Wharfedale W60D

LBPete

Rolling Along
Subscriber
Found a pair of Wharfedale W60Ds here locally. The cabinets are very rough but the drivers all looked good. Got them home and found that one tweeter and one mid are dead. Doing an AK search found that these “Purple Donut” tweeters are prone to failure but I was surprised to find one of the mids toasted too. The tweets have huge magnets, it's a shame it doesn't work.

The construction of these speakers is very impressive. The cabinets are beautifully constructed and covered in English Walnut. They have a cool curved front. The back panel is a full inch thick and filled with sand. The woofers have massive magnets on a cast frame. They also have a big reverse roll surround. The fabric surrounds, cones and dust caps are perfect.

Here are some pictures of the one good speaker and parts of the others.


Any suggestions on what can be done for the dead drivers?

- Pete
 

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Really good speakers, I like them better than my AR2ax's everyone likes. i have two sets. Look on Ebay for replacement drivers.
 
i have a few wharfedales including the 60 and had a few more before. all of them had problems with either tweeters or mids. nevertheless, a few of them had bad caps in their crossovers. after replacing the caps, drivers came back to life. i would replace the crossover caps first, and even if that wasn't the problem, you are doing your speakers good by replacing those caps.
 
Odd, all the tweeters and mids work fine in mine but had a bad woofer I needed to replace.

He has the drivers out so i was assuming he tested them.
 
kfa888 said:
Odd, all the tweeters and mids work fine in mine but had a bad woofer I needed to replace.

He has the drivers out so i was assuming he tested them.
yeah, i often find good speakers but usually, for some odd reason, have bad luck with them drivers........ i don't really know much about wharfedale's but their drivers, specially mids and tweets, seem very delicate. i've heard from my friends that battery test or other premative testing will also most likely fry those sensitive drivers (even though i'd never do that). anyways, i do love the sound. very sweet sounding- more crisp and smooth than AR's and Advents, but for some reason, i like AR's better.
 
The coils on the tweeter and mid are open. I checked them with an ohmmeter. I'll keep an eye on ebay for replacements.

- Pete
 
The one cabinet you show isn't what I'd call rough. In need of refinishing - sure, but no crushed corners, canyon-like gouges, or split open seams. I think they used thicker veneer back then, so you have a chance of sanding without going through the veneer.

Tom
 
The top you see in the picture is not the worse surface. One has a split corner seam and there are some fairly deep gouges. The marks don't look like they cut all the way through the veneer. They can be cleaned up and made presentable but to do so will mean sanding through a lot of the veneer.

I'll look more seriously at refinishing when and if I find replacements for the drivers.

- Pete
 
Hey Everyone,

I have a chance to get a pair of these locally, are they worth buying? They are in good condition. How would you compare them to say... a set of AR-3s?

Thanks.
 
I've got a pair of W60Es I think, 2 ways.

If any of you can use the woofers or mid/tweeters I'd be happy to send them for the cost of shipping. Just remember me when you find a Yamaha CR tone knob.

PM if you'd like.
 
MarSanZ said:
Hey Everyone,

I have a chance to get a pair of these locally, are they worth buying? They are in good condition. How would you compare them to say... a set of AR-3s?

Thanks.

I have AR2AX's I like the W60's better. Don't go as deep but are nice and balanced and have nice mids and top. The Wharfedales are more efficient and handle less / need less wattage.
 
The Wharfedales are designed to run with lower powered amps. Dumping 60 watts on them and turning them up beyond polite levels will fry them. The drivers were designed for a period when 15 - 20 watts was the norm. Think of them as designed to be used in an apt with thin walls and having next door neighbors you like.

Provided they've not been abused, the drivers actually seem pretty robust except the glue used to mont the tweeter come on the non-covered fried egg tweeters seems to break down after decades. Later tweeters do not exhibit this as of yet as often.

I have the earlier W70s and love them. Even on critical listening I am hard pressed to find things wrong with them.
 
I have a pair of the 60 three ways that are in darn near "like new" condition. I love them and they are on my keeper list. Like Kelly said they are a very balanced and accurate speaker.
 
When I take off the screws to the back panel it is hard to get inside as the wires are fairly tight. Did you just cut those to get inside?
 
I recently got a pair of w60c, but both tweeters are dead. I noticed pots for treble and midranges are heavily oxidized, sprayed with contact cleaner, but still no sound from tweeter. Does anyone know what would be a good replacement for these?
 
The Wharfedales are designed to run with lower powered amps. Dumping 60 watts on them and turning them up beyond polite levels will fry them. The drivers were designed for a period when 15 - 20 watts was the norm.

Great with KT66 tube amps......Radiocraftsmen 500A. :D
 
Bump. Any suggestions for alternate to purple fried egg tweeter? Or should I just wait out until there's one available on e*ay?
 
I recently got a pair of w60c, but both tweeters are dead. I noticed pots for treble and midranges are heavily oxidized, sprayed with contact cleaner, but still no sound from tweeter. Does anyone know what would be a good replacement for these?

Are the tweets fried, (measure them) or X-O problem??
 
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