Wharfedale W60D (1967–1969)

Seven pounds of white sand packed between hardwood layers — Wharfedale's mid-line Achromatic three-way, built to sit dead still while the bass moves.

Overview

The W60D was Wharfedale's three-way bookshelf-or-floor monitor in the Achromatic line, and the sand is the first thing collectors mention. Wharfedale's own advertising in the period press asked the question directly — "Does Wharfedale still use sand in its speaker systems?" — and answered it with a proud "You bet we do." The W60D carried "a little less" of it than the W70D's seven-plus pounds, but the point was the same: a cabinet that stays inert under bass energy. Audio (April 1969, p.29) ran the same sand-filled-construction pitch, and HiFi-Stereo (August 1968, p.54) ran it too, which tells you how hard Wharfedale pushed the construction story in the late '60s.

The driver complement is the real substance. A 12½-inch woofer with a massive 9½-pound magnet assembly and a one-piece cone on an unusually compliant long-throw suspension anchors the bottom end; Wharfedale claimed remarkably undistorted, efficient, extended bass from it. A 5-inch midrange, acoustically isolated in its own sub-enclosure with a 1¾-pound magnet and a cloth suspension, handles the middle. The system carries continuously variable mid and treble level controls — a feature that matters more than it sounds, because it lets the W60D be dialed to a room rather than fighting it.

Wharfedale rated the W60D from 30 to 20,000 Hz, with a nominal 8-ohm impedance and a 40-watt maximum power handling figure. A three-section LCR crossover splits the bands. The 30 Hz bottom-end claim is the one to treat with a raised eyebrow — a 12½-inch woofer in a sand-damped box will go low, but 30 Hz in a cabinet this size is a rated figure, not a measured one, and owners should expect honest extension into the low 40s rather than a subwoofer's reach. The 40-watt maximum is the more useful number: this is an efficient speaker that does not need a big amplifier, and pairing it with one is a mistake.

It was offered in genuine oiled walnut at $135.25, polished walnut on special order at $140.75, and a utility version in sanded birch with molding at $123.00. The enclosure could be positioned horizontally or vertically, on a shelf or on the floor, and a B67 floor base was available separately. That flexibility was part of the pitch — this was a speaker for a real living room, not a dedicated listening room.

Reception & Use

The W60D sat in the middle of a crowded Achromatic range, and the period advertising makes the hierarchy plain: the two-way W20D Minorette at $49.95, the W30D Compact at $59.95, the three-way W40D Bookshelf at $94.00, the W60D at $135.25, and the four-way W70D at $188.00. Buyers who wanted the sand-filled construction but could not stretch to the W70D landed here. The W60D also shared the sand-fill story with the larger W90D, which carried more of it than either.

Ownership Notes

The practical concerns are the ones that come with any 1960s sand-filled Wharfedale. The cabinets are heavy and the sand fill means they do not take kindly to being dropped or opened carelessly; the feed holes were sealed with wood plugs at the factory, and a cabinet that has been apart is a cabinet that may have lost some of its fill. The cloth midrange suspension is described as climatically impervious, but fifty-plus years of humidity is a different test than the factory's. The continuously variable level controls are a wear point on any speaker of this age and are worth exercising before purchase.

The W60D is not a speaker that rewards a big amplifier. The 40-watt maximum and the efficiency Wharfedale claimed mean a modest amp will drive it to satisfying levels; the point of the design is the cabinet, not the power handling. Buyers should expect to pay for condition and completeness — original grilles, the B67 base if it survived, and a cabinet that has not been refinished — rather than for the badge alone.

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