Keepers of an Esteemed Hi-Fi Tradition: U.K.-Made Wharfedale Dovedale Bookshelf Loudspeakers Play with Alluring Naturalism, Control, Clarity, and Dynamics

Esteemed British hi-fi tradition continues unabated in the form of the newest iteration of the revered Wharfedale Dovedale bookshelf loudspeaker. Crafted in the U.K. at the company's state-of-the-art headquarters, it retains its predecessors’ beloved naturalism while offering enhanced control, clarity, dynamics, and liveliness. Capable of terrific low-end power, midrange focus, and high-frequency extension, the three-way Dovedale includes a bass driver with a 10-inch Kevlar cone mounted on a die-cast chassis. It’s complemented by a five-inch Kevlar midrange housed within its own enclosure and a one-inch fabric-dome tweeter.

Visually prominent amid the wide front baffle, the midrange and treble unit are intentionally offset to both scatter reflections from the cabinet edges and provide superior imaging. The fabric-dome treble with ceramic magnet, featured throughout Wharfedale's Heritage Series, is newly improved with a damped rear chamber that absorbs the output from the back of the dome. This approach also reduces the resonant frequency of the treble unit to well below that of the crossover region, revealing full detail and harmonics  without affecting the smoothness of the overall performance. 

Need more evidence of Dovedale’s no-compromise mindset? Dovedale speakers are provided in handed pairs so that the images in the soundscape project with uncanny accuracy. Such prowess is the end result of relentless fine-tuning. Hundreds of hours of listening tests also ensured that the cabinet, crossover, and drive units work together with reference-level coherency. 

As for the gorgeous throwback looks? The 57.8-pound Dovedale conforms to an unmistakable family resemblance. It is proudly a three-way standmount — a rarity in the modern era. And its wood-veneered cabinet has a vintage look with a distinctly contemporary finish. Classy, authentic, beautiful: Dovedale balances fine craftsmanship with organic sonics via a proportioned design that has over the decades sold tens of thousands of pairs across the globe through its various incarnations.   

The original Dovedale models — starting with the W2 in 1959, and updated to the W2/Dovedale in 1965 — are known for their rich, natural sound. The new model retains these attributes but upgrades the performance in every department, with free-breathing dynamics and incredible definition across the spectrum. Inside, precision-shaped and -positioned bracing controls cabinet resonances to well below the level of the music signal, allowing you to hear your music without ruinous coloration artifacts. 

We’d be remiss if we didn’t talk about the included stands. Custom-designed in conjunction with Wharfedale's Director of Acoustic Design, Peter Comeau — and hand-made in England with British steel and furniture-grade glass inserts at the top and bottom — each stand positions the 26 x 14.6 x 17.6-inch (HWD) Dovedale at the optimal height while reducing bass/floor interactions and providing stable and torsionally rigid support. Three of the four pillars are already filled with damping material, allowing you to use the other for cable management. A set of stainless-steel spikes completes a package guaranteed to improve your listening experience. 

Designed and Manufactured in the U.K.
Dovedale is built at Wharfedale's U.K. headquarters in Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire. Incorporating key manufacturing, assembly, and finishing processes, it features a new 9,000 square-foot production facility that includes a new anechoic chamber, making for a total of 25,000 square feet of office, lab, and manufacturing space.