Sir.Byrd
Lunatic Member
Its easier/better to just make a ton of short wires (roughly 8 inches each) and wire them in series pairs, and then put those in parallel.
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Did Radio Shack Put out any decent speakers?
- Thread starter JohnMac
- Start date
Its easier/better to just make a ton of short wires (roughly 8 inches each) and wire them in series pairs, and then put those in parallel.
opossumcrush
The Central Scrutinizer
I picked these up a couple of weeks ago, Mach three. Can't wait to refoam them and give them a listen.
johnda
Addicted Member
In 1990 Radio Shack put up their model 1050 speakers on sale for $200 for the pair. 15" woofer, 5" midrange and 3" cone tweeter. 90 db efficiency. I picked them up for my son-in-law and they were nice speakers, filling his basement listening room with sound. I'm using my Optimus Pro X7 speakers and Accurian amplifier as the sound system for my Dell computer. Nice sounding gear! Those Mach 3's look real interesting!
JohnMac
Addicted Member
This is a fairly old thread and had since put them on the shelf. Just got them out again and connected them to my Marantz 2270. I'm thoroughly impressed. Steely Dan never sound better. They held thier own against stacked Advents, for clarity anyway. They sound as good as any small two-ways I've ever heard. I think I'll leave the caps alone. just goes to show that a speaker doesn't have to be high end or highly regarded to sound good. I know the woofers are replacements so not original vintage. Just the right combination.
Attachments
I was really impressed with the Optimus 1-B. Not only sounded very good (really deep bass and decent mids/highs) but also really nice walnut cabs. They lacked a little detail (2 cone tweeters and 1 10" square woofer) but very impressive still.
Out Of Time
Magic Smoke Sniffer
I've had two pairs of Mach Twos... the first when they were introduced in late 1984 and the second set as Optimus Mach Twos ( circa 1992 ) I purchased in 2007.
I prefer them over the Infinity SM-152s that I have, though the Infinitys are much more efficient.
One of the posts said they play loud. Yes they do! They WILL reach the lower octaves with authority, but sound balanced in the mid and upper end to me as well. They sound like they should cost as least twice as much as they used to list for. They are certainly ideal for rock. They also work very very well as mains in a home theater system. Value for the dollar? No argument from me.
I've also had several pairs of Minimus 7. Current pair are surround speakers now. Minimus 11 in the garage system.... coupled with a KLH 10" active sub.
I can't say for sure where the perception comes from that Radio Shack sold junk speakers. For my part, I haven't found that to be true of the at least the models I've owned and lived with for decades now.
I prefer them over the Infinity SM-152s that I have, though the Infinitys are much more efficient.
One of the posts said they play loud. Yes they do! They WILL reach the lower octaves with authority, but sound balanced in the mid and upper end to me as well. They sound like they should cost as least twice as much as they used to list for. They are certainly ideal for rock. They also work very very well as mains in a home theater system. Value for the dollar? No argument from me.
I've also had several pairs of Minimus 7. Current pair are surround speakers now. Minimus 11 in the garage system.... coupled with a KLH 10" active sub.
I can't say for sure where the perception comes from that Radio Shack sold junk speakers. For my part, I haven't found that to be true of the at least the models I've owned and lived with for decades now.
Out Of Time
Magic Smoke Sniffer
I picked these up a couple of weeks ago, Mach three. Can't wait to refoam them and give them a listen.
Looks like they use the same bass driver as the Twos. That being the case, once you have them re-foamed... be prepared to secure ALL loose items about your household!
kvndoom
Ohmu
Greetings everyone (this being my first post).
I worked at Radio Shack from 1989 to 1990, and as a geek fresh out of high school, I LOVED being surrounded by all the funky electronic toys of the time. I had been a Radio Shack junkie all the way back since elementary school. I remember the Minimus 7's going on sale half price usually twice a year, and they were the easiest sale you could ever make. We'd stack them in a pyramid near the door and watch people buy 2, sometimes 4, on impulse. They really were incredible speakers. The soft dome tweeters were absolutely marvelous.
I never got to own Mach 2's, sadly. In '92 or '93, I scraped up enough to get a pair of Optimus 990's. They sucked. Even back then I could tell a really bad speaker when I heard it. A cheap 15" woofer handing off to a ceramic piezo horn... yuck. Bass was little more than muddled boominess, there was no midrange to speak of, and the highs were pretty "blah." I really wished I had saved for a bit longer and gotten the Mach 2's. Oh well.
I'm not a big fan of horns, so the Mach 3's never did anything for me. I bought a pair a couple years later, but did not enjoy them much. If memory serves (and someone who owns a pair could verify it), the mids are horn-loaded domes. While they were a great improvement over the 990's, they still lacked that lower midrange presence.
The last speakers I bought from Radio Shack were Optimus STS-1000's. They were horrible. Build quality and sound quality were very much like a lot of lower-end stuff at "big box" stores. I think the Shack had already long bit the dust, but I had not overcome my denial yet.
Wasn't long after that I popped open my first J&R Music World catalog, and realized what I could get for just a few dollars more...
I worked at Radio Shack from 1989 to 1990, and as a geek fresh out of high school, I LOVED being surrounded by all the funky electronic toys of the time. I had been a Radio Shack junkie all the way back since elementary school. I remember the Minimus 7's going on sale half price usually twice a year, and they were the easiest sale you could ever make. We'd stack them in a pyramid near the door and watch people buy 2, sometimes 4, on impulse. They really were incredible speakers. The soft dome tweeters were absolutely marvelous.
