Mike Sandage
New Member
I came across these Realistic Nova-18's speakers while i was on a mission to pick up a Optimus STAV-3000 and included in the deal were the Nova-18's.
I didn't think much about them but when i got home i hooked them up to the Optimus STAV-3000 and was pleased with the sound and after a short low listening period i didn't think they were sounding as good and thought maybe they blew something but low and behold once i took the grills off i knew why the surrounds were being blown off lol
So i decided to re-foam them at a total of $28.89 for the foam surround kit from Springfield speaker. which i wasnt to happy about the price but it is what it is.
I have never been a fan of any two way speaker but ill say this these impressed me greatly i mean i am shocked at how great they sound and they can take some power (rated at 100/w)
And even though the cabs are like 1/2'' MFD board with no bracing inside they do not sound boomy at all and hit pretty hard.
The exterior is oiled walnut veneer.
The re-foaming process was a bit of a PITA because the surrounds that are sold buy the venders (and i checked the sizes on all i could find were the same) the outer ring is to large to just set inside the basket
So it needs to be trimmed down but when but when i removed the old surrounds there is a carboard ring on the outside that fits down in between the outer rim of the basket and the surrounds outer roll the new surround wouldn't fit just right down on the outer roll so i had to kind force it somewhat to get it flat all the way around (not much of a issue) then i laid it flat and used a razor blade with the steel backing on it to trim the new surround.
When the new surround was put on top of the cone/basket the inside of the glue surface was about a inch away from the cone glue surface so i used a 1.5 volt AA battery to briefly push the cone up to meet the surround (lucky they sent me the rubber cement type of glue that sets quicker) the surround and cone were pretty much centered at that point because there was no to very little adjustment area to do much of any adjusting but just to make sure i ran a test tone to make sure there was no rubbing while it was getting sticky and adhering to the basket.
I hope my info helps if you come across a pair that need surrounds
If you see a pair in good shape you cant go wrong with them
Check out the video of them playing here you will be surprised unless you own a pair!
Realistic Nova-18 QSC GX5 and Onkyo P-3000 pre 10_21_2026.mp4 - AnonMP4
I didn't think much about them but when i got home i hooked them up to the Optimus STAV-3000 and was pleased with the sound and after a short low listening period i didn't think they were sounding as good and thought maybe they blew something but low and behold once i took the grills off i knew why the surrounds were being blown off lol
So i decided to re-foam them at a total of $28.89 for the foam surround kit from Springfield speaker. which i wasnt to happy about the price but it is what it is.
I have never been a fan of any two way speaker but ill say this these impressed me greatly i mean i am shocked at how great they sound and they can take some power (rated at 100/w)
And even though the cabs are like 1/2'' MFD board with no bracing inside they do not sound boomy at all and hit pretty hard.
The exterior is oiled walnut veneer.
The re-foaming process was a bit of a PITA because the surrounds that are sold buy the venders (and i checked the sizes on all i could find were the same) the outer ring is to large to just set inside the basket
So it needs to be trimmed down but when but when i removed the old surrounds there is a carboard ring on the outside that fits down in between the outer rim of the basket and the surrounds outer roll the new surround wouldn't fit just right down on the outer roll so i had to kind force it somewhat to get it flat all the way around (not much of a issue) then i laid it flat and used a razor blade with the steel backing on it to trim the new surround.
When the new surround was put on top of the cone/basket the inside of the glue surface was about a inch away from the cone glue surface so i used a 1.5 volt AA battery to briefly push the cone up to meet the surround (lucky they sent me the rubber cement type of glue that sets quicker) the surround and cone were pretty much centered at that point because there was no to very little adjustment area to do much of any adjusting but just to make sure i ran a test tone to make sure there was no rubbing while it was getting sticky and adhering to the basket.
I hope my info helps if you come across a pair that need surrounds
If you see a pair in good shape you cant go wrong with them
Check out the video of them playing here you will be surprised unless you own a pair!
Realistic Nova-18 QSC GX5 and Onkyo P-3000 pre 10_21_2026.mp4 - AnonMP4
