crossovers for three types of Wharfedale speakerss

[mikestp]

I have a pair of Wharfedale W70 speakers. I also have a pair of E70 also Wharfedale. And a pair of W50 (not at all associated with the Earlier W70)

I have a tech question. If I decide to replace the old original cross overs, are any of you familiar enough with the original (1962) W70 crossover to recommend a new replacement?

Regarding the E70 Wharfedales... I would also like to re do the cross overs. And again the same question:

E70 Wharfedales (1977). The weird thing about the E70s is that they have one woofer, Two mid-range and one tweeter. Would that make the E70's a 4 way speaker? and if so I would like to look into a replacement crossover for them as well as the Vintage W70. The third type of Wharfedales I have are a set of W50. These are almost like the E70s but of lessor quality. I think they were the budget version of the E70. Thankfully they are working fine...

Not to complicate things, but I also have a pair of Mach 5's and again these are working fine. I guess you might assume I am a bit of a Wharfedale fan? lol



mike
mikestp@yahoo.com

 

[Harvey/ Ga]

I have a pair of Wharfedale W70 speakers. I also have a pair of E70 also Wharfedale. And a pair of W50 (not at all associated with the Earlier W70)

I have a tech question. If I decide to replace the old original cross overs, are any of you familiar enough with the original (1962) W70 crossover to recommend a new replacement?

Regarding the E70 Wharfedales... I would also like to re do the cross overs. And again the same question:

E70 Wharfedales (1977). The weird thing about the E70s is that they have one woofer, Two mid-range and one tweeter. Would that make the E70's a 4 way speaker? and if so I would like to look into a replacement crossover for them as well as the Vintage W70. The third type of Wharfedales I have are a set of W50. These are almost like the E70s but of lessor quality. I think they were the budget version of the E70. Thankfully they are working fine...

Not to complicate things, but I also have a pair of Mach 5's and again these are working fine. I guess you might assume I am a bit of a Wharfedale fan? lol



mike
mikestp@yahoo.com

Hi Mike...and welcome to AK!!

What are you trying to do to the speakers...rejuvenate the sound, or modify the crossover frequencies??

If you're just trying to rejuvenate them to their original splendor, you'll just need to replace the capacitors, unless a coil/inductor or resistor burned out.

It's no big deal to replace caps and resistors..I've done it, and so have many here. There are excellent brands at reasonable cost that are almost as good (to Golden Ears) as the far more expensive brands.

Most of us here can help with the cap change, and there's a few who can offer advice if it's a change in design....we just need more info on what you want to do.:thmbsp:

 

[mikestp]

w70's vintage for cosmetic and cleaning

The W70's are going through a cosmetic rebuild, We have stripped the veneer off and are in the midst of replacing it, the speakers are all removed, as is the crossover. The sand filled back panel is fine and shows no leakage. We will also be replacing the absorbing foam and the grill materiel. Now is the time to update anything....

The speakers all look and sound fine, but there is some scratchiness... and I think it might be the crossovers. But I am a newbie so I am quite likely wrong.

The E70s' appear fine but also have some scratchiness in the trim pots (there are two one for base and one for treble)

Any help or advice is much appreciated.

mike
mikestp@yahoo.com

 

[Brian]

The scratchness might be the controls. They are ww sealed on my set of w70s and it took some soaking to get them cleaned. The x-over in these are about as basic as it gets, a cap (or 2 depending of production period) and an inductor. One driver is allowed to run full bandwidth and uses its natural rolloff rather than the crossover so the crossover is really a 2-way.

The type pf cap varied depending on the production run. Mine had oil caps and I erred in subbing in a poly. Made the tweeter harsher than when new. One day I will correct that error.

Caps, change terminals, clean pots and you should be good to go.

 

[toups]

The W70's are going through a cosmetic rebuild, We have stripped the veneer off and are in the midst of replacing it, the speakers are all removed, as is the crossover. The sand filled back panel is fine and shows no leakage. We will also be replacing the absorbing foam and the grill materiel. Now is the time to update anything....

The speakers all look and sound fine, but there is some scratchiness... and I think it might be the crossovers. But I am a newbie so I am quite likely wrong.

The E70s' appear fine but also have some scratchiness in the trim pots (there are two one for base and one for treble)

Any help or advice is much appreciated.

mike
mikestp@yahoo.com

It has been suggested by some to rotate the woofers 180 degrees to make the bottom the top to help with sagging suspensions to prevent rubbing voice coils.

 

[mikestp]

It has been suggested by some to rotate the woofers 180 degrees to make the bottom the top to help with sagging suspensions to prevent rubbing voice coils.

Thats a smart idea. Now if only I was smart enough to have marked the position they were in before I removed them... lol

 

[mikestp]

is there a recommended fluid to soak parts in? As per the pots on the E70s, Something like a soaking solution that will allow an overnight cleaning?

Mike..
mikestp@yahoo.com

 

[automojo]

The scratchness might be the controls. They are ww sealed on my set of w70s and it took some soaking to get them cleaned. The x-over in these are about as basic as it gets, a cap (or 2 depending of production period) and an inductor. One driver is allowed to run full bandwidth and uses its natural rolloff rather than the crossover so the crossover is really a 2-way.

The type pf cap varied depending on the production run. Mine had oil caps and I erred in subbing in a poly. Made the tweeter harsher than when new. One day I will correct that error.

Caps, change terminals, clean pots and you should be good to go.

Interesting take on the cap subtitution.

 

[stereofanboy]

Interesting take on the cap subtitution.

I've heard that more than once before, specifically with Wharfedale W-70s. Of course, I may have gotten it from something Brian posted each time, so even though I feel like I have heard this from several people, I may have just heard it from Brian several times.

 

[Jcricket]

Mikestp, you have a lot of great information suggested to you here. I have replaced all the caps on my wharfedales.

Clean the pots and replace the caps. I don't know of any "soaking" solution. I use deoxit or the radio shack version of the contact cleaner/lubricator.

As to the harshness of the tweeter after changing the caps, I think what was said makes sense. I love the sounds of my tweeters after I have changed my caps, but I have a sever HF rolloff too.

Also, on my E70's, I think these have the best mids/highs I have heard of any speaker. My opinion of course.

 

[automojo]

I've heard that more than once before, specifically with Wharfedale W-70s. Of course, I may have gotten it from something Brian posted each time, so even though I feel like I have heard this from several people, I may have just heard it from Brian several times.

From what I have learned lately, that some crossover, particularly Zobels, take into account the cap characteristics in their crossover designs.
And many times-which goes against what alot of what I have read and heard- using the same type of capacitor-be it oil or plain electrolytic- is your best bet.
Yes- electrolytic caps go out of spec- but you need to consider it a maintence item of sorts.
A lot of overly bright cap replacements could have been avoided by this.
Of course if the cap (regardless of type) is replacing a worn out/out of spec leaking one- the sound will improve- but a overly bright response was probably not the way it sounded when new.
Of course if you redesign the crossover for poly type caps or the like- then this isn't important.