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Wharfedale Speakers


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I still have my original Wharfedale W35 Speakers which I purchased in 1972. Wharfedale is a British Company, still in existance, and in the 60s and 70s produced fine quality speakers with British Industries Company (BIC) components. They had a US factory/marketing office in Westbury New York.

They made a full line of walnut enclosed speakers ranging from a W25 Bookshelf to a W80 15" floor system. My W35s are the largest bookshelf system they made and are 3-way with 8" woofers. They have 3 way crossovers and also a mid range and tweeter attenuator on the back of the case. I gave them to my Son about 10 years ago and have just inherited them back. I'm pressing them into service in my surround system as they still sound teriffic, and look good too. If anyone else still has any of the Wharfedale line I'd enjoy hearing from you. I still have the 1972 marketing brocure on the product line as well as several tech bulletins.

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  • 4 months later...

Wharfedale has existed since the 40's at least and has been a significant contributor to home and pro sound for many decades. GH Briggs did significant research into making speaker enclosures inert and their larger products sold in the 60's and early 70's used sand in the rear enclosure mounting board in a sandwich construction. The W60D MK II speakers in my fathers house date from about "67 and have 6 lb of sand in the rear cover. This 12 inch woofer 3 way system was the largest bookshelf they made at the time and sold in the States. The materials used by Wharfedale have aged very well in my fathers system with no visible degradation. They still work perfectly and are untouched. British Industries Corp. was the US importer only. Wharfedale made all the components itself. Check out their website and learn the real story.

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  • 4 months later...

I have just joined will add more if welcomed. I stumbled across a pair of E 70's. They are very unique as is many of the classic audio components I have discovered. Plenty of wrongs with them. I have a hunch someone got stupid or careless when hooking them up, or a carelessly stupid person got a hold of them. We all make mistakes but just trashing something because it doesn't come from Best Buy I find irratating. I vaguely remembered the name and was pleased to find out some history. I will leave now with one quote from an opscure website. A gentlemen mentioned that the new wharedale line and plant may only be a mimic of the old. He said laughing that the plant was gone where he lived and the new one is not what us yankees think it is, and basically communicated he was not pleased that the new Wharedale is not the original company in any shape or form. If I can help with component location I will surely do. Take care

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  • 1 month later...

I just bought a pair of wharfedale model 70's. DOing some research I found out mine were made in 63. They are 3-way floor standers but have 6 in small table legs attached to the bottom. Man are they heavy! The wood is beautiful. I did not know they were wharfedales until I opened the back up and saw the name on the woffer and mid. They have big alnico red magnets. There was a thick plastic emblem on the back of the speakers "The Radio People Ltd". I found out that theses folks were the importer of wharfedales into the far east.

When I first started to play them the sound was tinny and dull. Then they opened up and sound great now. I will put new x-overs in and new wiring. These were made for probably onlt 5 to 10 watts max. they are very effecient from what I've read up on them.

I have a picture somewhere I'll post when I find it. Anyone have more info on wharfedales??

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  • 1 year later...
Guest 20PAXDOVE03

I have a pair of W70's and would like to sell them I have a lot of speakers and need to sell some. If interested please contact me my name is john. Thanks

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As I recall, the largest in the series was the floor standing W90. The double enclosure with sand fill between them was designed to damp out all cabinet resonances and I thought it was extremely clever. I've always wondered why nobody else seems to have tried it. As I recall, the W90 was a dual 3 way system, having two 3 way 12 inch systems in the same enclosure. It was their most ambitious effort at that time. Wharfedale was always regarded as a very high quality British manufacturer and their products were distributed by among others, Lafayette Radio and Electronics. Anyone recall their main store in Syosset Long Island or their large branch store on Liberty Avenue in Jamaica Queens? In the 1950s and 1960s these were among the largest retail electronics store outlets in the New York Metropolitan area. Oh how I wish I had saved their large and fascinating catalogues. They sold everything from Audio equipment, to electronics parts, to microscopes and telescopes including their own brand name products. Brings back a lot of memories.

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  • 1 year later...
Guest jcmjrt

I just picked up a pair of W-90's and they sound marvelous. The truth is that I've had them for a few days now and they just keep sounding better. If someone wants to see pics then let me know. I would put 'em up here but it says that the file is too large. The W90's that I have aren't sand filled. If someone has a brochure or other info, I'd love to see it. Thanks.

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  • 2 months later...
Guest enltgen

Hi all, I just picked up a pair of w90's that look great at an estate sale, unfortuately they couldn't find the original documents / manuals. Before I hook these up and scew them up I want to be sure that I make the proper connections. The plug ins appear to be 1/8" or some sort of older connection.... ? Radio Shack? Also two round red knobs on back and one black arrow knob, what are the specific functions of these? Also any info on powering these and any suggested tuneup items. And of course any other info related to the vintage speakers would be appreciated!

