clear Cyrus/ PMC sounded like I had my head in a bucket of water - when my ears went dodgy. Mine was an extreme case, but you can be sure no two people hear the same, certainly not consistently (or necessarily even describe sound in the same way).
 

FMIB

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Well, I’ve just sold my Oberon 5s , so need some speakers…thanks for all the advice, finally going to plump for the denton 80s and if don’t work well with the elex r will just sell them on. Next question rega p3 with upgrades or the clear audio concept?
If you plan to buy a Rega P3 or a Clearaudio Concept, I would go the P3 route as there is a clear upgrade path that can be followed as funds allow.
I added a metal sub-platter, new bearing, rega speed control and a delrin platter and was extremely impressed with the results. To be honest differences between my modified P3 and my Orbe are, to my ears, negligible.
 
See post #3 above ... he found them 'shrill' 🙂
Well yeah. They were fairly smooth with a tight bass, but any slight shrillness was only really heard with vocal tracks. Even my teenage daughter, who's used to shouty music on her earphones, said the vocals didn't sound anywhere as good as the RS6, much less the PMCs.

As I mentioned on #3 it seemed to have a tonal imbalance throughout the frequencies. No other way to convey it.
 

suburbansky

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Eler r with Dentob speakers? Brings back great memories of my Sorny / Panaphonic combo bought in Springfield, way back in the 90s... 🤪
 

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