Today, in the rain, I finally got to hook up with a buddy of mine over a sale he had been telling me about for the last couple of weeks. I told him that I was considering trying my hand at building my very own pair of speakers this winter and he popped up with "This guy moved out of his house and left a bunch of stuff behind that the new owners are trying to get rid of."

I said "Oh? What stuff?"

"Well," he replied "It looks like he was into making his own speakers, custom stuff."

We went there today. I was really, REALLY hoping for a shop full of maybe some really nice MDF odds and ends, maybe a few power tools, and if I was lucky, some higher end drivers still in the box. What I found when I got there is... It looked like the guy had been to every thrift store and garage sale in the surrounding area for the last five years and pretty much brought home EVERYTHING. There was tons of junk... Sound Design, cheap Fishers, Pioneers, etc. and there were a few odds and ends... a Bose 901 (just one), one "Large" Advent (still might go back for that), a pair of very cool looking super vintage Grundig (sp?) that were in disrepair, etc. I saw one or two cabs that looked "custom made" using odds and ends out of other cabs and almost an entire bedroom full of stripped cabs but nothing that I found exciting.

What I did take home with me however is kind of cool...

1 pair of Warfedale "Dovedales" in good condition. Sound VERY nice! The drivers are minty, the cabs are scratched but look much better since I hit them with a little almond oil..

1 pair of KLH "Model Twenty Three" in good condition. Similar to the Warf's the cabs are a bit rough looking but the drivers are in good shape still and sound great.

1 pair of Linear Design Labs "749". These, it turns out, are a bit notorious for being the center of a relatively long drawn out law suit by Bose, for patent infringement on their original 901s! So yes, these are basically 901 clones, perhaps even an improvement on the 901 as these use wizzer cones on the 4" drivers (eight in each cab!) Nifty!

1 pair of Paradigm "Atoms". These basically look like a cheap bookshelf speaker or something you might find included as wall mount surrounds in a "Home Theater in a Box" system from walmart. The grills don't come off and the backs are made of plastic! However they weight a lot for their size, have five way binding posts on them and seem to be almost a cult classic in some circles bringing an average of $140 a pair on ebay.

1 pair of Utah three ways with 12" woofers. I have a soft spot, sort of, for Utahs so these had to come home with me. Not bad shape although one cab is missing the removable back that the crossover mounts to. Some one took one apart and lost the panel?

A "Roberts" (later Akai?) reel to reel in super nice shape! I didn't need this, don't even have room to store it, but it was so clean and I liked the portable case it is built in to (cover latches over the front and it has a carry handle on top) that I couldn't pass it up either. Haven't plugged it in yet but I will!

$60 took it all home

Photos coming soon!

nice score on the Wharfedale, KLH and Paradigm's. with everything else in the package you are in hakka26 territory.

Dang!!! Well, as they say. "Go big or go home." Nice grabs even though there was no adventure to it . Saw a set of those Linear Dynamics about a year ago. Didn't know if they also require an equaliser. The KLH sound really good with a Sansui 9090DB.

I'm with dingus. Wharfedale, KLH and Paradigm's are indeed very nice scores.

Thanks guys!

Here are the Paradigm Atoms:

Not sure what I'm going to do with them yet. Put the Atoms up on CL this afternoon but hey, they are small enough I'll find somewhere to hide them if I can't flip them! Been listening to them for a couple of hours now and I'm very impressed. Of course they don't hit very low and yet they have a much fuller range, lively sound than anything with their size and appearance has any right to! Sort of like a chihuahua with the bark and howl of a wolf. Probably the best sounding bookshelves I own and I certainly don't own (nor heard elsewhere) anything else their size that sounds as good.

Here are the KLH "Model Twenty Three":

One of the most unattractive speakers I've owned in a long time but sound surprisingly good! Cabs are pretty rough and I'm missing one "KLH" badge. Looks like they have been "refoamed" once although I'm pretty sure those are cloth surrounds. The glue job was sloppy as hell but I don't hear any voice coil rubs so... One of the dust caps is pushed in a bit and the other one looks like they tried to color it with a sharpie! Been listening to these quite a bit as well. Some acoustic "Yes" is impressing me greatly on these. Going after some more guitar and piano pieces I think..

I'd think about trying to flip these too but have absolutely NO idea what they might be worth or even any of their specs! Can any one help me out here?

And the Warfedale "Dovedales":

This is another mystery speaker to me! I'm assuming the original "version 1" since mine have no version identification on them. All I seem to be able to find online is the "version 3" (aka "III" or "V3") which look similar but don't have these highly cool teak (mahogany?) grills on them. Like the KLH the cabs have wear but several patient rub downs with almond oil has done wonders to them. I wasn't that impressed with the sound when I listened to them, mids and highs were good but the bass was muddy and uncontrolled. Later I sat down to clean them and while *gently* wiping the woofer surrounds with a soft, dry cloth, one of them just SHATTERED! Super brittle! Ooops!

I think I'll be keeping these as a refoam project for the winter as I just really love the way they look. Check out the cool purple dome tweet! If anyone has any information on this model (specs, etc.) I'd sure appreciate it if you would share!

Here are some wharfes I did.

the KLH 23's are worth keeping imo, they typically go for under $100, but sound better than that. btw the surrounds and woofers look stock to me.

i've never heard the Wharfedale Dovedales, but i did have a pair of W-60D's that looked very similar in size and configuration so i would expect them to sound similar as well. not a real dynamic speaker but does give some very nice sound. on first listen my W-60D's sounded thin and like they were at the other end of a hallway, but with continued listening they toned up quite nicely. along with new foam a recap might be in order.

the Paradigm's are highly touted and for good reason, but if you flip the Atoms keep an eye out for a pair of Titans which are a step up.

I've been listening to a lot of classical guitar on the KLHs and I really think they have grown on me. Might keep them, especially if something else moves since I really need the room...

My wife said she wanted the Warfedales IF I put new surrounds on them and in exchange I get "her" Yamaha NS-690s back again. I'll have to throw some cash on top too (she drives a hard bargain) but now I'm stuck trying to decide what to sell so I can keep the Yamaha's, which I really like! I guess for the right amount of $$$ I'd let them go and keep the KLHs instead, but that's another thread.

Very nice speakers, indeed.
I see the wharfedales have the purple tweeters... Very nice find. I think my Airedales have the same woofer, grill cloth and logo as yours.

I have some Paradigm Titans- I like them very much.

Great Score!