Thanks, Trent- (enltgen)

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  • 7 months later...
  • 2 years later...
As I recall, the largest in the series was the floor standing W90. The double enclosure with sand fill between them was designed to damp out all cabinet resonances and I thought it was extremely clever. I've always wondered why nobody else seems to have tried it. As I recall, the W90 was a dual 3 way system, having two 3 way 12 inch systems in the same enclosure. It was their most ambitious effort at that time. Wharfedale was always regarded as a very high quality British manufacturer and their products were distributed by among others, Lafayette Radio and Electronics. Anyone recall their main store in Syosset Long Island or their large branch store on Liberty Avenue in Jamaica Queens? In the 1950s and 1960s these were among the largest retail electronics store outlets in the New York Metropolitan area. Oh how I wish I had saved their large and fascinating catalogues. They sold everything from Audio equipment, to electronics parts, to microscopes and telescopes including their own brand name products. Brings back a lot of memories.

I need to find out if anyone can tell me what type of jacks were used on the W-90's, as I have tried banana plugs and 1/8 inch plugs but neither will fit into the small jacks(two on each speaker).

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  • 2 years later...

I believe my W 90's are 1964 models, and only the unvented rear panel is sand filled. There are two rear panels that cover the devided cabinets, and the right side (when looking at the backs) is the solid panel that is route and sand filled whith a thin panel over the route to contain the sand, and the left side cover is vented with slots going side to side from top to bottom. There is no sand filled panels on the outer walls of the cabinets or the divider panel. I did change out the Motarola style input jacks and installed Banana 24K plated jacks for easy of hookup and swapping speakers. These speakers sound wonderful compared to my W 70's, and my only concern is that my 60 watt per channel Dynaco Mark III amps may be too powerful for the W 90 and the W 70 speakers. I'm keeping the volume below 4 to play it safe!

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  • 9 months later...

Hi,

I have a pair of Wharfedale W90 speakers (sand-filled model).

I'm desperately looking for someone who has a photograph of the crossover

for these, or some know-how of the configuration.

I've been attempting to repair them for a year and have had some techs playing around with bypassing the crossover (didn't work).

Any help would be greatly appreciated, as I've almost given up. Wharfedale informed me that they lost this information when one of their facilities burnt several years ago.

Finding someone with some know-how is my only hope.

Kind thanks

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Hi,

I have a pair of Wharfedale W90 speakers (sand-filled model).

I'm desperately looking for someone who has a photograph of the crossover

for these, or some know-how of the configuration.

I've been attempting to repair them for a year and have had some techs playing around with bypassing the crossover (didn't work).

Any help would be greatly appreciated, as I've almost given up. Wharfedale informed me that they lost this information when one of their facilities burnt several years ago.

Finding someone with some know-how is my only hope.

Kind thanks

Hi there

Do you have all the old crossover pieces?

Can you post a good closeup of your crossover of both speakers, if both have not been altered?

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Hi Dan,

Thanks for your attention to my post. I managed to find a helpful gentleman today that sent me original crossover specs from Wharfedale.

I'm going to contact my tech and see if he can help me get the speakers back in shape.

Unfortunately, the photos of my current crossover scheme aren't original and were altered in an attempt to bypass the pots in the back that equalize the mids and tweets.

Will be in touch, as I need all the help I can get with this project

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  • 2 weeks later...
  • 5 months later...

Wow I am sure glad I found this forum, Looking at the list of AR speakers brings back memories for me I had AR 2A's, and AR-3A's wish I still had them. I have a pair of Wharfedale W35's I purchased new back in 1972. I purchased a new Onkyo receiver and decided to take the W35's out of the very careful storage they have been in for most of the last 15 years, When I first fired them up getting fed with a proper amount of power for the first time I was disappointed with the sound I figured the long period of storeage had not kind to them, However as the speakers loosened up they sounded better and better. Now as I listen to them I am astonished by just how good they are. Can anyone point me in the direction to find the proper binding post nuts for these speakers I am missing one I have a simple nut for now but I would like to obtain the proper part.

I wonder if the present line of Wharfedales are as good?

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Can anyone point me in the direction to find the proper binding post nuts for these speakers I am missing one I have a simple nut for now but I would like to obtain the proper part

Welcome to the CSP!

I saw a photo of the back of some W25s and it looks like they have knurled nuts, just like the 8-32 nuts used on AR, KLH and others. If that's the case, you "should" be able to find solid brass ones in a good hardware store. If you want nickle-plated brass those are harder to find but I have some. Send me a PM if interested. Please try to confirm the thread size.

Here's the kind I'm talking about:

http://www.ebay.com/...=item3a7150fcf0

If that's what you need, let me know.

Also, if your W35 crossover is more or less similar to the W25 shown here, http://www.ebay.com/itm/Wharfedale-B-I-C-W25-Speaker-Input-Jack-Crossover-Works-GREAT-British-/140674947057#vi-content (except that the 25 is 2-way and the 35 is 3-way), you should replace the capacitors. It looks like the 25 has the dreaded black and red Callins type PVC cap. These are notorious for leaking. ALSO--if you have not done so--examine your woofer surrounds. If they are foam they are probably beginning to rot.

