Two hi-fi greats just announced cool, curved new stereo speakers — one's passive, one's active, take your pick

(Image credit: Wharfedale) New Wharfedale Denton 1S updates a modern classicFyne Audio Cubit 5 has impressive connectivity and power£649 and £549 respectivelyIf you're looking for stylish compact hi-fi speakers you're spoilt for choice this week: two much-loved speaker firms have unveiled brand new models.First up is Wharfedale, which has unveiled a reinvigorated version of its classic 1970s Denton speakers in a modern-looking by passive design.And if you prefer self-powered active speakers with their own amplification, Fyne Audio's Cubit 5 speakers are designed to connect to pretty much anything with no other components needed. (Image credit: Wharfedale)Wharfedale Denton 1S: key features and pricingWharfedale's original Denton speaker launched in 1974 and was an instant classic: it looked much more contemporary than its veneer-enclosed rivals and delivered impressive sound through clever driver design.The 2026 version, the Denton 1S, is similarly forward-thinking: rather than ape the original, it's more of an homage, with similar put-anywhere flexibility but much more advanced speaker technology and anti-resonant materials.The driver here is brand new and places a 25mm silk-dome tweeter concentrically within a 165mm polypropylene mid/bass cone to deliver sound that's aligned and coherent. It's teamed with a computer-modelled crossover and a new EQ that Wharfedale calls the "Brilliance switch"; if you switch from normal to max it lifts the response by 1.5dB between 2 and 4kHz for close-to-wall positioning. Bass extension is down to 45Hz (-6dB), which is impressive for such a compact enclosure.The Denton 1S comes in three colors: black, blue and white. The RRP is £649 (about $867 / AU$1,209) per pair and it'll be available from late May.Sign up for breaking news, reviews, opinion, top tech deals, and more.Fyne Audio Cubit 5: key features and pricing (Image credit: Fyne Audio)Fyne Audio is a Scottish hi-fi maker of some renown, and its new Cubit 5 is a compact active bookshelf system with up to 240W of power and hi-res audio at up to 24-bit/96KHz. It has Bluetooth 5.0 with aptX HD and AAC, and rather than just plugging in a standard Bluetooth module, Fyne says that its circuit has undergone extensive development to deliver the cleanest possible path to the amplification module.There's lots of connectivity here. The Cubit 5 has a built-in phono stage for your turntable; analog and optical digital inputs; HDMI eARC; and a subwoofer output for extra bass. The driver is Fyne's latest 5" (125mm) IsoFlare unit, and the bass reflex port is front-mounted so you can place the speakers close to walls without boominess.There are five finishes here: black, pearl titanium, olive green, pebble grey and Arctic white. All models will be available from June 2026 with a RRP of £549 / $749 (about AU$1,023). Follow TechRadar on Google News and add us as a preferred source to get our expert news, reviews, and opinion in your feeds. Contributor Writer, broadcaster, musician and kitchen gadget obsessive Carrie Marshall has been writing about tech since 1998, contributing sage advice and odd opinions to all kinds of magazines and websites as well as writing more than twenty books. Her latest, a love letter to music titled Small Town Joy, is on sale now. She is the singer in spectacularly obscure Glaswegian rock band Unquiet Mind.