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Wharfedale

mhardy6647

mhardy6647

Lunatic Member
Wharfedale.

Wharfedale.

Sounds like something from Wallace and Gromit. Or maybe more accurately, like something from Monty Python's Dead Parrot Sketch. Or maybe, on the outside, something from P.G. Wodehouse.

I don't know much of anything about Wharfedale speakers because they just weren't commonly seen when and where I came along, hifi wise.

But yesterday a pair of small Wharfedale speakers followed me home from the dump. They are small -- 10" x 11-5/8" x 23-5/8" outside dimensions. The "Wharfedale" badge on the front is small and set at an angle.

On the back, there is a small clear plastic engraved plaque that says "The Radio People, Ltd." with a main office address in Kowloon and a couple of other Asian addresses. There is a single L-pad (HF adjustment, I presume). I assume they're two-way. I don't think the grille is removable, and the back is sealed.

The most interesting thing about these is the (presumptive) speaker connection. It is some sort of coaxial connector (jack). It looks for all the world like it is designed to take a Motorola (car AM radio antenna) plug!

Anyone able to 1) ID these speakers based on size or 2) identify the appropriate speaker connector for them?

I can post photos (and probably will, anon).

Thanks!
 
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That's kind of surprising.

Gilbert Briggs started Wharfedale in England in the early thirties. By the mid fifties, through various importers, it was commonly available here in the US of A. Thst Radio Shack catalog site lists a multitude of them.

They continues to be a player into the early seventies when their importer (BIC) stopped importing them in favor of their own brand.

'ere ya go mate

Now, as to "The Radio People" I can only go on what I've read in several places. They imported the Wharfedale product into Asia and that area. Since the climate was different I understand they might have done some magical incantations to prevent moisture from causing harm and, since their standards were different, they installed plugs that were in common usage in that area.

Again, that second part could be cloudy and clarification is welcome.
 
Markw said:
Gilbert Briggs started Wharfedale in England in the early thirties. By the mid fifties, through various importers, it was commonly available here in the US of A. Thst Radio Shack catalog site lists a multitude of them.
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Yeah, I knew of them but they were just not commonly seen in the mid-Atlantic in the 1970s (whereas KEF, Chartwell, Spendor, QUAD, and Rogers speakers were quite common and well-thought-of then and there).
 
Wharfie...
 

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http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/showthread.php?t=248085&highlight=Wharfedale

This guy also had one of the "Radio People" ones (I think his was a W70D, which is different from yours - That thread shows how he retrofitted that weird connector). The ones you have may be W40D's - Not sure yet. Yours do look like they're from the "D" era (started in '68, I believe). If they ARE W40D's (or any D model), then they are an acoustic-suspension design. If they're ported, then you have an earlier series, but I'm pretty-sure those are D's. In the early-mid '60's, Wharfedale had models like the W40, W60, W90, etc., then later they had models with a B or C after the model # (like say "W70B" or W70C", or maybe "W60B" or "W60C" - I'm not sure which exact models had this designation - I believe the W90 was always called the W90, but I think the smaller models all went through those designations - It's complicated - I'm still learning this stuff myself). And like I said, they switched from a ported design to an acoustic-suspension design for most of their models. That lasted until around '73 (I think), where the "E" series was introduced (W60E, W70E, plus I believe they also had the W40E and a few others). On the "E" models, they changed to front-loaded drivers.

I assume the screws are on the back, which means the drivers are rear-loaded (better for you - Do not drill into that cabinet otherwise you'll wind up with "Yorkshire sand" on your toes. The inner-layer of those cabinets is sand-filled (for dampening purposes). The cabs are built like tanks. With the right receiver or amp, you'll have a great-sounding pair of bookshelf-type speakers (or somewhere around that size) for jazz and classical, and maybe a
 
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mhardy6647 said:
Yeah, I knew of them but they were just not commonly seen in the mid-Atlantic in the 1970s (whereas KEF, Chartwell, Spendor, QUAD, and Rogers speakers were quite common and well-thought-of then and there).
Click to expand...

As in Rogersound? Or is that a separate brand you're referring to?
 
Yep, Motorola plug and fairly easy to source. Biggs used infinite baffle, slotted and ported designs as well as acoustic suspension. Now thinking about it, he probably was the one speaker designer who worked with almost all the designs. The knob is early so suspect it predates the D series.
 
That plug should be the same type of connector that's used on auto antennas. Radio Shack will probably have everything you need to retrofit something.

