optimus 5b

[bobinaz]

I just picked up pair of vintage RS Optimus 5B speakers. They have 1 12" woofer and 3 tweeters/midranges. they have adjustments on the back for mid and high frequency. Cabinets are in very rough shape but all the cones are excellent. Does anyone know what the watt rating might be? They sound alot better than the sansui sp200's I have. I wished they looked better. Did someone else make the early optimus speakers for RS?

 

[Tonto Yoder]

Why not put the Optimus drivers in the Sansui cabs??????

TY
BTW, there's some wacko over in DIY who's talkin' 'bout Sansuis too. He even suggests putting straws in the port!!!! Now, I'd like to tell HIM where to put those straws.

 

[madpioneer]

PIONEER Made Em'!!

I have it on good authority PIONEER made all the speakers and audio gear early on for RS along with a few other brands!!

Also 'TAD' is a highly coveted secret division of PIONEER!!

Go ahead doubting Thomas' add your two cents in!:boxing:
But its true!!

 

[Don McR]

Up until a couple of years ago, Pioneer used to advertize that it was the world's largest manufacturer of loudspeakers. It may still be. The vast majority of this product is very inexpensive OEM speakers for boom boxes, TV's and car audio. However, TAD represents the extreme opposite end of the speaker market, with individual drivers costing over $2,000. It is certainly not a secret, since they have web presense on Pioneer's corporate site and Pioneer branding on their labels. The division was originally set up with design in the U.S. and manufacturing in Japan.

 

[grumpy]

I have been collecting Rat shack speakers for longer then i have been collecting anything else in audio. I seriously doubt that Pioneer did their early stuff. I am not expert but I have many many pairs. If anything their very early stuff was done by KLH such as their Opti-1B's. As I said I aint no expert but thats my Opinion. Most likely your Opti-5B's are 40-60 watts from 1978-81 Tho not built as nice as the earlier Optis (1970-75) they are pretty darn good speakers. Its my understanding that Radio shack was not Loyal to anyone particular supplier. If you ask them who made/makes this or that you get the Ancient Chinese secret crap. They did buy out Knight Electronics in the late 1960 or Early 70's IIRC so that could be one of the many folks they used.

Grumpy