Hartley speakers--anyone heard/heard of?


i recently found an old pair of hartley bookshelf speakers in a thrift store, and upon doing a bit of research found that they are one of the oldest manufacturers of speakers still in existence. yes, they are currently based out of wilmington, n.c. after their beginnings near london and subsequent moves to n.y. and n.j. they still manufacture their own drivers by hand, although they do not currently build finished speakers. i have to say that the midrange on these unassuming little speakers really surprised me with it's immediacy and detail (but then again i'm easily impressed :-) but i REALLY was impressed that they are still around, quietly crafting their product for all these years.
musicdoc

Showing 2 responses by eldartford

Back in the 1950's, the 24 inch Hartley woofer was the ultimate. Only competition was the 30 inch Electrovoice.
Jimjenjr...My second loudspeaker (circa 1955) was a 12 inch Wharfdale full range. I put it in a folded horn corner enclosure that I built. The interesting thing about this driver was the wool flannel cloth surround. (Really low Fs). Foam came later. It was driven by a Dynakit preamp and power amp (tubes of course) and was just about SOTA.

Of course Wharfdale was also famous for sand-filled enclosures.