• The move to the new server is done. There are some software and database maintenance updates in process. This has us passing the hat around to help out. We appreciate any donations. Seriously, even a dollar helps. The payment page may be found here - https://www.audiokarma.org/support.html

Econowaving Wharfedale W60s

BmWr75

BmWr75

Top octave? pfffffftttttt
Subscriber
I'm finally getting around to this project. The "patient" in this case is a set of Wharfedale W60s I picked up locally for $40. Somebody painted them French Provential White. Pictures of the as-bought condition can be seen at this link:

http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/showthread.php?t=201831

I was not impressed with how they sounded in stock form. Listened to them for just a few minutes then put them in the stack of other speakers not in current rotation.

The first task is to strip the white paint off to return the cabinets to their original natural wood glory. Have stripped one cabinet and started the process of refinishing it with Watco Danish Oil - Dark Walnut (see attached pic), one coat on so far.

Have decided to keep the Wharfedale 12" woofer (instead of substituting a OLA 10" replacment or ADS 8" pair). Pictures of the Wharfedale woofer are attached.

The JBL horn takes up all the room available in the top half of the cabinet. So, the 2" vent tube is moving to the bottom half of the cabinet and is being replaced by two 1.5" tubes at 10:00 and 2:00 positions, approximately. This means new baffle boards have to be cut. I'm not a woodworker, so will call on a buddy at work to help with that task.

Stay tuned.......

Regards, BmWr75
 
Last edited:
Register to hide this ad
I e-waved a couple L26 cabs and liked the way they turned out. I did opt for a pro audio 10" woofer to put in them, but they ended up turning out nice sounding and good looking with that blond oak finish! I bet yours Warfies could do as well if not better!
DC
 
Man, if that baffle/horn setup works out the way I think it might, those are going to pretty much look like they were originally made that way!

It'd be tempting to just make a small insert grille to go over the woofer/ports... and leave the top open for the horn...

Regards,
Gordon.
 
Should be a great candidate. Good luck and post many pics. Also post the finished product in the ewave thread. Cheers.
 
Built the crossovers today and installed one of them in the sand-filled rear panel today. The baffle board has too many holes in it to be reused, so off to the woodworker I go to get new ones cut tomorrow.

In the mean time, have started stripping the white paint off the other cabinet. Stay tuned.........
 
Last edited:
Am in the process of stripping the white paint off the second cabinet now. Discovered somebody painted this one gold before it was painted white. Guess there is no accounting for taste. Also discovered some veneer missing off a top rear corner of the cabinet. Guess it got dropped once. Oh well, it's the only one I got to work with.......so the process continues.

Should have the new baffle boards on Monday.
 
BmWr75 said:
Am in the process of stripping the white paint off the second cabinet now. Discovered somebody painted this one gold before it was painted white. Guess there is no accounting for taste. Also discovered some veneer missing off a top rear corner of the cabinet. Guess it got dropped once. Oh well, it's the only one I got to work with.......so the process continues.

Should have the new baffle boards on Monday.
Click to expand...

Nice work on the cabs..I love real wood! :yes: My W-60E's have a lot of stuffing in them. Can't remember if it was on the walls as well...IIRC, no.
Mine are 3 way, with a slightly different purple tweeter. Recapped w/ Dayton Polys and they came alive :banana:
My woofers are the square mannet with thick rubber surrounds, not foam or felt.
 
LOL.......I can see my late father turning in his grave.....if I ever mentioned e-waving his precious Wharfedale W60's!?


Steve
 
Harvey/ Ga said:
Nice work on the cabs..I love real wood! :yes: My W-60E's have a lot of stuffing in them. Can't remember if it was on the walls as well...IIRC, no.
Mine are 3 way, with a slightly different purple tweeter. Recapped w/ Dayton Polys and they came alive :banana:
My woofers are the square mannet with thick rubber surrounds, not foam or felt.
Click to expand...

The W60s I have are mismatched. The cabinets are the same, but one was a 2-way and the other was originally a 3-way. Someone had robbed the tweeter from the 3-way and just left an open hole. I plugged the open hole with a piece of plywood, recapped them and gave them a listen. The midrange Wharfedale call a tweeter (in some models) results in very rolled off highs. My guess is the models with the purple tweeter have more extended highs and sound better. Compared to the other vintage speakers I have, the highs just didn't do it for me. That's how they became the Econowave candidates. I must say the Wharfedale cabinets are the best built I've seen in any vintage speaker I've refurbished. They are very heavy and the sand-filled back panels are unique.
 
BmWr75 said:
The W60s I have are mismatched. The cabinets are the same, but one was a 2-way and the other was originally a 3-way. Someone had robbed the tweeter from the 3-way and just left an open hole. I plugged the open hole with a piece of plywood, recapped them and gave them a listen. The midrange Wharfedale call a tweeter (in some models) results in very rolled off highs. My guess is the models with the purple tweeter have more extended highs and sound better. Compared to the other vintage speakers I have, the highs just didn't do it for me. That's how they became the Econowave candidates. I must say the Wharfedale cabinets are the best built I've seen in any vintage speaker I've refurbished. They are very heavy and the sand-filled back panels are unique.
Click to expand...

My first W-60's were the 2 way sand filled. The E model with the purple tweeter, a bit different then the purple tweeter in the D model, has very nice highs. They compare quite nicely with the 5012 Advents that I have. They even give the Emit in my orphan Quantum Qe a run for the money :yes:..at least to these old ears :D
 
2nd cabinet refinishing complete

Just completed the refinishing of the 2nd cabinet. Used Watco's Danish Oil and a coat of Minwax. Here are the pictures. Still waiting on the new baffle boards. The woodworker's router took a chunk out of the plywood as he was routing the waveguide guide hole........a do over is in order.
 
Last edited:
Speaker baffles came today

Picked up the new speaker baffles today. He did a great job, the waveguides snap into the routed out recess because he cut them so close (a great fit). He used cabinet grade plywood, so I plan to leave them uncovered. The stain is drying now. Will install the baffles in the refinished cabinets tomorrow and start the bass tube and driver installation. Might be able to finished them up tomorrow.
 
Last edited:
Update

Baffles are installed in the cabinets. Drivers are attached to the baffles. Vent tubes are glued in and drying. Next will be Acousta-Stuff installation, putting the sand-filled rear panels back on, hooking up the crossovers to the drivers and giving them a road test. :yes:

The waveguides were installed in the baffles using sheetrock screws. Closed cell foam strips were used between the waveguide and baffle to get an airtight seal. The woofers have green felt on the front of them, so nothing else was used to seal them to the baffles.

The vent tubes are using a 90 degree elbow because straight tubes ended up coming to close to the rear panel. The elbows also will allow for cabinet tuning by installing different lengths of 1.5" ABS exit tubes. Will not glue the exit tubes until the length is finalized.
 
Last edited:
Those are coming along very nicely! :thmbsp: I look forward to hearing your impressions once they're complete.

Great work! What a difference with what you started out with! :yes:

Hmmmmm, I'm wondering if I could pull this off with a pair of W40's???? :scratch2:
 
Last edited:
You are elevating the art of "Franken'Speaker" to a whole 'nother level!!! I am proud for ya,that is what I love doing most.
DC
 
The Finished Product

Well....they are all put back together. Here's some pictures of the finished Wharfedale W60 Econowaves. Am waiting a while longer for the vent tube glue to dry before I test them out.
 
Last edited:
That looks absolutely killer. :thmbsp:

The only thing I'd be tempted to do, is make some fabric-covered circular grille inserts, that you could fit into the woofer cutouts. That'd look totally cool.

Regards,
Gordon.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom