Realistic Nova 5

AZ_Jim

AZ_Jim

New Member
Hello everyone! New guy alert!
Over the holidays, my wife and I decided to start having some fun getting into vintage audio. Goal starting out was to find things we could at least enjoy listening to right away and also have fun learning to restore/repair along the way. Did not take much looking to find a few things local and also find AudioKarma.

My questions are regarding a pair of Realistic Nova 5's. Both were original and intact. I am going to use Howard products on the cabs, put in new caps and new surrounds. I am a handy weekend warrior at best, but do not feel overwhelmed with this project. Famous last words, right. Would really appreciate any and all thoughts, suggestions and HELP from the knowledgeable.

1. Have removed the crossover and know the cap value to replace. What brand, type etc... would this speaker benefit from the most. Do not want under or over spend. Just make the best decision.

2. Looks like there are many surround kits available. The price gap is pretty wide. What brand, type etc... kit should I be looking for.

Have seen parts express mentioned many times here and plan on trying them out. Other shopping favorites??
I am sure I am overlooking more than a few things. Don't know what I don't know etc...

Receiver is a Realistic STA-90 and the other pair of speakers are Nova 8b's.

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Thank you for the suggestions. A bi-polar 50v 4.7uF is the original capacitor in the crossover. Thoughts on what, specifically, new (modern) capacitor should it be replaced with?
 
A lot of the RS speakers have surrounds with material that doesn't rot. Do yours actually have a problem or are you just adding that to the list because they are simply old and so many other brands have the rot problem? (I'm saying that loosely because I can't guarantee that all RS speakers are the same.)
 
Foam surrounds on the Nova 5's. They were falling apart on both, so a foam kit is on the way.
 
I've used both of those Daytons in some of my projects and I love the results. Note that the modern film capacitors are typically way bigger than the electrolytics they replace. In most cases this isn't a problem, but just be aware of the physical size difference.
 
Thank you sargent and Tim D for the input. The Daytons 027-422 and (just in case) electrolytic NP 027-332 from parts express have arrived along with new Springfield surrounds. Will try and make time today to finish this project up. Realize this is probably a long way to go on a pair of Nova 5's, but thought these might be a good first time project. Next up will be a pair of Nova 8b's.
The pic might not show it very well, but I did use Howard restore (natural) with 0000 superfine steel wool pad and Howard feed & wax on the exposed cab. Am happy with the result so far, but now the plastic latice grill is kind of dull next to it. Thoughts on how to shine those up??

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My Dad and I weren't really close growing up. He was a good person and a good provider but we never played catch or even watched a game together. He never bought me toys or gave me gifts. (We have a very good relationship today) He never had friends or went out with the guys. He just listened to classical music, taught art in a different school and kept to himself.

When I started my junior year in high school I came home one day and my dad had bought me the very top of the line realistic stereo. It had really tall 4 Way speakers, a table, dual cassette and low and behold a CD player. I didn't even own a cd. I was one of the first kids in my school to have a CD player. I don't know what moved him to buy it for me. I don't know why he bought the CD player because non of us in the family understood what it really even was.

I hung on to that stereo and kept it in perfect condition until about 2005. (About 29 years) It sounded good especially for what it was. I regret getting rid of it. I don't know what I'd do with it, but it was something between my dad and I.
 
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