I remember them. There were, from memory, three models in the range along with the model you mention. These were "High Effeciency" (over 90dB) designs made by Wharfdale in the mid 70's, though unfortunately they were the right model (for now; ie. se tube amps) at the wrong time (yesterday; all solid state)and did not quite catch on. Again from memory if I recall correctly Wharfdale did not skimp on materials, the main drivers had quality die cast alloy baskets and they were mid to hi end models. If they are in working order cherish them as they are eminently suited to tube gear.
Hope this helps.
tomcat
Hope this helps.
tomcat
So someone remembers...i used to have a working pair but sadly the bass driver in one gave way after 25 years of working. I drive the speakers in too high SPLs with the frigid bass turned to +3Db.
So, it was a high end loudspeaker meant for tube amps... I just wanted to see is my second hand wharfdales were high end..guess you provided the answer.
So, it was a high end loudspeaker meant for tube amps... I just wanted to see is my second hand wharfdales were high end..guess you provided the answer.
Yes, unfortunately to maintain efficiency they did not have very deep bass despite the relatively large enclosures and 10" woofers, and although they had good power handling, once people started turning up the bass control on their transistor amps, the drivers life expectancy was quickly shortened. I don't think recone kits are available any longer, but there are various after market voice coils available, so a reasonably competent repairer could fix it but it would be up to you to determine wether at the end of the day it is worth it to you, as it is likely to be expensive.
tomcat
tomcat
I had a pair many moons ago, seem to be very rare these days and go for very high prices.
Still have been my favorite speaker to date, never been able to match them for sound quality.
But then i'm using a pair of Goodmans "Magnum K2's" for 2ch music these days, Very nice reference speaker from 1972.
(After reading about Billy Woodman who owns/designs for the ATC speaker co., Billy cut his teeth in designing loudspeakers for Goodmans back in the late 1960's and aparantly he designed the K2's as well)
Review of the E70's
Still have been my favorite speaker to date, never been able to match them for sound quality.
But then i'm using a pair of Goodmans "Magnum K2's" for 2ch music these days, Very nice reference speaker from 1972.
(After reading about Billy Woodman who owns/designs for the ATC speaker co., Billy cut his teeth in designing loudspeakers for Goodmans back in the late 1960's and aparantly he designed the K2's as well)
Review of the E70's
I remember them well, a friend a college had a pair.
Edit : actually he had E50's not E70's
to which the following comments apply.
I'm not so sure about the die cast frames, as I recall they
had die cast trim rings on all drivers, the port and the
tweeter level control, the actually technology IMO being
rather mundane.
The tweeter is very similar to this :
http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?&DID=7&Partnumber=270-055
IMO in standard form I'd put them at Mid-Fi.
The crossovers are distinctly improvable, with better quality
capacitors and inductors, and replacing some small cored
inductors with air cored types, there is a very poor looking
small inductor/ resistor combination in series with the bass
units.
I know this because it expired in one of my friends speakers,
and I replaced it with a high DCR air cored type, which from
what I recall improved clarity.
IMO damping of the driver frames, some bracing of the cabinet,
rebiulding of the crossover, detuning the port somewhat etc.
would lift performance considerably.
sreten.
Edit : actually he had E50's not E70's
to which the following comments apply.
I'm not so sure about the die cast frames, as I recall they
had die cast trim rings on all drivers, the port and the
tweeter level control, the actually technology IMO being
rather mundane.
The tweeter is very similar to this :
http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?&DID=7&Partnumber=270-055
IMO in standard form I'd put them at Mid-Fi.
The crossovers are distinctly improvable, with better quality
capacitors and inductors, and replacing some small cored
inductors with air cored types, there is a very poor looking
small inductor/ resistor combination in series with the bass
units.
I know this because it expired in one of my friends speakers,
and I replaced it with a high DCR air cored type, which from
what I recall improved clarity.
IMO damping of the driver frames, some bracing of the cabinet,
rebiulding of the crossover, detuning the port somewhat etc.
would lift performance considerably.
sreten.Hi Guys,
Yes, I've had two pairs of E70's and a pair of the even larger E90's (2x10" bass drivers per side). They were quite awesome speakers in their day, but not what I would consider hi-end these days. I still have a pair of E70's tucked away in my shed unused.
The build quality was excellent, they looked fabulous with the fishnet grills and bold aluminium surrounds on the drivers. The E90 had a superbly designed 12 elelment Butterworth crossover with attenuators for mid and treble. The E Series by Wharfedale were their best modern speakers by far (their prior vintage series of the 1950/60's are also excellent). The E Series were closely followed by TSR 108/110/112 Series with time aligned, modular, funky looking, slanted enclosures. I had a pair of the TSR110 which were very smooth sounding with nice acoustic suspension/sealed boxes for low bass.
The E70/E90 were an efficient 95dB 8ohm load and were easliy driven by valve amps and any 25watt solid state amp, such as the NAD3020 at the time. I drove them on nice big 100w Luxman amps and the speakers had a nice 'alive' sound; punchy bass down to about 35Hz; were very robust and could go very loud! The horn tweeter and twin midranges are a bit forward and coarse sounding at loud levels, but it's difficult to fault the overall sound because it has that highly enjoyable 'boogie factor'.
