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Any Info On Vintage Realistic Speakers

M

McInRantz

Active Member
Hey all. There is no actual model number I'm looking for information on. Actually I'm looking FOR a model number or model numbers.

Does anyone know if Radio Shack made any 4-ohm impedance speakers back in the 70's or even early 80's? Were there any Nova's or Optimus' or Realistic's made of the 4-OHM variety?

I'm looking for a set, something along the bookshelf size. I need to know a model number so I can do an effective search and know what I'm looking at in case I spot a vintage set of Ratshack speakers but the impedance isn't given.

Also, are there any other manufacturers of smaller type bookshelf 4-OHM speakers that were made back then in case I can't find any Radio Shacks?

Basically, just looking for a modestly priced pair of 4-OHM bookshelf speakers.

Thanks
 
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Offhand, I can't specifically recall any four ohm models, but it you're really curious, you can page through all their catalogs HERE. It might take a little time but unless one has them, or has every speaker they ever made committed to memory, it might be your only option.

Then once you find them in the catalogs, the problem of finding them today will be your next, and most likely, higher, hurdle.

Good luck.
 
Why are you limiting yourself to specifically 4 ohm bookshelf units? I've never seen or heard of any Realistic/Optimus bookshelf units that were 4-ohm rated. The companys who made a heap of 4 ohm bookshelf units was JBL, Cerwin-Vega, Altec-Lansing, Aztec, Norman Labs, MTX audio, Jensen, Janzsen, Bic, Klipsch, Marantz, Pioneer, Kenwood, Bose, KLH, Advent, Acoustic Research, and quite a few others. 4 ohms is inefficient overall, but at best they are efficient at low levels if their SPL @ 1 watt is higher than 92dB's.
 
Big Tuna said:
Why are you limiting yourself to specifically 4 ohm bookshelf units? I've never seen or heard of any Realistic/Optimus bookshelf units that were 4-ohm rated. The companys who made a heap of 4 ohm bookshelf units was JBL, Cerwin-Vega, Altec-Lansing, Aztec, Norman Labs, MTX audio, Jensen, Janzsen, Bic, Klipsch, Marantz, Pioneer, Kenwood, Bose, KLH, Advent, Acoustic Research, and quite a few others. 4 ohms is inefficient overall, but at best they are efficient at low levels if their SPL @ 1 watt is higher than 92dB's.
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Big Tuna, well, because I just bought a 4 OHM power amp. I don't want anything bigger than bookshelf's, though. They don't have to be Realistic or any other Radio Shack brand. Any brand will do. I'd just like to know a brand and hopefully a model number. A LOT of the ads everywhere fail to mention impedance. That's why I'd like to know what I'm looking for. I'll keep looking for the brands you mention and see if I can nail down some actual model numbers. Thanks for the input.
 
McInRantz said:
Big Tuna, well, because I just bought a 4 OHM power amp. I don't want anything bigger than bookshelf's, though. They don't have to be Realistic or any other Radio Shack brand. Any brand will do. I'd just like to know a brand and hopefully a model number. A LOT of the ads everywhere fail to mention impedance. That's why I'd like to know what I'm looking for. I'll keep looking for the brands you mention and see if I can nail down some actual model numbers. Thanks for the input.
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Well, now at least I know why you are looking at 4-ohm. Well you are in luck cause 8-ohm will be just fine. What you DON'T want to do is go to 2-ohm. Your options opened up immensely. Anything 4/6/8-ohm will work just fine! You'll of course want to be sure you have the power to drive various sizes, so if it's only 10wpc (example) then you may run into issues with the size of speaker system.
 
Copa1934 said:
Well, now at least I know why you are looking at 4-ohm. Well you are in luck cause 8-ohm will be just fine. What you DON'T want to do is go to 2-ohm. Your options opened up immensely. Anything 4/6/8-ohm will work just fine! You'll of course want to be sure you have the power to drive various sizes, so if it's only 10wpc (example) then you may run into issues with the size of speaker system.
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Yeah exactly. There are more 8ohm speakers than 4ohm.

All a 4ohm rated amplifier means is it is capable of handling 4ohm loads without burning up. It will put out power at 8ohms, and in fact you could even do 15/16ohm if you want. Another nice thing about 4ohm amps is you can run two 8ohm speakers at the same time. An 8ohm capable amp could only do two 16ohm speakers.
 
