Originally posted in speaker forum and British Audio, I was advised to start a new thread so here goes:
Hi Everyone
Time to step into the Tardis and go back.
I have two Wharfedale W3s. I say 2 and not a pair because one may have been modded (or not).
Now for the history bit you can ignore if you wish: I was given them in around 1969 by a gentleman called John Coombs. He was the son of a motor dealer in Guildford. My recollection was of a very dapper and self-assured man. My father, a gifted cabinet maker, had made some furniture for him and he called in from time to time to order more. I even vaguely remember delivering some to his charming old house in Shamley Green. Anyway, I was a spotty teenager, he was in his late 40s. Although his fame was for racing Jaguars, I'm sure I remember him driving in one day in a Mercedes. He'd left the ignition on and the coil had overheated (so he said) and it wouldn't start. I thought it quite amusing; he was furious. I was told he had inherited a Jaguar dealership from his father in an area of Guildford called St. Catherines. Most of the people I knew that knew him did not seem to like him. Allegedly he would drop into the workshop from time to time, sack anyone who displeased him and march off leaving the workshop manager to re-assure the offender that he wasn't sacked and that life would return to normal once John had left. They all felt he was a playboy living off his father's effort at developing the business. I thought it was great he gave me the speakers. When the UK Government took over Jaguar he changed to a BMW dealership but they were too controlling for John so I believe he sold up and went to live in Monaco. I used the W3s (without properly appreciating them) for several years before I put them into storage. 40+ years on and my youngest son, now a teenager himself, motivated me to get them out. I needed to let him hear a good sound and not a blue-tooth connected iTunes mp3 through a boombox.
Sadly one bass driver didn't function. I took the back off, all seemed in order and it suddenly worked - until that is I put the back back on. I've now set about trying to work out exactly what I've got and what I should do to get them working.
So here goes:
Speaker 1 seems original and works. Its serial number on the plate is 4415. It has a WLS 12 bass driver, a 5" mid-range and a Super 3 tweeter. It is controlled by 2 Clarostat 50Ω Linear potentiometers; one labelled 'Treble' and the other 'Middle'. It has a green wire coil and 2 capacitors: A Hunts brand 12µF 150V D.C. Wkg. metallised and what I assume to be a PIO 2µF 400V DC TEST one. I attach a wiring diagram I have drawn (note that the pot connections I have drawn are correct in so far as there are three solder points - left hand middle and right hand. I have drawn the diagram such that the blue and grey wires are the one that are soldered to the middle connection on each of the two pots). It was suggested on the Speaker forum that I might have drawn it wrongly but I haven't; this is how it is. There is another image on a Japanese website that is identical https://blogs.yahoo.co.jp/gakuyujp/63028861.html so it would seem to be correct. Without disconnecting anything, my meter shows: approx 10Ω across all drivers irrespective of rotary linear pot positions.
Speaker 2 may have been modified (prior to me and thus prior to 1969!). It has lost it serial number plate. It has the same speakers. It is controlled by one Clarostat but the other has been replaced by a 6-step potentiometer. They are labelled 'Treble' and 'Bass' respectively. There are two capacitors but they are red cylindrical ones. One is CCL brand 12µF 50V DC WKG REVERSIBLE WG 74 RAS B4 and the other a physically much smaller CCL 2µF 50V. Without disconnecting anything my meter shows: High range driver 11.6Ω. The mid driver 8.6Ω. The bass driver varies depending on the position of the 6-step pot: 0.4Ω, 6.7Ω, 10.4Ω, 18.1Ω, 40.4Ω, 108kΩ.
Questions:
1/ Is speaker 1 original and are the caps both still likely to be OK? How can I test for that?
2/ Is speaker 2 original or should I try and get those caps replaced and a Clarostat pot to replace the 6-step or is the labelling difference ('Bass' instead of 'Middle') indicative that it is an original W3 but just different? I should add that there are no residual screw holes to show that there was ever a fixing bracket as there is for the large rectangular PIO capacitor in speaker 1???
I am going to remove a wire and connect up the bass driver in speaker 2 alone to see if it is still ok? It worked years ago and once when the back was off in the last few days so I don't think it is the cause of it not working but I'll check.
I'l post some images of the working speaker 1 here and spekaer 2 in the next post.
