PWB speakers

[Martyn Miles]

Do any Forum members recall these speakers?
I know PWB has a reputation for odd audio accessories,
but his headphones were OK.
I owned a pair in the '70s.
I believe the PWB NS-2 speakers used Kef drivers.

Martyn.

 

[DGP]

I might be mistaken but I think that Belt used Ted Jordan drivers in a speaker I saw at the Heathrow show some time in the 80s.

DGP

 

[Martyn Miles]

The Seller sent me a picture. It looks like an EMI elliptical unit,
plus a tweeter.
That looks like a Kef T52, but difficult to tell.
Bids from £15.
Could be an interesting buy...

Martyn

 

[Martyn Miles]

I got them for £15.
After some research, I found the EMI elliptical drivers have a good reputation.
B & W used a version in the DM1 and Monitor Audio's MA1 untilised a EMI elliptical driver.

The version in this PWB speaker looks to be a Bextrene type cone.
It will be interesting to give them a listen.

May Belt of PWB has been helpful with info.

Martyn.

 

[Martyn Miles]

May Belt checked the PWB Archives and the NS2 used a T27 and a B139.
I once had a pair of Radford Bookshelf speakers which used a '139 and a Celestion HF1300.
Excellent speakers.

PWB made an NS4 which used four (!) T27s and a B139.

As I'm picking the NS2s up today I will be able to give them a closer examination.

 

[Martyn Miles]

These NS2s sound remarkably good.
The EMI elliptical has a coated cone and is reasonably transparent sounding.
The T27 works just as you'd expect...

The units were sealed in with putty, which is hard and grey.
( The Radfords I had used putty to seal in the units )
I can't see the units were ever changed from B139s and the
Seller confirmed he had never removed the grilles.
All rather intriguing.

 

[Martyn Miles]

It appears the drivers were retro fitted.
They aren't EMI drivers, but Bextrene Audax or possibly Fane.
The tweeter isn't a T27, but a cone/dome unit.
I discovered the mounting holes for T27 are filled and the hole covered with a plate with
the tweeter mounted on it.
To solve the problem of the air pressure in the cabinet affecting the tweeter, a plastic cup ( yes, really...) is sealed onto the back.
I'm intrigued what model the tweeter is, but I don't want to remove it.

After all, it all works and sounds good.

Martyn.

PS.
After all, I find the bass/mid. drivers are EMI units.
The tweeters are Audax units

 

[Yank]

What are the cabinet dimensions?

 

[Martyn Miles]

What are the cabinet dimensions?

50 cm high
30 cm wide
20 cm deep

The back panel is braced and the crossover is fitted
on the brace.
I am going to fit some bitumastic pads to the cabinet
panels.
The bass/mid. will be re-fitted with sealing compound.

 

[Martyn Miles]

They sound very good.
Now running in our local record shop.

Excellent on vinyl.
Preferred to the Goodman's Mezzos which were there previously...

 

[Shuggie]

What do they look like?

 

[Martyn Miles]

Pics. sent

 

[Martyn Miles]

Currently on eBay.
I've had a bid from China.
They do like unusual British speakers over there...

 

[Martyn Miles]

Currently on eBay.
I've had a bid from China.
They do like unusual British speakers over there...

Update:

These were sold to a buyer in China, who appears to like old British speakers.
Shades of LS3/5as...

His eBay Feedback was positive.
'Very good speakers. Thank you'

I wonder if the buyer knows of Peter Belt's later 'audio ramblings' ?

Martyn

 

[Chris Elwell]

Hi Martyn, if any interest/information still applies to your PWB enquiry from 2016, I own and still use a pair of, I think, NS1's, daily, mainly because I bought directly from Peter's house in Leeds in, I think, 1973.Story is I wanted a pair of KEF Chorales and nothing would dissuade me from these, having auditioned them in and around Birmingham.UNTIL one weekend I was in Cambridge visiting my cousin,and called into AudioT just for a listen.The guy said "if you like the Chorales, you'll love these, but they won't hide any record faults".Well they were so revealing it was untrue - you could hear Cat Stevens breathing in on "Tea for the Tillerman", he told me they were the PWBs and gave me a small flyer which was all about the Moving Coil Headphones. Anyway, in due course a phone call led to a visit to Peter's house in Leeds (I was repping at the time) and a more interesting, enthusiastic guy I never met in all my life. The treble unit was his own design and was used in both the headphones (as a full range unit) and in the speakers as a tweeter. Through his Quad equipment he switched between the KEF Tweeter and his unit, which was so revealing that there was none of the pinched, nasal speech evident on the KEF, just a much more natural, vocal timbre, hence his Natural Sound NS1 Speaker. The Bass unit is 8" dia. heavily Bextrene coated.From the front it has that characteristic KEF B200 flanging and 4 point mounting. I've never delved too far round the back, just very glad they still sound so good after 45 yrs -at least to my ageing ears!
Hope this is of interest to you. Best Regards, Chris Elwell

 

[Arkless Electronics]

I seem to recall some tall line array type speakers with multiple flat/ribbon/isodynamic drivers, maybe from Infinity... certainly something on those lines. this was at the Harrogate show in early '80's. Moving coil bass drivers in "bass bin" at the bottom. I never heard of them again... maybe a prototype? They sounded good from what I recall.

 

[Craig B]

Interesting find, Martyn.

The tweeters appear to be re-mounted Audax TW60A plastic cone/domes.

 

[Martyn Miles]

Hi Martyn, if any interest/information still applies to your PWB enquiry from 2016, I own and still use a pair of, I think, NS1's, daily, mainly because I bought directly from Peter's house in Leeds in, I think, 1973.Story is I wanted a pair of KEF Chorales and nothing would dissuade me from these, having auditioned them in and around Birmingham.UNTIL one weekend I was in Cambridge visiting my cousin,and called into AudioT just for a listen.The guy said "if you like the Chorales, you'll love these, but they won't hide any record faults".Well they were so revealing it was untrue - you could hear Cat Stevens breathing in on "Tea for the Tillerman", he told me they were the PWBs and gave me a small flyer which was all about the Moving Coil Headphones. Anyway, in due course a phone call led to a visit to Peter's house in Leeds (I was repping at the time) and a more interesting, enthusiastic guy I never met in all my life. The treble unit was his own design and was used in both the headphones (as a full range unit) and in the speakers as a tweeter. Through his Quad equipment he switched between the KEF Tweeter and his unit, which was so revealing that there was none of the pinched, nasal speech evident on the KEF, just a much more natural, vocal timbre, hence his Natural Sound NS1 Speaker. The Bass unit is 8" dia. heavily Bextrene coated.From the front it has that characteristic KEF B200 flanging and 4 point mounting. I've never delved too far round the back, just very glad they still sound so good after 45 yrs -at least to my ageing ears!
Hope this is of interest to you. Best Regards, Chris Elwell

Thanks, Chris.
That is a fascinating story about your NS1s. I recall an article in Hi Fi News about PWB speakers, both the
NS1 and NS2. As I owned a pair of PWB electrostatic headphones, anything ‘PWB’ interested me.
I recall somewhere in the article a PWB prototype speaker was mentioned, with multiple Kef T27 tweeters.
Peter Belt struck me a quite an innovator when it came to loudspeakers.
I am beginning to wish I kept my PWBs, pictured above.

 

[sp25]

I seem to recall some tall line array type speakers with multiple flat/ribbon/isodynamic drivers, maybe from Infinity... certainly something on those lines. this was at the Harrogate show in early '80's. Moving coil bass drivers in "bass bin" at the bottom. I never heard of them again... maybe a prototype? They sounded good from what I recall.

Like these? about 18 inches high

 

[Arkless Electronics]

Nope.... What I recall was more a narrow line array of units vaguely similar to the infinity EMITS/EMIMS (I can't recall whether there were mids and tweeters or if the units covered from a few hundred Hz up...) which must have been about 4 -5' tall but only maybe 6" wide, on top of bass cabs with IIRC (ish..) twin 8" woofers in each one. They seemed quite a high end design. I vaguely recall them being demoed with a John Williams record of movie sound track stuff.... It was a long time ago...