Wharfedale Triton 3 w\ broken woofers

[anana]

I have inherited a pair of Wharfedale Triton 3 speakers with broken woofers - otherwise the speakers incl. cabinets are in fine shape. All other elements work. I assume the woofers have been blown by previous owner's habit of listening dancehall and dub on loud volume.

I contacted Wharfedale, but unfortunately they don't have any spares to sell anymore.

Woofers work if pressed gently inwards, so I suspect it's the tinsel leads that need resoldering. Haven't done that before, but again, I don't have anything to lose here.

Has Wharfedale used the same 8" (?) woofer in any other speakers that I could hunt down for spares?

 

[teal'c]

So you pulled the woofs and looked at the tinsel? How do they measure with a multi-meter? My first guess when looking at a non-working driver from the 70's is bad capacitors, have you checked those?
I only have a dozen pairs of speakers but I have yet to see a broken tinsel. One on one woofer was a little floppy at the cone but it still worked fine. A drop of superglue stiffened it right up.

 

[AvSat44]

I know it's been a while but you might want to look at the 8" bass drivers in Dentons and Lintons. It wouldn't surprise me if they were the same or similar.

 

[AvSat44]

Also, why don't you just get them re-built. I'm in OZ and even here it's not too costly.

 

[Markoneswift]

It's quite possible you have some fried components on the crossover boards. There will be resistors on there and possibly even some protection fuses. Absolutely 1st thing to do is pull the woofer out and check with a multimeter. If it checks good, go over the crossovers.

 

[Nat]

This is generic advice, not Wharfedale specific, but the solder joints between the tinsel and the voice coil wires, which are usually in or on the cone sometimes go cold, and need to be reflowed. They are under some type of paint or good which needs to be scraped off, and resoldering tends to be a little messier than usual because off it.
If you tap the cone and it starts working, or if it doesn't work until you really crank it (which might be why the previous owner was playing them loud), that would strongly suggest that issue. Certainly resoldering the other end of the tinsel is also worth doing - as well as inspecting the tinsel itself, since the metal stands can break apart while the supporting string looks fine.

 

[goodolpg]

Looks like the OP was a "one and done" type.
Made the post and hasn't been back since.

anana was last seen: Feb 6, 2020

 

[AvSat44]

It happens. They ask for advice and then don't acknowledge any response.
Actually just acquired a pair of Triton 7W's. They look like a slightly inflated Linton.
The drivers are all good but they need a re-cap.
The cabinets a bit rough but I can sort that. Also, the previous owner has replaced the light coloured grille cloth with some sort of black (curtain ?) material. Will source something closer to the originals.
I refurbished a pair of Super Linton W30D's for my daughter a while back and they sound really good so it'll be interesting to see if these are an improvement.
I'm a sucker for any vintage Wharfy's.

 

[KraftwrkTrbo]

My Triton 3 woofers 'work' but one is 'scratchy'.
Any more tips regarding possible replacements (from different speakers)?
Is there a model name to use for a search?

 

[AvSat44]

First of all, this is not a crossover issue.
Your bass driver still works even though it sounds scratchy. This is usually caused by fine dirt particles becoming lodged between the magnet pole and voice coil. A speaker driver repair shop would not charge much to sort this.
Alternatively, the bass drivers in the Linton and Denton models are a perfect replacement if you can get hold of one.
Having said all that, all speaker systems of this era should be recapped as a mater of course. The original caps in all of these systems were pretty ordinary.
Good luck.

 

[KraftwrkTrbo]

First of all, this is not a crossover issue.
Your bass driver still works even though it sounds scratchy. This is usually caused by fine dirt particles becoming lodged between the magnet pole and voice coil. A speaker driver repair shop would not charge much to sort this.
Alternatively, the bass drivers in the Linton and Denton models are a perfect replacement if you can get hold of one.
Having said all that, all speaker systems of this era should be recapped as a mater of course. The original caps in all of these systems were pretty ordinary.
Good luck.

Thanks. I am starting with the obvious issues. I will check with my vintage HiFi repair place if they can (or more important want) to tackle the woofer. But the tweeter fix appears more complicated (first searches did NOT show any parts). Lastly, I will get to the crossover when opening the box to take physical photos. Does anyone have the electrical diagram/schematic? Photos? What caps (type, values) are used?

 

[KraftwrkTrbo]

Another alternative (with WAY TOO MANY projects, including a full rebuild of my Infinity Quantum 2, sitting in parts in the basement for 1/2 year by now waiting for me to redo (a mess from the previous owner) the cross overs) I need to consider is to 'give up' and sell as is or 'part out'.

 

[AvSat44]

There is no way that I would sell or part out. The Tritons are a very nice speaker when running properly. I don't know what part of the planet you're on but I'm in Melbourne, Australia and I can buy the replacement capacitors for under $30.00. Also, there are any number of driver repair shops here that would inspect, test and repair your drivers at minimal cost. It's just not that complicated! By the way, I would not take the drivers to a "vintage HiFi repair shop as they're only going to pass it on to a specialist (which you could do direct) and then charge you a margin on top of his fee.

 

[AvSat44]

I forgot to mention that the existing caps are non polarised electrolytics. By Poly caps. There are 4 on each PC board and they are clearly identifiable. If you can't get the correct values, just go for the next value up. You won't notice the difference. Now go for it young man.

 

[KraftwrkTrbo]

There is no way that I would sell or part out. The Tritons are a very nice speaker when running properly. I don't know what part of the planet you're on but I'm in Melbourne, Australia and I can buy the replacement capacitors for under $30.00. Also, there are any number of driver repair shops here that would inspect, test and repair your drivers at minimal cost. It's just not that complicated! By the way, I would not take the drivers to a "vintage HiFi repair shop as they're only going to pass it on to a specialist (which you could do direct) and then charge you a margin on top of his fee.

If it were just replacing the caps on the crossovers, that would be another story. The scratchy bass is a lot more evolved, but the tweeter (shattered, making for another 'vent' in the enclosure) is at the top of the list. Sitting in Michigan, USA.

 

[AvSat44]

My daughter has a friend who lives in the suburbs west of Detroit. Both parents are engineers with Ford.

 

[KraftwrkTrbo]

My daughter has a friend who lives in the suburbs west of Detroit. Both parents are engineers with Ford.

Can they fix my Wharfedale (even so they engineers with Ford, that my not automatically disqualify them ;-) )?

 

[AvSat44]

I’ve met them. They’re great with cars but they wouldn’t know a woofer from a tweeter.

 

[KraftwrkTrbo]

Have not found a repolacement tweeter (or tweeter front plate or bad tweeter to swap plate).
Won't find time to dig deeper, or ghetto fix (seal up tweeter to box is not 'leaking' anymore). Anyone in MI who may want them?