Any and all guidance appreciated.
Hi Everyone
Time to step into the Tardis and go back.
I have two Wharfedale W3s. I say 2 and not a pair because one may have been modded (or not).
Now for the history bit you can ignore if you wish: I was given them in around 1969 by a gentleman called John Coombs. He was the son of a motor dealer in Guildford. My recollection was of a very dapper and self-assured man. My father, a gifted cabinet maker, had made some furniture for him and he called in from time to time to order more. I even vaguely remember delivering some to his charming old house in Shamley Green. Anyway, I was a spotty teenager, he was in his late 40s. Although his fame was for racing Jaguars, I'm sure I remember him driving in one day in a Mercedes. He'd left the ignition on and the coil had overheated (so he said) and it wouldn't start. I thought it quite amusing; he was furious. I was told he had inherited a Jaguar dealership from his father in an area of Guildford called St. Catherines. Most of the people I knew that knew him did not seem to like him. Allegedly he would drop into the workshop from time to time, sack anyone who displeased him and march off leaving the workshop manager to re-assure the offender that he wasn't sacked and that life would return to normal once John had left. They all felt he was a playboy living off his father's effort at developing the business. I thought it was great he gave me the speakers. When the UK Government took over Jaguar he changed to a BMW dealership but they were too controlling for John so I believe he sold up and went to live in Monaco. I used the W3s (without properly appreciating them) for several years before I put them into storage. 40+ years on and my youngest son, now a teenager himself, motivated me to get them out. I needed to let him hear a good sound and not a blue-tooth connected iTunes mp3 through a boombox.
Sadly one bass driver didn't function. I took the back off, all seemed in order and it suddenly worked - until that is I put the back back on. I've now set about trying to work out exactly what I've got and what I should do to get them working.
So here goes:
Speaker 1 seems original and works. Its serial number on the plate is 4415. It has a WLS 12 bass driver, a 5" mid-range and a Super 3 tweeter. It is controlled by 2 Clarostat 50Ω Linear potentiometers; one labelled 'Treble' and the other 'Middle'. It has a green wire coil and 2 capacitors: A Hunts brand 12µF 150V D.C. Wkg. metallised and what I assume to be a PIO 2µF 400V DC TEST one. I attach a wiring diagram I have drawn (note that the pot connections I have drawn are correct in so far as there are three solder points - left hand middle and right hand. I have drawn the diagram such that the blue and grey wires are the one that are soldered to the middle connection on each of the two pots). It was suggested on the Speaker forum that I might have drawn it wrongly but I haven't; this is how it is. There is another image on a Japanese website that is identical https://blogs.yahoo.co.jp/gakuyujp/63028861.html so it would seem to be correct. Without disconnecting anything, my meter shows: approx 10Ω across all drivers irrespective of rotary linear pot positions.
Speaker 2 may have been modified (prior to me and thus prior to 1969!). It has lost it serial number plate. It has the same speakers. It is controlled by one Clarostat but the other has been replaced by a 6-step potentiometer. They are labelled 'Treble' and 'Bass' respectively. There are two capacitors but they are red cylindrical ones. One is CCL brand 12µF 50V DC WKG REVERSIBLE WG 74 RAS B4 and the other a physically much smaller CCL 2µF 50V. Without disconnecting anything my meter shows: High range driver 11.6Ω. The mid driver 8.6Ω. The bass driver varies depending on the position of the 6-step pot: 0.4Ω, 6.7Ω, 10.4Ω, 18.1Ω, 40.4Ω, 108kΩ.
Questions:
1/ Is speaker 1 original and are the caps both still likely to be OK? How can I test for that?
2/ Is speaker 2 original or should I try and get those caps replaced and a Clarostat pot to replace the 6-step or is the labelling difference ('Bass' instead of 'Middle') indicative that it is an original W3 but just different? I should add that there are no residual screw holes to show that there was ever a fixing bracket as there is for the large rectangular PIO capacitor in speaker 1???
I am going to remove a wire and connect up the bass driver in speaker 2 alone to see if it is still ok? It worked years ago and once when the back was off in the last few days so I don't think it is the cause of it not working but I'll check.
I'l post some images of the working speaker 1 here and spekaer 2 in the next post.
Any and all guidance appreciated.
