can any one identify these 70s speakers and cabs

[crusher007]

i have inherited these from my late grandfather along with a rogers cadet amp which is faulty and a shed load of other bits and bobs musically related.
i like the sound of the speakers to be honest they are large beasts and sound pretty good but cannot find a makers mark other than made in england on them..
be good to get some info to at least know what they are, look forward to hearing from you

 

[planet10]

Sure looka like a Goodmans 12” woofer. Hidden in the cyclinder is an open-back midrange, and i’d guess from lookin gat the magnet thise could be the purple dome tweeters.

dave

 

[crusher007]

thanks for the info, i just realised i had not put up a pic of thefronts so here you go?
what do you reckon now? still the same?

 

[crusher007]

i cannot seem to find any referance to goodmans doing a square magnet though?

 

[Galu]

These are Wharfedale Dovedale loudspeakers.


All drivers were produced by Wharfedale.

 

[Galu]

The simplifed crossover network compared to the commercial model shows that these speakers were made from a Wharfedale kit.

Also, the cabinet is home made and not the commercial version.

Dovedale 3 Speaker-P Wharfedale Wireless, Idle Bradford, bui

 

[Galu]

they are large beasts and sound pretty good

You will almost certainly improve the sound by replacing the tired, old ELCAP capacitors on the crossover board with new non-polar electrolytic capacitors such as these from Wilmslow audio.

Mundorf Electrolytic ECap Capacitors

Just ask if you require more information on this.

 

[crusher007]

thanks galu thats amazing, do you think these would go well with the rogers cadet mk111 i have inherited if i can get it working again?

 

[Galu]

The kit from which the speakers were made is the Wharfedale Unit 5 kit.

 

[planet10]

oops.. sometimes i get Goodmans & Wharfedale confused. But yes, more or less what i suspected. How are the surrounds on the woofers? I have had some where the rubber has become vert stiff.

dave

 

[scottjoplin]

Takes me back, my father had those, I remember finding the woofer fascinating......I was very young

 

[Galu]

I have just sold off a set of these drivers. The rubber surrounds are inherently on the stiff side - it appears to be a characteristic of these woofers - and didn't stop mine from producing deep bass. If the surrounds become brittle, then you have a problem! However, crusher007 says they sound good, so his surrounds appear to be fine.

 

[Galu]

along with a rogers cadet amp which is faulty

Is it a Rogers Cadet MK3? Refurbished, these can be worth a couple of hundred pounds. If put up at auction for parts or repair at a low starting price the amp will still attract bids. The three ECC807 preamp valves are as rare as hen's teeth and the output transformers are sought after as replacements!

 

[Galu]

I remember finding the woofer fascinating......I was very young

The start of a lifelong fascination it seems!

 

[WaVeInFoRm]

shove abit more wadding in there too.

 

[WaVeInFoRm]

According to my calculations. Half a polyester dovet shoved in each one should be about right

6tog or so. not tooo much.. just enough.

 

[WaVeInFoRm]

want to put it in abit losely though. dont want it all stuffed up. just stuffed about right

 

[Galu]

My factory built Dovedales contained a loose filling of BAF wadding. When I investigated it, there was just enough to cover the four sides and back of the cabinet as in the OP's cabinet. The woofer crosses over to the midrange at 600Hz so absorption of mid-range frequencies by wadding in the main cabinet shouldn't be too much of an issue. However, there is always scope for experiment!

 

[Galu]

do you think these would go well with the rogers cadet mk111 i have inherited if i can get it working again?

Sorry, missed that post - too swept up in nostalgia!

I have the Cadet MK3's big brother, the Rogers HG88 MK3, and can vouch that it worked well with my Dovedales. The Cadet MK3 is a little less powerful (10W compared to 15W) but the Dovedales are quite efficient. You would use the 10 - 15 ohm speaker outlet on the amp

P.S. Don't go messing about with the Cadet yourself unless you are qualified in working with the dangerously high voltages inside a valve amp!

 

[phivates]

I hope you don't have voice coil rubbing issues. I have 10" Wharfedales with rubber surround and square magnet that aren't perfect but they had a rough life starting at college back in the 70s.