Wharfedale Denton 1S: Two-minute review
Wharfedale has been having a lovely old time with its range of ‘Heritage’ loudspeakers lately — revisiting, remixing and reworking some of its Greatest Hits. The new Denton 1S, though, is slightly different. It’s an update of a 1974 design that went all-out to present as modern and forward-thinking. And so this reinterpretation has a ‘modern retro’ vibe rather than the ‘antique’ feel of other Wharfedale ‘Heritage’ models. The curvy cabinet with its recessed front baffle, the mildly dramatic coaxial driver arrangement (which sees the tweeter positioned in throat of the mid/bass driver) and the handily compact dimensions are all attractive — and the option of a fairly deep blue as a finish doesn’t do any harm in this respect either. The numbers, both in terms of frequency response and of sensitivity, are encouraging too. And when they’re doing their thing, it’s immediately apparent that the Wharfedale Denton 1S are no mere pastiche — they are a profoundly competitive pair of loudspeakers on their own terms and yes, it’s a good enough performance to make them some of the best stereo speakers on the market, right now. The sound is, ultimately, slightly small-scale — but it’s organised, confident, entertaining, loaded with detail and has real unity and singularity to the way it’s presented. Yes, $999 / £649 spent elsewhere on a small pair of passive standmount speakers will buy you something different in sonic terms, certainly, but it’s very debatable indeed as to whether it can buy you anything better . Wharfedale Denton 1S Review: Price and release date
Launched May 31, 2026
List price of $999 / £649 / AU$1,699
The Wharfedale Denton 1S speakers are available now, and in the United Kingdom a pair will set you back £649. In the United States this solution costs $999, while in Australia the going rate is AU$1,699 or thereabouts. At this money, the just about cheaper Dali Sonik 1 might be their chief competition, at $900 / £449. 99 / AU$849. And just to throw it out there, while many pricier options obviously exist, Cambridge Audio’s Award-winning active L/R S can be yours for a little less, at $549 / £399 / AU$949. Something to consider, anyway. Wharfedale Denton 1S review: Features
Coaxial tweeter / mid/bass driver
‘Brilliance’ switch
Rear-facing bass reflex port
Passive loudspeakers have purity of purpose and are, unless someone’s being bloodyminded, relatively simple devices. Their list of features is seldom exhaustive. It’s a sign of just how straightforward passive loudspeakers tend to be that the Denton 1S stands apart simply because of a small rocker switch on the rear of each cabinet. Unlike 1974’s original Denton 1, the Denton 1S features a truly coaxial driver arrangement. Here a 25mm soft-dome tweeter sits in the acoustic centre of a 165mm mid/bass driver made from polypropylene. Here, as with any coaxial driver, the idea is to offer superior time-alignment and driver integration. (Image credit: Future) With the forward-firing drivers bolstered by a rear-facing bass reflex port, Wharfedale is quoting a frequency response of 50Hz — 20kHz and sensitivity of 88dB — that second figure strongly suggests this speaker will be in no way tricky to drive. Of course, the orientation of the reflex port means that low frequency presence is likely to increase the closer to a rear surface the speaker is positioned — and that’s where the little rocker switches come in. It’s described as a ‘brilliance’ control, and its two positions are labelled ‘norm’ and ‘max’. The idea is that setting the switch to ‘max’ will give a 1. 5dB boost to the 2 – 4kHz area, which should allow the upper frequencies to hold their own against the emboldened low end in the event that the reflex port is delivering a little too much of a good thing. Of course, it will take the listener roughly no time at all to establish whether or not they think the ‘max’ setting is a good idea or not. Features score: 5 / 5
Wharfedale Denton 1S review: Sound quality
Detailed, energetic and rhythmically coherent sound
Great imaging and stereo focus
Ultimately sound fractionally small-scale
Owners of loft apartments, aircraft hangars and the like, look away now. There’s a huge amount to enjoy about the way the Wharfedale Denton 1S perform, but when it comes to outright scale, the ability to fill an authentically large space with sound, there are better options around that cost a similar amount of money. Everyone else, though, should read on. No matter the source of music, no matter if it’s as straightforward as Looped by Kiasmos or as relatively complex as Re-make/Re-model by Roxy Music, the Denton 1S get an immediate handle on it. They’re a generously entertaining listen, vigorous in a nicely controlled manner, and carry enough detail along with them to make sure you’re as informed as you are stimulated. (Image credit: Future) That coaxial driver arrangement works a treat inasmuch as the imaging and stereo focus the speakers are capable of is completely convincing. There’s a unity and a togetherness about the way the Wharfedale present recordings that’s never less than enjoyable and periodically absorbing. In combination with their spirited and enthusiastic attitude, it makes for a genuine sense of performance — even if you’re listening to a recording that was never a performance in the first place. And while the soundstage isn’t the largest, it’s properly defined and rigorously organised. The tonal balance is, fractionally, on the warmer side of neutral — but as long as the system that’s powering the speakers isn’t overtly toasty then it really shouldn’t be an issue. Frequency response, too, is just slightly titled. There’s a tiny suggestion of emphasis on the lowest frequencies, but again this is only likely to be a concern if the speakers are powered by a bass-centric set-up. Anyway, low-end control is confident and the Wharfedale express rhythms with real coherence as a result. (Image credit: Future) Midrange resolution is impressive too, and there’s real eloquence to the way the Denton 1S handle voices. Detail retrieval, which is impressive across the board, really comes to the fore here — the character and attitude imbued in a vocal performance, as well as information regarding timbre and technique, are made apparent…