Vintage Wharfedale Airdale Loudspeakers

[tannoyman]

Hi Guys

I was browsing an antique shop this morning and I came across a pair of very rare vintage Wharfedale Airdale Loudspeakers. These date from the 1960's and are in need of a bit of TLC but in 44 years in audio I have never seen a pair before so I thought I would flag them up for anyone who might be interested. The Airdale was Wharfedale's top of the range omni directional speaker. It had I believe three drivers - a 15" bass unit, an 8" midrange unit and a 3" tweeter

This is what they look like

http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=http://img5.blogs.yahoo.co.jp/ybi/1/a7/f5/audio_agent/folder/869171/img_869171_25767588_0&imgrefurl=http://blogs.yahoo.co.jp/audio_agent/25767588.html&h=300&w=400&sz=20&tbnid=S4pD7lNkwIuaiM:&tbnh=90&tbnw=120&zoom=1&usg=__egJq3QrUxQwUKYDFfYQ4tpjz0i0=&docid=ocE3yO7fOvFDJM&hl=en&sa=X&ei=ppW4UL33CYfDhAf8jYGwCQ&sqi=2&ved=0CDQQ9QEwAg&dur=342

These are the actual speakers in the antique shop

http://www.antiquesnorthampton.co.uk/gallery.php#


The seller is Bakehouse Antiques, Abington Avenue Northampton.(Tel 01604 233265) I understand that they work though how well I do not know. The asking price is £500 but there should be some wriggle room around that

Over to you

David:):)

[Wakefield Turntables]

£500. Why not ask the owner to fire them up. If you like the sound and think its worth £500 then purchase them, if you dont walk away. Simple really. ;)

[tannoyman]

Hi Andrew

I thought seriously about it, and I would love to own a good pair of Airedales, (a Gilbert Briggs masterpiece I suspect) but I am currently renovating a pair of Ferrograph S1's (which are coming on nicely) and I don't really have enough room besides which they are a bit big for my vintage system because of where it lives. It will also not have escaped your attention that my main speakers are fairly imposing, such that they come close to precluding having any others in the room - even my room which is 4500 cu.ft.

But I am an old softie and thought they needed someone to adopt them and restiore them to their former glory, hence my post. I do the same with old records. When I see a beautiful old record I just have to either give it a home or find one for it.

Before you say it, you are right, I am quite quite mad!!

kind regards

David :lol:;)


£500. Why not ask the owner to fire them up. If you like the sound and think its worth £500 then purchase them, if you dont walk away. Simple really. ;)

[DSJR]

Before my time, but top end for the period I think. Huge fun, but £500? They may be a bit "woofy" by todays standards as many of these speakers were biased towards a "nice warm tone," and many of the ceramic cartridges then in use had treble peaks to sort-of liven it all up, but maybe a pair of low plinths might help?

Good luck with the negotiation ;)

[tannoyman]

Before my time, but top end for the period I think. Huge fun, but £500? They may be a bit "woofy" by todays standards as many of these speakers were biased towards a "nice warm tone," and many of the ceramic cartridges then in use had treble peaks to sort-of liven it all up, but maybe a pair of low plinths might help?

Good luck with the negotiation ;)

Hi David

Regretably not before my time. I think you are right on their sound but with with careful positioning I think the sound would be quite mellow and a very pleasant listen. I suspect that parts could be hard to find.

Sadly I will have to pass on them but I would interested to hear if anyone else has a go for them. I did soften the seller up by suggesting that condition could depress the price somewhat cos they do need tlc

David :)

[Barry]

Taken from a pertinent web-site:


The Airedale, as its name suggests, is an attempt at omni-directionality : the mid and high drivers inside the enclosure radiate toward the top to let sound go "everywhere".
Unlike the contemporary Teesdale, the two drivers really only spread sound there : since no conical deflectors were used, the large enclosure side cutouts radiate internal reflexions only.

This high region is separated from the W15RS 38cm bass driver by an empty cavity - an "acoustic resistance in the form of a distributed port" ; that cavity is damped by ceramic tiles.
For further damping, the front panel is sand-filled, this explaining the total 42kg of the Airdale and the presence of hidden castors for easy movement.

The 20cm bass driver has a "roll surround" suspension (not Flexiprene) made with a more traditional (and safer) impregnated cloth.
The polepiece is 5cm in size, magnet is Ceramic, frame is cast and resonance low at 23...28 cycles/second.

The medium is the Super 8/RS/DD, the resonant frequency of which is largely above what it does in the Airedale : 400Hz crossover vs. 55Hz resonance. Impregnated cloth surround makes the Super 8/RS/DD more resistant to time then Flexiprene, a variant of Neoprene.

