Realistic Prices for Realistic Speakers

Bob Sawyer

New Member
Hey guys, A local shop has some Realistic Speakers that look to be in good shape.

Nova 7b $99.95
Nova 8b $129.95
Optimus T110 $149.95

I'm just starting to piece my system together and am speaker poor at the moment. Are any of these worth the money?

Thanks for your help,

Bob
 
The Nova 8B is a good speaker with a rubber surround I believe so the surrounds should be ok but check them. (most of these grill are held on with screws btw) If they are nice and minty then I think the price is fair but you should recap the cross over and deoxit the selector switch on the terminal plate. Same goes for the 7B's which I used to own my friend had the 8B's and of course had more bass extension but tonally similar. Price wise speakers are going up and I have not seen many under a hundred for quite awhile.
 
Since the question seems to be about value I would expect to see this thread get relocated to Dollars and Sense. No harm, no foul, just a heads up if you dont see your thread in the speakers forum.

IMHO, the prices seem to be OK if they are in good condition. Pull the grilles off and check the condition of the drivers. As to which model is the best choice, that depends on several things. All that follows is just my opinion. Your mileage may vary. The first two things that come to mind are your taste in music and the room that they will be used in. My vote would be for the T110s for jazz, vocals and acoustic music in small to mid-size rooms. They are surprisingly good for low to moderate listening volume levels. For hard driving rock and roll in larger rooms the Nova8B is the best choice. They will tend to be too large for small bedroom size rooms. They sound best when they are driven to moderate volume levels which may be a bit too much for casual listening in a small room. The Nova7Bs are a good all around speaker for the price. If cost is a major consideration, they are a good value and are fine for most purposes. You won’t loose much on any of them if you trade up sometime in the future. Their value is likely to remain just about where they are now.

All of them are very likely to benefit from replacing the aging crossover capacitors. that is an easy and inexpensive thing to do. There is lots of help available here on AK if you could use some advice about doing that.

Please be sure to check back and let us know your thoughts after you choose a pair of these or something else and have had an opportunity to listen to them in your home for a while.

Oh, and one more thing, Welcome to AK Bob!
 
Bob,

Verify that the drivers are all good - particularly the tweeters. I've found several 7B's with blown tweeters. In fact I regularly pickup speakers with blown tweeters. It's an extra cost that you have to know about when purchasing any speaker.
 
Since the question seems to be about value I would expect to see this thread get relocated to Dollars and Sense. No harm, no foul, just a heads up if you dont see your thread in the speakers forum.

IMHO, the prices seem to be OK if they are in good condition. Pull the grilles off and check the condition of the drivers. As to which model is the best choice, that depends on several things. All that follows is just my opinion. Your mileage may vary. The first two things that come to mind are your taste in music and the room that they will be used in. My vote would be for the T110s for jazz, vocals and acoustic music in small to mid-size rooms. They are surprisingly good for low to moderate listening volume levels. For hard driving rock and roll in larger rooms the Nova8B is the best choice. They will tend to be too large for small bedroom size rooms. They sound best when they are driven to moderate volume levels which may be a bit too much for casual listening in a small room. The Nova7Bs are a good all around speaker for the price. If cost is a major consideration, they are a good value and are fine for most purposes. You won’t loose much on any of them if you trade up sometime in the future. Their value is likely to remain just about where they are now.

All of them are very likely to benefit from replacing the aging crossover capacitors. that is an easy and inexpensive thing to do. There is lots of help available here on AK if you could use some advice about doing that.

Please be sure to check back and let us know your thoughts after you choose a pair of these or something else and have had an opportunity to listen to them in your home for a while.

Oh, and one more thing, Welcome to AK Bob!
Thanks for the response Bruce. This helps a lot. I have two rooms that I'm setting up and the 110's sound perfect for the upstairs guest room. I'll check the condition a little closer on the Nova's and take whichever is better. Thanks again for your help.
 
Hey guys, A local shop has some Realistic Speakers that look to be in good shape.

Nova 7b $99.95
Nova 8b $129.95
Optimus T110 $149.95

I'm just starting to piece my system together and am speaker poor at the moment. Are any of these worth the money?

Thanks for your help,

Bob

Hi, Bob!

And welcome to AudioKarma. I think the price judgement is going to be based on where you live and what the speaker market is like there. Where I live, it's rare for practically any RS speaker pair to go for more than $50, except for the Mach I, of course. Last year I picked up a perfect pair of real-walnut-veneered Optimus 21s for $10 out the door at ReStore. So in my neighborhood, those prices would be a no go.

As the others have pointed out, any of the three are fine performers. The woofers in the 8B appear to be the exact same as in my 21s and they will deliver the bass and nice upper mids. I've been quite surprised how much I like them. Better sounding than my Small Advents. I'll bet the T110s are good performers, too. But, in the end, the choice is going to be made by your own ears. Since the shop is local, you need to take in your favorite CD and give all three pairs a good extended listen. And try to play them a bit LOUD for at least a few seconds. That should reveal any woofer problems that may be lurking. (Ask the owner to raise the volume himself - don't do it yourself. Good manners.)

But, if you decide to buy one of the three, try your best to negotiate the price down. Maybe I'm wrong, but they are on the high side of the scale. Check the ebay "sold" listings in order to get a good grip on what they are selling for nationally.

Below are pics of your proposed choices for those who (like me) don't know the speakers in question. Random internet pics.

GeeDeeEmm

NOVA 7B:

437241-realistic_nova_7b.jpg


NOVA 8B:

363129_8c600a00a2a3c8d01563f5d368dc22ef.jpg


OPTIMUS T110:
Optimus-T-110-Speakers-Very-Good-to-Excellent.jpg
 
Like gdmoore28 said pricing may depend on what area you live in.I have a nice set of Nova 8 and T-120(waiting for a woofer refoam)and I would like to get at least $100 a set when the time comes for these more desirable Realistics.Vintage speakers are not that easy to come by for some.The salad days of thrift speakers(cheap) are not what they used to be.
 
I've got a set of 7b speakers that I'm working on right now. Pretty solid sounding, but I wouldn't have paid $100 for them. However, I'm a cheapskate. They are probably worth that, if pure sound has value.
 
Get the 8b' s. They're better than the 7's. I've had both. The 110's are probably flawless. I've owned 8 pairs of RS speakers over the years(have 4) now. And I've never had a tweeter go bad. They're pretty reliable.
 
Fortunately for RS speaker fans, audio devotees everywhere have been slow to come to the realization that RS made some very fine speakers within the morass of otherwise mediocre offerings that made them famous (and popular). That's kept the prices down and pickings good for those who are willing to do a little research. The situation is similar for their receivers, but the word is spreading a little more rapidly.

Good hunting, gentlemen.

GeeDeeEmm
 
The STA-95 is a nice receiver. Not filled with power or features, but it looks great and is a solid performer. Pairing it with your choice of speakers will make a nice combination.

Do you have any gear already, or are these your first vintage hifi purchases?

Where do you live?

GeeDeeEmm

Realistic STA-95 Receiver
168639-realistic_sta95.jpg
 
The STA-95 is a nice receiver. Not filled with power or features, but it looks great and is a solid performer. Pairing it with your choice of speakers will make a nice combination.

Do you have any gear already, or are these your first vintage hifi purchases?

Where do you live?

GeeDeeEmm

Realistic STA-95 Receiver
168639-realistic_sta95.jpg
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Hi GDM. I'm just starting to piece some stuff together. I live in Chambersburg, PA. Just looking for decent stuff at a decent price. I love the look of the old ones.
 
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