Need help identifying vintage Wharfdale Speakers

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Hello,

Does anyone recognize these particular speakers? I have been trying to search for model numbers or other pics and could find nothing online. There are no designations listed on the speakers that I could find - only the Wharfedale badge on the front grill cloth.

They are roll arounds and the cabs are walnut.

I will attach pics of the drivers and cross over in the following post.

Thanks
 

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Though not visible in the woofer pick, they are Red Alnicos I think. W-15 RS

The mid drivers do not have any model # on the back, just Wharfedale Co Info.

I could not get enough light and mirror to see if the hi freq drivers had a model # on them. Would have to remove to fully see.
 

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Thanks, that is indeed my speaker model.

Yes, they both work and sound very good with the right program material - big band or anything non rock n roll from that era. Bottom end is big and somewhat loose sounding. With modern pop and rock it gets a little boomy but fits perfect with the older material. I ran them with a set of Altec 1568s.

I like that they have the mid and hi drivers faced upwards which allows higher listening volume in a smaller room than speakers half that size would normally allow.

I think they could probably benefit from a recap but have left them original pending a possible sale at some point . . . . of course they hog up real estate and that is becoming a major factor in whether to keep them or not.
 
Ooh! A blast from the past! When these came out the local HIFI Emporium were promoting both them and Pink Floyd's coming to America, using them to demo the 'Saucer Full OF Secrets' album. The Airdales did it good enough to 'sink the hook' in me on PF, but that was about it. I was too used to corner loaded, tweaked A7-500 Altecs to be interested in relatively low efficiency omni type speakers.

In the right room and with a bit of tweaking though...........

GM
 
Maybe bouncy is a better term. Compared to something cheap that has a loose flabby bass the Airedales would sound tighter, but relative to something like Klipsch LaScalas they have a more loose, open feel to the bottom. They do have a "center punchiness" to them that makes the transients sound tight but the tails and decay of bottom notes are kind of bouncy and loose - bigger and more open sounding than a LaScala which is more cohesive and controlled sounding.

They are very nice for late 50s-late 60s Jazz. 🙂
 
Yeah, we use to call it 'toe tappin' bass, an alignment that adds a bit of perceived bass to make up for the lack of it in recordings, whereas most horn systems were all about the [mid]bass - up, so its rising bass response sounds super 'tight'/'fast' in comparison.

You can always damp the port to 'tighten' it up somewhat. Nick's drums sounded so much better through the A7s though!

GM
 
Nick's drums sounded so much better through the A7s though!


Ah yes, A7's . . . . If I'd had a truck on one particular day about 12 years ago I would have had a free pair with 604 horns . . . . . I almost tried strapping them to the top if my Buick!!!


btw - Have you ever compared A7s to Altec Model 14s? Different animals? I've never heard a pair of 14s in person.
 
Ah yes, A7's . . . . If I'd had a truck on one particular day about 12 years ago I would have had a free pair with 604 horns . . . . . I almost tried strapping them to the top if my Buick!!!


btw - Have you ever compared A7s to Altec Model 14s? Different animals? I've never heard a pair of 14s in person.

I assume you mean 604 duplex drivers, which even 12 yrs ago was worth big money on ebay.........

No/yes, the M14 is more a mini-M19, which is in turn a modern version of the ‘30s Lansing Iconic that Altec marketed under various model number/types up to, and even along side it, so with all these being studio monitors and consumer variants, none of them are really comparable to a theater horn system.

FWIW, for an average size HT, the 9842 studio monitor the M14 is derived from would make a near ideal above or behind screen mains system with the M14 as a below screen system:
9842
MODEL 14

GM
 
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