I owned the big E90 for ten years purchased from new and I used it to pump out a lot of reggae (UB40 & Bob Marley) and late 1980's pop music (Dire Straits/Fleetwood Mac/Blondie) through them without any trouble at all. In their later years the glue on the spiders of the drivers came away and you could hear a rattling sound at high volume. But this was an easy fix, just apply a bit of contact cement to re-attach the spiders to the magnet and off you go again for another ten years. My E90 was eventually sold to an enthusiast/collector in 1995, and he still uses them to this day (and loves them). They are just about to complete their second DECADE of life!! Now that's saying something for product quality...
Regards,
Steve M.
Yes, I've had two pairs of E70's and a pair of the even larger E90's (2x10" bass drivers per side). They were quite awesome speakers in their day, but not what I would consider hi-end these days. I still have a pair of E70's tucked away in my shed unused.
The build quality was excellent, they looked fabulous with the fishnet grills and bold aluminium surrounds on the drivers. The E90 had a superbly designed 12 elelment Butterworth crossover with attenuators for mid and treble. The E Series by Wharfedale were their best modern speakers by far (their prior vintage series of the 1950/60's are also excellent). The E Series were closely followed by TSR 108/110/112 Series with time aligned, modular, funky looking, slanted enclosures. I had a pair of the TSR110 which were very smooth sounding with nice acoustic suspension/sealed boxes for low bass.
The E70/E90 were an efficient 95dB 8ohm load and were easliy driven by valve amps and any 25watt solid state amp, such as the NAD3020 at the time. I drove them on nice big 100w Luxman amps and the speakers had a nice 'alive' sound; punchy bass down to about 35Hz; were very robust and could go very loud! The horn tweeter and twin midranges are a bit forward and coarse sounding at loud levels, but it's difficult to fault the overall sound because it has that highly enjoyable 'boogie factor'.
I owned the big E90 for ten years purchased from new and I used it to pump out a lot of reggae (UB40 & Bob Marley) and late 1980's pop music (Dire Straits/Fleetwood Mac/Blondie) through them without any trouble at all. In their later years the glue on the spiders of the drivers came away and you could hear a rattling sound at high volume. But this was an easy fix, just apply a bit of contact cement to re-attach the spiders to the magnet and off you go again for another ten years. My E90 was eventually sold to an enthusiast/collector in 1995, and he still uses them to this day (and loves them). They are just about to complete their second DECADE of life!! Now that's saying something for product quality...
Regards,
Steve M.
Yes, I believe I could own the best Wharfedale E70's in existance. In my opinion, they are the best sounding speakers I have ever heard by far, to this day. I have listened to all the new rubbish speakers in a desperate attempt to find replacements for my speakers if they ever*sob* die... I have been suffering some....................stress over what Im going to do if I cannot find suitable replacement parts at some stage for my beloved speakers. If this isn't possible, the only thing I can think to do is buy a Mackie PA system(YES, PA system!) as they are the best sounding speakers I have heard besides my own.
I only heard the E70s briefly, but listened quite extensively to the smaller models E50 and E30. I thought they were absolutely horrible; harsh, relentless, tiring, glassy.
They don't image at all.
Maybe they would sound better in a modern system, but I don't have fond memories of them at all.
They were pretty efficient.
They don't image at all.
Maybe they would sound better in a modern system, but I don't have fond memories of them at all.
They were pretty efficient.
Have been using a set of E50s for the last 22 years and I wouldn't swap them for anything. Have tried many other speakers but always stuck with these as nothing ever sounds quite so good.
They have always been very fussy with regard to amplifier matching, can sound cold and harsh with some amps. I'm using them with a Grundig v1700 and they sound beautifully warm and musical with excellent transparency and projection. The only downfall is the treble, the tweeters were never very high quality, but given all the other positives I've learnt to live with that!
I've never heard a set of E70s.
They have always been very fussy with regard to amplifier matching, can sound cold and harsh with some amps. I'm using them with a Grundig v1700 and they sound beautifully warm and musical with excellent transparency and projection. The only downfall is the treble, the tweeters were never very high quality, but given all the other positives I've learnt to live with that!
I've never heard a set of E70s.
http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/member.php?s=c7046568ae86129c42ffdabafc4f8ec9&action=g
I bought my pair in Houston, TX in 1978 and thanks to a great speaker repair man in Austin they still turn heads. There is no sound from any other speaker that can compare. What makes them different is the sand filled cabinets. I may be wrong but damm they are heavy.
I bought my pair in Houston, TX in 1978 and thanks to a great speaker repair man in Austin they still turn heads. There is no sound from any other speaker that can compare. What makes them different is the sand filled cabinets. I may be wrong but damm they are heavy.
i heard teh e70's in late 70's at an audio show,
I'm not that impressed with the sound but it can play loud easily.
just last week,
I found a used pair and decide to take one more listen,
to be honest it's an awful sounding speaker,
not really sure if the pair was broken though. but still they canplay very loud.
