View Full Version : FS: Wharfedale Airedale speakers
Lawrence001
05-04-2019, 12:14
These arrived today. I knew as soon as I bought them I'd have to move them straight on as I don't have the room but I've always wanted to hear a pair. The seller has restored them, replacing the capacitors, reveneering some areas ( which you cannot tell without examining them closely) and putting better metal strips on the top and bottom of the (original) fabric.
They have a 15" woofer in a big thick plywood cabinet with slotted ports at the back - some quite modern features I thought, they're ahead of their time in some ways. The omnidirectional 8" mid range and 3" cone tweeter point upward and can be adjusted by the knobs on the back that crackle a little. I think bypassing then would improve the sound quite a bit.
While they are big they make beautiful pieces of vintage furniture. I imagine they would cost thousands if made now. In fact the original price is up there with the ESL57 and big Tannoys. The fabric is lovely original vintage with a couple of minor issues that you don't really notice, the worst is shown in a photo.
I thought they would be quite different sounding due to the upward pointing mid and treble drivers but they sound very good I could definitely live with them if I had the space. I reckon they'd sound even better with valves but I can't set up my monoblocs with the kids around to try. I found the bass a little waffly so I took the backs off and took some roughly cut black fabric off the back of the slotted ports and added some damping material to the bass chamber and they sound much better. They could still be probably tuned a bit more optimally if I was fussy and had the time but I'll leave that to the next owner.
Collection only from North London N21 near the M25, A1, A10 and A406. You'll need a big car (estate or 4x4) or a van for these!
Withdrawn while I try ebay. Update: ebay price is £295 but members can PM me for a deal [emoji3]
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always wanted a set of these to play with.. look in decent condition too... good buy
Lawrence001
05-04-2019, 13:19
Cheers Grant I forgot to say there's a mark on top of one shown here.https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20190405/99e16c85aa8a306674996450e42cb165.jpg
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As a child we had an Airedale - Airedale Terrier that is. :)
The speakers look wonderful Lawrence. Wish I had the space as like you I would take a punt. GLWS
OMG dad had a pair!
Those pics of the woofer and bass compartment brings back memories - as a boy i removed the rear panel to have a look inside, and was impressed.
Upwards firing 5 in midrange and 3 in cone tweeter if memory serves me.
we had a crap Fisher ss amp the tx300. i am sure these would have benefitted from Fisher tube amplifcation.
There cant have been many sold in Malaysia in the mid 60s ...
This is a gorgeous pair
Good luck with sale
Lawrence001
06-04-2019, 10:43
As a child we had an Airedale - Airedale Terrier that is. :)
The speakers look wonderful Lawrence. Wish I had the space as like you I would take a punt. GLWSThanks for the kind words Edward, I'm now trying them on ebay as I need to shift them quickly.
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Lawrence001
06-04-2019, 10:43
OMG dad had a pair!
Those pics of the woofer and bass compartment brings back memories - as a boy i removed the rear panel to have a look inside, and was impressed.
Upwards firing 5 in midrange and 3 in cone tweeter if memory serves me.
we had a crap Fisher ss amp the tx300. i am sure these would have benefitted from Fisher tube amplifcation.
There cant have been many sold in Malaysia in the mid 60s ...
This is a gorgeous pair
Good luck with saleThanks Shahrin they are indeed in very good condition. Incidentally the Wharfedale catalogue of the time refers to a tropical version so they may have been more common over there than you think. I wonder what the difference was...
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Lawrence001
07-04-2019, 21:25
A gentle bump for these classic vintage speakers.
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Lawrence001
10-04-2019, 21:10
Someone from Singapore is getting a quote for a courier but they're still available for now.
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montesquieu
10-04-2019, 23:16
I had a pair of these must be 7-8 years ago now. Enjoyed them - nice combination of a big woofer and omni treble, great fun. Bargain at the asking.
