Short answer: the Ascend Sierra 1 v2. It ranks #3 of 87 bookshelf speakers by sound quality at $1000; the Wharfedale Super Denton ranks #19 and costs $1499, which makes this an easy call rather than a real tradeoff.
What the Ascend Sierra 1 v2 offers: Formaldehyde-free layered bamboo ply cabinet with a 1” dome tweeter over a 5.25” midwoofer, mated by a 4th-order acoustic crossover rather than a stock textbook design. Watch for: F3 of 55Hz and F10 of 39Hz mean in-room extension tops out in the mid-40s Hz; the reviewer still recommends a subwoofer for full-range material.
What the Wharfedale Super Denton offers: A 3-way design with a 1” soft dome tweeter, a 2” soft dome midrange offset to the side of a centered 6.5” woven Kevlar woofer - a more compact alternative to Wharfedale’s own Linton 85 with a similar overall character. Watch for: A mid-range scoop from about 200-800Hz and a separate upper-midrange scoop were both audible in direct ABX comparison against a reference-neutral speaker, giving aggressive-sounding material a more subdued character.
Buy the Ascend Sierra 1 v2. It ranks higher for sound quality than the Wharfedale Super Denton and costs less, which settles it without a real tradeoff to make.
Still deciding? The full Passive Home rankings cover every ranked option.
Specifications Side By Side
| Ascend Sierra 1 v2 | Wharfedale Super Denton | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $1000 per pair | $1499 per pair |
| Ranked | #3 of 87 in Medium Size Bookshelf Speakers | #19 of 87 in Medium Size Bookshelf Speakers |
| Bass Extension (-10dB) | 39Hz (measured, Erin's Audio Corner) | 41Hz (measured, Erin's Audio Corner) |
| Bass Extension (-3dB) | 55Hz (measured, Erin's Audio Corner) | 61Hz (measured, Erin's Audio Corner) |
| Dimensions | 14.2"H x 7.5"W x 10.5"D (361.9 x 190.5 x 266.7 mm) | 14.2"H x 9.7"W x 10.8"D (360 x 246 x 275 mm) |
| Impedance | 8 ohms nominal, 7 ohms minimum (measured, Erin's Audio Corner) | 6 ohms nominal, 3 ohms minimum (measured, Erin's Audio Corner) |
| Sensitivity | 81.5dB (measured, Erin's Audio Corner) | 86.6dB (measured by Erin's Audio Corner) |
| Drivers | 5.25" proprietary mineral-filled polypropylene cone with cast aluminum frame woofer, 26mm aluminum/magnesium alloy dome tweeter with titanium former (SEAS Titan) | 1" soft dome tweeter, 2" soft dome midrange, 6.5" woven Kevlar woofer |
| Weight | 18.5 lbs (8.4 kg) each | 20.3 lbs (9.2 kg) each |
| Woofer Cabinet | ported | ported |
| Spinorama Preference Score | 6.28 | - |
| Spinorama Preference Score with Perfect Sub | 8.24 | - |
| Frequency Response | - | 52Hz - 20kHz (±3dB, manufacturer specified); -6dB to 40Hz |
| Crossover Frequency | - | 940Hz, 4.6kHz |
Related Speaker Comparisons
More worthwhile head-to-heads for Ascend Sierra 1 v2:
- Ascend Sierra 1 v2 vs Audio First Fidelia
- Ascend Sierra 1 v2 vs Philharmonic Ceramic Mini
- Ascend Sierra 1 v2 vs KEF LS50 Meta
- Arendal 1961 Monitor vs Ascend Sierra 1 v2
- Ascend Sierra 1 v2 vs Moondrop M4P MTM
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The Two Speakers In Full
Ascend Sierra 1 v2: $1000 per pair Ascendacoustics eBay
Pros: Formaldehyde-free layered bamboo ply cabinet with a 1” dome tweeter over a 5.25” midwoofer, mated by a 4th-order acoustic crossover rather than a stock textbook design. In-room response is extremely linear - the reviewer called it “textbook” - a clear step up from the earlier V1, which had boxiness around 700Hz-1kHz and sibilance around 4-6kHz. Preference score of 8.4 with a subwoofer (6.8 without), which the reviewer calls topnotch. Wide, even horizontal radiation of about ±70° up to 6kHz. Better vertical directivity than its tweeter-to-woofer spacing would suggest, thanks to the steep 4th-order crossover slopes. No mechanical noise, port chuffing, or woofer bottoming even driven to 96dB/1m. In a three-way comparison against the Dynaudio Emit 20 and a Revel bookshelf model (all around $1,000/pair), measured as the most linear of the three and was the reviewer’s personal pick over both, despite the Dynaudio’s deeper bass and higher output capability. Independent ASR Klippel measurements corroborate Erin’s findings: superb off-axis response with only slight on-axis variations, and an in-room response the reviewer called “incredibly smooth and accurate - amazing for a non-DSP speaker.” Distortion above 200Hz at 86dB/1m is very low for the class. Measured bass extension of 55Hz (-3dB), with a measured sensitivity of 81.5dB.
