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Goodmans and Wharfedale

L

lexi

pfm Member
Why is it that two of the pioneers of British Hi fi do not have a desirable or collectable speaker between them? They were making speakers at the same time as most of the classics like BC1 104s ESL DCs Lowther and yet not anything worthy of mention..........Diamonds excepted of course.
 
The Goodmans full range coaxial drivers are very well thought of too, I'd like to try a pair at some point. I don't know about Warfedale, though Gilbert Briggs was regarded as a real innovator and pioneer so I bet there are some good ones out there.

Tony.
 
Actually Havant and Mezzo were not bad speakers. Quite efficient and punchy. They were all kind of swept under the carpet......a bit like Lenco and a few other good decks.

I`m just wondering if there are some sleeping classics. Certainly Wharfedales Dovedale /Linton ranges of the 70s cannot hold up against true classics or moderns.There may be enthuisiusts with speakers out there that don`t get a mention.

Briggs was kind of famous for bespoke/experimental stuff that wasn`t mainsteam. Must also remember that Rank got hold of the company and Dumbed them down somewhat.
 
Back in Gilbert Brigg's day, speakers and indeed the whole hi-fi system, was a do-it-yourself project. You bought in drivers and crossover, built your own cabinet and put the lot together. So, I guess, there isn't a lot of good speakers to sell on E-Bay. My first speaker was a 10 inch RSDD with a 3 inch tweeter and Eagle crossover in a home made cabinet like a small wardrobe. My cabinet making skills would not be very marketable.

Later, Wharfedale had a small range of commercially made speakers which you do see occasionally on E-Bay - Dovedale and WW (something). They never have had the cachet of Tannoy, Lowther and Quad ESL for some reason. In the late 60's/early 70's, Wharfedale majored on smaller, cheaper models and then they were taken over by Rank.
 
No collectable Goodmans? What about -

Original 1960s Maxim
1980s Maxim
Dimension 8
The Goodmans version of the LS3/5A

and lots of drivers like the Axiom 80s.......
 
Sat in front of a pair of Goodmans Magnum at present, perfectly happy with them and they can be had for next to nothing.
 
Beobloke said:
No collectable Goodmans? What about -

Original 1960s Maxim
1980s Maxim
Dimension 8
The Goodmans version of the LS3/5A

and lots of drivers like the Axiom 80s.......
Click to expand...
Don`t disagree BB. Apart from the BBC model how much would these speakers fetch? Not much maybe. Speakers that were sold in carpeted Hi fi shops and favoured by Ken Kessler et all seem to fetch much more. You could always buy Goodmans in Comet couldn`t you?.

Ah well we all know what marketing can do for a product. Dimension 8 haven`t seen or heard them for yonks.

You just don`t see or hear many addicts with Goodmans in their system.maybe the Japanese bought them all! Excellent to hear people are enjoying them.
 
Nice link PD. Centurys I know well. Nice to see the Wharfedale thing. Good ideas and engineering stand the test of time right enough. I loved the build quality on JBL . Just like Tannoy those drivers were seriously put together.
 
Hi
I have a pair of Goodmans Achromat Beta's on loan which I have enjoyed listening to loads, quite efficient, would like to hear them with a valve amp.Very well made and leather bound. just lovely little speakers, the only thing they can't do is play loud as the sound really hardens as the vol increases. I would be happy to own them.
Regards
Jim
 
The main thing was that many of these speakers were sat on the floor and boomed as a result. Sit them on lowish stands and they take on a whole new character.

As with all vintage stuff, you have to choose carefully. There's gold amongst the tat there...
 
I well remember my Goodmans Ministers, used with a Connoisseur BD 1 kit, GL75 arm, Micro VF 3200e cartridge, all into a Sony 1010 amp. Lovely... I bought Havants later, but didn't rate them. I moved on to Dynaco A25s. ( Now there's an underrated speaker ) I well remember the Achromat, but I thought Goodmans lost their way with the Dimension 8 & branching into electronics, with their tuner-amps. Billy Goodman (who now runs ATC ) had a good grounding at Goodmans. He said he learnt a lot. ATC is now very successful.
 
monkfish said:
Hi
I have a pair of Goodmans Achromat Beta's on loan which I have enjoyed listening to loads, quite efficient, would like to hear them with a valve amp.Very well made and leather bound. just lovely little speakers, the only thing they can't do is play loud as the sound really hardens as the vol increases. I would be happy to own them.
Regards
Jim
Click to expand...
Are they the ones with the clear-coned bass driver, and the pleated surround? The surround was patented by Hitachi IIRC and gives a very long linear throw. The downside is that it provides bugger all termination for the cone, which has to be very well behaved as a result. Not sure I liked them very much - a bit turgid for my tastes.
Billy Goodman (who now runs ATC ) had a good grounding at Goodmans. He said he learnt a lot. ATC is now very successful.
Click to expand...
Quite a few illuminati went through the Goodmans mill, including top Tefal head at Naim. He was responsible for a revamp of the Magnum/Mezzo/Maxim range in the 80's which were quite fun to listen to. There probably aren't many left in their original form, as they used foam surrounds, which have probably perished by now.
Wharfedale also bred a few brains - isn't Peter Fryer still at B&W?
Cheers
John
 
Is the Dynaco speaker not kind of rejuvenated with WD 25 model. That is an interesting speaker Martyn.
 
What is the WD 25 ? The Dynaco had a 10 inch paper coned bass/mid with an ( approx.) one and a half inch dia. tweeter. The loading was ' aperiodic' , that is a sort of acoustic resistance. Looked a bit 'AR' with light wood cabinet and an oatmeal grille. I loved them. Bought some Celef Montors on Hi-Fi Answers recommendation. I was easily 'taken in' by magazines ( read comics with hindsight...) in those days. I wish I hadn't bought them . When I advertised them even the Manufacturer ( was it Stuart Tyler ?) phoned me, asking why I wanted to sell them. Hi-fi was a bit ' funny' in those long gone ( thank goodness ) days. Did HFA & some manufacturers conspire together to promote certain makes ? I discovered proper speakers in the late '70s and still have them . Spendor BC1s... Martyn Miles .
 
Hi Nero
Yes these are the clear coned mid/bass driver, the thing I didn't mention is that they are very room dependant (same old story),they have been tried in at least three other houses but all agree they sound fine here.
They obviously cant produce very deep bass either due to the constraints of driver and cabinet size but the bass produced in my room is very tuneful and controlled and an open mid and top end complete a very nice picture which projects well into the room.
Regards
Jim
 
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