Realistic Nova 8b Rebuild & Crossover Re-Design
- Thread starter videolady201
- Start date
Woah...
DonQuixote99
just give me some truth
Excellent news thanks for sharing! I hope VL does dip into this thread one of these days, and gets a kick out of it!Thought I'd post that I was contacted by Videolady who contributed so much to this forum and created the Mach 1 mods along with the Nova 8b's but disappeared from AK. VL's last post was around 8 years ago. We on AK had thought something bad had happened since some of VL's last posts spoke of heath issues, but VL is still with us!
VL did state that circumstances do not allow much time for visiting AK anymore, or devote time to the mods that VL created. VL was very pleased that the mods have been very popular and successful. Personally, it is a very positive outcome knowing VL is doing okay, hoping in the future VL can catch us up on things.
Pretty amazing news!
chip18sw
Well-Known Member
Well ... now that we know VL is still with us!!! 
I'd like to nominate, the LX 5 and LX 5 Pro as the next RS Candidate for a makeover! Apparently the cross overs in those things are not the same?? I have a crap load of them for HT and they all use a powered sub for Bass, so I don't really care what it's little woofer in it's tiny box/woofer, can or can not do.
Still if there is another RS speaker that needs help, most likely that's the one???
I'd like to nominate, the LX 5 and LX 5 Pro as the next RS Candidate for a makeover! Apparently the cross overs in those things are not the same?? I have a crap load of them for HT and they all use a powered sub for Bass, so I don't really care what it's little woofer in it's tiny box/woofer, can or can not do.
Still if there is another RS speaker that needs help, most likely that's the one???
James carter
New Member
I have a pair of 8b's I love the stock sound-the videolady mods sounds great
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James carter
New Member
I changed the post couldn't work out how to delete it
VERY GLAD to hear Videolady is okay. Give her our best wishes.
Awesome news! Thank you for this info.Thought I'd post that I was contacted by Videolady who contributed so much to this forum and created the Mach 1 mods along with the Nova 8b's but disappeared from AK. VL's last post was around 8 years ago. We on AK had thought something bad had happened since some of VL's last posts spoke of heath issues, but VL is still with us!
VL did state that circumstances do not allow much time for visiting AK anymore, or devote time to the mods that VL created. VL was very pleased that the mods have been very popular and successful. Personally, it is a very positive outcome knowing VL is doing okay, hoping in the future VL can catch us up on things.
Pretty amazing news!
Well ... now that we know VL is still with us!!!
I'd like to nominate, the LX 5 and LX 5 Pro as the next RS Candidate for a makeover! Apparently the cross overs in those things are not the same?? I have a crap load of them for HT and they all use a powered sub for Bass, so I don't really care what it's little woofer in it's tiny box/woofer, can or can not do.
Still if there is another RS speaker that needs help, most likely that's the one???
Ahem, Nova 7B
But I'm just happy to hear she's okay, her posts were extremely interesting.
StevieRay43
New Member
I got back into vintage audio a few years ago and have owned a number of very good speakers, some vintage and some new, but I had settled in with a pair of Realistic Nova 7B"s for most of my listening pleasure. A couple of weeks ago I came upon a very nice pair of Nova 8B's and rediscovered this forum. After reading all the posts numerous times I made the decision to do the VL mod, which I completed this morning. I was very nervous when I began and although the sound of the stock Nova 8 b's was good they were not as good as the Nova 7B's.to me.
I can only add one thing to the forum, the modded Nova 8B's are an awesome improvement over stock. I finish one speaker and listened to the mixed pair but they were still a little harsh so I was still nervous. When I added the other modded one this morning the change was amazing. Just a pleasure to listen to and the sound is complete to my 75 year old ears as I am hearing stuff I did not know was there.
I want to thank all those that contributed and although it was a little confusing due to that number the overall experience was good. I went with the Parts Express parts list and am much appreciative to DonQuixote99 for his post and knowledge...and I like his avatar. The current price for the delivered parts is $116 so I have about $160 invested in a great set of RS speakers.
WAF pretty good too, ...." those sound really good"!
