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My Preliminary "OMG Thread" For My New Wharfedale W90's

kfa888 said:
So lets dig into these monsters a little...

here are the ones with the paper cone Super 3 tweets with huge magnets bigger than the cone, truly massive. Also notice the front comes off, Mine do not. there are several cabinet designs for these as well.

w90c2.jpg


massive tweeters...

Super3.jpg


then there is the one with the purple domes like mine. Note these ahve a center molding and removable grill

W90-newer.jpg


these are mine to show the front of the cab and that they are rear loaded and the fronts are not removable.

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here is the woofer on the slot loaded side of the bass bin on mine...

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I believe mine has the flat disk on the front of the other woofer.

I think this is a date indicating 3/65 seem right vintage wise?

IMG_7633.JPG
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Wow, those have the older style cabs but have ceramic drivers. The plot thickens... Looks like they were using them well-before '68. Interesting.
 
Congratulations on getting to hear a pair of speakers like that, and get to be the caretaker for the next many years. Nothing quite like knowing you have gotten your hands on a pair of speakers that ends the search. Still feeling that way here.
You might be the first who had to buy a cabin to stretch them out in. Decent thing to do, really. Your neighbours back home in town owe you bigtime.
 
Hi all,

Oooh, I forgot to mention (regarding the sale) of W90's to GT what I thought was one of the funniest parts of our transaction. GT showed up at the SixCats! homestead driving a MINI COOPER (hatch). Well, I was rather surprised to find that we could infact fit (a single) W90 into the back of the Mini hatchback. The Refrig. Dolly used to move the W90's had to be strapped on top of the Mini's Roof Rack. GT had to make TWO trips (over two days) Saturday and Sunday to haul both Speakers back to his Cabin! Now that's dedication! Oooh GT, please see my thread on AK's "Musical Instruments" page regarding my newest find, a BEAUTIFUL vintage (circa 50's/60's) "Made in Germany" Original Hofner model 547 "Cats Eye" Mandolin! Oooh, and don't forget to call me about picking up that pair of Wharfedale W60's I have waiting for you.

Regards,
SixCats!
 
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I know this is a "vintage Wharfedale" thread--and "Victory at Sea" showed up only as a sidelight--but here's a tiny postscript to the dates, all of which I believe to be true:

1952-53 = original season of 26 half-hour episodes; soundtrack recordings by NBC Symphony musicians recorded in Center Theater, in mono

July 1953 = "Volume One" LP recorded (Manhattan Center, still mono); marketed later in '53.[No stereo elements recorded.]

Late 1950s = "Volume Two" in stereo ('57 or '58?), and "Volume One" re-recorded in stereo ('59?)

1961 = "Volume Three" (stereo)


That said, the sound of a clean copy of the 1953/mono LP is pretty nice--but easily distinguished from the stereo discs of not-too-many-years later. For the very curious, NBC's 1954 VAS theatrical film is now available on YouTube--and the orchestral sound is a notch glossier than for the original 26 episodes.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=whE-IRIzFhg
 
luddite said:
Congratulations on getting to hear a pair of speakers like that, and get to be the caretaker for the next many years. Nothing quite like knowing you have gotten your hands on a pair of speakers that ends the search. Still feeling that way here.
You might be the first who had to buy a cabin to stretch them out in. Decent thing to do, really. Your neighbours back home in town owe you bigtime.
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These may very-well be the ones. The separation is as good as I've ever heard. Ultra-seamless and balanced. Big bass but not overblown bass (Late '60's James Brown or JB's stuff sounds perfect.... Smooth, fat bass with no overhang... Like they're playing in your house). Yesterday I played the Faces' "A Nod Is Good As A Wink". Incredible. Great drums. Jethro Tull's "Aqualung". The W90's LOVE anything with acoustic instruments. But I also played the old Gastwirt CD of Yes' "Fragile", and the sound was pure nirvana. I find myself appreciating certain albums a lot more now.
 
