Wharfedale adds centre speaker to retro Heritage line

Wharfedale has expanded its popular Heritage Series with the introduction of a dedicated centre channel speaker, effectively bringing its retro-inspired Linton and Denton models into the multichannel home cinema space.

The new Heritage Centre addresses a gap that has become increasingly apparent as Wharfedale’s re-engineered classic speakers have found favour beyond two-channel listening. While the Linton and Denton have been widely adopted for music systems, the absence of a purpose-built centre speaker has made it difficult to maintain tonal consistency across the front soundstage in any multichannel installation.

The incoming Heritage Centre is a welcome solution.

At the core of the design is a 50mm fabric dome midrange driver, handling frequencies between 900Hz and 2.7kHz. High frequencies are managed by a 25mm fabric dome tweeter, incorporating a ceramic magnet motor system and a damped rear chamber.

Bass and lower midrange duties fall to a pair of 165mm Kevlar cone drivers, adapted from those used in the Super Denton model. These are tuned in conjunction with the cabinet and rear-firing reflex ports to deliver the full-bodied presentation associated with Wharfedale’s Heritage speakers.

The cabinet measures 55 x 25 x 30 cm, and is constructed from layers of high-density particle board and MDF, bonded with a resonance-damping adhesive. Internally, there are strategically placed bracing and damping materials.

Externally, the Heritage Centre maintains the visual identity of the range. Real-wood veneers in walnut, mahogany or black oak are applied across all surfaces and finished with a hand-polished satin lacquer.

The project has been overseen by Peter Comeau, Wharfedale’s Director of Acoustic Design, who emphasised the technical focus behind the development. “The Heritage Series was originally conceived purely for the enjoyment of stereo music, but the speakers’ richly expressive sonic qualities lend themselves perfectly to other forms of AV entertainment,” he said. “When the demand for a dedicated centre speaker for people building multichannel systems with Linton and Denton speakers became clear, we embarked on the project with the rigorous attention to engineering detail applied to every Heritage model.”

The Wharfedale Heritage Centre will be available from late May, finished in walnut, mahogany or black oak, with a retail price of £649.