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Wharfedale Denton vs. Elac B6

ChicagoTom said:
I owned a pair of the 80th Anniversary Dentons for awhile. I was *very* unhappy with them, quite frankly. Dull as dishwater.
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An interesting comment, because the Dentons that I just unboxed yesterday are not at all dull. In fact, as I mentioned in the previous post, I was surprised by how quick they are.
 
Tom, I thought your observations were fine. You certainly have a right to your opinion on the Dentons and your experience was your experience....I am truly interested in how they compare to my Elacs so all perspectives are fine by me. I agree that my initial interest in the Dentons was based on how they looked...

Beat and Dark...keep the updates coming...esp as they burn in....

Since I am super happy w my B6's, I don't see me heading down the Denton road anytime soon, however, that could change based on your thoughts/experiences with them. While I acknowledge that the top end of the B6's is a bit rolled off, I would argue that it suits the speaker perfectly and creates a nice velvety sound that is easygoing, clean, and perfect for my tastes. I don't want to have the hi-hats sizzling on me...I like for them to sit nicely inside the sound. So, I would agree that the B6's probably aren't the speaker for loud techno, or metal...although the bass rocks a lot...but the character of the speaker is slightly laid back. So was the Pioneer BS22 btw..so somewhat voiced in the same ballpark....
 
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I used my Yamaha RX A720 since I was too lazy to go into my bedroom and disconnect my Yamaha A S501 . I set the 720 to use just two front speakers and used pure direct mode . My source was a PS3 connected with the analogue cables to the 720 . My test CDs were Sade's Love Deluxe and Bobby Sanabria's N.Y.C. Ache ....first song I played was No Ordinary Love by Sade ...on the Dentons ,Sade's voice came through as lush and natural , on the Jbls her voice came through as lush but slightly thinner . On the Elacs her voice sounded lush but slightly grainy . Background instruments sounded clear and defined thought the whole range on the Dentons , the sound on the Jbls sounded thinner but fuller than the Elacs which sounded like something was missing from the music .
 
I played Bobby Sanabria's version of Over The Rainbow , vocals by Charanee Wade . Her beautiful voice came through on the Dentons almost as if she was standing in my living room . On the Jbls her voice sounded thinner . On the Elacs her voice was just as inviting as the Dentons although with a slight graininess . Instruments sound great on the Dentons ,ok on the Jbls but again on the Elacs ,wind instruments sound veiled ,purcussion instruments sound ok but not as defined as with the Dentons . Sanabria's version of The French Connection sounds dramatic and lively on the Dentons , on the Jbls the clarinet sounds almost ear piercing . On the Elacs the clarinet sounded good when I raised the volume.
 
I won't say which speaker is the winner simply because hearing is subjective and there are a lot of variables involved such as what gear one has , room size ,placement ,source and of course , one own ears . I like the Dentons because they met my criteria . I wanted a small ,well built speaker with a retro look that sounded great and that's what I got with the Dentons.... Ok now it's time to enjoy the music and a Corona or two......
 
Thanks for the review Dark...glad that the Dentons are working for you. I do find it interesting that the Dentons specs don't go as high as the B6's, yet you describe them as more detailed. I suppose it would be fair to mention that the Dentons do cost twice as much as the Elacs, so one maybe should expect them to sound a bit better.... the B6 is considered/described as an entry level speaker... that said, i really appreciate your thoughts...looks like we are both happy with our choices...what could be better than that!?
Enjoy the Corona(s) ;-)
 
Dark...read over these again and you consistently describe a "graininess" to the vocals w your Elacs...I have to say I don't hear anything like that w mine. Vocals sound clear, full, slightly warm on my Elacs, no hint of sibilance or grain that I can detect.... can you describe in more detail what you are hearing...is is at all possible that there is something wrong w yours?
 
I had the Dentons for a month. The Mahogany (they are not Rosewood) is drop dead gorgeous in person. Preferred them sans grills but a nice retro look with the grills on. I wanted to like them very much as I'm a sucker for looks but ultimately they were just too polite for me. System matching always plays a part but they were that way with all my receivers (Marantz's, Pioneer's, Sansui's).

