Here’s why I’ll be sprinting to hear the Wharfedale Super Linton at the Bristol Hi-Fi Show

Wharfedale Super Linton either side of a desk in a modern living space

(Image credit: Wharfedale)

The Bristol Hi-Fi Show 2025 is rapidly approaching. In less than a week’s time hi-fi fans will be able to visit UK's longest-running hi-fi show and see some of the top new products and some established favourites from over 150 audio brands.

As ever, myself and the wider What Hi-Fi? team will also be exhibiting and running a tech demo at the show.

While that means for at least part of the show I’ll be glued to our stand running the demo and chatting to visitors, I’ve already blocked out time to check out one pair of speakers set to make an appearance at the show: the Wharfedale Super Linton.

That’s not to say I'm not looking forward to seeing and hearing the dozen or so other new speakers at the show – I’ll be doing a tour checking out numerous stands while there for the weekend. But I’m especially excited about the Super Linton for a couple of reasons.

“With effortless weight, spot-on stereo imaging and layer upon layer of marvellous detail, you could listen to these speakers for days and still not get tired.”

I’ve been eager to hear how the larger “Super” version sounds since they were unveiled at the start of November as a result.

Like the Super Denton, the Super Linton are larger than their predecessors. But Wharfdale has also done a lot of work under the hood adding across-the-board upgrades to the cabinet, crossover and drive units. The speakers feature a completely redesigned tweeter, midrange driver and woofer, with the 25mm dome tweeter sharing a lot of common attributes with the firm’s higher-end Wharfdale Dovedale speakers.

The second reason I’m excited about the Super Linton in particular is their looks. I’m a magpie with a soft spot for anything with a retro design. That’s why at past shows Fyne Audio’s Vintage series in particular caught my eye.

This remains the case with the Super Linton. Featuring a distinctly retro look inspired by the original 1980s Linton 3XP, the 'Super' speakers look wonderful based on the press imagery I’ve seen and I can’t wait to see them in the flesh – I’ve long argued hi-fi needs to look and sound nice if it has any hope of getting into a normal living space.

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Alastair is What Hi-Fi?’s editor in chief. He has well over a decade’s experience as a journalist working in both B2C and B2B press. During this time he’s covered everything from the launch of the first Amazon Echo to government cyber security policy. Prior to joining What Hi-Fi? he served as Trusted Reviews’ editor-in-chief. Outside of tech, he has a Masters from King’s College London in Ethics and the Philosophy of Religion, is an enthusiastic, but untalented, guitar player and runs a webcomic in his spare time.