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Wharfedale W-70 Speaker Wire

crhblack

crhblack

Active Member
I just obtained a set of good condition Wharfedale W-70 speakers. Unfortunately, they have a set of terminals which I'm unfamiliar. I tried to do some research, and the best I've found thus far is that they have Motorola jacks. I've posted a pic of the speaker back. Does anyone know how to construct a Motorola plug for these? I have found some at several online places, but I'm not sure about connecting speaker wire to the plugs. Any help would be appreciated!
 

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It is the plug used in auto radio antennas so I'd start with a Radio Shack and then hit the auto stereo stores that do installs. You'll need a soldering iron as the wire goes through the center pin like an old RCA and is soldered and then the other wire is soldered to the outer shell. I do agree that it is just better to convert them to a set of binding posts. There is plenty of working room but be careful not to go beyond the recessed area or you'll find yourself with white sand between your toes.
 
Thanks for the input. If I go the soldering route, which cable goes to the center pin: the positive or negative?
 
As long as you do both the same you are okay. If you use a coaxial cable, which with speaker wire you would not, the center conductor would be used with the center pin and the outer shield goes to the outer connection.
 
They look like they'd work as a replacement. They are nice as they have a plate to mount them so no issue trying to securely mount them through the wood. After removing the original jack, it should only take a little work to expand the existing hole to accommodate it.

Yes, you are correct as to the connection on the Motorola plug.
 
You know..it occurs that maybe youd be better off if you just build a few small adaptory kinda things that would get from that motorola thing to a normal wire hookup quickly like a sheetmetal right angle ,mount the motorola and wire to push button or whatever you like connectors on the other plane. Be rigid enough to hold wires kind of deal. Just a thought as you may never own another pair of speakers that require motorola. Plus its a plus if you sell off, as anyone could do plug and play with that little gadget in place, but yet you havent modified the speakers originality.
 
bobaloniny said:
You know..it occurs that maybe youd be better off if you just build a few small adaptory kinda things that would get from that motorola thing to a normal wire hookup quickly like a sheetmetal right angle ,mount the motorola and wire to push button or whatever you like connectors on the other plane. Be rigid enough to hold wires kind of deal. Just a thought as you may never own another pair of speakers that require motorola. Plus its a plus if you sell off, as anyone could do plug and play with that little gadget in place, but yet you havent modified the speakers originality.
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That is an interesting thought. I must confess that I'm planning to keep these for a while. The vintage sound is so relaxing to me. I'll explore a way to rig the Motorola plug to the binding posts from a the internet parts dealer.
 
I finally found the Motorola type plug for my W-70s. Here is a link the site:

http://futurlec.com/DCPower-MOTO.shtml

I used the non-solder type. The main issue was getting the wires cut the correct length and oriented correctly. Otherwise, no problems with the install. As for the speakers themselves, they are just nice. Bass is just right, but it won't make your heart jump in your chest. Mids and highs are relaxed and sufficient. I'm powering with a fairly old Kenwood KR-V6030.

The next thing I plan to do is to possibly re-cap these, but they may take a while.
 

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Looks good. No, they are never going to be an in your face or big rocking speaker. Designed in an era when voicing was less colored and based on full acoutical ochestra presentations rather than electronic amplified, modified and engineered using 1/10th octive equalizers.
 
Brian said:
Looks good. No, they are never going to be an in your face or big rocking speaker. Designed in an era when voicing was less colored and based on full acoutical ochestra presentations rather than electronic amplified, modified and engineered using 1/10th octive equalizers.
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What would you suggest for a re-capping project on these Wharfedales? Do these require standard electrolytics, foil, or something more esoteric for capacitors?
 
There seems to be 2 different crossover designs. I have the single cap design in mine and did not like the polys that I subbed in for the out of spec oil filled so when I get the time I'm going to get a set of oil filled to replace them with. The polys created a harshness that there should not be and was not there when the W70s were in production so it is the caps.
 