Cons: F3 of 55Hz and F10 of 39Hz mean in-room extension tops out in the mid-40s Hz; the reviewer still recommends a subwoofer for full-range material. Diffraction dips appear around 3kHz and 5-6kHz, and the 1” dome tweeter starts beaming above roughly 6.7kHz, narrowing the soundstage radiation in the top octave - a straightforward consequence of dome size rather than a design flaw. At 96dB/1m the 5.25” midwoofer shows increased distortion in the midrange, likely tied to motor topology; high-passing to a subwoofer around 80Hz largely clears it up. Moderate sensitivity (~81-82dB average) with a 7-ohm minimum impedance. ASR’s power-sweep testing found response holds steady up to 96dB SPL/1m, but pushing to 102dB causes midbass below 400Hz to sag with distortion “through the roof” - a harder output ceiling than the 96dB tests alone suggest. Vertical directivity also narrows above about 1kHz, so the reviewer recommends staying at tweeter-axis height for best results.
Full Ascend Sierra 1 v2 review and specifications →
| Bass Extension (-10dB) | 39Hz (measured, Erin's Audio Corner) |
|---|---|
| Bass Extension (-3dB) | 55Hz (measured, Erin's Audio Corner) |
| Dimensions | 14.2"H x 7.5"W x 10.5"D (361.9 x 190.5 x 266.7 mm) |
| Drivers | 5.25" proprietary mineral-filled polypropylene cone with cast aluminum frame woofer, 26mm aluminum/magnesium alloy dome tweeter with titanium former (SEAS Titan) |
| Impedance | 8 ohms nominal, 7 ohms minimum (measured, Erin's Audio Corner) |
| Sensitivity | 81.5dB (measured, Erin's Audio Corner) |
| Spinorama Preference Score | 6.28 |
| Spinorama Preference Score with Perfect Sub | 8.24 |
| Weight | 18.5 lbs (8.4 kg) each |
| Woofer Cabinet | ported |
- Links
- Reviews, Comparisons and Sound Samples
- Erin’s Audio Corner: NEW! Ascend Acoustics Sierra-1 V2 Review More from Erin’s Audio Corner →
- Erin’s Audio Corner Website Ascend Sierra 1 v2
- Audio Science Review Ascend Sierra 1 v2 More from Audio Science Review →
- Erin’s Audio Corner: 5 AWESOME SPEAKERS Under $1000 You Won’t Regret
- Erin’s Audio Corner: I Tested 250 Speakers So You Don’t Have To!
