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minimus 7, 77, 11, 12, etc.... thread

C

chingon

Well-Known Member
I'd like to get some insight into the difference between these models, mostly dimensions, drivers used, frequency response.

Please post the info you may have, I'm putting a system together and would like to make the best choice from these.

As far as i know, minimus 7=7W(wood)=77(ported, size same?)
i suspect minimus 11=minimus 12? woofers seem different (dimensions?)
 
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I got 7's and 12's. Love the 12's, haven't spent much time with the 7's.

The 12's use a bigger woofer and an almost Advent-shaped tweeter in a sleight waveguide. Sounds very good for the price/size. the 7's use a dome tweeter.
 
The original Minimus 7 (Black Metal Version) has almost become a cult item. (do a quick search and check out the threads - "Bose" has 575 threads, "Minimus 7" has 633) I have six and would never part with them. Great punch for such a small speaker.
 
I have the 7, the 77 and Optimus Pro 77. The Pro 77 is a little larger than the 7. Bass is enhanced with a small port in the back.
 
chingon said:
the idea was to not go thru the catalogs ;)
Click to expand...

OK, to cut down on your reading, I will describe what I have.

I have 2 pair of the original made in Japan Minimus 7's. These are non ported.

1 pair of Optimus Pro 7AV's, which are essentially identical to the originals, but shielded.

1 pair Minimus 77's, non ported larger version of the original with larger 4 3/4" woofer in a larger enclosure

2 pair of Optimus Pro 7X speakers, which are the ugly cousins to the original, but I do not think they are ugly. The drivers look about the same, case is a little larger and they are ported.

1 pair of Optimus Pro X77 speakers that have the Lineaum mono-pole tweeter. These have a 5" woofer in a case that is about the same size as the 77's and they are ported

IMO, the best sounding are the Pro X77's, but the tweeters do need to be at ear lever because of the dispersion. All have a slightly different sound, but all sound nice in their own right. Any should serve you well. I use 4 pair as surrounds and they work great in a home theater setup, 2 pair originals and 2 pair Pro X77.
 
I have a pair of Japan made black 7's. Bought 4 in 1985 to put in my 69 Impala convertable. Sold the car 10 years later and kept a pair. Paid 19.95 each. Still work fine. With 4 in the car hooked up to a realistic cassett stereo and realistic 25 watt equalizer sounded great with surprising base. Wish I kept the other two.
 
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I had the black metal Minimus 7's back in the day, lost them when they were taken from my car.

I recently picked up a set of the 7Ws with modified crossovers and new woofers - a great looking little speaker, they sound pretty good if you give them a bass boost of at least 6 dB. I suspect with a small sub I might live pretty happy with Minimus 7's in a small setup.
 

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Bringing up an old thread.

I have Minimus 7's and 11's.

I never opened the 7's but have the 11's open now.

Both speakers, woofer and tweeters share the same part numbers 40-2035/2036 one says woofer and one says tweeter. Both are 5 1/2 inches.

Sure wish I could find suitable drop in replacement woofers for mine. The rubber surrounds are failing and it makes no sense to me to buy old originals that would likely have the same issues after all these years.

Anyone ever found a good replacement that will fit, holes in the frame are 5 1/2 inches center to center across.
 
gamalot said:
Bringing up an old thread.

I have Minimus 7's and 11's.

I never opened the 7's but have the 11's open now.

Both speakers, woofer and tweeters share the same part numbers 40-2035/2036 one says woofer and one says tweeter. Both are 5 1/2 inches.

Sure wish I could find suitable drop in replacement woofers for mine. The rubber surrounds are failing and it makes no sense to me to buy old originals that would likely have the same issues after all these years.

Anyone ever found a good replacement that will fit, holes in the frame are 5 1/2 inches center to center across.
Click to expand...

Seems like the best bet is to just replace the surrounds.
Parts Express may have a suitable replacement if you go that route.
 
GD70 said:
Seems like the best bet is to just replace the surrounds.
Parts Express may have a suitable replacement if you go that route.
Click to expand...

I tried my hand at that with a pair of Mach 1s a while back and it worked out well but I did not enjoying doing it at all.