Brian said:
Looks good. No, they are never going to be an in your face or big rocking speaker. Designed in an era when voicing was less colored and based on full acoutical ochestra presentations rather than electronic amplified, modified and engineered using 1/10th octive equalizers.
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Yes, the mid '60's W70's are definitely not a modern-sounding speaker by any means. However, '60's and '70's classic rock/pop should do quite-nicely if the speakers are working okay. Jazz, jazz-fusion, and classical should really shine. But it's a smoother, more-subdued sound. I have a pair of W60E's that have the 2nd-generation of the purple tweeters (dome-tweeter), plus 5" mid-woofers and 12.5" low-end woofers - produced around '71-'73, I think - The D models are from around '68, as far as I know.

The W60E's and W70E's (and the other D and E models from the "Achromatic" series) still have that relaxing sound but are much more-versatile in regards to music styles. I can play pretty-much anything on mine. So far, so good. I could be wrong on this, but I think that the W70 that the OP has is from an earlier design - possibly 2-way with alnico-magnet speakers and that earlier purple tweeter that can't handle as much power (I think those were really meant to be used with the low-powered tube amps of the mid '60's - Awesome for classical and jazz). The "E" series was made later on, and has a slightly-different cabinet design (Mine speaker drivers are front-loaded). The cabs on those are still tough as nails (I actually prefer the look of the "E" models over the earlier ones, but that's me - I like a darker look).
 
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As a sidenote, I picked these W-70s for $10.50 off Ebay! :tresbon: It cost me about $25 to make the drive from Austin to just outside San Antonio. A minor cost since I was traveling with my lovely spouse!
 
You got one heck of a deal. Most go in the average range of $125-$150 and at that price are under valued. They also, need recapping. So, you can put in a nice set of caps and still be way ahead.

The speakers had an accessory set of legs. Pretty spindly by today's standards but back then rather nice. They raised the speaker about 4" off the floor. My set came with them and the sound was better with them on the stands. You may want to experiment with lifting them as you try to get the sound dialed in.
 
Brian said:
You got one heck of a deal. Most go in the average range of $125-$150 and at that price are under valued. They also, need recapping. So, you can put in a nice set of caps and still be way ahead.

The speakers had an accessory set of legs. Pretty spindly by today's standards but back then rather nice. They raised the speaker about 4" off the floor. My set came with them and the sound was better with them on the stands. You may want to experiment with lifting them as you try to get the sound dialed in.
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Yes, that seems to be the status quo for old Wharfedales - Get them off the floor. I have my smaller W60E's are sitting AT LEAST 16" off my floor - It makes a huge difference in my case. I've also read plenty of info that suggests corner placement as well (I hear it makes a big difference, particularly in bottom-end).

If you re-cap, I also recommend going with oil-filled caps to keep them as OEM and synergistic as possible (as Brian already said). Maybe I'm being overly-superstitious, but it makes perfect sense to me.

And most-important, DO NOT overpower them. They should sound best with a low-powered tube amp (or a low-power early '70's SS receiver or amp - On the early models with the alnico-magnet woofer, you wouldn't need more than 25 watts - I would think yours wouldn't need more than 20-30w per channel, seeing as how it's only 2-way). Those older-model purple tweeters blow pretty-easily. My W60E's have a slightly-different tweeter that apparently can handle more wattage (It's either that or it's just being used/wired more-effectively). But I still won't put much more than 50w per side through my speakers.

That "Radio People" labeling is weird. If I remember correctly, They were the Hong Kong distributor for Wharfedale. Maybe the original owner was stationed overseas while in the army (or whatever) and bought them while he was on R&R (*Edit - Or maybe he bought them at the PX - I was told that there wasn't a huge number of brands to choose from at the PX, and Wharfedale was lucky enough to be one of them), and brought them home once his tour of duty was finished.
 
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Brian and Gang Twanger,

You guys have been a wealth of info. Thanks so much! I'm going to pull the backs off these and do a better inspection. When I do, I'll post the pics. I'm using an early HT as in 1990 Kenwood KR-V6030 to power these. I don't think I'll hurt them with that receiver. The manual says nominally a 100 watts, but I'm believing that 25-40 watts is reality. The speakers do sound good and the highs appear to be just fine. I'm going to view some W-90s this weekend I hope.
 
I hate to say this the reason you got them for that price is I could be wrong but I dont think so... there not wharfs. those are some hong kong speaker company

http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/showthread.php?t=2031

from what I understand that outfit would buy factory 2nds and reassemble them ,build speaker cabs assemble with mixed parts from other manufactures
 
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