Wharfedale w70d what to pay

[elitopus]

There are a pair locally that are 200 obo. Im looking for a pair of speakers to make my SE 6bq5 tube amp shine. I have been looking for some klipsch heresy but i dont want to spend 400 dollars. I hear these wharfedales have a great sound with tubes but i haven't heard a pair.

I am also a little confused about the letter designations. I have heard the designs switched going to the c and d series. Also something about sand filled backs? Are these w70d's what i want?

 

[62sunbeam]

200 sounds cheap especially if they look good, all the drivers are fully functional and the crossovers haven't lost their lust for life..

I'd pick them up.

Enjoy

Eric

 

[audiomagnate]

There's a pair of them here, but no purple tweeters. Were they made without the famous purple tweets?

 

[elitopus]

When i search for images of w70d through google most of them have the purple tweets

 

[audiomagnate]

Did some more research, these are W70Cs, which didn't feature the purple tweeter, and are actually three ways. That's a big change for just changing from C to D.

 

[-reverb-]

"cartridge sled"... never heard that term used before. Same thing as the head shell?

 

[rogerfederer]

check out the spec sheets attached to post #1:

http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/showthread.php?t=121806

doesn't give a sensitivity figure, but if the max power handling is 40 watts that suggests they are pretty efficient.

 

[Brian]

The D used the new purple fried egg tweeters, 4-way acoustic suspension. Voicing is very similar to the earlier W70s but with the new tweeter there was slightly high end extension. Not sure the radical design change and introduction of the fragility of the tweeter. It was sometime before the problem was resolved with new cement and the plastic grill. This tweeter was used in the e model and issued as the stock replacement in the d units. So, you can have a d with the e tweeter.

 

[audiomagnate]

"cartridge sled"... never heard that term used before. Same thing as the head shell?

Not exactly. That's what the thing that holds the cartridge that slides into the headshell is called on Duals. It even looks like a sled. Good ones are hard to find, and the value is in the $40 to $50 dollar range, so a vintage Dual with a missing sled is severely devalued. This isn't a stock 1019 sled, but it's close.

 

[Westy56]

Not exactly. That's what the thing that holds the cartridge that slides into the headshell is called on Duals. It even looks like a sled. Good ones are hard to find, and the value is in the $40 to $50 dollar range, so a vintage Dual with a missing sled is severely devalued. This isn't a stock 1019 sled, but it's close.

[/IMG]

Do Wharfedale w70's relate to this comment?

 

[-reverb-]

Not exactly. That's what the thing that holds the cartridge that slides into the headshell is called on Duals. It even looks like a sled. Good ones are hard to find, and the value is in the $40 to $50 dollar range, so a vintage Dual with a missing sled is severely devalued. This isn't a stock 1019 sled, but it's close.

Interesting. I am a little smarter today that I was yesterday :thmbsp:

Thanks for the intel~!

 

[icenine]

$200 is too much for 70s. A really nice set in great cosmetic condition should be around $100.

I think there are much better speakers. For $200 I would look for some Klipsch KG4s or something similar.

I had the 70d once. They sound ok but I think the bass is tubby and the high end a bit too crisp. A matter of taste I guess. My AR4s that I paid $18 bucks for sound much better with my tube amp, although it is a push pull.

 

[Ghonk]

$200 is too much for 70s. A really nice set in great cosmetic condition should be around $100.

$100 would be a give away price,i wouldn't hold my breath waiting for that deal.

 

[captouch]

I had W70E/Rosedales. I paid $150, but then upgraded them with oil caps and sold them for what I was all-in on them for about $200. These were pristine.

The thing is, they're quite big (wide, in particular). They're serious pieces of furniture and as long as you like the look and have the room, they can be a good fit.

The sound is noticeably vintage, with rolled off highs (which can be offset somewhat by turning the tweeter control all the way up). The W70E has a 15" woofer (not sure about the D) and therefore has pretty good bass.

To me, it can be a good speaker to have if you want a distinctly vintage sound and have the room. I ended up buying Dynaco A25's to get a similar type of vintage sound in a significantly smaller form factor. But the A25's aren't as ornate or furniture like compared to the Wharfedales.

 

[elitopus]

I have tried my dynaco a25's with the tube amp and it sounds good but they are not efficient enough for my amp. Maybe when i finish working on my pioneer sx-800.

I would like something thats pretty efficient (>96db would be nice). I have been avoiding a pair of klipsch kg4's locally for 160 because they are beat up. Also they are 6 ohm. If i ever decide to use my pioneer it wouldn't run them (rated from 8-16ohm).

I need to reread the above thread comparing the w70d vs heresy

 

[icenine]

$100 would be a give away price,i wouldn't hold my breath waiting for that deal.

I have seen them here in Cali for that much on CL....
I paid $40 for mine but they were in bad shape cosmetically.

You have to remember these are not the 90s or the E series, and they are very very heavy. I do not think they move as fast as people think.

 

[Brian]

The series over the past couple of years have finally been recognized as to their qualities and hence value have been increasing. When I bought mine I paid $125 including the seller delivering them and the optional legs. At that time it was on the high side bit, I knew what they were and their sound as well as my liking that sound. Since then, the prices have been unsteady in terms of uniformity but steadily rising. I suspect they will not steady out before they bit the $250 range but continue to rise steadily thereafter. I have seen this type of trend with a number of price underperformering vintage audio pieces.

I have a set of updated modded Klipsch Heresy IIs. An average price for these today run about 4x+ times the price of the W70s. For me the value of each is reversed. I would not sell my W70s for less than the Heresy IIs and likely would sell the HIIs first if someone offered the same price for both and the offer was acceptable for either.

 

[-reverb-]

Do Wharfedale w70's relate to this comment?

Yeah, sorry about that. Didn't mean to thread-jack.

 

[Freddie73]

I own excellent stock Wharfedale W60E’s. I also own 3 year old Polk Rti a7’s. The Wharfedales highs are just as clear but non fatiguing as the polks. They are not rolled off. I have been playing the Wharfedales daily for about 3 months and the more I play them the better they sound. I know the old Minerva capacitors are supposed to be dead and sometimes the imaging is not that great but I think I’m going back with Mundorf e caps. I’m impressed with mine. I will eventually get Cornwall’s or better but the Wharfedales are keepers.