Mystery Speakers

freddie84 · May 23, 2015

Good morning, I wonder if someone could help me. I have a pair of very nice sounding vintage speakers that I found in London but what they are is a complete mystery to me. I believe they have a teak veneer and look to me to be from the 1960s. They have no badge, the front in non detachable. Dimensions are 29cm wide, 53 cm tall and 23cm deep. Please see photos. Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated! Many thanks

freddie84 · May 23, 2015

Apologies, I've tried to make this post in the 'Speakers' section but I can't seem to attach the pictures. Here's a link to the thread I posted in 'Introductions'

http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/showthread.php?t=660591

mhardy6647 · May 23, 2015

If you copy the image URL and enclose it in "IMG" tags, you can re-use those:

When you said "teak", I was going to guess "KEF" -- but these aren't familiar looking to me. Actually, the aesthetics of the cabinet (front and back) look rather American to me -- but (other than Radio Shack in the early 1960s) teak wasn't a common wood veneer used on speakers here.

cubby01 · May 23, 2015

mhardy6647 said:
When you said "teak", I was going to guess "KEF" -- ....

I would lay odds that's not teak. Sometimes hard to tell from the photos but from the other thread both the color and grain seem wrong to me.

h3ll0 · May 23, 2015

cubby01 said:
I would lay odds that's not teak. Sometimes hard to tell from the photos but from the other thread both the color and grain seem wrong to me.

It looks more like walnut :dunno:

cubby01 · May 23, 2015

...and for what it's worth, my vote is home made. Would be interesting to see the back of the drivers.

Johnno_Oz · May 23, 2015

Cloth looks similar to that used on Selmer amps in England circa 61-63. The cloth looks to be in really good condition too and rare as hens teeth.

http://www.vintagehofner.co.uk/gallery/gallery3/sel2.html

Wolverine · May 23, 2015

My vote would be that they are someone's DIY project. The screws on the back don't look like anything I have seen before. They appear to be well built so if the price is right it might be worth taking a flyer on them.

Johnno_Oz · May 23, 2015

Wolverine said:
My vote would be that they are someone's DIY project. The screws on the back don't look like anything I have seen before. They appear to be well built so if the price is right it might be worth taking a flyer on them.

Yep, original post on introductions had this pic. with a 2pin DIN connector with some pencil markings. So either a DIY or bespoke job. Maybe some Celestions inside? :scratch2:

SimplySound · May 23, 2015

OK... here's my stab at it... London? Single driver? Home made cabinet with a 12" Tannoy inside... am I close? Do I get the Kewpie Doll? :banana:

Hermit418 · May 23, 2015

SimplySound said:
OK... here's my stab at it... London? Single driver? Home made cabinet with a 12" Tannoy inside... am I close? Do I get the Kewpie Doll?

Tannoys or possibly Celestion cabs and just found a late model Western Electric uni??? Celestion

Saw and heard the Western Electric and the fellow called it a "UNIdriver" meaning similar to a Tannoy or something akin to Audio Nirvana Alinco magnet drivers. It was a 12" paper cone with a small horn like driver in the center Alinco magnet circa 1960 -62 from his description of where and when his Grandfather bought them in Boston during that time.

I never heard of any others or of that speaker again only saw and heard it on an AR TT thru a Fisher 500C at his place.
Hermit

Not sure just kicking in a couple of rare ones I have seen and heard.

pilotputz · May 23, 2015

One regular screwdriver and the mystery would be solved...
My guess is Celestion.

freddie84 · May 24, 2015

Thank you all for your input and suggestions! They certainly do have a home made feel about them, made by someone who knew what they were doing. I've opened them up and taken some pictures. None of the speakers have any badges or labels on them. Could any of you suggest what they could be from the back? The central speaker is 7 inches across.

The cloth suggestion is very interesting. It's a near perfect match to the Selmer amp in the picture.

Thanks again for all your help!

ra.ra · May 24, 2015

Looking a whole lot like Wharfedale drivers.

http://freespace.virgin.net/dan.schofield/index.htm

N1ckR · May 24, 2015

ra.ra said:
Looking a whole lot like Wharfedale drivers.

http://freespace.virgin.net/dan.schofield/index.htm

Crossovers too are very wharfedale looking, probably a kit.

SimplySound · May 24, 2015

N1ckR said:
Crossovers too are very wharfedale looking, probably a kit.

No Kewpie Doll for me... I thought for sure there was only a single driver, but I see they are a two-way. And yeah, Wharfedale it seems to be! Nice score! :thmbsp:

Hermit418 · May 24, 2015

ra.ra said:
Looking a whole lot like Wharfedale drivers.

http://freespace.virgin.net/dan.schofield/index.htm

So is the conclusion it is a 2 way Wharfedale? As opposed to the suggestions since it looked like a ported single driver before the box was opened?

Hermit

ra.ra · May 25, 2015

The [single driver + port] idea was just a wild (and incorrect) guess - - clearly, there are two Wharfedale drivers, and N1ckR may be correct that this was some type of kit, and it appears to be installed in a very nicely constructed DIY cabinet. By the way, those black/red caps (sometimes branded Callins or Temple) should definitely be replaced with a new film cap of same value.

freddie84 · May 25, 2015

It's great to know what these are and what I need to look out for if anything in them goes. Cheers!

Thanks Ra.Ra for your suggestion. Could you expand a little about the caps? Would replacing these improve the sound? I'd love to do all I can to keep these speakers going and sounding great.

Gang-Twanger · May 25, 2015

Nice... Those are '60's Wharfedale drivers. I see an alnico mid in there. Nice score. Tubes make those come to life. Fisher 500B/C, Leak, Marantz, or Scott tubers. A warm, engaging speaker with rich mids. Good score.

OK, so how big is the woofer? The tweeter is same as in W60D, but is your speaker a 2-way or 3-way? The W60D was a 3-way with a 12" woofer, but perhaps that's a kit version of the W40D or something. Their smaller models were 2-way.

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