Nice to read about our different preferences and tastes. Sometimes a certain amp/receiver will match up better with a certain speaker and that might even change my own preference for one speaker over the other.

I have about a dozen receivers, all in perfect operating condition. I like the BS22's with all of them. I think they are a great "starter" speaker for a lot of people starting out or just want to have an extra pair to change flavors once in awhile.

I haven't had the B5's that long to try with all my receivers yet but today I got an especially good pairing with my Sansui 9090 hooked up to them. I'm not hearing any grain that would bother me. Something is standing out as excellent. I'll see how it goes with other pairings.

I have to be more selective when using my LS50's but I didn't really buy them for the vintage stuff and they are a lot more expensive than the others.
 
Even though my Dentons only have about 12 hours or so of use, I couldn't resist bringing them upstairs, hooking them up to the Fisher 400, and doing a comparison to the LS50's. The Dentons sounded good, but they were much thinner and less impactful than the KEF's, which were positively exploding with tone color by comparison.

I am still reserving final judgement until the Dentons break in more, but I don't have great hopes that I will love them.
 
Tin Bird said:
Dark...read over these again and you consistently describe a "graininess" to the vocals w your Elacs...I have to say I don't hear anything like that w mine. Vocals sound clear, full, slightly warm on my Elacs, no hint of sibilance or grain that I can detect.... can you describe in more detail what you are hearing...is is at all possible that there is something wrong w yours?
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It might just be that my Elacs don't work well with my Yamaha RX A720 but they sound pretty good with my Yamaha A S501 although a bit muted but no graininess .
 
beatcomber said:
Even though my Dentons only have about 12 hours or so of use, I couldn't resist bringing them upstairs, hooking them up to the Fisher 400, and doing a comparison to the LS50's. The Dentons sounded good, but they were much thinner and less impactful than the KEF's, which were positively exploding with tone color by comparison.

I am still reserving final judgement until the Dentons break in more, but I don't have great hopes tha
t I will love them.
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Ive read so many reviews stating that the Dentons were on the warm side but I think they sound more accurate than warm . I only have about 12 hours on my Dentons but so far I'm really liking them .
 
I have a point of discussion for you guys:

Are you using these speakers on bookshelves or stands?

Have you got a way of comparing the same speakers on stands and bookshelves?
 
CKDC said:
I have a point of discussion for you guys:

Are you using these speakers on bookshelves or stands?

Have you got a way of comparing the same speakers on stands and bookshelves?
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I have my Dentons on my tv stand while I'm breaking them in and I plan on putting them on an open shelf in my bedroom sometime this week if my wife doesn't catch me . She's in love with the Wharfedale Diamonds 10.1 that are on there now. Crazy dogs and grandchildren don't bode well for speakers on stands in my house .
 
My Elacs are on stands....don't have a shelf to put them on. Dark, if you use blu tac, the speakers stay fairly firmly on the stand...just a thought. I think stands might give you even more air and openness to all of your speakers.
 
I have sorbothane feet on the Elacs which made a remarkable improvement in sound when I had them on my shelf . They cut down vibration by about 90%.
 
Anyone have any idea what stands these are? They are beautiful aren't they?
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CKDC said:
I have a point of discussion for you guys:

Are you using these speakers on bookshelves or stands?

Have you got a way of comparing the same speakers on stands and bookshelves?
Click to expand...

I did my comparison with the LS50's using the same sand-filled metal Target stands.
 
One thing I'm noticing about the B6's that they are quite honest speakers. Much more so than the BS22's were.... If I play a kick butt well produced recent CD, they sound amazing...bass everywhere, detailed, expansive, soundstage...you name it, it's there. But, if I play an old CD from 1986 that was mastered with much less bass, more quiet,, and less soundstage in the mix, the Elacs present the sound as is....it still sounds good....but it is accurate to what is be playing through them. I personally like this aspect and I think it could explain some of the comments about the upper frequencies or the "dark" description a bit as well.
 
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