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I'm gonna' have to break out some of the test CD's I have and see how low these puppies can go (Not gonna' go very-high on the volume though).

The sound of these alnico drivers is really-growing on me. So-sweet and musical, and yet so-incredibly-natural and lifelike. Music notes have lots of weight and body. I'm thrilled with these things. My mother and my uncle are also here, and they can't believe the sound either (I've been playing all kinds of music she likes, so she's having a good old time right now).
 
I'd really-like to know how far back that whole "polystyrene woofer" thing goes and whether the early W90' version used that same configuration with one regular W12 woofer and one polystyrene (styrofoam) woofer with the flat, black charcoal-colored thing over top of the speaker cone (or maybe that WAS the cone... I don't know). Or did the W90 "MKI" simply have two W12 woofers being fed the same frequencies?

Today I played the Allman's "At Fillmore East". Wow, what a sound. Berry Oakley's bass just blossomed from the speakers. With some volume, it's like you're sitting in the 10th row. I've really been enjoying trying different types of music. I've rediscovered a lot.
 
Gang-Twanger said:
I have to make this quick because I'm on an iPad, but I just bought a beautiful pair of W90's yesterday (Thanks Sixcats - You Are The Man), and I'm sitting here in our cottage on Lake St. George in Liberty, Maine listening to them with my Sansui 2000x, and they are just amazing. Absolutely incredible. Effortless and beautifully-musical, and yet they totally sound accurate. I'll do pictures when I'm able, but I had to come on and at least share the moment. I may seriously be done looking for speakers. I'm not kidding. These are the best speakers I've ever heard.
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I'm jealous!!! Congrats on the find...I've always wanted a pair!!:banana::thmbsp:
 
Gang-Twanger said:
These may very-well be the ones. The separation is as good as I've ever heard. Ultra-seamless and balanced. Big bass but not overblown bass (Late '60's James Brown or JB's stuff sounds perfect.... Smooth, fat bass with no overhang... Like they're playing in your house). Yesterday I played the Faces' "A Nod Is Good As A Wink". Incredible. Great drums. Jethro Tull's "Aqualung". The W90's LOVE anything with acoustic instruments. But I also played the old Gastwirt CD of Yes' "Fragile", and the sound was pure nirvana. I find myself appreciating certain albums a lot more.
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Try Aaran Copeland's "Fanfare for the Common Man"' :thmbsp:
 
kfa888 said:
Woofers are tuned differently form each other.
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But is it that way for ALL W90 versions including the early ones w/ alnico drivers and no slots on the back of the sub sections? I ask because the W90 went through a lot of changes over the 5-7 years it existed, and I think I see two ports coming out of the front on mine (rather than a one-sealed/one-vented thing like on the W90D's). I'd actually love to hear how the W90's sound. The bass must be super-tight with the ceramic drivers (like a warmer, more-engaging B&W 801).
 
Harvey/ Ga said:
I'm jealous!!! Congrats on the find...I've always wanted a pair!!:banana::thmbsp:
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Thanks. I've been tearing through my hard drive all week. I don't think i have Fanfare though. Have to check. These speakers don't seem very-music-preferential (Wow, is that a real word?). Classical sounds amazing though. Chamber music, cathedral pipe organ stuff, you name it, they love it.
 
Finally getting in some more listening time (Every year when i come up here, I always wind up in the middle of whatever "project" my uncle dreams up.... Relatives, man... ).

These are incredibly-seamless speakers for a system with so-many drivers. The separation is as good as I've ever heard. There is a clear space around each voice/instrument, and there's no wall between the listener and the music. It's a very-live sound, like as if you were 5 to 10 rows back from the stage at Tanglewood Theater. But it sounds REAL. Classic rock sounds AMAZING. I got hooked on this kind of sound when I was a kid, and I never forgot it.

