There has been a big splash in speakers that look vintage in the past five years or so. As a die hard audio guy b. 1953, I love the look of some of these old friends. Actually, I like the look of almost all of these offerings. But which ones actually make sense to buy?
Wharfedale Linton $1800 Per Pair With Stands
The Linton was the first flake of this avalanche. When Linton came out it scored big. It was made to be a GREAT speaker for the money that happened to look like one of our fun models from the 60s or 70s. It was welcomed with open arms because it performed much better than the existing competition.
A pair of Lintons on stands outperforms almost every tower at the price point because it eschews the thumpy bass of a cheap big box. It has a large image with sweet musical timbre. It’s really tough to beat Linton at anywhere near the price point.
Wharfedale Denton 85 $1000 Per Pair
The Denton 85 is the bookshelf vintage looking speaker from W. It is a chunky little guy with outstanding bass for the size/money, and much the sweetness of the Linton. Linton is indeed the larger, better speaker if you have the room. Yet Denton 85 is a bargain and may fit where Linton does not.
KLH 5 $2500 Per Pair
The KLH 5 is a true 1968 retro looking clone to the original. Having grown up with speakers in that era, KLH 5 is absolutely classic with the walnut cabinet and linen grill. I’m not a fan of the mahogany finish, mostly because is comes with a pee yellow-ish grill that reminds me of someone’s old basement.
KLH 5 is a heavier hitter than Linton and sounds brighter. It uses a 10” in a sealed box. If you like the heavier bass and more shiny high end, you could prefer the 5 to Linton. If you’re an acoustic accuracy lover first, you’ll prefer the Linton.
The Other Guys
We have seen NUMEROUS other offerings in the past few years from a myriad of manufacturers.
JBL has brought out three models to emulate the old days. I love the look but hate the prices. To me… it’s obvious they’re trying to score on the whole vintage shtick, complete with goofazoid spongy grills. I want more performance for my money and will recommend the above models over JBL.
Just out are a few models under the Mission banner. These are like the JBL offerings. You get a 6.5” or 8” 2-way for JBL ish money.
Denton 85, Linton and KLH 5 are positively better values.
Tannoy’s Eaton is a chubby shelfer for $6k per pair. Just too much $ for the performance you’re getting.
Ya know, if your dad or gramps owned a pair of JBL 100s with the orange square sponge grills and you want to pay homage to him- go nuts. I get it. That’s fine.
But if you’re looking for PERFORMANCE for your dollar, and you want the vintage look, you can’t beat the three I’ve itemized above.