I can only add one thing to the forum, the modded Nova 8B's are an awesome improvement over stock. I finish one speaker and listened to the mixed pair but they were still a little harsh so I was still nervous. When I added the other modded one this morning the change was amazing. Just a pleasure to listen to and the sound is complete to my 75 year old ears as I am hearing stuff I did not know was there.
I want to thank all those that contributed and although it was a little confusing due to that number the overall experience was good. I went with the Parts Express parts list and am much appreciative to DonQuixote99 for his post and knowledge...and I like his avatar. The current price for the delivered parts is $116 so I have about $160 invested in a great set of RS speakers.
WAF pretty good too, ...." those sound really good"!
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WELCOME TO AK, @StevieRay43 !!
StevieRay43
New Member
Thank you. I feel like I know you from all the post I have read over and over. You have been much help.
I have some hours on the speakers now and was getting a little disappointed because I had lost some high frequencies. Did all kind of listening test, rechecked my wiring and connections, worked on my ears and finally changed the stylus in my turntable. It was a couple of years old and sounded okay to me, until it didn't! Now I am back to happy, happy, happy with the modded 8B's.
Thanks again.
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@StevieRay43 thanks for those kind words. Honestly, I just stopped trying to be right all the time, and offer what help I have.
I've received far more assistance, generosity, and brotherhood from this site than I could ever repay.
I've received far more assistance, generosity, and brotherhood from this site than I could ever repay.
StevieRay43
New Member
My Bad!
Well I'm a little embarrassed now. I have a set of Nova 7B's that I have loved since replacing capacitors.years ago. Then I found the Nova 8B's in excellent condition. After much reading about the VL mod and having already replaced the capacitors with new Dayton 250v versions, I was not at all satisfied with the Nova 8B sound, so I did the modification. They sounded better to my 75 year old ears but something was lacking in the mids and highs and, friends agreed. They never broke in or got much better and yesterday I replaced the original(now pretty much destroyed) Nova 8B crossovers with Optimus 5B crossovers. I also recapped them yesterday.with new Dayton 250V caps which I had swapped from the 7B's.
All I can say is that if the 8B's had sounded this good originally I would never have undertaken the mod or the expense. I have $200 invested in what is now an Optimus 5B set of speakers. Everything is perfect to me and they are exactly what I was looking from the VL Mod....without doing the mod. Exactly! Crystal clear, great all around sound with all types music, more efficient, and even better than the Nova 7B's. My wife agrees: WAF now 100%
I am not knocking the VL Mod but I know others may be thinking of doing it. I know others that did the mod on this forum have parted with the modded speakers for various reasons. Contributors to this forum have expressed doubts after doing the mod so what I am saying is, do the new capacitors first and then consider it. OR do the mod and save your original crossovers so you can easily undo the mod.
I am embarrassed. I was excited when first doing the mod and I may have done a poor job of assembly of the new crossover / installation, and I could have just had a bad set of the original 8B crossovers.... or the 5B crossovers are in some way simply much better....but, I no longer feel like I am going deaf!
I apologize also for adding more confusion to the forum.
Well I'm a little embarrassed now. I have a set of Nova 7B's that I have loved since replacing capacitors.years ago. Then I found the Nova 8B's in excellent condition. After much reading about the VL mod and having already replaced the capacitors with new Dayton 250v versions, I was not at all satisfied with the Nova 8B sound, so I did the modification. They sounded better to my 75 year old ears but something was lacking in the mids and highs and, friends agreed. They never broke in or got much better and yesterday I replaced the original(now pretty much destroyed) Nova 8B crossovers with Optimus 5B crossovers. I also recapped them yesterday.with new Dayton 250V caps which I had swapped from the 7B's.
All I can say is that if the 8B's had sounded this good originally I would never have undertaken the mod or the expense. I have $200 invested in what is now an Optimus 5B set of speakers. Everything is perfect to me and they are exactly what I was looking from the VL Mod....without doing the mod. Exactly! Crystal clear, great all around sound with all types music, more efficient, and even better than the Nova 7B's. My wife agrees: WAF now 100%
I am not knocking the VL Mod but I know others may be thinking of doing it. I know others that did the mod on this forum have parted with the modded speakers for various reasons. Contributors to this forum have expressed doubts after doing the mod so what I am saying is, do the new capacitors first and then consider it. OR do the mod and save your original crossovers so you can easily undo the mod.
