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Utah WD-66 three way?

outlawmws

outlawmws

On the Run
I scored a set of Utah WD66 3 way speakers yesterday at a thrift. Been a while since the thrifts had much around here! (Also got a Sansui SC3100 tape deck but that’s posted in the Sansui forum)

I can’t find much on the Utah's though. Orion didn't list but one Utah cabinet. I did find This thread but no real info. :scratch2:

Except for the badge on the grill cloth (mine don't have them), mine look just like the ones in that thread. Cab condition is at least an 8 possibly a 9. a bit of clean up and I think they will be solid 9's with the worst damage being a dent on one side about 1/4 x 1/2 and a could of scratches on the other side of the same cabinet. The grill cloth screams late 60's to me, but not sure.

They are marked on the back 30W 8 ohms. All Alnico drivers and its a ported design

I've been listening to them off the LR Motorola console tube amp, and I have to say, WOW! I'm impressed! Right off the bat, they sounded good, and additional playing seems to be breaking them back in, and they are sounding better all the time! Very complete sound and not muddy at all, anywhere. I didn't do more than ohm them out and pull the rear cover off of one to see if the speakers were original. (They were)

I'm going to have to AB test them against the Wharfedales and see how they really sound, but they must be super efficient, as even at very low volume knob levels they are LOUD! My daughter came down from upstairs last night asking if I'd turn them down, they were on "1" . Usually that’s really low. Had to go down to point 5 (.5) :thmbsp:

I really like the sounds of these. Have to see where they will fit in around here, I've got quite a few really nice speakers these days... :smoke: I’m thinking definitely tupe speakers though since they are only rated 30W

Does any one have any further info on these? Original MSRP, dates manufactured? Etc…
 
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Venture over to the Dark Side (i.e., AA) and do a search for Utah speakers on the Vintage Forum. There's a fellow over there who is big into them.
 
mhardy,

I did as you sugested and did a search on AA. I think I found the Utah guy's postsd, but as extensive as he and several others wenit into Utah's history and models' nomention of the WD66. One post did but it went basically nowhere.

Any one else know anything about these Utahs? Seems Allied and I think lafayett both sold Utah drivers, but whether that extended to complete cabinets wasn't clear to me.

Edit: BTW, thanks for the Clue! :thmbsp:
 
Sorry 'bout that. I can check some old catalogs I have and see if I have any info. eBAY can be a useful source of photos and information, although the info is always "as is", so to speak. The Utah speakers I've seen like that were no great shakes. I have a pair of Utahs that had 15" woofers. Someone had tried to upgrade them, and they're really nasty. I have tried on a couple of occasions to get rid of them, but they have some sentimental value for my son, who used them for a while. They're currently serving as a table in the basement for some other hi-fi stuff.
 
Not a problem. I appreciate the clue in any case. There was quite a lot of background info even if the didn't cover these particular speakers. :thmbsp:
 
Outlaw,
I am in the same situation about the wd66's. if I find more info I will let you know. Mine are about as close to a 10 as you can get and I feel were quite a score at the goodwill. Keep me informed if you find anything out.

BeerCan
 
BC,

I have a couple of links to the "historical" posts on AA, have you seen the posts on AA?

How do you like the Utahs for sound? What are you listening to them with as far as an amp/reciver?
 
I have two pair of Utah speaker systems. The WD-90, 12-inch, 3-way, and the MP-3000, a 15-inch, 3-way (hmmm, could be four-way). I also remember some discussion on several ocassions at AA. My Utah's sound nice, not exceptional. One 'tweak' mentioned was to replace the WD-90's tweeter with a better dome type tweet. The bass and mids are decent and smooth, the tweet just seems a tad muffled.
The big MP-3000's are pretty nice. Uses two horn-loaded dome tweets.
 
These WD66's have a 12" woofer and a mid and tweet with a solid basket on the back. I'm not sure if the buggers are ported/vented as I have not seen the front of the mids and tweets. I just thought it was interesting the backs were solid. I've never seen a speaker like that. I'm assuming they are cone speakers, but again, thats a guess.

In practice it makes the ported box only have to deal with the Woofer, which I'd guess allows a smaller box. Exterior dimensions on these are 24H x 14-1/2W x 9" deep. kind of shallow, espesially with the recessed baffle, which cuts it about an inch more.

I'm not feeling like these are hurting at all on the highs, possibly a bit on the mids, but not much. Just heard the high horns on "Penny Lane) a minute ago and it was very clear.

I'm still pretty impressed with these guys, but granted all I have had them on is this Motorola console amp. Need some time to do a shoot out between these and a few other speakers I have around the house. They do seem to have a very good sound stage also. With so many speakers you need to be right at the sweet spot.
 
At this point I see no need to change mine either. I have them going thru a Scottkit lk-48 and it sounds very nice. I did notice I had to notch the bass on the amp up just a tad. Interesting that if I turn the volume all the way down without turning it off you can still hear them. Now thats efficient!
 
It's the kit version of the integrated you saw in my garage, the 222 on top of the 350 tuner. EL84 pp integrated, 13 wpc. :)

Carl
 
Actually I think its 20WPC and mine uses 7189 tubes (higher voltage el84's). Sounds real nice. Circa 1961
Scott_LK-48.jpg
 
Mine is definatly not the "b" model (on good authority). But as far as wpc I was going by the specs on the hhscott site. 13wpc may be correct as tube amps are definatly a new area for me. Either way it sounds awesome and is plenty loud. Fast becoming one of my favorite amps. And it seems to match well with the Utah's
 
This Motorola has ECL82 PP on all three channels (R/L +center bass)

My other similar Mot has single EL84's outputs and a 12x7a as the IF amp. I don't think its PP then? :dunno:
 
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