Kent

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What I have are knurled closed flat topped thumb nuts. I have rubber surrounds and they are in very good condition over the years I have anointed them armor-all which has kept them intact and supple. Doing cap' jobs is old hat to me as I restore and use vintage vacuum tube hamradio equipment. (W7ITC) I have found several outfits that make replacement cap's of various types for crossovers. Is there any brand that is best to use for this job? I have a set of Polk 10B's I need to do the same thing to.

I have been looking at the modern line of Wharfedale speakers and I just might upgrade to them instead of the Polk Audio speakers I have been looking at.

I have two tips for all of you with vintage speakers. If you are not already using one pick up an audio signal generator.

these are super useful for tracking down problems. Hook the output into the speaker posts and inject an audio tone into the speaker and with a set of headphones modified with test leads you can very quickly track down problems.

The 2nd is for the beautiful wood cabinetry so many of these old speakers have use Kiwi shoe polish, the stuff in the flat tin. Pick the color that best matches the finish of the cabinet and go for it, you will be very pleased with how it looks and the looks will only improve as you continue to use it. I have used Kiwi paste shoe polish on 1930's console radio cabinets for years and it is great stuff. Use a regular shoe brush to buff the wax into the wood.

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Yes--I did look around a little and saw that the nuts are closed on top. Don't have those, just the plain knurled nuts.

Thanks for the tips.

As a radio guy you probably know the brand of the capacitor matters little. Many here use Dayton from Parts Express or Solen from PE or Madisound. Carli, from Madisound is a good inexpensive film cap with low ESR. Lately some of us have been using Erse caps--a very good value: http://www.erseaudio.com/

As a tube radio enthusiast, perhaps you would find my KLH Model Eight restoration guide interesting. It's attached to Post #1 here:

http://www.classicspeakerpages.net/IP.Board/index.php?showtopic=6387

It's a work in progress--I'm working on the 4th revision now--so any input (pos or neg) is welcome.

Kent

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I am looking over stuff to refurbish my W35's I ran across these Eminence crossovers I wonder if this might be a way to go.

The only thing I am not sure of is the cross over points on the original crossover in the W35's. I can easily recap what I have

but if these crossovers are better then the originals......

http://w.mawebcenters.com/midwestspeaker/ecommerce/crossovers-parts/eminence-pxb3-5k0-3-way-crossover.html

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They're not better. The W35 xo was designed specifically for the W35 drivers and box. Don't mess with it. New caps are easy and that should be all you need.

Kent

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They're not better. The W35 xo was designed specifically for the W35 drivers and box. Don't mess with it. New caps are easy and that should be all you need.

Kent

That makes sense, a re-cap so simple. I have two set of speakers I need to re-cap, the W-35's. and the Polk 10B's.

Did a look see on the W-35's crossover, a Very interesting visual. The crossover is hand built does not use a printed circuit board but point to point wiring.

There is;

1 4 micro Farad 50 volt cap'

1 8 micro Farad 50 volt cap'

1 12 micro Farad 50 Volt cap'

3 wire wound inductors, Henry value not listed on the parts and I didn't use my instruments to find out, and 2 potentiometers for adjusting the output level of the tweeter, and mid-range.

What is interesting is these W35's sound so good with music that was popular when they where in production. classical, Big Band, period rock-n-Roll, early new age. western, . However with modern electronica, trance, dark Ambient, Orchestral Metal, not so good. With the W35 a sub-woofer is a must to remove the lower frequency sounds an eight inch woofer of the early 1970's just cannot reproduce. Fortunately the Onkyo TX-NR709 I just purchased has built in controls for a subwoofer so you can set the upper frequency cutoff for the sub-woofers, one of the settings is 150hz and down is sent to the subwoofer 150hz is just about right for the lower end on the W35's woofers. My old bench mark for lower frequencies in music was The Dawn Fanfare in Also sprach Zarathustra (ASZ) (Richard Strauss 1896) it has a 20 cycle organ pedal note in it at the beginning. It was very, very hard for tube type, and early solid state audio amps to reproduce, and most speakers that where smaller then the legendary Klipschorn speakers where hopeless. I remember going into a audiophile store with a London recording (LP) of ASZ that actually had the 20hz note I wanted to hear these house sized Klipschorn speakers in action. The salesman put the record on and cranked the volume up and we sat back and listened, the pedal note came on and those glorious speakers actually vibrated all of the display placards off of all of the other speakers in the listening room, it looked like an earth quake had hit the place, which is basically what had happened. The Salesman was stunned, He could not believe a speaker could do this. He purchased that record off of me to demonstrate these speakers with. He told me later on he sold a bunch of Klipschorn speakers using this recording. Now modern solid state amp's have absolutely no trouble, and with a modern subwoofers even lower frequencies are routine.

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