I am embarrassed. I was excited when first doing the mod and I may have done a poor job of assembly of the new crossover / installation, and I could have just had a bad set of the original 8B crossovers.... or the 5B crossovers are in some way simply much better....but, I no longer feel like I am going deaf!
I apologize also for adding more confusion to the forum.
DonQuixote99
just give me some truth
There is nothing bad about good sound, and you are the sole judge in your own house. Congratulations on the successful conclusion to your modification efforts!
StevieRay43
New Member
Well thanks for that. I enjoyed the adventure and the confusion to some degree. I also felt at times like I was trying to run a marathon blindfolded. There was always someone there to keep me on course and you were one of those people. Now I have rested up from the challenge and listening to some vintage vinyl on my new speakers. Thanks for the support and all your posts on the subject.
nmwhitneyjr
Active Member
StevieRay43,
No need to be embarrassed or apologise. I'm in much the same boat as you. My modded Nova 8B's sound nice, but after nearly two years, I felt like they weren't a good match for my V-M 1428 amp. I did some reading/posting/research and decided that I wanted to find and refurb a pair of Wharfedale W60's or W70's. I picked up a very nice pair of W60D Mark II's about 3 weeks ago (that had already been recapped). I don't want to be labeled a heretic to this thread, but the Wharfedales are an order of magnitude better than my modded 8B's. Midrange and highs are lush. There's a depth and clarity to the soundstage that the Nova's just don't have. My 8B's never nailed the center image (where most vocals, snares and kick drums live). The 8B's, however dig deep. Running some test tones, the Wharfedales start to lose bottom end around 50hz. With the 8B's it's more like 35-40hz. If I could combine the low end response of the Novas with the Wharfedales, they'd be dang near perfect.
Definitely not saying this mod and the 8B's are to be shunned. They are pretty good unmodded and the mod is a distinct improvement to my ears. But if you start "speaker rolling" you might something more pleasing.
I just wish I could keep both pairs...
Peace,
Norm
No need to be embarrassed or apologise. I'm in much the same boat as you. My modded Nova 8B's sound nice, but after nearly two years, I felt like they weren't a good match for my V-M 1428 amp. I did some reading/posting/research and decided that I wanted to find and refurb a pair of Wharfedale W60's or W70's. I picked up a very nice pair of W60D Mark II's about 3 weeks ago (that had already been recapped). I don't want to be labeled a heretic to this thread, but the Wharfedales are an order of magnitude better than my modded 8B's. Midrange and highs are lush. There's a depth and clarity to the soundstage that the Nova's just don't have. My 8B's never nailed the center image (where most vocals, snares and kick drums live). The 8B's, however dig deep. Running some test tones, the Wharfedales start to lose bottom end around 50hz. With the 8B's it's more like 35-40hz. If I could combine the low end response of the Novas with the Wharfedales, they'd be dang near perfect.
Definitely not saying this mod and the 8B's are to be shunned. They are pretty good unmodded and the mod is a distinct improvement to my ears. But if you start "speaker rolling" you might something more pleasing.
I just wish I could keep both pairs...
Peace,
Norm
StevieRay43
New Member
Thanks Norm. I'm not trying to shun or disparage the mod either. Unlike yourself the 8B's I have are far better sounding to me, and a simple phone apps like Spectroid shows me what I hear now. It definitely showed what I did not see or hear after the mod. I agree I lost a tad of bass with the stock speakers but now I have full clear, crisp sound, no holes across the spectrum and much improved highs that did not register on the graph before. Very wide sound stage with lots of depth.
Well, I just joined the 8B owner's club. They're in pretty good shape except for a couple of screw holes in the side of one where apparently a bracket had been installed. It will be a while before I get the crossover upgrade started but mean time, any advice on how to fill and hide/disguise the screw holes in the veneer? The veneer is a little humped up around the holes but I suspect it could be pressed back down.
Thanks,
John
Thanks,
John
