Radio Shack / Realistic Minimus lineup

[ethangsmith]

With the Realistic Minimus 7's getting all the attention, are there other speakers in the Minimus line that are also worthy of praise? I know there is a larger size of the 7's (77's?). Are there others in the Minimus line worth seeking out?

 

[the skipper]

The 7's had the magic. The others tried to replicate it but failed.

 

[NH-MAN]

They had an 11 version that was only available less than 2 years that had Specs down to 50. Forgot which catalog it was in.

 

[ethangsmith]

A Minimus 7 with more bass would be awesome!

 

[Smitty43]

I got a few pairs of the minimus 7s and have had the 77s and thought I liked the 7s but the little optimus pro 7s are very impressive with a little SA 155

 

[the skipper]

A Minimus 7 with more bass would be awesome!

I sold a bunch of these with passive subwoofers. I just set 'em up and they sold themselves.

 

[ethangsmith]

What is different about the Pro 7's? Or are they just the newer version of the Minimus 7's?

 

[ethangsmith]

I sold a bunch of these with passive subwoofers. I just set 'em up and they sold themselves.

Were the subs also Realistic/Radio Shack?

 

[the skipper]

Were the subs also Realistic/Radio Shack?

yep. Made an impressive three piece system for < $200. The radio shack catalog site seems to be down or I'd be able to give a more detailed answer.

 

[mhardy6647]

I would be very interested in stumbling across a rehabilitated or at least functional pair of R/S Minimus-1 (or even the Minimus-2).


source: https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-Catalogs/Allied-Catalogs/Radio-Shack-68.pdf


source: https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-Catalogs/Allied-Catalogs/Radio-Shack-1967.pdf

 

[ethangsmith]

Wow! Those not only look nice, but with some mods may be half decent.

The Radio Shack catalog site has been down for quite a while now. I hope it's not defunct.

 

[swechsler]

Here's a previous thread that should have all the info you need.

 

[hornbostel]

Here’s an interesting speaker I have that is basically the Minimus 1.

It’s exactly the same size, has beautiful walnut veneer and the tweet and woofer are exactly the same. This speaker came as part of a Kenwood all-in-one system (KS 505P) circa about 1969 or 1970.

In the pics note the woofer surround is cloth. The cloth was solid as a rock when I got them and literally the drivers didn’t move. I’ve been working on it slowly over a number of days with acetone, which is why it looks messy and sticky. But already there is vast improvement. These little guys look and sound awesome.

These are really neat speakers.

 

[3-Crows]

I sold a bunch of these with passive subwoofers. I just set 'em up and they sold themselves.

I am kinda dumb sometimes but how does the Minimus 7 drive a passive sub?

I did the cross over mod on my Realistic metal case black Minimus 7s. They are kind of magic for sure.

 

[ethangsmith]

Here's a previous thread that should have all the info you need.

Good info on the 7 and family. I am also curious about the other Minimus speakers outside that family, like the 1's and 2's. There's got to be some other little gems in the Minimus line.

 

[the skipper]

I am kinda dumb sometimes but how does the Minimus 7 drive a passive sub?

I did the cross over mod on my Realistic metal case black Minimus 7s. They are kind of magic for sure.

The minimus doesn't "drive" anything. You just hook up the minimus and the passive sub in parallel to the power amp . The power amp drives them both.

 

[Lavane]

There was a small Optimus speaker much like the 7 or 77 too I believe.

 

[swechsler]

There was a small Optimus speaker much like the 7 or 77 too I believe.

Optimus 7. Then they started branding everything RCA, and it just had a typical catalog number.

 

[3-Crows]

The minimus doesn't "drive" anything. You just hook up the minimus and the passive sub in parallel to the power amp . The power amp drives them both.

Thanks, duh, I think I was having a senior moment there .

 

[CT Jim]

I think RS used the "Minimus" moniker on a lot of speakers. I have a set of Minimus 26, wood veneer boxes ~7" x 11" x 5" with a 4-4.5" rubber woofer. They also made the same speaker, a Minimus 25, which had a vinyl box.

These are slightly larger than the 7, and IMO sound better than the 7's. It is hard though to not like the metal case and grill of the 7's. I use these as test speakers on the bench, little value although I did fuse them just in case!