I've actually downloaded all of those PDF's, but for some reason, I can't open the big 24-page one (Keeps saying I need the current version of Adobe Reader, even though I thought I already HAD the current one... The other ones I can read, and I've seen the corner cab listed in the condensed catalog file (the second link from the top, underneath the SFB3 PDF).
For a short time, the big corner cab was listed/sold simultaneously along with the Airedale, which was supposed to be like an updated, free-standing version of the corner system, but with a smaller footprint and 4 cu. ft. of displacement for the 15" woofer as opposed to the 3-way corner unit, which had something like 9 cu. ft... Also, the Airedale had a ceramic 15" woofer, and I think the Super 8 and Super 3 mid and tweeter may have originally been equipped with alnico magnets, but I think one or both were later changed to ceramic ones, although I don't know for sure. On the other hand, the big corner cab, as far as I know, was only ever offered with alnico drivers, and the same was true for the W4. Another difference between the 3-way corner unit and the Airedale was the back section/s. The corner cab could be ordered with optional sand-filled rear panels to make it a freestanding version for people without available corner space (The cabs I got include these panels). The Airedale, however, used ceramic tiles to make the rear panels non-resonant and deal with backwaves).
The woofers have cloth surrounds, but I'm not 100% sure whether they're the W15CS woofers (early to mid '50's) or the W15RS/DD (1959 through 1964, give or take), which both had some form of cloth surround. Been busy the last two days, so I haven't had time to compare pictures. I'm pretty sure the woofer was run full-range like every other alnico woofer 8" or larger in models made '62 or earlier, although I still have to look into all of that and make sure (My W90's, made in 9/'63, are the original dual 3-way version, which had the woofers running full-range and have TWO sand-filled rear panels and no rear-venting, and this was a characteristic of most/all of those early, all-alnico Wharfedale models... Gilbert Briggs apparently preferred running woofers full-range where possible and liked to keep it simple, using fjrst-order crossovers and that sort of thing... The SFB3 had a first-order crossover, the tweeter being the only driver with certain frequencies filtered out).
I still need to have the woofers checked out, and I plan to give this project a lot of thought before I get into wiring everything together. The 3-way corner unit first appeared in 1953, I believe, and it's listed in the 1953 catalog as having crossover frequencies of 800cs and 5000cs (Still not sure what the hell "cs" means... Perhaps it's just the old way of saying "hz", but I haven't determined that yet). Like I said before, Wharfedale made certain changes/updates to individual models over time, so it's hard to say what's what. Still a lot to research before I really get into these things. Still waiting on my Fisher 800C at the repair shop, and that's gonna' take a large bite out of my budget as it is, so the corner cabs are gonna' be a bit slow on the uptake, at least for the moment. Lots on my plate right now, plus there's the matter of the corner cab's uber-large footprint, so I'm taking this race slow and steady, just like Mr. Tortoise. The cabs are unfinished and disassembled (which was good because otherwise they would have been a bear, to transport), so I think I'm gonna' look into getting the outside surface of each panel veneered eventually, since I have a couple family friends who might be able to help me with that. I'll know more after I do some reading and talk to a few people. I'll be plenty busy with my Fisher anyway once it's done (Been missing my W90's). The corner cabs are a bucket list project, so I might as well take my time and do it right ("We can do it, baybay... Do it tonight").
Holy freeholie... Did I type all that?
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