Twilks69
Active Member
I agree with you!
Panasonic Thrusters: How bad are they? Let's find out!
- Thread starter MRX37
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Twilks69
Active Member
How about these Panasonic MCS 683-2500 Speakers that I believe predate thrusters & sound so much better with the same speakers as thrusters in better cabinets. They came with a receiver and a turntable as well & it was Named “MATCHED Component System” these speakers sound amazing. I was extremely impressed when I hooked them up! Crazy what a difference a better built cabinet makes when housing the same speakers.I remember these Thrusters. Remind you of anything maybe a little bit better?
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hamsterdam
Well-Known Member
I had to look up thrusters, as they were my 1st (7th grade) floor speakers, snd back then they were amazing. It was not the level of the from Japan Pioneer system my buddy’s late father had brought back, while in the Marines. It was great, but not in a bedroom, so i didn’t judge it with sny sort of nuance. Btw: my search was; “How bad were Thrusters Speakers ?” Lol
kevintomb
Well-Known Member
I mean as low priced mass market Department store stuff, they were "Good", but nothing special.
I mean "Soundesign" "lloyds" and "Rca" and few others made even FAR crappier all in one systems.
In the grand scheme, they were passable, especially the 2-3 biggest ones.
The biggest "Thruster" was really fairly good, but not what I would call "Audiophile" really, but good in a way that could put out some actual bass, and play loud.
I think one has to explain by what standards we use to judge a low priced speaker.
I mean "Soundesign" "lloyds" and "Rca" and few others made even FAR crappier all in one systems.
In the grand scheme, they were passable, especially the 2-3 biggest ones.
The biggest "Thruster" was really fairly good, but not what I would call "Audiophile" really, but good in a way that could put out some actual bass, and play loud.
I think one has to explain by what standards we use to judge a low priced speaker.
spicer
Lunatic Member
What teenage guy could resist a name like thrusters. Only joking a little bit. Great play on a word, advertising genius. Girls liked them too even if neither boy or girl knew to acknowledge it, the value of the name. They definitely beat the suitcase variety but fell short of the KLH component compacts.
The real mystery behind the Thrusters to me is that the Panasonic all-in-one receivers were uniquely high quality (for all-in-ones) in construction, looked amazing with the brushed bronze/grey aluminum faceplates with silver aluminum knobs, and I think they performed pretty well despite being fairly limited on power (something like ~12-15 wpc or so I think). The stereo units were a standout for among all-in-ones in terms in that period, but the Thruster speakers that came with them didn't seem to be up to the same quality level. I've never really listened to Thrusters critically, except limited listening department stores back in the 1980's, so maybe they perform better than I expect.
spicer
Lunatic Member
The electronics were good, played well into real speakers. From a sound quality point of view the weak link was the speakers but they did one important thing, they could blast party loud and survive. Thrusters.The real mystery behind the Thrusters to me is that the Panasonic all-in-one receivers were uniquely high quality (for all-in-ones) in construction, looked amazing with the brushed bronze/grey aluminum faceplates with silver aluminum knobs, and I think they performed pretty well despite being fairly limited on power (something like ~12-15 wpc or so I think). The stereo units were a standout for among all-in-ones in terms in that period, but the Thruster speakers that came with them didn't seem to be up to the same quality level. I've never really listened to Thrusters critically, except limited listening department stores back in the 1980's, so maybe they perform better than I expect.
Doug G.
Lunatic Member
I have a pair of SB-350s my dad bought years ago (they were included with the Panasonic SE-5508 all-in-one he also bought) I was using just to check out the Heathkit/Bell & Howell quad amplifier I just built and they are nowhere near as bad as has been declared by most. The midrange is perfectly OK, clear and detailed, treble OK. Bass, of course isn't what would be expected of higher priced speakers but for what they cost...
If they are placed in corners of the room, the lower bass is actually stronger than one might expect although the VCs will bottom out if driven too hard but I had them pretty loud.
Much better than most of the other speakers that came with all-in-one systems. I'm sure most teens would be thrilled to have them.
Doug
If they are placed in corners of the room, the lower bass is actually stronger than one might expect although the VCs will bottom out if driven too hard but I had them pretty loud.
Much better than most of the other speakers that came with all-in-one systems. I'm sure most teens would be thrilled to have them.
Doug
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One of the first things I learned back when I first got into serious audio back in 1980 was that the companies that make good electronics don't necessarily make good speakers. Thrusters are a perfect example of that. Probably designed to a specific price point and demographic. Cheap and loud...
swechsler
Frog Whisperer
This is probably the case with many compact systems of the day, at least from the better companies like Fisher, Centrex/Pioneer and Sony. Remember that big speakers back then were considered de rigeur, and while they probably would have sounded much better if they had included an inexpensive speaker similar to the AR-18, that wouldn't look nearly as impressive.
kevintomb
Well-Known Member
I mean they are pretty much, you get what you paid for. They were cheap speakers often included with a compact all in one stereo that had usually under 5 watts power per channel. The competing stuff was at times worse and a few were better.
