WEB Speakers
- Thread starter Elite-ist
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Never saw those big ones of yours before but certainly no shortage of drivers in those cabinets. That 2nd set of banana jacks, are those to the bottom woofer? Bi-wire or something and how come you don't have them connected?
It's embarrassing (and a little troubling actually) that I got the model wrong for the WEB's I have. For some reason, I had it in my head they were Sentry II but I just saw now that they're called Major I's. They came from the basement of a Sally Ann in North Vancouver and I'd seen them there for well over a month. Horrible shape - very scratched up cabinets and one grill missing. Since it seemed nobody else wanted them, I bought them just for nostalgia's sake. Paid way to much too, I think it was about $40.
Midranges were both blown but instead of using new ones, I had the originals re-built. The cabinets were soooo gouged and a previous owners SIN was carved into the backs. I got rid of that and used grey rubber based paint to re-paint the backs and the baffles too for good measure. After removing the drivers, I took the cabinets to a friend's wood shop and spent quite a few hours sanding the veneer. Some scratches were pretty deep so i only sanded down as far as I dared. Some were unavoidably left but after a couple applications of Tung Oil, I thought they came up pretty good and a had a sort of "distressed" look to them I kind of liked.
Cut a new grill from some material my friend had and ordered some cloth from New York called Oxblood. The original was impossible to duplicate but I as not satisfied with the ivory, black and brown cloth that was available locally. The original was funky green/orange/brown combo so I wanted something with a bit of panache. Got lucky at an auction and actually found a WEB speaker badge in a box of random stuff. The auctioneer let me take it from the box and have it for nothing.
Put cheap 2" rubber castors on them to make them easy to move around. That started a trend because I ended up putting rubber castors on just about everything - way too convenient to roll rather than lift stuff.
Not sure if it does anything different, but I like that vertical tuned port tube that vents into a chamber at the bottom which those horizontal openings are routed into. And I had to make sure I left the factory's speaker wire recommendation sheet in place - much too valuable info to ignore.
View attachment 23397
It's embarrassing (and a little troubling actually) that I got the model wrong for the WEB's I have. For some reason, I had it in my head they were Sentry II but I just saw now that they're called Major I's. They came from the basement of a Sally Ann in North Vancouver and I'd seen them there for well over a month. Horrible shape - very scratched up cabinets and one grill missing. Since it seemed nobody else wanted them, I bought them just for nostalgia's sake. Paid way to much too, I think it was about $40.
Midranges were both blown but instead of using new ones, I had the originals re-built. The cabinets were soooo gouged and a previous owners SIN was carved into the backs. I got rid of that and used grey rubber based paint to re-paint the backs and the baffles too for good measure. After removing the drivers, I took the cabinets to a friend's wood shop and spent quite a few hours sanding the veneer. Some scratches were pretty deep so i only sanded down as far as I dared. Some were unavoidably left but after a couple applications of Tung Oil, I thought they came up pretty good and a had a sort of "distressed" look to them I kind of liked.
Cut a new grill from some material my friend had and ordered some cloth from New York called Oxblood. The original was impossible to duplicate but I as not satisfied with the ivory, black and brown cloth that was available locally. The original was funky green/orange/brown combo so I wanted something with a bit of panache. Got lucky at an auction and actually found a WEB speaker badge in a box of random stuff. The auctioneer let me take it from the box and have it for nothing.
Put cheap 2" rubber castors on them to make them easy to move around. That started a trend because I ended up putting rubber castors on just about everything - way too convenient to roll rather than lift stuff.
Not sure if it does anything different, but I like that vertical tuned port tube that vents into a chamber at the bottom which those horizontal openings are routed into. And I had to make sure I left the factory's speaker wire recommendation sheet in place - much too valuable info to ignore.
View attachment 23397
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Nice save on your WEB Major 1s, Gary. I hope by starting this thread, perhaps we could attract more attention by other owners of WEB speakers. You've done a major overhaul in getting your WEBs in presentable and operational condition. It's hard to say whether I would have gone to the extent that you have, sourcing out parts to get them done, but we're talking about a bit of our own historical legacy with custom speakers built here in Vancouver, so it would be worth undertaking.
On my WEB Phoenix models there are two positive jacks for banana plugs. I have the positive speaker wire connected to the jack marked 4 ohms. The other positive jack is marked 8 ohms. Am I right in my thinking that the pairings of woofers, mids, and tweeters would be connected in parallel when connected to the 4 ohm positive jack? Then conversely, the 8 ohm jack would mean the wired pairings of the woofers, mids, and tweeters would be in series?
Geri bought me the WEB Phoenix speakers as a birthday gift a few years ago. They were advertised at Innovative Audio and she bought them for $200 cash. Apparently, Wilsdon Brothers Engineering were brothers who made their living in fine wood working, building cabinets. That's why their speakers are so sought after, as well. In the late 70's and early 80's, there were a few parties I went to at friends who were a few years older than me. That's my first experience of WEB speakers, but I remember them as being massive cabinets with a baffle loaded with multiple drivers. And they were driven by some big amplifiers, such as Marantz and Phase Linear. I would sure like to know which models those ones were!
Nando.
