Big old Sherwood Monsters, Info needed

NW Lover · Jul 21, 2009

Hello all.
Anyone here know anything about these Monster Sherwoods?

MunkeyQ · Jul 21, 2009

Very interesting beasts - I didn't even know Sherwood made any speakers!

Is that two more drives on the back at the bottom? And what sort of cabinet is it? Ported? T-line? Pretty complex crossover for that time too.

NW Lover · Jul 21, 2009

Non ported seperate chamber box. Plywwood and vaneer. Yes two 10's in the back lower chamber. Very complex looking set up.

mhardy6647 · Jul 21, 2009

I cannot see the photos (blocked here), but the biggest, monstrous-est Sherwood speakers I know of were called Tanglewoods. A pair wandered through here years ago; AKer Nat may still have them and may chime in when he sees this thread!
http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/showthread.php?t=22383 (photos lost to a long-ago server crash at AK)
http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/showthread.php?t=38784

The next model down was a three way called the Ravinia.

The Tanglewoods aren't shown in the 1962 Sherwood brochure scans at www.hifilit.com

EDIT: my humble apologies if these are not the right Sherwoods!

mhardy6647 · Jul 21, 2009

ahh, from the "Acoustic Psychos" page (AKer Tinkerbelle and friend(s))...
http://www.acousticpsychos.com/coppermine/displayimage.php?album=3&pos=29

http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/showthread.php?t=25958

dokblues · Jul 21, 2009

Whoa does that say 29-17500 cps at 2 1/2 db and 10watts min. Those have got to be pretty good.

toxcrusadr · Jul 21, 2009

Looks like the Tanglewood but with only one tweeter in the front? Are the two midranges supposed to be different or was one of those replaced? Oh, it looks like it's a 4-way with 8" mid and 8" mid-woofers, so never mind. Walnut, gotta love it.

Robie · Jul 21, 2009

As usual, mhardy6647 beat me to the punch. I do have this from a S-8800 Receiver Manual: http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=150667&d=1242565986

I also found a much smaller pair of two-way Sherwoods made exclusively for a now defunct small audio chain in Chicago called MusiCraft. I believe they have an 8" woofer and cone tweeter.

Pics of my smaller Sherwood speakers are here: http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/showpost.php?p=2746422&postcount=3

Nice find. While the Sherwoods didn't get the acclaim of the bigger names at the time they are nice functional speakers to build a vintage system around. I actually use mine in my garage and with the treble boosted a bit, they don't sound too bad at all. Sherwood was based in Chicago and the Ravinias are named after a historic outdoor festival/concert venue in north suburban Highland Park.

Nat · Jul 21, 2009

Those are the same speakers as Mark Hardy gave me. Later (I assume)Tanglewoods with a single dome tweeter. A strong argument for cubic inches -- they are old and outdated, but still can give most speakers a run for their money, though they sound better in bigger rooms. The cloth surrounds on the lower mid/upper bass driver in mine needed sealing, the surround on the upper mid needed regluing, and the woofers needed rotating so that they didn't sag, but a good sounding speaker. I think your may be later(?) than mine because the use fiberglass pads, not a fibrous mat to damp the front grill.
What do you think of the sound?

NW Lover · Jul 22, 2009

They have the Marantz "Martini sound". Smoothe with tons of bottom end.

Nat · Jul 22, 2009

I thought mine had a slightly clacky sound, but room dependent. In a large room with rugs etc, sounded very nice.
Gotta say from my former days with martinis that smooth with a big bottom isn't how I would describe them.

NW Lover · Jul 22, 2009

I think the Martini sound comes from rooted crossovers. I think they are missing something, "Like mids and highs". The bottom end is massive though.:thumbsdn::thmbsp:

Nat · Jul 23, 2009

Hmm.. Mine were pretty balanced sounding, just a little woody sounding -- maybe the wicker grill. Are the pots in good shape? I assume the drivers work, but maybe recapping is in order. Certainly they aren't bright by modern standards, but you should have some high end.

soundmotor · Jul 23, 2009

MunkeyQ said:
Very interesting beasts - I didn't even know Sherwood made any speakers!

Ditto, very cool thread.

NW Lover · Jul 23, 2009

The pots do not seem to do much. All the drivers work.

toxcrusadr · Jul 23, 2009

They would probably open up with new caps given the age and then the pots would have something to work with.

NW Lover said:
I think the Martini sound comes from rooted crossovers. I think they are missing something, "Like mids and highs". The bottom end is massive though.:thumbsdn::thmbsp:

What's a rooted crossover? :scratch2:

NW Lover · Jul 23, 2009

rooted; messed up, no good, old and busted, worn out, ect.

toxcrusadr · Jul 23, 2009

Oh, you meant roached!

Nat · Jul 23, 2009

I seem to remember the pots having quite a noticeable effect. Might be worth trying them jumpered to see if they are working properly.

mhardy6647 · Jul 23, 2009

appropos of nothing; happened to stumble across these photos looking for something else tonight

Big old Sherwood Monsters, Info needed

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