E70 Speakers

trevorok

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I have seen some very nice e 70 whalfdales for sale around the 230 pound mark i was thinking of replacing my old 5.3 mordaunt shorts they are to go with an 351a and 540c cambridge and my tv whould you consider them a good buy and whould they be a good sound mally *dance4*
 
trevorok said:
I have seen some very nice e 70 whalfdales for sale around the 230 pound mark i was thinking of replacing my old 5.3 mordaunt shorts they are to go with an 351a and 540c cambridge and my tv whould you consider them a good buy and whould they be a good sound mally *dance4*

You say you have seen them for sale but have you actually seen them in the flesh?

I might buy a pair of they were in extremely good condition but in my opinion these '80s speakers are unlikely to be and hence overpriced. You try buying replacement drivers for them. ;-)

Take a chance if you have the room for them but I would advise looking them over first as they are ancient. Apologies for seeming down..... but trying to be realistic.
 

davedotco

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The E is for efficiancy, ie they are very sensitive and pretty unruly. If filling space and going loud are your primary concerns then maybe. They have a certain reputation though personally I don't understand why.

Again, speaking personally, I think you can do a lot better for similar money, loads of stuff on ebay.
 

trevorok

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i have seen photos of them they have been refurbihed and all new capacitors in the crossovers all the drivers and cabs and grills are good at this price i am very tempted as they are not no more than 20 miles away mally
 
trevorok said:
i have seen photos of them they have been refurbihed and all new capacitors in the crossovers all the drivers and cabs and grills are good at this price i am very tempted as they are not no more than 20 miles away mally

Go take a look if they are well preserved and if they suit your tastes. 20 miles is nothing, but prepare to haggle price. Hope you have a big room. :)
 

davedotco

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nopiano said:
They were pretty rough when new. I'd run a mile unless you want disco speakers.

It's what I said above, but I tried to be a little more polite.

I certainly do not mind a loud, punchy speaker but the E Series are a long, long way over the line for me.
 
What a load of b######s. The E70s are fabulous speakers, but they aren't flawless. I've owned the E20s since 1982, and used them in my system until 2006. I still have them in the attic.

The E70s were known to have good bass definition and very involving sound. The downsides of the E70s, because they have more cones than an ice cream factory, is the timing can sound a bit off kilter.

It's true they are very efficient but that doesn't mean they lack quality - some later budget Wharfedales were purely for parties. The E series were a bit more sophisticated and refined.

I used my E20s with Pioneer amp, Arcam Alpha 7 and A65+. Easy to live with, if you can accept the slightly blingy looks.
 

davedotco

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plastic penguin said:
What a load of b######s. The E70s are fabulous speakers, but they aren't flawless. I've owned the E20s since 1982, and used them in my system until 2006. I still have them in the attic.

The E70s were known to have good bass definition and very involving sound. The downsides of the E70s, because they have more cones than an ice cream factory, is the timing can sound a bit off kilter.

It's true they are very efficient but that doesn't mean they lack quality - some later budget Wharfedales were purely for parties. The E series were a bit more sophisticated and refined.

I used my E20s with Pioneer amp, Arcam Alpha 7 and A65+. Easy to live with, if you can accept the slightly blingy looks.

Interesting view from someone who has actually owned a pair...*unknw*

I recall them from their time, deming them against other models I was left slightly in awe of their output capabilities but horrified at their unruly presentation and overall lack of respect for the music. Whatever you played, they always sounded like a pair of E70s, no nuance whatsoever.

Bear in mind that these are impressions from a very long time ago (30yrs?), maybe my views have changed since then, but at the time they made a pretty strong impression on me and not at all in a good way.