Lawrence001
11-04-2019, 06:25
Thanks Tom they are a bargain, they can go for double or more this price and in shabby condition. I think the size is an issue for many. Possibly also the looks for those who favour black monoliths in their rooms, but personally I.think they look lovely.
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southall-1998_mk2
11-04-2019, 13:15
One man's ugly is another man's unique. I quite like their looks.
S.
Lawrence001
18-04-2019, 13:33
Now £249 collected.
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if you were to recover these and such you would probably sell these for a fair bit more. that colour is pretty tired nowadays:)
Lawrence001
28-04-2019, 12:29
The cloth is original and personally I think it's a great vintage style. The sort of things those hipsters with their expensive radiograms should be all over.
Now the capacitors have been renewed I think there's one thing left to improve the sound. The upward firing drivers are covered by a gold metallic looking material with pin prick type holes in that really don't look acoustically transparent. You have to turn the knobs up to full to get a balanced sound rather than in the middle of the range. If the gold material was replaced with a similar vintage style cloth they would really start to sing. It does look original and I know that Rank made some dodgy changes to their speaker range once the Wharfedale takeover was complete and Briggs passed away.
I don't have any time or the space to do anything to these or I wouldn't be selling them for this ridiculous price. They are currently blocking our entrance hall and an old 3 seater sofa recently replaced is taking up what space we did have in the front room. That's on ebay too...
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Lawrence001
29-04-2019, 06:37
I tell a lie, the wiring could do with being upgraded too. Apparently it can reap great benefits in these old Wharfedales especially in the bass.
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Lawrence001
04-05-2019, 16:35
Now sold and collected. Stroke of luck really. After discussing couriers and collection options with a guy from Singapore and another from Italy, someone 1/2 mile down the road spotted my ebay listing and jumped on them. He did a full frequency sweep with his phone and found no anomalies. A tip I might make use of in future.
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Oh that is a shame as I was hoping to have a listen when I next come over. Oh well. I'm sure you will get another interesting set of speakers soon Lawrence. :lol:
Worth keeping this link handy when trying out different speakers.
https://www.szynalski.com/tone-generator/
Also useful for measuring the limits of your own ears. A few months ago my wife and I tried it. She topped out at about 12k and I topped out at about 15k. None of the daughters were around at the time but I guess they would get to ~18/20k (assuming the treble drivers are capable).
Lawrence001
18-05-2019, 21:53
Oh that is a shame as I was hoping to have a listen when I next come over. Oh well. I'm sure you will get another interesting set of speakers soon Lawrence. [emoji38]
Worth keeping this link handy when trying out different speakers.
https://www.szynalski.com/tone-generator/
Also useful for measuring the limits of your own ears. A few months ago my wife and I tried it. She topped out at about 12k and I topped out at about 15k. None of the daughters were around at the time but I guess they would get to ~18/20k (assuming the treble drivers are capable).I'm not planning to get any more interesting speakers for a while now Edward. The Jordans and Celestions are good enough and I only want one pair, so after some umming and ah-ing, I went with the Celestions. But that could flip at any time!
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Lawrence001
19-05-2019, 20:36
I may have spoken too soon...
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dantheman91
19-05-2019, 20:43
I may have spoken too soon...
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I hear you - im trying really but bloody hard
Im buying a pair of ARC 101's very soon...
Lawrence001
19-05-2019, 20:53
I hear you - im trying really but bloody hard
Im buying a pair of ARC 101's very soon...
They're supposed to be pretty good. There was a pair on here with Nytech amps, active crossovers etc. I was really sad to see them split up but at the time I didn't have room for them.
I saw those speakers when I was at Lawrence's house a short time ago. They are very impressive, even as bits of furniture, and good value for the money.
Lawrence001
20-05-2019, 20:25
I saw those speakers when I was at Lawrence's house a short time ago. They are very impressive, even as bits of furniture, and good value for the money.Cheers Chris they sold a few weeks ago but appreciate the bump! After downsizing, I've got some more big speakers coming at the weekend!!
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