Are these RCA SPK 250W’s “Dimensias”

[Doomrunner]

Hi all! New here. I’ve been looking to pick up a decent pair of vintage speakers to start my journey into proper hifi listening.

I saw a pair of these speakers (attached), labelled RCA SPK250W.

I tried searching online and I’m a little confused about exactly what they are, seems to be a few different suggestions out there, some threads seem to mention “Dimensia”, others not, and I basically just wanted to know if they were worth picking up. Thanks in advance!

 

[swechsler]

Reasonably certain they are not Dimensia speakers. Firstly, they look older than the Dimensia line. Second, based on the notation of "auxiliary speaker unit", I suspect these were sold to be used with an all-in-one console system to have sound in a second room. I would pass.

If memory serves, I believe the Dimensia speakers were manufactured by Onkyo. That's not necessarily good or bad, as Onkyo at one time was a huge speaker manufacturer. I don't think there are any RCA-branded speakers (at least from the 1970s onwards) that are standouts. RCA speakers from the 1990s onwards were sold by Radio Shack.

I don't know where you live, but if you can list a few other speakers that are currently available for sale in your area, we can advise you. Or just do a web search on the make and model, and there's a decent chance you'll get at least one link back here. If not, there's a good chance that they are not worth bothering with.

And welcome to AK!

 

[Doomrunner]

Ok, that’s useful, thanks! The reason I asked is I did do a search on these, and the only things that came up were lots of different conflicting threads here with similar titles that seemed to suggest they were decent (Dimensia or not).

I’ll keep looking for now!

 

[orsen]

“Dimensia”

i had dimensia speakers. they were actually made by onkyo and sounded good. they need a very specific surround .
the stickers say rca dimensia but stamped on the inside of the grills is onkyo

 

[Bdbras84]

Definitely not from the famous demensia line. These were manufactured in the 70s, as stated above as auxiliary speakers. A lot of companies use the same model numbers over and over. I think it’s just a coincidence they start with SPK. The actual line of demensia speakers are top-notch, awesome sounding speakers. I won’t let My go for nothing.

 

[zenith2134]

"Product of RCA" means mid seventies production

 

[Doomrunner]

Reasonably certain they are not Dimensia speakers. Firstly, they look older than the Dimensia line. Second, based on the notation of "auxiliary speaker unit", I suspect these were sold to be used with an all-in-one console system to have sound in a second room. I would pass.

If memory serves, I believe the Dimensia speakers were manufactured by Onkyo. That's not necessarily good or bad, as Onkyo at one time was a huge speaker manufacturer. I don't think there are any RCA-branded speakers (at least from the 1970s onwards) that are standouts. RCA speakers from the 1990s onwards were sold by Radio Shack.

I don't know where you live, but if you can list a few other speakers that are currently available for sale in your area, we can advise you. Or just do a web search on the make and model, and there's a decent chance you'll get at least one link back here. If not, there's a good chance that they are not worth bothering with.

And welcome to AK!

I’ve just found a pair of Sanyo SX-500’s for basically free. Can’t find any info on these in particular, but have seen some threads with other SX models that are apparently decent.

Would the 500’s be worth a shot?

 

[swechsler]

Sanyo made a few decent speakers but the majority are mediocre. I did find a German spec sheet for them. I don't speak German, but I can infer some things:

It is a 3-way system with a 7" woofer, cone midrange and a 1" dome tweeter, made in the mid 1980s. It only weighs 17 lbs, but it's also a fairly small cabinet. Frequency response is listed as 35hz-20khz, but that's unlikely for a 7" woofer from that time period. The fact that it's got a dome tweeter is a good sign, though, since cheap systems from the 1980s usually used paper cones. I'd say they're at least worth a shot.

Do you have any pictures you can post? If the woofers had foam surrounds then they will probably need to be refoamed.

ETA: I should have scrolled down. That link had a pic; hard to tell if the surrounds are foam, though. They actually look like they have potential. They remind me of Heco speakers.

 

[theophile]

Dementias.

 

[Doomrunner]

Sanyo made a few decent speakers but the majority are mediocre. I did find a German spec sheet for them. I don't speak German, but I can infer some things:

It is a 3-way system with a 7" woofer, cone midrange and a 1" dome tweeter, made in the mid 1980s. It only weighs 17 lbs, but it's also a fairly small cabinet. Frequency response is listed as 35hz-20khz, but that's unlikely for a 7" woofer from that time period. The fact that it's got a dome tweeter is a good sign, though, since cheap systems from the 1980s usually used paper cones. I'd say they're at least worth a shot.

Do you have any pictures you can post? If the woofers had foam surrounds then they will probably need to be refoamed.

ETA: I should have scrolled down. That link had a pic; hard to tell if the surrounds are foam, though. They actually look like they have potential. They remind me of Heco speakers.

View attachment 3180413

Thanks for all of that, really helpful!

I currently have a small pair of Edifer R980Ts, which though dinky, are pretty nice for their size. Do you think these would be an upgrade, or kind of sideways with their age?

 

[swechsler]

I currently have a small pair of Edifer R980Ts, which though dinky, are pretty nice for their size. Do you think these would be an upgrade, or kind of sideways with their age?

I can't answer this. Those Sanyos are unknown here. You can't tell much about a speaker's sound by its specs. Since they're free, I don't see how you can lose by trying them. Do you have an amp or receiver to connect them to?

 

[Doomrunner]

I can't answer this. Those Sanyos are unknown here. You can't tell much about a speaker's sound by its specs. Since they're free, I don't see how you can lose by trying them. Do you have an amp or receiver to connect them to?

I just received a Technics SA EX140. Nothing special, I know.