Wharfedale Owners Thread
- Thread starter tyeeslayer
- Start date
Gang-Twanger
Resident Wharfedaliophool
The old Wharfedales are easy to drive. The alnico models had an effiency in the early 90's. The W*0D series are probably more like the early 80's, I would think. My W60E's are like 79dB if I remember, and the W*0D series models are a little more-efficient than that... I get confused with efficiency and sensitivity... Wharfedales (the old ones) aren't the loudest speakers in the world, but they are very-easy to drive and don't need much power to get the woofers moving and get them into the sweet spot. I believe the W70D's are rated to handle 50wpc.
Picked up a new edition last week. Got a pair of unfinished (no veneers) corner speakers (sans the Twin Treble tops), the huge ones with the sand-filled front baffle (Also got the sand-filled REAR panels, so placement won't be limited to just the corners of the room). I'll have to add the dry sand myself, but the double-walled construction is there. Also got some beater W15 alnico woofers. Next will come the task of sourcing the Twin Treble tops and the Super 8 and Super 3 alnico drivers that reside in them.
GT,
We gotta see pictures!:yes:
We gotta see pictures!:yes:
Yeah Ganger, don't leave us hangin'... I'm not even sure what you got there, but I want to see it!!! :thmbsp:
Gang-Twanger
Resident Wharfedaliophool
Sorry aboot that, guys... Been a bit of a week... Been having trouble uploading pictures, but I DID get a video from when I pieced one of them together, so I'll upload that. Didn't think there'd be much interest, but there I go thinkin' again.
Gang-Twanger
Resident Wharfedaliophool
Here ya' go... I put one together (No woofer), just to see how big it would be, and how it might look, were I to veneer it later on (Who knows, provided I can come up with the Super 8/FS and Super 3 pairs, and come up with some kind ofl DIY version of that top unit and wire up a simple 3-way crossover with some oil caps).
http://m.youtube.com/#/watch?v=cIse4gsv4Kg
Let me know if you have any trouble with the link. And if you do ("And if you do!"), just do a search on YouTube for "DIY? Wharfedale corner cab" and click on zee first.
BTW, the woofer displacement is NINE CUBIC FEET.... Now, THAT's displacement.
http://m.youtube.com/#/watch?v=cIse4gsv4Kg
Let me know if you have any trouble with the link. And if you do ("And if you do!"), just do a search on YouTube for "DIY? Wharfedale corner cab" and click on zee first.
BTW, the woofer displacement is NINE CUBIC FEET.... Now, THAT's displacement.
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So what model are they? Maybe you could use the cabinets with some super 12s.
santa
Well-Known Member
I recently picked up a pair of W-70's.
One tweeter is non op so I opened one up and found the dates 10/61 and a signature on the woofer and mid and the number 221 stamped into the wood of the enclosure.
When did the W70 first go into production?
I need a tweeter, does anyone have a suggestion for me on this?
Thanks!
One tweeter is non op so I opened one up and found the dates 10/61 and a signature on the woofer and mid and the number 221 stamped into the wood of the enclosure.
When did the W70 first go into production?
I need a tweeter, does anyone have a suggestion for me on this?
Thanks!
yes they count. I have the 7.2's sitting on either side of the DCM 16's.
Brian
An Old Geezer
Not sure but around late '50s to very early '60. As for a tweeter, did you see if it has continuity? Usually it is the caps in these needing replacement. I had one tweeter in my set that did not work and the cap was as totally dead. The other just outside of spec but, not by much.
If the tweeter is bad about the only source will be a parts unit. I do not know anyone who rebuilds them. Check to see if the lead to the terminal is.broken. If so, it might be possible to reattach it.
The key is not to drive them hard or clip. A 10 watt amp is more than ample as they were designed during and for low wattage amps and not high levels.