- Erin’s Audio Corner: My Top Picks of 2023: Must-Haves Under $3000
- Manufacturer Measurements (spinorama.org)
- Head-to-Head Comparisons
- Ascend Sierra 1 v2 vs KEF LS50 Meta
- Ascend Sierra 1 v2 vs Philharmonic Ceramic Mini
- Ascend Sierra 1 v2 vs Audio First Fidelia
- Ascend Sierra 1 v2 vs Arendal 1961 Monitor
- Ascend Sierra 1 v2 vs Moondrop M4P MTM
- Ascend Sierra 1 v2 vs Revel M105
- Ascend Sierra 1 v2 vs Monitor Audio Silver 50 7G
- Ascend Sierra 1 v2 vs Emotiva B1+
- See all 43 comparisons
Wharfedale Super Denton: $1499 per pair Crutchfield eBay
Pros: A 3-way design with a 1” soft dome tweeter, a 2” soft dome midrange offset to the side of a centered 6.5” woven Kevlar woofer - a more compact alternative to Wharfedale’s own Linton 85 with a similar overall character. Measured sensitivity around 86.6-87dB with on-axis linearity within about ±3dB. No cabinet or box resonances turned up in impedance testing, and there are no spike feet to install. Harmonic distortion looks good at both 86dB and 96dB, with about 20dB of usable dynamic range up to 96dB before compression starts to affect the midrange more noticeably near 102dB. Because bass rolls off starting around 60Hz, placing it closer to a wall (about 1-2 feet) than usual boosts low-end punch without the midbass bloat a deeper-extending speaker would get from the same placement. In the reviewer’s own comparison, its estimated in-room response actually measured more linear than the pricier Linton 85’s, despite being a bit less linear on-axis. Measured bass extension of 61Hz (-3dB), with a measured sensitivity of 86.6dB.
Cons: A mid-range scoop from about 200-800Hz and a separate upper-midrange scoop were both audible in direct ABX comparison against a reference-neutral speaker, giving aggressive-sounding material a more subdued character. A resonance around 660-700Hz shows up in measurement, though the reviewer couldn’t reliably hear it with real music in his own blind-ish A/B testing. The offset tweeter-and-midrange layout makes horizontal off-axis response noticeably asymmetric - response drops as much as 8dB more to one side than the other at wider angles - so the reviewer recommends aiming the speakers directly at the listener (not toed out, which loses upper treble) and suggests sidewall absorption to control uneven reflections. Must be listened to with the grille on - measurements are noticeably worse with it off (wider 2-4kHz dip, extra treble bump). Horizontal soundstage width felt a bit narrower than the reviewer personally prefers, likely related to the same offset driver layout. Multitone distortion gets high in the midrange at 96dB/1m, a concern mainly in larger rooms where you’d need to play louder.
Full Wharfedale Super Denton review and specifications →
| Bass Extension (-10dB) | 41Hz (measured, Erin's Audio Corner) |
|---|---|
| Bass Extension (-3dB) | 61Hz (measured, Erin's Audio Corner) |
| Crossover Frequency | 940Hz, 4.6kHz |
| Dimensions | 14.2"H x 9.7"W x 10.8"D (360 x 246 x 275 mm) |
| Drivers | 1" soft dome tweeter, 2" soft dome midrange, 6.5" woven Kevlar woofer |
| Frequency Response | 52Hz - 20kHz (±3dB, manufacturer specified); -6dB to 40Hz |
| Impedance | 6 ohms nominal, 3 ohms minimum (measured, Erin's Audio Corner) |
| Sensitivity | 86.6dB (measured by Erin's Audio Corner) |
| Weight | 20.3 lbs (9.2 kg) each |
| Woofer Cabinet | ported |
- Links
- Reviews, Comparisons and Sound Samples
- Head-to-Head Comparisons
- Wharfedale Super Denton vs Klipsch RP-500M II
- Wharfedale Super Denton vs Wharfedale Diamond 12.1
- Wharfedale Super Denton vs Radiant Acoustics Clarity 4.2
- Wharfedale Super Denton vs Monitor Audio Silver 50 7G
- Wharfedale Super Denton vs Revel M105
- Wharfedale Super Denton vs KEF Q150
- Wharfedale Super Denton vs Wharfedale Diamond 220
- Wharfedale Super Denton vs Polk Audio XT15
- See all 35 comparisons