I am thinking more along the lines of a car door speaker that might have a bit more power handling capability and fit right in. The mounting holes are exactly 5 1/2 inches across the frame and exactly 3 14/16ths apart from each other.
 
gamalot said:
Bringing up an old thread.

I have Minimus 7's and 11's.

I never opened the 7's but have the 11's open now.

Both speakers, woofer and tweeters share the same part numbers 40-2035/2036 one says woofer and one says tweeter. Both are 5 1/2 inches.

Sure wish I could find suitable drop in replacement woofers for mine. The rubber surrounds are failing and it makes no sense to me to buy old originals that would likely have the same issues after all these years.
Click to expand...
Search for the seller bootapest2 on eBay. He has several surrounds in the 4.5-5.5" size. Measure yours carefully and match to his dimensions. I have done 77's and Pro X-77's and the woofers are different sizes, so measure twice and order once.
Anyone ever found a good replacement that will fit, holes in the frame are 5 1/2 inches center to center across.
 
Thanks HTHMAN but I said "I don't enjoy replacing the surrounds myself" and do not wish to do it with these small speakers. I would rather just find a replacement speaker that will bolt right in. There really is nothing very special about the existing woofers that would lead me to want to rebuild them. They do sound pretty decent for such small cabinets but I don't subscribe to any of the Cult Followings where Realistic and Radio Shack speakers are concerned.
I think they will sound just as good with any decent 5 1/2 inch audio speaker that will fit.
 
I have a pair of Minimus -18 that I use with a Dayton DTA-1 T-Amp as my PC speakers. They are compact size, approx. 5" wide x 3-1/2" deep x 7' tall. The speaker is from the mid 80's, shown in their 1985 catalog, though no specs given. It has a 3" full range driver, metal screen covering the complete baffle, and a particle board cabinet about 1/4" thick.

Mid bass and treble are very nice, but the bass is shy and though I don't use one they will benefit from any subwoofer (I might do a small passive DIY sub). For the use I am giving them they are very good. Once, I had them as my office speakers hooked to an HK 330B receiver. Don't know why, but it was a great combo, they sounded very sweet.

They can be found for the cheap on EBay. When used with an inexpensive T-Amp it makes a very good PC speaker system for $50.00 or less. I'm sure they will also make great surround speakers for a small HT system.
 
gamalot said:
Thanks HTHMAN but I said "I don't enjoy replacing the surrounds myself" and do not wish to do it with these small speakers. I would rather just find a replacement speaker that will bolt right in. There really is nothing very special about the existing woofers that would lead me to want to rebuild them. They do sound pretty decent for such small cabinets but I don't subscribe to any of the Cult Followings where Realistic and Radio Shack speakers are concerned.
I think they will sound just as good with any decent 5 1/2 inch audio speaker that will fit.
Click to expand...

Call Parts Express, Simply Speakers, and/or Madisound. Give them the dims of the box and the brand/model. I'm sure one of them will suggest a suitable driver replacement.
 
I went thrifting..and I found this lonely Minimus 7 for $2.99 (I think it was so low because there was 2 problems..which I fixed)...I searched around the forum to figure out which year (years) this rear design happened. Any Info will help..(I have 4½ pairs now..) I love them lol
 

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Illusions said:
I went thrifting..and I found this lonely Minimus 7 for $2.99 (I think it was so low because there was 2 problems..which I fixed)...I searched around the forum to figure out which year (years) this rear design happened. Any Info will help..(I have 4½ pairs now..) I love them lol
Click to expand...

That's an original, first issue Minimus 7, catalog no. 40-2030 introduced in the '78 catalog and ran through '79. It was replaced in '80 with the 40-2030A which made a few changes, the most noticeable being:

1) Round terminal cups with screw terminals were replaced by rectangular terminal ports and spring terminals.

2) The built in wall hanger on back was moved to a lower position.

3) Threaded holes were added at the corners in the rear for optional "mobile brackets" (cat no. 40-2031, also introduced in '80).

Also, the original metal grilles were made of aluminum. They were made of steel a bit later on, though early black and silver Minimus 7's still had aluminum grilles even after the original model.

Your 40-2030 was manufactured in August of 1977 by the way. That makes it a first year production. Nice find!
 
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