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Econowaving Wharfedale W60s

Upon further inspection, I can see the treeline directly through the surrounds. Perhaps a sealant of some kind could help these put out proper bass?

wd60d4.jpg


wd60d5.jpg


That's light shining through, not a reflection from a flash.
 
If I hold JBL cloth accordian surround woofers to the light, even with bitumenous goop sealing them, I can see light through.

We know that a "perfect" seal is unnecessary, even with closed-box acoustic suspension designs.

Measurements may provide an unequivocal determination... :dunno:
 
wiredbecker,

you saw in a previous post in this thread what sealing an unsealed woofer did in a ported cabinet. Your current HF drivers are line up well, would be easy to slide an ewave guide right in there after a little jigsaw work!
 
wiredbecker said:
Wharfedale W60 Model D, 3 way, closed box, inverted cloth surrounds

Hmmm...you say they're open cloth surrounds on the woofers??
The woofs on my 60E have the square magnet motors, but very thick (compared to most rubber surrounds) surrounds with an inside roll like some L/Advents have.

I've recapped them with Dayton Polys and sealed the woofer rim with the speaker caulk and they sound great!! 'Course, I only have the Advents and Infinity RS 2001 (and a lone Qe) to compare them to. :tears:
Click to expand...
 
Nice work BmWr75!!! :music:

I have a pair of these that need help and am seriously pondering a similar project! I have found bass in these models to be more than sufficient, highs are weak due to the 2-way design.

BmWr75 Can you PM me with a few details:

How did you get the old baffle out and new one in? Mine look as it would require cutting the old one out....:scratch2:

Can you give me specifics on drivers, horns, crossovers etc. (Model numbers would be much appreciated!)

You said you changed the existing 2" port to two 1.5". How long are the new ports?

Much appreciated!!
And again Great Work!!! :music::music:
 
I just thought I would mention that I read somewhere, I believe it was on "Toups's" Wharfedale information at his home site, that Mr Briggs, the founder of Wharfedale, actually preferred to leave the surrounds partially unsealed in many cases.

The fact that there are two different situations here, suggests that Mr Briggs applied this to one form of the W60s, and sealed them on the other.

And since BmWr75 wound up getting a pair of mixed up W60s from the seller, who originally had four, I'm guessing that the acoustic suspension example(W60E and above) had the unsealed surrounds, in order to help the system breathe more. And while the earlier W60s were vented, there was no need for him to leave them unsealed.

That's just my thoughts though, but it makes sense to me, since we should know that Briggs purposefully left many of his driver's surrounds only partially sealed.
 
What is interesting is that the earlier versions are perhaps better, especially if you are a tubehead. The early versions of the W60 were a tuned port enclosure, and used alinco magnets. The W60D and later(I think there was an 'E' and 'G') were acoustic suspension, and used the more common ferric magnets.

I have a pair of W40Ds and they are acoustic suspension. My Airedales are open along the sides, but they are an entirely different animal.

I'd love to find a nice pare of early W60s. I'd turn them into an EconoWave in a New Yawk Minute.
 
W60's, purchased last year...

Here's a set of W60's I got last year from a professor at ISU who had them since the 60's.
2 way, ported, with the round red woofers. One tweeter is blown, so I don't use them.
wharfedale%2003.jpg

wharfedale%2001.jpg

wharfedale%2004.jpg
 
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cubby01 said:
Dingman, those are incredible. I have some smaller Wharfedales of the period and the veneer on them as well is just beautiful.
Click to expand...

Unless you cheat with plastic (Verathane), you can get that finish with multiple coats of Tung oil, sanding lightly between coats. That's how I rocked my Valencias:
Before:

IMG_2965.jpg


After:

TungOil846B.jpg


IMG_3327DesktopResolution.jpg


IMG_3315DesktopResolution.jpg
 
Dingman said:
Here's a set of W60's I got last year from a professor at ISU who had them since the 60's.
2 way, ported, with the round red woofers. One tweeter is blown, so I don't use them.
wharfedale%2003.jpg

wharfedale%2001.jpg

wharfedale%2004.jpg
Click to expand...

Beautiful speakers. These were my first REAL pair in the mid '60's. You should be able to find a tweeter (get 2) on E-bay. I found a spare tweeter for my Polk10A, Smaller Advent and Celestion 66 there...just be patient. Should then replace the crossover caps. I did my 60E's with Dayton Polyprops (10%), and they came alive!!
They're too beautiful to go unused...much better finisf then on my 60E's :yes:
 
Sorry guys, not for sale.

I also really, really like the look of those Wharfedale, the finish is just great. They pretty much came to me that way, tho I did give them on very light sanding (almost no sanding to the wood) and a couple coats of oil.

And how about that speaker fabric! Gotta love the retro look of that.

Thanks for the tip about the tweeters, I've already replaced the caps when I got them and the one with the working tweeter sounds pretty good.

The bass is great, tho a little boomy but that could have easily been my room.

When I get them placed in the final position in a upstairs listening room, I'll post a few more pics.

Kudos to the guy who actually got the front baffle out - not many have been able to, it seems.
 
Well, I just picked up a nice pair of W60s, from eBay late last night. The seller is going to send them via Greyhound, as soon as he can go by the local station. He said it may take a week or two before he can get them there, but I'm in no hurry.

I can't tell what condition the outer wood is like, but am hoping they can be reconditioned without having to re-surface with new veneer.

BmWr75 I like your idea of dual ports. But I think I also have an idea concerning that, rather than two long pipes. This could make a slight difference, but I'm not sure. Suppose I create two 2" holes, but take one back about three or four inches, and seal it with a cap. And then I can keep the other 2" pipe the same dimensions as the original. It would look like dual pipes, but really be just one functional pipe.

Does that make sense? That way the pipe would be no longer than the old one.

I'll also know if these 12" drivers have partially sealed surrounds. They probably don't though. I have a pair of W40Ds in the basement. They are later versions, and have partially sealed surrounds.
 
BmWr75 said:
I'm finally getting around to this project. The "patient" in this case is a set of Wharfedale W60s I picked up locally for $40. Somebody painted them French Provential White. Pictures of the as-bought condition can be seen at this link:

Regards, BmWr75
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Hi BmWr75! It has been a while, finally getting around to messing with mine!

What are your long term listening impressions?

Anxiously awaiting starting these!! :banana::music:
 
I've read recently that the Wharfedales should be both "pointing" in the same direction to align the mid\tweets?

Meaning, one of mine should be flipped so that the logos are both on the right (or left, I guess).

Any info or experience?

BTW, the other speakers are Klipsch KG4.2's and KLH Model 20's.

All still driven by Marantz.. and as a side note, was driving them with a Pioneer SX-3700 for about 6 months. Sounded OK but when I put the Marantz (a 2270\2440 combo) I found the sound considerable improved... fuller with a solid bass bottom.

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