See if you can get a good look at the tweeter - The D models were originally a "fried-egg" tweeter, but they changed them to a dome-style tweeter (They were having some issues with the "fried-egg" one - Something about the diaphram coming apart/separating - and possibly issues with people overpowering them (not sure about that last part). Other than that, I'm told that the "fried-egg" and dome-style tweeters sound basically the same. My W60E's have the dome-style tweeter (as do all the E models from the early '70's, I believe), and if yours are D's then they should work with a little classic rock as well as the classical and jazz (if they're D's or later). If they're an earlier model, then I would stick to the classical and jazz (unless you're feeling adventurous). For starters, I would not put more than 30w per side into those things. They shouldn't need anymore than that anyway.

If you remove the back panel, be careful because the rear panel is also sand-filled and will be heavy. If you DO remove it, get a good look at the drivers and report back here. There isn't a lot of info available for the old Wharfedale models (The company had a big fire in the '80's and whatever archives they had were lost).
 
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I've had a couple of The Radio People of Hong Kong speakers (I live in an area where there are a lot of international corporate upper management retirees). I use a pair of Lowthers in The Radio People Acousta cabinets and have had their version of the KEF Celeste (B 139 and B 33(?) in a very small cabinet) and that same Wharfedale.
I don't think Wharfedale used sand loading in their lesser speakers, and certainly The Radio People didn't sand load mine. My impression is that Phillipine Luau plywood was so cheap in the 50s-70 in Asia that almost all asian manufacturers used it, and certainly my The Radio People cabinets all used it.
Any aspiring musician who decides to name his or her group 'The Radio People' owes me.
 
Brian said:
Yep, Motorola plug and fairly easy to source. Biggs used infinite baffle, slotted and ported designs as well as acoustic suspension. Now thinking about it, he probably was the one speaker designer who worked with almost all the designs. The knob is early so suspect it predates the D series.
Click to expand...

But the model that the guy has in that thread I listed is supposedly a W70D (with that connector), so that's why I mentioned that. Until I saw that thread, I had never seen a connector like that used on speakers, so I didn't know when those were from. Do they STILL use those for auto antennas?
 
I wondered whether the cabinets might be sand-filled. Carrying one inside for tonight's photo-op, I thwacked it with my knuckles. Not terribly dead; pretty sure it's not sand-filled. Nicely built cabinets, though.
 
I was just looking on da' Bay, and there's a pair of W40D's - Howver, they have the later Wharfedale badges on them (The same ones that were used on the E series models like my W60E's). If Wharfedale used all the same badges with all the D models, then yours are from an earlier series - However, if they changed the badges at some point during the period when they were making the D series, then yours could still be D's (as in W40D's). It's tough to tell with these things. Also, if your speakers use alnico-magnet drivers, then I believe they are an earlier series (and not D's). I think all of the D models used drivers with ceramic magnets (but again, not 100% sure on that).

Side note - I'm listening to the Allman Brothers' "The Fillmore Concerts Deluxe Edition", and I didn't realize they used a different version of "Hot 'Lanta" than the one that's on the Mofi disc and the original LP. That's a bit strange. "Whipping Post" seems different too (No "Barry starts 'er up" at the beginning - It might still be the same version except without the intro - I don't know yet). Oh wait, "Whipping Post" is the same version, except it's just missing the intro. "Hot 'Lanta" totally seems like a different version (A band I was in used to play that song, and I spent hours learning every little detail of that version). What happened? Did the tape get too-degraded on that song? If someone knows the answer, please PM me.
 
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AFAIK, the still use the plug in autoradio antenna connections. The company seems to have used them at least for the Wharfedale labeled systems. I only remember one ever that did not have it and I think it was a mod as there was a plate covering the wood that I've never seen on any of their speakers.

Whatfedale had labels in the U.K. Early imports into the US had no lables but later BIC labels were attached. The Radio People Ltd used the label that is on the unit in the photo but not the Wharfedale, or a BIC like version of the Wharfedale lable that I've ever seen. As the license agreement probly spec'd the cabinet design, if these are W40 series unless Wharfedale used a sand filled back, they probably will not have them. Easy way is to take the back out of the cabinet and turn it and listen or tap it. Over the years the sand settles and there is a void at the top. I think it would be worht drilling a small top hole and topping off the back and then resealing though if the void is small enough there probably will be no audible difference. Today Dynamat probable is as effective.
 
Here are my W30D's. The backs are sand filled. I grew up with these (my originals long gone). Use to have to crank loudness and bass on my Sony 6050. Went through about 3 woofers and 2 tweeters :D But sure sounded nice in our bedroom.

83_3.jpg

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