This last weekend when we left my parents house I decided to take a pair of old (~1970) Wharfedale Dovedale speakers home to see what they could do. This is a pair of speakers my Grandfather purchased in Hong Kong sometime around or before 1970.
The speakers still look good, although the design is obviously dated. Looks like solid hardwood on the sides and plywood/particleboard on the front and back. There is a set of stands, not shown, that match.
I did a quick search of the internet and didn't find out much. Several short posts by people who had later versions of this speaker and were looking for parts or comments. They have a 12" thin paper woofer, a 5" midrange in it's own sealed enclosure, and a dome tweeter. The rear of the cabinet has trim controls for the midrange and tweeter. The inside of the enclosure has some loose fiber fill. No additional damping or bracing on the walls.
I hooked them up to my Bryston amp / pre-amp combo and fired up the Ipod. They are in good working order. They have a vintage, warm sound that was characteristic of the time. The woofer is light and thin, so it is fairly quick and produces decent midrange. The low end is tight but there is very little extension. A modern equivalent would go at least an octave lower. They sound better with a bass boost for sure. Mids and highs are OK, but nothing outstanding. They lack sparkle and top end air, probably due in no small part to the thick grill cloth.
I haven't decided yet what to do with them. My initial thought, before I heard them, was to replace all of the drivers and crossover with new units. I think that would definitely improve the sound, but at a modest cost. At a minimum I'll measure their frequency response and see what I can uncover. I may also consider some basic bracing of the enclosure.
Maybe a better option would be to build a new version of this, and then do a comparison. I've always wanted to build a 3-way system.