Like others have said, amps can handle higher impednces but don't like lower.

Perhaps this is a exception? What make/model amp are you talking about?
 
I understand that 4-ohm amps can drive 8-ohm speakers EASILY, but that is at the expense of volume. If I can drive 4-ohm speakers, why wouldn't I want to? Is there a legitimate reason NOT to? How about a VERY efficient 8-ohm speaker? How would that work? Any recommendations? Just a cheapy 65 WPC@4-ohm amplifier. I NEEDZ to HEARZ my jazz clearly. :D

After an EXHAUSTIVE search yesterday, I have found very, very few 4-ohm speakers, either vintage or current. I searched Google for "4 ohm speakers", "4 ohm vintage speakers" and then also using "brand" names along with "4 ohm". The stupid Google algorithm brings up too many irrelevant results. I did the same searches on Craigslist and eBay. Some of the ones I found are just too large in size. Many of the ones I found didn't list the impedance. I'm looking for mid-size to larger size bookshelf speakers. I don't want to spend an arm and a leg, either. So far, the 4-ohm speakers I have discovered are:

Infinity 2500
Infinity Qa
Infinity ES300
Infinity Qe
Infinity QB
Infinity Infinitisimal (nice speaker)
Kef 104/2
Kef C75
Klipsch Fortes
Klipsch KG2
Bose 101
Bose 501 Series 1
Bose 4001
KLH 206
Polk 4a
ADS L-300
Smaller Advents
MB QUART QL 20 C

Unfortunately, I can't find any of them for sale (around me). That shipping on eBay is pretty high for speakers. Paying all that shipping doesn't add any value to the speakers. Some of the speakers in the list are just too expensive, too. I'd like to find something near me on Craigslist or something.

I'm sure there are more. PLEASE, feel free to add to my list. The more I can look for, the better odds of finding something. Seems like there ought to be a hell of a lot more. I didn't list a few of the floor model, larger ones because they are bigger than what I want. Actually, a few of the ones on my list are bigger than what I want. If any of these on my list is not 4 ohms, please let me know, also.

I really like the vintage Polk 4a's. Does anyone know anything about those? They seem a good size. How do they sound? REALLY, REALLY, REALLY like the MB QUART QL 20 C speakers, but don't see any for sale anywhere.

Does anyone know of another Polk speaker that is 4 ohms and reasonably priced USED? These are going in my garage. I just can't afford to take up a lot of room EVEN ON MY WALLS. I plan on hanging the speakers.

Thanks.
 
McInRantz said:
I understand that 4-ohm amps can drive 8-ohm speakers EASILY, but that is at the expense of volume. If I can drive 4-ohm speakers, why wouldn't I want to? Is there a legitimate reason NOT to? How about a VERY efficient 8-ohm speaker? How would that work? Any recommendations? Just a cheapy 65 WPC@4-ohm amplifier. I NEEDZ to HEARZ my jazz clearly. :D

After an EXHAUSTIVE search yesterday, I have found very, very few 4-ohm speakers, either vintage or current. I searched Google for "4 ohm speakers", "4 ohm vintage speakers" and then also using "brand" names along with "4 ohm". The stupid Google algorithm brings up too many irrelevant results. I did the same searches on Craigslist and eBay. Some of the ones I found are just too large in size. Many of the ones I found didn't list the impedance. I'm looking for mid-size to larger size bookshelf speakers. I don't want to spend an arm and a leg, either. So far, the 4-ohm speakers I have discovered are:

Infinity 2500
Infinity Qa
Infinity ES300
Infinity Qe
Infinity QB
Infinity Infinitisimal (nice speaker)
Kef 104/2
Kef C75
Klipsch Fortes
Klipsch KG2
Bose 101
Bose 501 Series 1
Bose 4001
KLH 206
Polk 4a
ADS L-300
Smaller Advents
MB QUART QL 20 C

Unfortunately, I can't find any of them for sale (around me). That shipping on eBay is pretty high for speakers. Paying all that shipping doesn't add any value to the speakers. Some of the speakers in the list are just too expensive, too. I'd like to find something near me on Craigslist or something.

I'm sure there are more. PLEASE, feel free to add to my list. The more I can look for, the better odds of finding something. Seems like there ought to be a hell of a lot more. I didn't list a few of the floor model, larger ones because they are bigger than what I want. Actually, a few of the ones on my list are bigger than what I want. If any of these on my list is not 4 ohms, please let me know, also.

