Gang-Twanger
Resident Wharfedaliophool
OK, since I've kind of been elected the resident Wharfedale fanboy, I'll see if I can't narrow it down.
Wharfedale, for decades, was a high-end speaker brand who competed with the likes of Quad and Leak in the UK and AR, University, Bozak, and many others in the US. But there WAS a point back in the day where Wharfedale was, for a time, marketed as a mid-fi and upper-mid-fi brand. This decision by the upper-management at the Rank Group (who owned Wharfedale at the time) was a result of their purchase of Leak from a retiring Harold Leake in 1969. At this point, Rank felt that owning two high-end speaker brands at the same time was a bad idea, so in their infinite wisdom, they decided to make Leak the high-end brand and make Wharfedale a mid-fi & upper-mid-fi entity.
The Wharfedale employees were furious, and it wasn't so great for the Leak employees either, who were forced to relocate because Rank wanted to centralize manufacturing operations for both companies and move the Leak factory to a location near the Wharfedale facilities in Idle (which would have been much too far away for Leak employees to commute). Surprisingly, most of the Leak workers chose to remain with the company and relocate, which says a lot about Harold Leake and the work environment he created there.
For Wharfedale, the changes weren't fully-implemented until the launch of the W*0E series, and if you examine those models and their construction, there are some clear differences. The sand-filled panel construction was gone, and the cabinet trim is just a wee bit less-ornate than it is on the W*0D models. The grills are a little different too. A few mid-fi models did precede the W*0E series, which debuted in 1971, I believe. The "3" series (Dovedale 3, Glendale 3, etc), from what I have read, must have been introduced a solid year earlier, plus there was a Denton bookshelf model that appears to be from that series as well, though the Denton had no 3 as far as I know.
But the thing about Wharfedale's top models at this period (the W*0E series), they still competed with high-end models by AR and others. I have had several people say to me that they PREFER the W60E to the AR3a. And the W70E (known as the Rosedale in Europe and elsewhere) is apparently a real sleeper. Just in the past few days, several people have raved to me about that model. Supposed to be incredibly-rich, uber-smooth, and delightful in the mids. I think it's really a matter of amp/speaker synergy. Match the W70E or W60E with the right gear, and hold onto your hat (metaphorically-speaking). The designers at Wharfedale must have really hunkered down and set their minds to maintaining Wharfedale's fine reputation by designing some truly-great models, despite the step down on the marketing ladder.
Then there were the CLEAR mid-fi models of the 2XP and 3XP series. These were priced below the "3" models and the TOTL (for that period in time) W*0E series models. Thankfully, by 1975, Wharfedale was making high-end gear again, starting with the SP line (Dovedale SP, Airedale SP, etc.). These were excellent models and among the very-finest Wharfedale has ever produced. And even the 2XP/3XP lines are supposed to be really-nice. The Linton 3XP is a good one for low-powered tube gear, and those speakers are a dime a dozen.
One thing about the SP models and the MUCH cheaper 2XP and 3XP lines, there are some obvious signs of borrowed drivers/driver-design. In fact, ALL of the drivers used in every one of those models look to be of Leak design. The differences between them and the W*0E & "3" drivers is huge. They look nothing like one another.
In 1978, they launched the E*0 series, which were also high-end, and after that the TSR line and the original Diamond models of the early '80's, and at that point, Wharfedale was still following Gilbert Briggs' design credo of "warm/inviting, smooth, and natural, with great mids", and even though the Wharfedales of today are COMPLETELY-different, they still share that philosophy.
Wharfedale, for decades, was a high-end speaker brand who competed with the likes of Quad and Leak in the UK and AR, University, Bozak, and many others in the US. But there WAS a point back in the day where Wharfedale was, for a time, marketed as a mid-fi and upper-mid-fi brand. This decision by the upper-management at the Rank Group (who owned Wharfedale at the time) was a result of their purchase of Leak from a retiring Harold Leake in 1969. At this point, Rank felt that owning two high-end speaker brands at the same time was a bad idea, so in their infinite wisdom, they decided to make Leak the high-end brand and make Wharfedale a mid-fi & upper-mid-fi entity.
The Wharfedale employees were furious, and it wasn't so great for the Leak employees either, who were forced to relocate because Rank wanted to centralize manufacturing operations for both companies and move the Leak factory to a location near the Wharfedale facilities in Idle (which would have been much too far away for Leak employees to commute). Surprisingly, most of the Leak workers chose to remain with the company and relocate, which says a lot about Harold Leake and the work environment he created there.
For Wharfedale, the changes weren't fully-implemented until the launch of the W*0E series, and if you examine those models and their construction, there are some clear differences. The sand-filled panel construction was gone, and the cabinet trim is just a wee bit less-ornate than it is on the W*0D models. The grills are a little different too. A few mid-fi models did precede the W*0E series, which debuted in 1971, I believe. The "3" series (Dovedale 3, Glendale 3, etc), from what I have read, must have been introduced a solid year earlier, plus there was a Denton bookshelf model that appears to be from that series as well, though the Denton had no 3 as far as I know.
But the thing about Wharfedale's top models at this period (the W*0E series), they still competed with high-end models by AR and others. I have had several people say to me that they PREFER the W60E to the AR3a. And the W70E (known as the Rosedale in Europe and elsewhere) is apparently a real sleeper. Just in the past few days, several people have raved to me about that model. Supposed to be incredibly-rich, uber-smooth, and delightful in the mids. I think it's really a matter of amp/speaker synergy. Match the W70E or W60E with the right gear, and hold onto your hat (metaphorically-speaking). The designers at Wharfedale must have really hunkered down and set their minds to maintaining Wharfedale's fine reputation by designing some truly-great models, despite the step down on the marketing ladder.
Then there were the CLEAR mid-fi models of the 2XP and 3XP series. These were priced below the "3" models and the TOTL (for that period in time) W*0E series models. Thankfully, by 1975, Wharfedale was making high-end gear again, starting with the SP line (Dovedale SP, Airedale SP, etc.). These were excellent models and among the very-finest Wharfedale has ever produced. And even the 2XP/3XP lines are supposed to be really-nice. The Linton 3XP is a good one for low-powered tube gear, and those speakers are a dime a dozen.
One thing about the SP models and the MUCH cheaper 2XP and 3XP lines, there are some obvious signs of borrowed drivers/driver-design. In fact, ALL of the drivers used in every one of those models look to be of Leak design. The differences between them and the W*0E & "3" drivers is huge. They look nothing like one another.
In 1978, they launched the E*0 series, which were also high-end, and after that the TSR line and the original Diamond models of the early '80's, and at that point, Wharfedale was still following Gilbert Briggs' design credo of "warm/inviting, smooth, and natural, with great mids", and even though the Wharfedales of today are COMPLETELY-different, they still share that philosophy.
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