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Gang-Twanger
Resident Wharfedaliophool
The W70 was introduced in late 1960. The Carduners, who ran B.I.C. (Leonard and another guy, his brother I think), were in a big hurry to develop the W*0 series for the North American market, especially after the success of the W60, which started it all (W60 commemorating the year 1960). The W90 looks to have been introduced at some point in early to mid 1962, since the first magazine ad I've run across appeared sometime around summer or early fall of that year, debuting the model. It's understandable why the W90 took so much longer. Integrating six drivers in a fully-isolated system couldn't have been easy, so I imagine they did A LOT of testing/listening before Gilbert gave it his approval, which he did with all models (He was still running the company at that point, which he continued to do until early '65).
Sorry 'bout that... I love learning/reading what I can about the company's history... It's quite an interesting story.
Yeah, check everything before throwing a blanket over that tweeter and declaring it dead. Connections, caps, etc. And if those are alnico drivers, then stay away from polypropylene caps. In the alnico Wharfies, they sound just like what they're made of... Plastic... Throw some n.o.s. oil caps in there. PCB-era.
And if the original tweeter is an alnico one (with an alnico magnet), and you end up having to replace it, do so with another alnico one... This is NOT the kind of tweeter you want to try and substitute with something else. First of all, it's a very-unique sound, plus it's one of the best-sounding cone-tweeters ever made, integral to the overall sound of the speaker. And when you get those W70's up and running, put them on some kind of riser so the tweeters are at eye/level. This will make all the difference in the world with those. Even the magazine reviewers back in the '60's felt that way.
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Gang-Twanger
Resident Wharfedaliophool
Oh.. Sorry about that... They're the woofer enclosures from this model, the 3-way , omni-directional corner speaker, as Wharfedale called it. BIG model with two sections, upper and lower. The woofer enclosure has NINE FEET of displacement for the W15 woofer.
The front-baffle was sand-filled, and it had an open back (It was meant to be placed in a corner, the adjoining walls creating the rear panels of the enclosure, so to speak). You could also order two optional rear panels (also sand-filled) to create a free-standing model, in case you didn't have available corner space. The cabs I have came with these rear panels, and the front and rear sections both have the double-walled construction like they should, one of the reasons I wanted them. The complete driver compliment for the cabs I have (minus the Twin Treble top section, as they called it) is a W15 woofer, a Super 8/FS mid, and a Super 3 tweeter, all with alnico magnets. My goal is to ultimately have a working pair of these (I try not to talk too-much about them online because prices are high enough, and you know how Fleecebay gets once the word is out). One of my bucket-list models.
There's a guy in the Far East who has a pair of them, and he's uploaded quite a few videos of his pair (And he even built a replica pair, which are on YouTube as well). Check out this one: http://m.youtube.com/#/watch?v=ToDwinQh4f8
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like on p.6 of this:
http://www.troelsgravesen.dk/Wharfedale_cat_files/Wharfedale_CabinetModels_1962_page1-8.pdf
nice; will be a good project:yes:
http://www.troelsgravesen.dk/Wharfedale_cat_files/Wharfedale_CabinetModels_1962_page1-8.pdf
nice; will be a good project:yes:
Gang-Twanger
Resident Wharfedaliophool
Cheap alnico W60's in D&S right now... In NY (Sorry, jgannon... Had they showed up sooner, and had I spotted them, I would have told you right away, but at least you have yours now anyway).
By the way, yesterday I was reading through an old issue of Hi-Fi/Stereo Review from the early '60's, and there was an article where a team of experts put together three bookshelf systems (amp, speakers, turntable, cartridge), and system #3 was a pair of alnico W60's, a Bell tube amp (a 1218, I believe), and a Thorens table of the idler variety. The other two systems had Altec and I think Jensen bookshelf speakers. When it was all said and done, system #3 totally walked away with it. Comments like "very-rich and musical", "excellent timbre", "natural-sounding", etc. Looks like I'm gonna' have to check out these old Bell amps.
By the way, yesterday I was reading through an old issue of Hi-Fi/Stereo Review from the early '60's, and there was an article where a team of experts put together three bookshelf systems (amp, speakers, turntable, cartridge), and system #3 was a pair of alnico W60's, a Bell tube amp (a 1218, I believe), and a Thorens table of the idler variety. The other two systems had Altec and I think Jensen bookshelf speakers. When it was all said and done, system #3 totally walked away with it. Comments like "very-rich and musical", "excellent timbre", "natural-sounding", etc. Looks like I'm gonna' have to check out these old Bell amps.
