Wharfedale Denton XP2 speakers... The shock of the old (with the new)

[kramer2020]

I recently aquired a Douk Audio vu3 pro as I'm a sucker for VU meters and as far as I can tell they are not 'corrupting' the signal path.. there got that out of the way!

Anyways at the same time I was given some ancient Wharfedale Denton XP's, which gave me an excuse to do some side by side comparisons with my Q Acoustic 3030i's.

My Initial impressions were that the Dentons were clearer and less muddy sounding than the 3030i's, however I thought I was hearing 70's sound and besides they couldn't be better than my more expensive modern speakers could they.

A few months passed and today I was really enjoying listening to Nightmare of Wax tracks and similar (laid back and Bassy stuff) and realised i'd selected the Dentons. After a few switching back and forth I realised I preferred the Dentons.. sealed enclosure speakers the way to go?

Anyone else had any back to the future hifi moments?

 

[Jasonovich]

Great post!
Me too, real sucker for VDU's, what is it about them, can't fathom it out, I suppose it's kind of therapeutic!



My Back to the Future moment, I haven't experienced it like you have. Though, I have wondered, how my x2 mono block Edison Class A tube 12 watt power amp (in bridge amp speaker configuration) - back in the 80s, how this would compare to my present Atoll IN100?
My speakers back then were the Musical Fidelity MC4's, in bridge amp configuration, the vocals were holographic, it was magical.
I wonder if good memories are like placebo?

A lot of things we buy are relics of the past, like old fashion tube amps. In my bedroom setup I have XDUOO TA-66 class A headphone amp which I have tube rolled to get a better sound.
This is old school, no printed circuitry, everything is direct wiring.



I was really bowled over by this amp, some CD's can be edgy but when listening through my headphones it's like creamy latte.

So how does this compare to my dual power supply balanced pure class A, solid state Gustard H26?
Old tech v New tech, how does it compare?

The Gustard does everything the XDUOO can do and more, it has more detail, more precision, wider soundstage, it is not kind to bad recordings like the XDUOO. The Gustard is simply on another plane but in fairness, it costs more than three times the price.

 

[matthewpianist]

In addition to my modern speakers (PSB and Dynaudio), I own pairs of Acoustic Research AR18s, Rogers LS2a/2, JPW Sonata and Mordaunt-Short MS10i. Generally speaking, I find the older speakers a very engaging for short bursts, but become tiring over longer periods. The AR18s (which have been re-foamed) are brilliant for some music, but nowhere near as flexible as the PSB or Dynaudios. I have also tried all these with original but re-built Quad 33/303.

 

[kramer2020]

Great post!
Me too, real sucker for VDU's, what is it about them, can't fathom it out, I suppose it's kind of therapeutic!

View attachment 10756

My Back to the Future moment, I haven't experienced it like you have. Though, I have wondered, how my x2 mono block Edison Class A tube 12 watt power amp (in bridge amp speaker configuration) - back in the 80s, how this would compare to my present Atoll IN100?
My speakers back then were the Musical Fidelity MC4's, in bridge amp configuration, the vocals were holographic, it was magical.
I wonder if good memories are like placebo?

A lot of things we buy are relics of the past, like old fashion tube amps. In my bedroom setup I have XDUOO TA-66 class A headphone amp which I have tube rolled to get a better sound.
This is old school, no printed circuitry, everything is direct wiring.

View attachment 10757

I was really bowled over by this amp, some CD's can be edgy but when listening through my headphones it's like creamy latte.

So how does this compare to my dual power supply balanced pure class A, solid state Gustard H26?
Old tech v New tech, how does it compare?

The Gustard does everything the XDUOO can do and more, it has more detail, more precision, wider soundstage, it is not kind to bad recordings like the XDUOO. The Gustard is simply on another plane but in fairness, it costs more than three times the price.

Wow that board looks amazing, its symmetry sits well with my mild OCD 😊

 

[RTHerringbone]

Token post to approve of the listening to Nightmares on Wax 😎

 

[kramer2020]

In addition to my modern speakers (PSB and Dynaudio), I own pairs of Acoustic Research AR18s, Rogers LS2a/2, JPW Sonata and Mordaunt-Short MS10i. Generally speaking, I find the older speakers a very engaging for short bursts, but become tiring over longer periods. The AR18s (which have been re-foamed) are brilliant for some music, but nowhere near as flexible as the PSB or Dynaudios. I have also tried all these with original but re-built Quad 33/303.

The Denton's are not to tiring to listen to at the moment, although I see where you are coming from, as they are are quite 'crispy'(?) sounding, but they do have have surprising amount of non boomy bass. Of course modern source equipment must be a factor in their sound, as I had a pair of Wharfedale Glendale XP's driven by a Trio KA1500 50 years ago and they were never as engaging as these little Dentons.

 

[Cricketbat70]

In addition to my modern speakers (PSB and Dynaudio), I own pairs of Acoustic Research AR18s, Rogers LS2a/2, JPW Sonata and Mordaunt-Short MS10i. Generally speaking, I find the older speakers a very engaging for short bursts, but become tiring over longer periods. The AR18s (which have been re-foamed) are brilliant for some music, but nowhere near as flexible as the PSB or Dynaudios. I have also tried all these with original but re-built Quad 33/303.

I have a pair of MS10 pearl edition that were my dad's always thought about trying them out in my system just never get round to it.