(Image credit: Wharfedale)

What do you get when you set out to make the best standmount speakers from a clean slate? If you're Wharfedale, you get the new Aston line.

While the Astons are part of Wharfedale's Heritage range they feature a brand new design, created over nearly four years. The resulting speakers promise exceptional audio for affluent audiophiles – but buyers will need to be quick, because only 500 pairs are being made.

Each Aston us a two-way speaker with Wharfedale's own specially developed mid/bass and treble drivers. The former is a 15cm carbon fibre cone in a rigid die-cast chassis, and the treble driver is adapted from the high-end Dovedale speaker, using a ceramic magnet motor and a 25mm fabric dome. Together, the drivers promise a transparent, balanced sound with tight bass.

Wharfedale Aston speakers: features, pricing and availability

Wharfedale is very pleased with the crossover in the Aston speakers. Its components include air-core inductor coils and high specification polypropylene capacitors which, Wharfedale says, "have been chosen for their revealing and transparent character".

That character has been tested in extensive listening sessions across a wide range of genres to ensure a high quality experience no matter what kind of music you're listening to. Frequency response is 55Hz to 20kHz.

To match the speakers, Wharfedale has also created a set of speaker stands made from hardened high carbon British steel with a glass insert.

They've been designed to highlight the furniture-grade cabinets, which are made from multi-layer high density particle board, MDF and resonance-damping adhesive. On the outside the speakers are finished in real wood veneer with a choice of walnut, mahogany or black oak.

If you're one of the lucky 500, your Aston speakers will set you back £1,999 with stands (about $2,520 / AU$3,959) or £1,699 without (about $2,142 / AU$3,365). The speakers will be available from late February 2025.