Gang-Twanger
Resident Wharfedaliophool
Yeah, you got it... Been dreaming of owning a pair of those one day, and this gets me about 40% there...I love the look of this model, plus it's the one that was used at those "live vs recorded" events throughout the '50's... Lots of history... We gotta' keep it on the down-low so the Fleecebayers don't grab hold of it... (Damn vultures).
Gang-Twanger
Resident Wharfedaliophool
What Brian said about post #198 is absolutely-true, and since this is meant to be a continuing thread for Wharfedale owners, hopefully the mod will do what is necessary to keep it from getting moved to Dollars & Sense. That aside, I would like to thank David for posting that particular W60 brochure, which I did not have.
I've spent the last 6 days listening to my restored/retubed Fisher 800C and my alnico-loaded W60's, which I believe use the same exact crossover as the 2-way W60's with a CERAMIC woofer (Still not certain whether or not there was a 2-way W60 version with a ceramic cone-tweeter, but since there was a ceramic version of the Super 3, I have to assume there could have been a later, ceramic-magnet version of the alnico Super 5 type cone-tweeter as well, including the Super 5 variant that they used in the W60's).
That original, first-generation W60 is quite an underrated speaker. I still can't figure out how mine can sound so-damn-good without a recap. (But keep in mind what I've said in the past about the first-generation W*0 models and polypropylene capacitors, as in, they don't like 'em... Get some n.o.s. oil caps instead... I'd bet on a pair of unrecapped W60's sounding a lot better than ones refurbed with poly caps, based on my experience with my own W60's and 90's).
The original W60 tweeter (alnico magnets on woofer and tweeter) is a variant on the old Super 5 that was used for over a decade and predated the Super 3. Quite tweeter, actually. Same signature-sound as the Super 3. My W60's sound wonderful cranked up. The alnico woofers in mine are running full-range, and the bass really fattens up with some volume. It amazes me how they can sound awesome with some old Frank Sinatra and then sound equally-awesome playing Soundgarden (I say this because I've done it... I have the video recordings to prove it
... Those Wharfie cone-tweeters can really-cut when they need to, and yet there is no stridency, and this makes them a VERY-versatile speaker, especially for a 50 year old 2-way with one cap and alnico drivers).
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Gang-Twanger
Resident Wharfedaliophool
Back with my W90's again. These are so much fun, it outta be illegal. Between the oil caps and the Fisher restoration, the top end has really smoothed out to the point of ultra-silkiness. Listening to the Spinners right now. The old Wharfies have renewed my interest in these old bands/artists that I loved growing up. Definitely king of the guilty pleasure/feel good speakers (When I started listening to Lou Rawls again, I knew I was onto something).
"Not far away..... I heard a funny sound, took a look around, and I... "
I love the Spinners.
"Not far away..... I heard a funny sound, took a look around, and I... "
I love the Spinners.
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portnoy
AK Member
Wharfedale W70 mod...
I've owned a couple of pairs of W-70s and W-60s. Recently I decided to try a very slight and easy modification to one of my pairs of W-70s.
Here's a pic
I always hear about the sonic advantages of open baffle speakers, and I really haven't gotten around to properly building a pair, so I took the easy way out.
And I must say they sound pretty darn good.
Wayne,
p.s. - and on another subject: were Wharfedale cloth surrounds doped (sealed)? From what I can see it looks like they weren't.
I've owned a couple of pairs of W-70s and W-60s. Recently I decided to try a very slight and easy modification to one of my pairs of W-70s.
Here's a pic
I always hear about the sonic advantages of open baffle speakers, and I really haven't gotten around to properly building a pair, so I took the easy way out.
And I must say they sound pretty darn good.
Wayne,
p.s. - and on another subject: were Wharfedale cloth surrounds doped (sealed)? From what I can see it looks like they weren't.