Given the current (perhapd fleeting) interest hi sensitivity models, maybe it would be interesting to hear them again...*unknw*
 

paulkebab

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back in the 80's that Wilmslow Audio (when they actually were in Wilmslow!) were selling in kit form. They didnt have the pots on the front and IIRC I built them as a mirror image. They were recommended by WHF when they had a dedicated team to personally answer queries regarding hi-fi, I think it cost 2 or £3 a pop. In the room I had they were smooth, and capable of going very loud indeed per watt. They sounded great for rock music, bass was deep but not much expression of texture to be honest. The top was pronounced but not fizzy at all - twin midrange drivers were needed to balance the overall presentation. I used to love them, no they weren't very refined but all round they were a lot of fun, and in my opinion pretty much unbeatable in their day and would give a few of todays speakers a good run for the money. As someone said, the room has to be big enough, mine were in a 14 X 13 firing across the 13' and they sounded great. When we moved and they went in a 13 X 12 they just died, nil bass so they had to go. You'll have to size up your room and have a listen, overall I think you'll like them - don't expect too much detail but definitely a lot of fun.
 
davedotco said:
plastic penguin said:
What a load of b######s. The E70s are fabulous speakers, but they aren't flawless. I've owned the E20s since 1982, and used them in my system until 2006. I still have them in the attic.

The E70s were known to have good bass definition and very involving sound. The downsides of the E70s, because they have more cones than an ice cream factory, is the timing can sound a bit off kilter.

It's true they are very efficient but that doesn't mean they lack quality - some later budget Wharfedales were purely for parties. The E series were a bit more sophistica

ted and refined.

I used my E20s with Pioneer amp, Arcam Alpha 7 and A65+. Easy to live with, if you can accept the slightly blingy looks.

Interesting view from someone who has actually owned a pair...*unknw*

I recall them from their time, deming them against other models I was left slightly in awe of their output capabilities but horrified at their unruly presentation and overall lack of respect for the music. Whatever you played, they always sounded like a pair of E70s, no nuance whatsoever.

Bear in mind that these are impressions from a very long time ago (30yrs?), maybe my views have changed since then, but at the time they made a pretty strong impression on me and not at all in a good way.

Given the current (perhapd fleeting) interest hi sensitivity models, maybe it would be interesting to hear them again...*unknw*

The E90s and 70s were the first to roll of the production line at Rank Organisation. They were designed to compete with the Quad Electrostatics of the period. Whether they succeeded or not I couldn't say, as I've not heard the Quads. But such speakers at the time, generally speaking, were relatively hard to drive. Wharfedale wanted a speaker to match the quality with an easy load.

The E90s were used for back street cinemas - these little independent places that showed *ahem* type of films.

Because the 90s and 70s were beyond the pocket of a lot of people smaller versions trickled down (E50, 30 and my 20s). The E90s were released in around 1976, although the E20s didn't make an appearance until 1979.

(Apologise for the backstory)

I agree they are a speaker of their day and I would never say they compare to good modern speaker. But if one is looking for a retro set-up then you can do worse than picking one of the E series.

Out of interest I did a comparison with my RS6s years ago. Of course the RS6s were better but not night and day. Likewise I've heard these with the Leema. Again surprisingly good given the design is over 40 years old.

The biggest problem I find with old Wharfedales is they distort quicker than modern equivalents. But given they were designed to work with valve amps they are controlled as long as the amp doesn't step over the line.

Think it's interesting that when production stopped Wharfedale first brought out the Diamond range.
 
davedotco said:
nopiano said:
They were pretty rough when new. I'd run a mile unless you want disco speakers.

It's what I said above, but I tried to be a little more polite.

I certainly do not mind a loud, punchy speaker but the E Series are a long, long way over the line for me.
I know! For once, I thought I needed to be blunt, to save someone from a costly mistake. Glad to see pp approved, but I cannot believe they were ever intended to compete with Quads. I cannot imsgine anything more different!
 
nopiano said:
davedotco said:
nopiano said:
They were pretty rough when new. I'd run a mile unless you want disco speakers.

It's what I said above, but I tried to be a little more polite.

I certainly do not mind a loud, punchy speaker but the E Series are a long, long way over the line for me.
Glad to see pp approved, but I cannot believe they were ever intended to compete with Quads. I cannot imsgine anything more different!

That was the garb coming out of Wharfedale at the time, and that was the expectation levels IIRC.

In terms timing the smaller 20 were IMHO better in this respect, and they were better suited to domestic set-up.

They only had a relative short life because the chrome surroundings had limited appeal.
 

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