I'm not that impressed with the sound but it can play loud easily.
just last week,
I found a used pair and decide to take one more listen,
to be honest it's an awful sounding speaker,
not really sure if the pair was broken though. but still they canplay very loud.
Old Wharfedales?
In UK these E50/E70/E90 are not much beloved it seems. The late seventies popular audio trend of 'mucho wattos in plastic cones' might have caused this. Fortunately for the rest of the world these gems can be had for a very reasonable price. Ssht! before someone puts the highend price tag on these.
This is what I call a speaker -mind you, only 25cm. Cast frame, 5cm coil, latex surround, fine gap. For a better build one should look for a JBL unit in the professional line which were at that time (1978) more costly than a complete E50.
Owning several pairs I like the E70 best. Its cabinet has internal panel damping which the E50 lacks, basses roll out very natural and dry. Because of the light weight cone (35 grams including surround) it's fast and when operated at normal listening levels it lacks the typical 3-4KHz break up which is eminent for two way systems.
On the down side, the horn should be replaced by something more potent and not so directional. These are no speakers one places a listening chair in between, these are speakers to simply enjoy as they seem a friend to every kind of music.
In UK these E50/E70/E90 are not much beloved it seems. The late seventies popular audio trend of 'mucho wattos in plastic cones' might have caused this. Fortunately for the rest of the world these gems can be had for a very reasonable price. Ssht! before someone puts the highend price tag on these.
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An externally hosted image should be here but it was not working when we last tested it.
This is what I call a speaker -mind you, only 25cm. Cast frame, 5cm coil, latex surround, fine gap. For a better build one should look for a JBL unit in the professional line which were at that time (1978) more costly than a complete E50.
An externally hosted image should be here but it was not working when we last tested it.
Owning several pairs I like the E70 best. Its cabinet has internal panel damping which the E50 lacks, basses roll out very natural and dry. Because of the light weight cone (35 grams including surround) it's fast and when operated at normal listening levels it lacks the typical 3-4KHz break up which is eminent for two way systems.
On the down side, the horn should be replaced by something more potent and not so directional. These are no speakers one places a listening chair in between, these are speakers to simply enjoy as they seem a friend to every kind of music.
Great pictures Disco. I've never seen them dismantled before.
They are indeed, I listen to everything from Rock to Jazz to Classical through them. I always take great pleasure at watching peoples reaction when I play Miles Davis's Kind Of Blue through them. They just stare in disbelief and tell me it's like being in the same room as them!
Yes Ian, the effort Wharfedale has put into these E's really pays off. For us simple folk there's just the music that counts and not the soundeffects. One must be a freak to sit at the stringent 'listening spot' enjoying things like a 3D soundstage.
What you noted as 'like being in the room' seems to me not so much a big effort from the technical department but more a compliment to the good taste with which the necessary flaws were tolerated
Personally I'm not a big fan of those slim line two way speakers with bextrene cones. Also, cone doping raises weight and so lowers resonance frequency, as Celestion proved around 1970. At first one is tended to be impressed by the lowest register but after getting used to it, the quality of bass and mid reproduction is showing its limitations. It's being robbed from dynamics and plagued by all sorts of resonances colouring the reproduction.
Always carefully pick the guru to follow as they tend to fall of their socket after some time. To me mister Briggs proves right even after decennia: It's all about the music. Let it not be hindered by apparatuses, how well crafted.
What you noted as 'like being in the room' seems to me not so much a big effort from the technical department but more a compliment to the good taste with which the necessary flaws were tolerated
Personally I'm not a big fan of those slim line two way speakers with bextrene cones. Also, cone doping raises weight and so lowers resonance frequency, as Celestion proved around 1970. At first one is tended to be impressed by the lowest register but after getting used to it, the quality of bass and mid reproduction is showing its limitations. It's being robbed from dynamics and plagued by all sorts of resonances colouring the reproduction.
Always carefully pick the guru to follow as they tend to fall of their socket after some time. To me mister Briggs proves right even after decennia: It's all about the music. Let it not be hindered by apparatuses, how well crafted.
Like some other members I have had a pair of E70s since the late 70s.
They still adorn my front room and are as much pieces of furniture as they are quality speakers.
Over the years these babies have coped with everything I have thrown at them.
I even did a few discos with them in the 80s when my brother got double-booked.
Still in immaculate condition, surprisingly, and I am now running a Cambridge system into them and the sound is still truly awesome.
Only downside, if there has to be one, is that they are pretty heavy.
But then most things that are quality build, are!
I think they cost £300 back then and they are still worth that, IMHO.
DC
They still adorn my front room and are as much pieces of furniture as they are quality speakers.
Over the years these babies have coped with everything I have thrown at them.
I even did a few discos with them in the 80s when my brother got double-booked.
Still in immaculate condition, surprisingly, and I am now running a Cambridge system into them and the sound is still truly awesome.
Only downside, if there has to be one, is that they are pretty heavy.
But then most things that are quality build, are!
I think they cost £300 back then and they are still worth that, IMHO.
DC
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