It doesn't take much to make these W90's sound great. I suspect any good 20 to 40 watt solid state receiver from the early '70's will make them sound good. They are NOT exclusive to tube gear in that way, which is a good thing for budgetphiles, plus they don't need a huge room to sound good. I've had to move them out of the way at least 4 times, and then reposition them, and each time it's just a matter of angling them towards us a bit, and that's it. I haven't grabbed a tape-measure or anything like that.

I took some pictures of them that I will upload as soon as I can access a WiFi signal. The cabs are in exceptional shape for a pair of speakers that are almost 50 years old, and so is the grillcloth. And say what you want about the frequency-response of the Super 3 tweeter, but damn, they sound good. Right now I'm listening to Bruce Springsteen's "The Wild, The Innocent, And The E Street Shuffle". Springsteen's recordings usually sound like cardboard on most speakers, but these W90's put you right there in the studio. I still need to change my signature... :D
 
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Gang-Twanger said:
Finally getting in some more listening time (Every year when i come up here, I always wind up in the middle of whatever "project" my uncle dreams up.... Relatives, man... ).

These are incredibly-seamless speakers for a system with so-many drivers. The separation is as good as I've ever heard. There is a clear space around each voice/instrument, and there's no wall between the listener and the music. It's a very-live sound, like as if you were 5 to 10 rows back from the stage at Tanglewood Theater. But it sounds REAL. Classic rock sounds AMAZING. I got hooked on this kind of sound when I was a kid, and I never forgot it.

It doesn't take much to make these W90's sound great. I've had to move them out of the way at least 4 times, and then reposition them, and each time it's just a matter of angling them towards us a bit, and that's it. I haven't grabbed a tape-measure or anything like that.

I took some pictures of them that I will upload as soon as I can access a WiFi signal. The cabs are in exceptional shape for a pair of speakers that are almost 50 years old, and so is the grillcloth. And say what you want about the frequency-response of the Super 3 tweeter, but damn, they sound good. Right now I'm listening to Bruce Springsteen's "The Wild, The Innocent, And The E Street Shuffle". Springsteen's recordings usually sound like cardboard on most speakers, but these W90's put you right there in the studio. :D
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Having gotten a pair of W70's myself yesterday, I can see what you're saying now. They are excellent speakers. Similar sound to my IMF's but more "forward" sounding I would say. Vocals are very clear, jazz especially sounds nice but I LOVE the sound of soul music on these speakers. It seems to be their calling. They really put you into the music and you just forget you're listening to sound. It's music! Very, very nice speaker. :)
 
Tales_From_Earthsea.JPG


I have a sound track for you to play on your Warfedale W-90's which will sent you into nirvana. I am listening to it as I type and the Polk Monitor 10B's are treating it like manna from heaven.

Tales From Earthsea (Gedo Senki, ゲド戦記) composed by Tamiya Terashima (2006)
 
canuckaudiog said:
Having gotten a pair of W70's myself yesterday, I can see what you're saying now. They are excellent speakers. Similar sound to my IMF's but more "forward" sounding I would say. Vocals are very clear, jazz especially sounds nice but I LOVE the sound of soul music on these speakers. It seems to be their calling. They really put you into the music and you just forget you're listening to sound. It's music! Very, very nice speaker. :)
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Nice! The old, ported W70's are supposed to sound great. The old Wharfedales are definitely great with horns, thus the synergy with soul music from the '60's. James Brown, Aretha, the Temptations, .... Basically any '60's music sounds great. Beatles and other British Invasion stuff, psychedelic rock/pop, prog, you name it. And there's no bass-shyness on any of that stuff. Even Phil Spector productions sound good. By the way, the piano opening on Springsteen's "New York City Serenade" is nothing short of incredible. I used to avoid this stuff...
 
I should put this in my banner; When you are purchasing a CD/DVD anime OST always, always..........always make sure you get the Japanese release.
 
Love'em

I have a pair of W70s and a pair of W90s. I have no words to describe how much I love them. the W70s are a bit more in your face... in a very good way. the W90s sound like they are not there. All you hear is the music. Briggs, the designer, was a genius. His small book on loudspeakers is highly recommended
 
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