wharfedale SUPER 12/CS/AL SPEAKER - Circa 1955

just bought this on CL. original owner who bought it new in 1955! no too much on the web but sounds promising.

just had shoulder surgery so won't be able to pick up for about a week or so.

shouldn't take a lot of watts to get it going. hard to imagine i'll find a mate for it.

anyone seen/heard one of these?

Nice, you found a match for my orphan.

One of my favorites.

I have a pair and preferred them to my Coral Beta 8's.

They are however nearly worthless cash wise.

marc mc

have you used yours? what does it sound like?

Marc
What kind of cabinets are yours in?

I have a pair that I need to send to Simply Speakers for a recone - they need to go back in my SFB open baffles. Currently I have a pair of Eminence Alphas pinch hitting for them.

is that one of the orig drivers in the SFBs?

if i don't like the cabinet i may try an OB set-up...

Yes - the SFB had the Super 12, a 10, and an upfiring 3" alnico speaker. All my drivers were shot, so I removed them and replaced the 3" with a piezo, the 10" with a Tang Band 1808 (in a handmade "spacer" of wood that sized down the hole), and the Eminence in the 12" spot. I've been planning to have the 12s reconed an put them back in someday.

cool. those SFBs are super rare

What is the SFB?

^^^^^^^^

I remember those, thanks.

Doc Rock said:

Yes - the SFB had the Super 12, a 10, and an upfiring 3" alnico speaker. All my drivers were shot, so I removed them and replaced the 3" with a piezo, the 10" with a Tang Band 1808 (in a handmade "spacer" of wood that sized down the hole), and the Eminence in the 12" spot. I've been planning to have the 12s reconed an put them back in someday.

Click to expand...

Well, technically the SFB3 had a special SFB version of the W12 woofer ((and not a Super 12 full-ranger). It had a sand-filled baffle and came with a proprietary set of drivers made strictly for that model (W12/SFB, 10" Bronze/SFB, and a Super 3... Doesn't say anything in the old brochure about the Super 3 being proprietary though... Just the other two, which were run in parallel... The Super 3 was fed in parallel through a filter capacitor and was mounted on a small open-baffle facing upwards).

That model is #1 on my wish list.... Someday.

You should get ALL the original drivers restored... Those tube-era Wharfedale drivers have a distinct sound to them that I have not heard in any other drivers (Bozak's '50's and early '60's drivers are close though... Picture them with some British lushness stirred in and the bass just a touch more-laid-back, and you have the classic, Briggs-era Wharfedale sound).

Those are beautiful drivers! Love those AlNiCo Magnets.

marc mc said:

One of my favorites.

I have a pair and preferred them to my Coral Beta 8's.

They are however nearly worthless cash wise.

marc mc

Click to expand...

I wish... Checked Fleabay lately?

Gang-Twanger said:

That model is #1 on my wish list.... Someday.

Click to expand...

I've posted a link to a pair in Dollars and Sense. Not in my budget.

http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/showthread.php?p=7235822#post7235822

Nice pic of the W12 in seller's post.

Super cool SFBs!

PastTechFan said:

I've posted a link to a pair in Dollars and Sense. Not in my budget.

http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/showthread.php?p=7235822#post7235822

Nice pic of the W12 in seller's post.

Click to expand...

Yeah... Certainly not right before Xmas, that's for sure, but maybe if they were in New England and at a better price... I WILL have a pair though..... Someday... I appreciate the heads-up though.

Yeah, those alnico W12's are really-something. Gilbert Briggs must have been a big fan of running woofers and big mid-woofers in full-range like that because I can't think of ANY Wharfedale model from '62 or earlier that DIDN'T have the woofers running that way. And it makes sense, having them roll off naturally like that.

Once I discovered the original Super 3, Super 5, and the other classic drivers from the Briggs era, there was no turning back (It's like the CIA... You don't leave the Agency... Once you're in, they got you for life). I can put on something totally-mundane like the theme from "Shaft" and just get totally-floored. They can do the audiophile-type recordings, but their real talent is their ability to bring the everyday classics to life (like the kind of music you'd see in a Time/Life CD collection) and that's what I dig most about them. All the stuff that used to sound like crap is now sounding amazing.