Optimus VS Imperial Comparison
- Thread starter Bodyblue
- Start date
I’ll admit, my curiosity’s piqued by these Realistics now. A friend of mine rescued a pair of Nova 8B’s out of my school apartment’s lobby (they were going to be tossed out due to a dead tweeter), and he wants me to take ‘em when he leaves the country in a week or two. Classy lookin’ things, but the sound never moved me. I initially rolled my eyes at the prospect of another pair of old speakers, but maybe I’ll try to fix ‘em back up and see what they’ve got to offer.
It’s my understanding that the original tweeters are surprisingly hard to come by, so any suggestions for a cheap drop-in would be appreciated.
It’s my understanding that the original tweeters are surprisingly hard to come by, so any suggestions for a cheap drop-in would be appreciated.
I was looking at ebay today and I believe I saw a bunch of them....you will have to look to be sure.
From 69 to about 1978 the Optimus and Nova series were really interesting. By the time the 80s hit, like most everything else mainstream audio related, the quality started to slide with the exception of one or two items. RS was dead on serious about competing in the middle of the market with quality offerings that undercut the big boys in price a bit.
The 8Bs when working fully with fresh caps will offer extremely strong bass with clear highs and mids. Just a solid all around speaker that looks really nice with it's real walnut veneer covered cabinets.
If nothing else, the cabs were very well-constructed. Very reminiscent of my Sansui’s, with the thick walnut veneer and lattice grilles, and certainly a few steps above my (late production) KLH 6’s, with their kinda half-assed vinyl veneer.
Can’t say I’m quite on board with the driver layout, 3 of the same 3”(?) cones handling mids and highs without any chokes on the mids. Then again, the KLH 5 used this layout quite successfully, and the VL mods are supposed to rectify the issue. However, those coils are quite pricey ($70-80+shipping for the whole package!) and when I consider that I’ll have to shell out $20-odd for a new tweeter or a pair of replacements...yikes!
Can’t say I’m quite on board with the driver layout, 3 of the same 3”(?) cones handling mids and highs without any chokes on the mids. Then again, the KLH 5 used this layout quite successfully, and the VL mods are supposed to rectify the issue. However, those coils are quite pricey ($70-80+shipping for the whole package!) and when I consider that I’ll have to shell out $20-odd for a new tweeter or a pair of replacements...yikes!
On both my sets I remember them being the same. And in the ads it infers they are all the same. Hmmmmm
peteCWA
Active Member
OK, but I was referring to the 5B which the member I was answering was referring to.
Maybe the B models are like that.
Lavane
Lunatic Member
I have seldom ever flipped crossover switches to high or low. It just never seems to sound right to me. One exception is the Lpads on my Warfedale W90's. If I ever find a nicer looking pair of Imperial 6's I plan on rebuilding the crossovers without the switch and just use the resistor for "normal". Lpads are better I think. The high/low switches just cut or add to much.
That is exactly why I dont like the B models of the Optimus 5s. Funny the Nova 8Bs kept the L pads.
At the price points they were sold at I rather doubt there was any difference. I imagine the Lpad crossover was the same and the three position one was the same. Every penny saved could be used for the walnut veneer and Fostex drivers and still beat the big guys price by a few bucks.
I did some tests, and found that my Sansui SP2500’s sounded best with both mid and tweeter dials were set to “Clear”. Ditto for my KLH 6’s. They sound okay in the “normal” positions, but they just sound better in the clear position. Can’t imagine anyone ever using the “soft” position, and I have some very live rooms. My Pioneer HPM40’s, on the other hand, needed the tweeter dials down as low as they could go before the sound became more balanced.
I like my L-pads, but ideally I’d just mod the crossovers so that they’re ideally balanced from the get-go.
My KLH 6s and Imperial 6s have both been recapped and I have them in the Clear setting as well. The L pads on the Optimus are at a bit more than 80% for treble and about 70% for the mids. I like having at least some kind of ability to adjust the sound of a speaker, but prefer the L pads.