I never got to own Mach 2's, sadly. In '92 or '93, I scraped up enough to get a pair of Optimus 990's. They sucked. Even back then I could tell a really bad speaker when I heard it. A cheap 15" woofer handing off to a ceramic piezo horn... yuck. Bass was little more than muddled boominess, there was no midrange to speak of, and the highs were pretty "blah." I really wished I had saved for a bit longer and gotten the Mach 2's. Oh well.
I'm not a big fan of horns, so the Mach 3's never did anything for me. I bought a pair a couple years later, but did not enjoy them much. If memory serves (and someone who owns a pair could verify it), the mids are horn-loaded domes. While they were a great improvement over the 990's, they still lacked that lower midrange presence.
The last speakers I bought from Radio Shack were Optimus STS-1000's. They were horrible. Build quality and sound quality were very much like a lot of lower-end stuff at "big box" stores. I think the Shack had already long bit the dust, but I had not overcome my denial yet.
Wasn't long after that I popped open my first J&R Music World catalog, and realized what I could get for just a few dollars more...
Out Of Time
Magic Smoke Sniffer
^ I remember those old J&R catalogs. Those and issues of Stereo Review were my constant companions. If you do chance to own a pair of Mach Twos, spend the money for a decent set in good condition. I think they're worth a try. I drove my first pair with an STA-2500. Great receiver. Possibly the nicest straight stereo solid state RCVR I've ever had! One thing about that which was beyond dispute.... Lots of power for the money! Seemed to me that the Machs and that 2500 were almost meant for each other.
CharlesT
New Member
I know, this is a bit long but this thread brings back some great memories!...
First off, I love the mini line array of Minimus 7's that Sir.Byrd has. That little setup has to sound pretty darn good.
My father had a pair of those mounted on the rear wheel wells of an '80 Dodge van (just a basic, base model van, a.k.a. - no interior at all, just two front seats!). I think he was using a JVC head unit and a small Rat Shack car amp.
As a kid growing up, the barber shop here in town that I used to go to had (and still have to this day) a pair of Minimus 7's in the front two corners of the shop mounted high up on the walls next to the ceiling. I was always impressed with the amount of bass those little guys produced. They were still going strong the last time I was in there.
One of my brothers and my father bought a pair of Minimus 25's which also had an amazing amount of bass for a 5" driver in a sealed enclosure. We still have both pairs laying around somewhere in excellent shape.
Once I was old enough and had enough allowance money saved up, I bought my very first pair of hifi speakers ever, a pair of MC-800's! A little later down the road, I upgraded the 6.5" drivers with a pair of their Poly 6.5's (cat# 40-1011). A couple years later, one of my other brothers bought a pair of MC-1800's to use with a little passive Dynaco surround sound unit. He didn't really care about video all that much in his system so he gave me the Dynaco unit and the MC-1800's!
Around this same time, my other brother (with the Minimus 25's) bought a brand new pair of "digital ready"... LOL Mach II's. He was so jazzed with those speakers because with the 100W x 2 Pioneer VSX-4400 receiver he had (which I still have), they very easily out-slammed my other brother's JBL L-112's with a Carver M-400t amp in every way! Heck, he used to DJ huge company parties with those Mach II's and that Pioneer!
And lastly, two of my friends at work (they are brothers) both have a pair of Mach I's that they use every day and love. They've been re-foamed once over the years and that's it. They're still bringing the house down to this day!
Ok, I think I'm done now. LOL
First off, I love the mini line array of Minimus 7's that Sir.Byrd has. That little setup has to sound pretty darn good.
My father had a pair of those mounted on the rear wheel wells of an '80 Dodge van (just a basic, base model van, a.k.a. - no interior at all, just two front seats!). I think he was using a JVC head unit and a small Rat Shack car amp.
As a kid growing up, the barber shop here in town that I used to go to had (and still have to this day) a pair of Minimus 7's in the front two corners of the shop mounted high up on the walls next to the ceiling. I was always impressed with the amount of bass those little guys produced. They were still going strong the last time I was in there.
One of my brothers and my father bought a pair of Minimus 25's which also had an amazing amount of bass for a 5" driver in a sealed enclosure. We still have both pairs laying around somewhere in excellent shape.
Once I was old enough and had enough allowance money saved up, I bought my very first pair of hifi speakers ever, a pair of MC-800's! A little later down the road, I upgraded the 6.5" drivers with a pair of their Poly 6.5's (cat# 40-1011). A couple years later, one of my other brothers bought a pair of MC-1800's to use with a little passive Dynaco surround sound unit. He didn't really care about video all that much in his system so he gave me the Dynaco unit and the MC-1800's!
Around this same time, my other brother (with the Minimus 25's) bought a brand new pair of "digital ready"... LOL Mach II's. He was so jazzed with those speakers because with the 100W x 2 Pioneer VSX-4400 receiver he had (which I still have), they very easily out-slammed my other brother's JBL L-112's with a Carver M-400t amp in every way! Heck, he used to DJ huge company parties with those Mach II's and that Pioneer!
And lastly, two of my friends at work (they are brothers) both have a pair of Mach I's that they use every day and love. They've been re-foamed once over the years and that's it. They're still bringing the house down to this day!
Ok, I think I'm done now. LOL