I really like the vintage Polk 4a's. Does anyone know anything about those? They seem a good size. How do they sound? REALLY, REALLY, REALLY like the MB QUART QL 20 C speakers, but don't see any for sale anywhere.

Does anyone know of another Polk speaker that is 4 ohms and reasonably priced USED? These are going in my garage. I just can't afford to take up a lot of room EVEN ON MY WALLS. I plan on hanging the speakers.

Thanks.
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Someone with a deeper knowledge may be able to spell this out better than I, but I'm gonna give it a go.

Your amp is rated "down" to 4-ohms. This is not how much it "pushes". You might be thinking of it in terms of a fire hose, which is an analogy I've often heard referenced. The speakers dictate what the current is drawn and each speaker actually varies. So when you see a speaker "rated" 8-ohm that is just and "average" and not a fixed figure. How loud a speaker is, is more a reflection of it's sensitivity (some may say efficiency) and not it's impedance, not that impedance doesn't contribute.

I believe the correct way of looking at it is that a 4-ohm, of equal sensitivity to an 8-ohm, will achieve the same decibels at a lower volume setting. This is NOT to say this is a given and not an across the board fact. Your ears may love a 8-ohm speaker, for your music tastes, better than an 6 or 4-ohm speaker, but it will have absolutely nothing to do with the impedance and everything to do with the design of the system.

Whatever you do, take your focus off the impedance, especially since you know now that you can drive almost anything safely. Whether you have the power to actually drive something to it's fullest will be dictated by the "clean" power you have more so than the the impedance alone.
 
Yes, he can drive anything above 4 Ohms safely, but the 8 Ohm speaker will not play at same volume as the 4 Ohm given the same settings.

Do this:
Buy 4 Minimus 7 speakers.
Wire 2 in parallel for the right channel and 2 in parallel for the left.

4 Ohm impedance and double the sound! :D
 
If you tell us the model and specs of your power amp and the maximum dimensions of the speakers you'll get better advice.

I'm tempted to suggest ADS L710 but maybe they're too large.
 
I had a pair of Optimus 10 speakers that were '81-'82 vintage. I believe they were 4 ohm. That's what I remember anyway.

Someone will correct me if I'm wrong.
 
I still wonder what amp he's talking about.

I have a feeling I know the type, and if it is one of those, then there's a whole lot more going on than he thinks at four ohms than just increased power .

You beg us for our help but won't even share your amp so we can help you? Why the secret? Sheesh!

So, hows about it, guy? What amp is it?

But, AR3's are some great sounding 4 ohm bookshelf speakers.
 
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Markw said:
I have a feeling I know the type, and if it is one of those, then there's a whole lot more going on than he thinks at four ohms than just increased power .

You beg us for our help but won't even share your amp so we can help you? Why the secret? Sheesh!

So, hows about it, guy? What amp is it?

But, AR3's are some great sounding 4 ohm bookshelf speakers.
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I'll second the AR's, got two pairs.
 
It ain't no secret. I wasn't at home to get the numbers off the amp. Although, I must say, it ain't no prize amp. It was cheap enough. It's a Toshiba SC-665. As I said 65WPC@4 ohm. On the back I can hook up 2 sets of 4 ohm speakers.

I really don't want speakers any larger than the Polk 4A's if that gives you an idea.

Sorry for the delay. I didn't want to give bad info. Like I said, price was right.
 
McInRantz said:
It ain't no secret. I wasn't at home to get the numbers off the amp. Although, I must say, it ain't no prize amp. It was cheap enough. It's a Toshiba SC-665. As I said 65WPC@4 ohm. On the back I can hook up 2 sets of 4 ohm speakers.

I really don't want speakers any larger than the Polk 4A's if that gives you an idea.

Sorry for the delay. I didn't want to give bad info. Like I said, price was right.
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Well,that's a decent amp and it does have some real power. I was afraid it was one of those little T-amps that's all the rage nowadays.

But,with that power I think you're doing yourself a major disservice by concentrating only on the impedance rather than the sound of the speakers. You can't tell what a speaker sounds like by the impedance, or even paper specs.

That's kinda like judging a girl purely by the size of her bazongas and ignoring everything else that's included in the package, like personality.
 
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