I remember mostly Zenith and Radio shack having a few that were better, but that was within their higher priced lines of all in one stereos. Zenith was in a whole different price range, and was for sure decent, but again, not really audiophile either.
I think we need to reset our minds to what was available around 1980 or so and cost about $129.99-$300.00 that was an entire all in one stereo AND speakers.
When I was in grade school (already an audio enthusiast) I used to go look at those bronze/gray Panasonics every time my mom would go to the department stores. Even at that young age (probably 10 or so) I knew enough that they weren't great sound quality wise (and they were pretty pricey for an all-in-one as I recall), so I resisted the very strong urge to buy one. I bought a far less sexy SuperScope 10wpc receiver and Advents instead as my first real system with my lawn service $$. But I lusted after the looks of the Panasonics and loved the clicker volume and tone controls.
The crazy thing is that, even though I'd hang out in the department store audio section the whole time my mom was shopping, I don't think I ever actually heard one playing of those Panasonic units playing
because they didn't really do that in department stores, and they also didn't sell those units in dedicated audio stores. As far as I can recall, I lusted after their looks in silence. I'm glad I had the maturity at that to buy something that performed better, but the Panasonic is the one I very reluctantly intentionally let slip away.
YY1
Addicted Member
They absolutely did.
Once I had found a couple favorite radio stations, me and friends would go to JC Penney and tune all of the display models to the same favorite rock station.
We learned pretty quick how loud we could set the volume to avoid a salesperson coming over to turn them all off.
Once I had found a couple favorite radio stations, me and friends would go to JC Penney and tune all of the display models to the same favorite rock station.
We learned pretty quick how loud we could set the volume to avoid a salesperson coming over to turn them all off.
Maybe they woulldn't play it for an 8 or 9 year old "buyer" (I could have been an actual buyer with my lawn service, but I doubt a salesperson believed that). Or maybe I did hear it on low volume -- it was so long ago I can't remember exactly -- but I definitely was never able to give them a proper evaluation at volume. Audio stores back then, even high end ones, were very accommodating when I was in single digit ages.
It's funny you mentioned JC Penney, because later on I replaced my SuperScope 10wpc (which I think I paid $100 for new, the Advents were $200) with an MCS 3233 33-watt receiver sold by JC Penney. The MCS 3233 was a proper stereo -- despite being a JCP store brand -- and fairly pricey. I think it was $300 or $400 new, but they had a display model with a scratch on the faceplate so I got it at a large discount (I vaguely recall it being something like $165, could be wrong). Besides the massive discount, the clicker volume on the MCS (which reminded me of the Panasonic) was part of the motivation for buying it. The MCS spounded great, but I do recall at very high volume the power supply would actually make creaking noises. The power supply is probably the one area where MCS fell short of Pioneer and other quality brands. The MCS could deliver the goods sound wise, but with audible power supply strain when pushed to ridiculously high volumes.
MCS (Modular Component Systems) is spelled out on the receiver faceplate. MCS was a separate brand from the Panasonic all-in-ones as far as I recall (even though MCS products were manufactured by Panasonic and others) . If @Twilks69 's MCS speakers actually came with that Panasonic unit, then I guess there was some sharing between brands -- but, if I had have to guess, I'd think somebody bought MCS speakers and then paired them with the Panasonic all-in-one.
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I had a friend who was using that Panasonic receiver to drive a pair of Altec 604s!The real mystery behind the Thrusters to me is that the Panasonic all-in-one receivers were uniquely high quality (for all-in-ones) in construction, looked amazing with the brushed bronze/grey aluminum faceplates with silver aluminum knobs, and I think they performed pretty well despite being fairly limited on power (something like ~12-15 wpc or so I think). The stereo units were a standout for among all-in-ones in terms in that period, but the Thruster speakers that came with them didn't seem to be up to the same quality level. I've never really listened to Thrusters critically, except limited listening department stores back in the 1980's, so maybe they perform better than I expect.
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I was going to put a general question out to this thread asking how those Panasonic bronze/gray receivers actually sound with proper speakers. They weren't very forthcoming with specs in period as I recall, but I think were somewhat low power (I think 10-15wpc, though I don't need more that that 99% of the time), I think distortion was also quite low, but the bass response was off a bit because I think the power rating was from 40hz not 20hz. Overall, I'd expect that they sound pretty good with real speakers.
The one thing about an amp that doesn't put out low bass is that a speaker-level-driven subwoofer can't really entirely fix the very low frequency bass deficit because it isn't in the signal coming out of the amp (I saw this first hand with a low-end modern Yamaha receiver).