Wharfedale ASTON loudspeakers with Stand Limited Edition

Founded in 1932, Wharfedale’s founder, Gilbert Briggs, had one goal in mind – to bring music into the home by designing loudspeakers that conveyed the impact, thrill and emotion of performance in an entirely natural and realistic way.

Thus he created the first true Hi-Fi experience for connoisseurs of music in the home and continued to introduce technology that would enhance the listening experience – like the first commercial crossover, foam surrounds and the slot port system.

Today Wharfedale engineers follow the same dictum, utilising technology where it truly matters to develop loudspeakers that reveal the passion and excitement behind the musical performance.

We believe that a connoisseur of sound would find the merest flow intolerable, and with a connoisseur in mind, we have built the ‘ASTON’. If you are such a listener, you will recognise the significance of – and then insist on possessing – the control performance and sheer quality reflected in this fine speaker.

Manufactured by highly trained, vastly experienced loudspeaker experts at the headquarters of Wharfedale, in Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire – ASTON is built in the home of British Hi-Fi.
Made in the UK
Drawing on Peter Comeau’s 40-plus years of acoustic design experience this standmount model, like many of Comeau’s most lauded creations, delivers an absorbing, full-scale sound that belies the cabinet’s compact dimensions.

As a signature model, Comeau was able to take his time with the ASTON, free from the commercial deadlines of core product lines.

Not only designed and engineered in the UK, ASTON is manufactured here, as a limited edition, made not for the masses but for the passionate, knowledgeable few. A mere 500 pairs have been manufactured. And when it’s gone, it’s gone!

Speaking about the development of his ‘signature’ ASTON speaker, Peter Comeau – Wharfedale’s Director of Acoustic Design – said:

“When I designed my first commercial pair of hi-fi speakers in the late 1970s, my goal was to make a compact speaker that delivered a wide bandwidth sound – something I felt didn’t satisfactorily exist at the time. In the decades since, I’ve designed speakers of various types and sizes to suit the needs of different customers but, whilst fashions change, small speakers delivering a big performance have remained a cornerstone of every range.”

“So, when I was offered the opportunity to create a ‘signature’ speaker for Wharfedale’s Heritage Series it was an easy choice to return to this theme, which has been constant in my career since the start.”

“By harnessing the latest developments in cabinet, driver and crossover design from key Heritage Series models, then adapting and enhancing them to suit a two-way speaker with a specifically sized compact cabinet, I’ve created a ‘signature’ speaker that entirely fulfills the brief I set myself for my first commercial design all those decades ago: a compact speaker with a wide-bandwidth sound.”

“When you hear the ASTON, I hope you’ll wonder how we achieved such a full-scale sound from speakers of such diminutive size – natural, even, detailed and engaging across the full frequency spectrum. The answer is simple: acoustic engineering of the highest order.”

A New Classic
Its wood-veneered cabinet has a vintage look, yet the standard of finish is distinctly contemporary – a tribute to the skilled craftsmanship required for the production of such a loudspeaker. Fusing established methodology with modern technology, ASTON may be classic in style but it is truly up to date in terms of performance and technology. Every part of the speaker, from the cabinet to the grille, has been designed and chosen to exemplify the standards that help make Wharfedale Britain’s most famous loudspeakers.

Two-way to Perfection
The ASTON sees the implementation of a brand-new Carbon Fibre bass/midrange cone, a first in the Wharfedale Heritage series. Developed from the basis of a long history of award-winning transducer designs, the ASTON bass/midrange driver is mounted in a rigid, cast chassis, The high-performance motor system minimises energy losses in the cone transfer mechanism and the cone itself is complemented by a new profiled phase plug, for super smooth and natural-sounding upper mid-range.

A perfect blend
The electrical crossover between the drive units is of vital importance in a loudspeaker, as it not only divides the frequencies between bass/midrange and treble but also blends the outputs of the drivers into a seamless musical presentation. The ASTON’s crossover components, including air-core inductor coils and high-specification polypropylene capacitors, have been chosen for their revealing and transparent character, seamlessly meshing the three drivers together.

The crossover slopes and the shape of the ASTON’s power response have been refined by extensive listening tests with a wide variety of music to ensure the speaker is simply a conduit between the performers and the listener. As a result, this sophisticated standmount speaker reveals an engaging and transparent quality of reproduction suited to all styles of music.

Listening Makes Perfect
The high frequency performance is handled by a new soft dome tweeter, designed in synergy with the bass/midrange driver. Via advanced computer modelling and thousands of ears of listening tests, the ASTON crossover ties the tweeter and Carbon Fibre bass/midrange driver together for a superlative level of music reproduction.

Furniture grade in finish and construction, the ASTON cabinet is formed from layers of differing woods. Via a series of complex tests, analysis and computer modelling, the multi-layer cabinet design complements the real-world performance of the featured transducers. With this resonance control and air pressure management – by way of dual rear ports – the Wharfedale ASTON is capable of high sound pressure levels and clean bass extension down to below 50Hz, in-room.

ASTONishing for a speaker of this size, Wharfedale ASTON offers a broad, even dispersion without colouration and it presents an almost holographic representation of the recording which leaves you in no doubt that you are in the presence of a truly great loudspeaker system.

Styled like a legendary speaker of yesteryear, the Wharfedale ASTON is finished in a rich, hand-matched, real-wood veneer with gold accents and a Wharfedale Heritage trim.

Making a Stand
The matching ASTON stand is also made in England, from hardened high-carbon British Steel. Presenting the ASTON loudspeaker with elegance and delicacy, the stand is custom engineered for the optimum listening experience. Matching the furniture-grade cabinets, the ASTON stand is finished with a classy touch in the form of a luxurious glass insert, for arguably the most attractive loudspeaker and plinth combination.

General Description
2-way vented-box / standmount
Enclosure Type
Bass reflex
Transducer Complement
2-way
Bass Driver
6" (150mm) black Carbon Fibre cone
Treble Driver
1" (25mm) soft dome
AV Shield
No
Sensitivity (2.83V @1m)
86dB
Recommended Amplifier Power
25-100W
Peak SPL
95dB
Nominal Impedance
4Ω
Minimum Impedance
3.9Ω
Frequency Response (+/-3dB)
55Hz - 20kHz
Bass Extension (-6dB)
44Hz
Crossover Frequency
2.3kHz
Cabinet Volume (in litres)
10.8L
Height
340mm
Width
200mm
Depth (with terminals)
255mm
Net weight (speakers)
16kg/pair
Net weight (speakers & stands)
30kg/set
Gross weight (speakers)
18.5kg/ctn
Gross weight (speakers & stands)
34.5kg/set
ASTON Stand Height
560mm
ASTON Stand Width
265mm
ASTON Stand Depth
255mm
ASTON Stand Net weight
14kg/pair
ASTON Stand Gross weight
16kg/ctn