The tweeter is the efficient Wharfedale Super 3.

AlNiCo magnets everywhere and an enclosure designed with the co-operation of Consultant Designer Robert Gutmann F.S.I.A..

Considering the "RS" refers to the rubber Roll Surround, I would be concerned the rubber had not perished. The RS8/DD drive units are still available, but I doubt the same holds for the W15RS drive unit.

[hifi_dave]

I have to confess that they were current when I first became interested in Hi-Fi. I would love a pair of Airedales but the logistics of collecting and then housing them is a step too far. Unfortunately.

[Wakefield Turntables]

David,

Fair point mate! i understand the being a big soft bit, i must admit that if I see a bit of kit that needs a good home I also buy it. Anyway, £500 is VERY speculative, how does the owner know they are worth £500. I would do some research on e$hit sorry ebay and look to see what previous pairs have gone for. I would also go in with the strategy of actually knowing what the speakers are and saying they need some work doing to them etc etc. Make a fair offer say 40% of the price he's asking and then see what his minimum price is. If you say get them for £375 I'd think they'd be worth a punt. But it's your dosh dude! May I say I'm also green with envy :D that you have some ferrographs.

Regards

A

[SPS]

I owned a single speaker, it was quite good really, the top end was not as forward as modern drivers, but still a good full sound with a nice bass when used in a corner.
The 15 " bass units are good, I have 4 that I doubled up on some open baffles they sound well providing they are not taken to high. The super 8 are quite good on their own. I've had no problem with the surrounds with any of the drivers, and I have at least four of each type if your stuck for spares.
Cheers
Steve

[Audio Al]

:hmm::hmm::hmm:

I cant see £500 in those speakers , Sorry

Maybe because I am a boot sale man :)

[Reid Malenfant]

I don't know what drivers the original Airedale used, but the classics are the Gold Super 3" tweeter & the Gold Super 8".

As for the 15" I have no idea. I used to own a few early Wharfedale drivers (12RS & 12CS) & even owned a pair of speakers that looked suspiciously similar to those speakers you linked to. They housed a pair of Gold Super 3" tweeters.

The thing is the felt surround decayed & made them worthless...


The Airedale I'd like to find would be the Airedale SP, or it might be the SP2 ;)

[tannoyman]

:hmm::hmm::hmm:

I cant see £500 in those speakers , Sorry

Maybe because I am a boot sale man :)

Hi Al

You are right. Even given their rarity I would have said £200-£250 would be par for the course. I did not press the owners because I am not interested in buying. They will certainly require some money spending on them and they are very speculative. They may be working but there can be a world of difference between working and working well.

It looks like they may remain orphans unwanted and unloved
:harp:


David ;):cool:

[wiicrackpot]

Hi Al

You are right. Even given their rarity I would have said £200-£250 would be par for the course. I did not press the owners because I am not interested in buying. They will certainly require some money spending on them and they are very speculative. They may be working but there can be a world of difference between working and working well.

It looks like they may remain orphans unwanted and unloved
:harp:


David ;):cool:
Spot on, i was beaten to a pair for £260.00 and was prepared to pick up from the borders, at the time i had Wharfedale W3's and didn't push pass my £250.00 limit,
very good speakers i suspect judging by what i hear from my old W3's and the Airedale's should be a step up, Bigears Audio would ask for 1k for them,
good buy if you could haggle it down a tad.

Incidently i've since sold my W3's for £260.00 and currently refurbing a pair of Goodmans Triaxiom 1220c and Urei 809's. :cool:

[Rare Bird]

Ive never been a fan of Wharfdale Speekarse, however i don't dislike them because my loudspeakers use Wharfy Bass units

http://i1075.photobucket.com/albums/w425/ELPFAN1968/Conway.jpg

[tannoyman]

Ive never been a fan of Wharfdale Speekarse, however i don't dislike them because my loudspeakers use Wharfy Bass units

http://i1075.photobucket.com/albums/w425/ELPFAN1968/Conway.jpg

Hi Andre

They look nearly as old as me. Well perhaps not quite that old!! :lol:

David

[Rare Bird]

Have a guess Dave how old do you think they may be?

[tannoyman]

Have a guess Dave how old do you think they may be?



Hi Andre

Early 1980's?

David :rolleyes:

[Rare Bird]

nein.. mid 70's design.. twas a sad day for me when they closed the doors

[Trickie_Dickie]

http://i1236.photobucket.com/albums/ff441/payitforwardeddie/SDC11190-1.jpg


One of a pair of Beauties in my Uncle's possession in Bristol. Priceless.

[Rare Bird]

very nice, complete with dedicated corner for em to slot into