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Wharfedale W60's Have Entred The Building

doctorolds

doctorolds

AK Subscriber
Subscriber
I walked past my PC and checked CL, saw the W60's posted for 11 minutes and sent an email, called me back, sold. I have been wanting a pair of Wharfedale's for a while now but CL has been dry here. All I can say is that they sound GREAT.

Opened them up for initial inspection and found a lose wire on the L-Pad while cleaning them. I checked the resistance of the drivers and fired them up. Running on my Sansui 9090 now, sorry no tubes are up and running right now.

I believe they are some of the first built in 1961. The emblem is not like any I have seen, but I know how things change. The caps are 12uf Metalized Paper, not oil. Any thoughts or comments?
 

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Meh I guess you'll have to slum it with a 9090...:D

Very nice - they look super clean and have alnico drivers to boot. I'd love to get a pair some day, love that Wharfedale sound. :music:
 
Nice! Always wanted to try the 60's. When I did my 70D MkII's I flipped the woofer 180 degrees to offset any sag.
 
shacky said:
Nice! Always wanted to try the 60's. When I did my 70D MkII's I flipped the woofer 180 degrees to offset any sag.
Click to expand...

I have to many projects going on right now, so I have them set up for listening in my shop for the moment. I may flip the woofers when I restore them, but for now I just enjoy their sound.
 

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I have a pair of original W60s with the alnico magnets. Different badge on the grillcloth. Just had them recapped with some great sounding oil caps by a friend here on AK. They sound sweet. :music:
 
doctorolds said:
I have to many projects going on right now, so I have them set up for listening in my shop for the moment. I may flip the woofers when I restore them, but for now I just enjoy their sound.
Click to expand...

The speaker on the right should be flipped around. The tweeters should be facing the same way.
 
Re the badge...

I've got that same badge on my W60s and W90s (both).

Oddly, the W90s are alnico, and the W60s are alnico (mid)-tweets (the PST4), with ferrite woofs. I assume that mine are circa 64-5.

I found that sealing up all the seams (including the little wooden tweet box) helped the bass. Also installed a 12 uf (GE) motor-run cap. Nice sound!!
 
jgannon said:
I have a pair of original W60s with the alnico magnets. Different badge on the grillcloth. Just had them recapped with some great sounding oil caps by a friend here on AK. They sound sweet. :music:
Click to expand...

What type of caps were in them originally, and what type did you have installed?
 
PastTechFan said:
I've got that same badge on my W60s and W90s (both).

Oddly, the W90s are alnico, and the W60s are alnico (mid)-tweets (the PST4), with ferrite woofs. I assume that mine are circa 64-5.

I found that sealing up all the seams (including the little wooden tweet box) helped the bass. Also installed a 12 uf (GE) motor-run cap. Nice sound!!
Click to expand...

It is good to hear that there are other "W" series models out there with the same badge's as mine since I have only seen them with the model number after the Wharfedale name. If I am correct the dates are stamped inside the cabinet and written in what appears to be pencil on the back of the woofer as seen in pictures 3 & 4 above. Also, where did you source the GE caps from?
 
doctorolds said:
It is good to hear that there are other "W" series models out there with the same badge's as mine since I have only seen them with the model number after the Wharfedale name. If I am correct the dates are stamped inside the cabinet and written in what appears to be pencil on the back of the woofer as seen in pictures 3 & 4 above. Also, where did you source the GE caps from?
Click to expand...

I think you're right. I understand the pencil/chalk marks on the cone are the build dates for the drivers. My W90 woofs are both late 63. (Before JFK was killed.)

As for the GE's, I got my first pair on that auction site. Easiest search is "dielektrol". You may also get them locally at HVAC outlets. Used a lot for AC motors. (Make sure to get "motor runs", not "starts".) 12uf (mfd) is the ticket. Don't worry about voltage.

I've been tempted sometimes to put in some tiny value "bypass" caps in parallel to the GE's. It's said to brighten things a bit. Time is the issue. (Plus my hearing now maxes at about 12Kz.) :scratch2:
 
jgannon said:
Sheesh, I should be 100% certain of that shouldn't I? I think they were electrolytic. Check out this thread and go to post #29 and there is a pic of the original type of cap in there along with the new ones.
http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/showthread.php?t=602425&page=3
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Thanks for the pics. Yours had different caps then mine but I found the following information in post #40: "These were NOS GE Dielektrol caps rated at 12 uF, 550 volts AC, 60 Hz purchased off ebay."
 
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doctorolds said:
Thanks for the pics. Yours had different caps the mine but I found the following information in post #40: "These were NOS GE Dielektrol caps rated at 12 uF, 550 volts AC, 60 Hz purchased off ebay."
Click to expand...

Yeah, the GE oil caps are really opening up too. Brought the speakers to another level. They work really well with my Fisher 800B.
 
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