On my WEB Phoenix models there are two positive jacks for banana plugs. I have the positive speaker wire connected to the jack marked 4 ohms. The other positive jack is marked 8 ohms. Am I right in my thinking that the pairings of woofers, mids, and tweeters would be connected in parallel when connected to the 4 ohm positive jack? Then conversely, the 8 ohm jack would mean the wired pairings of the woofers, mids, and tweeters would be in series?
Geri bought me the WEB Phoenix speakers as a birthday gift a few years ago. They were advertised at Innovative Audio and she bought them for $200 cash. Apparently, Wilsdon Brothers Engineering were brothers who made their living in fine wood working, building cabinets. That's why their speakers are so sought after, as well. In the late 70's and early 80's, there were a few parties I went to at friends who were a few years older than me. That's my first experience of WEB speakers, but I remember them as being massive cabinets with a baffle loaded with multiple drivers. And they were driven by some big amplifiers, such as Marantz and Phase Linear. I would sure like to know which models those ones were!
Nando.
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That's a good question Nando, wish I knew but it would be interesting to learn what they did. I routinely do it anyway with any newly acquired speaker but for sure, if I got those, first thing I would have done was pull the drivers and looked at the crossover. Yours don't have the 6" mid I'm used to seeing which is driven as a full range so all drivers except the Piezo would have a crossover point. I'd speculate that the different rated system impedances are achieved with just the two woofers being in series or parallel. The WEB crossovers I've seen are not super elaborate so my guess is it's something simple and the 4 ohm/8 ohm ratings are approximations.
I posted on AK in 2011 after seeing a thread regarding VIP 12's. In answer to local rumor based conjecture I heard way back when regarding Wilsdon Engineering Bros demise, someone with the ID of hans_made posted saying he was one of four involved with that company and the info was wrong. He also stated he'd be happy to answer any questions regarding the speakers. Might be interesting to send him a PM and if he's still on that site, see what he says about how the dual impedance was accomplished.
I spotted a CL ad recently for a pair of WEB Major 1's which I now know are the same as mine. His ad stated he was very familiar with WEB speakers but had never encountered a pair that small. I've seen small ones before so I don't think he is as well acquainted as he says he is. Me thinks he is not as familiar with speakers period despite what he implies. He stated the woofer's size in his was 10" when they are clearly 12". I read the ad when I was under the misapprehension mine were called Sentry II and figured his were a smaller version of those I have. I replied not intending to buy, just to ask what if any interest he was getting at his asking price of $200. The response was lots interest, someone already scheduled an audition and he's never had any past difficulty selling any WEB speakers once people heard them. As of this morning, the ad's still up.
EDIT: Looking at the photo of your Phoenix's, each 12" have their own enclosure - neat! That should mean each box is individually tuned via those tubes and into that chamber then vent out the front.
I posted on AK in 2011 after seeing a thread regarding VIP 12's. In answer to local rumor based conjecture I heard way back when regarding Wilsdon Engineering Bros demise, someone with the ID of hans_made posted saying he was one of four involved with that company and the info was wrong. He also stated he'd be happy to answer any questions regarding the speakers. Might be interesting to send him a PM and if he's still on that site, see what he says about how the dual impedance was accomplished.
I spotted a CL ad recently for a pair of WEB Major 1's which I now know are the same as mine. His ad stated he was very familiar with WEB speakers but had never encountered a pair that small. I've seen small ones before so I don't think he is as well acquainted as he says he is. Me thinks he is not as familiar with speakers period despite what he implies. He stated the woofer's size in his was 10" when they are clearly 12". I read the ad when I was under the misapprehension mine were called Sentry II and figured his were a smaller version of those I have. I replied not intending to buy, just to ask what if any interest he was getting at his asking price of $200. The response was lots interest, someone already scheduled an audition and he's never had any past difficulty selling any WEB speakers once people heard them. As of this morning, the ad's still up.
EDIT: Looking at the photo of your Phoenix's, each 12" have their own enclosure - neat! That should mean each box is individually tuned via those tubes and into that chamber then vent out the front.
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If you do find out anything regarding the 4 ohm vs. 8 ohm connection on my Phoenix models, please add your findings here, Gary. But, I think you're right and it more likely the woofers, only, are either in series or parallel configuration, but without a switch I'm curious how it's done.
I do like the sound from these speakers. My best friend, who lives in Falkland, visits us with his wife and it's customary that they stay in the Master bedroom where my main stereo resides. He does make furniture as a hobby and he would sure like to take these speakers home.
Here's another clip, using the Phoenix speakers, while playing an old Akai R2R, but through a Technics integrated amplifier (SU-8600), which I had sold.
Click on image to play video:
Nando.
I do like the sound from these speakers. My best friend, who lives in Falkland, visits us with his wife and it's customary that they stay in the Master bedroom where my main stereo resides. He does make furniture as a hobby and he would sure like to take these speakers home.
Here's another clip, using the Phoenix speakers, while playing an old Akai R2R, but through a Technics integrated amplifier (SU-8600), which I had sold.
Click on image to play video:
Nando.
- Joined
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- 74,876
- Location
- Gillette, Wyo.
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