Realistic Optimus 27s, Rare And Surprising
- Thread starter Bodyblue
- Start date
The first ones I had were the KG2s. Bass was fine but I despised the horns so much I sold them in just a few weeks.
Drone cones work great.....just out of style.
Even though I am not sure how much difference it will make, I ordered fresh caps from PE today on the recommendation of @Lavane.
Also, the dumb speakers have become so intriguing to me. I have had them almost two weeks and I have not used the other system in the bedroom with the AR 14s since getting the 27s. The bass is so much faster than expected and the dome tweeter has excellent range and dispersion. They look so silly and sound so good and that makes them so much more interesting.
I love finding unusual items and that they sound so good makes the fun of the find all the better.
Also, the dumb speakers have become so intriguing to me. I have had them almost two weeks and I have not used the other system in the bedroom with the AR 14s since getting the 27s. The bass is so much faster than expected and the dome tweeter has excellent range and dispersion. They look so silly and sound so good and that makes them so much more interesting.
I love finding unusual items and that they sound so good makes the fun of the find all the better.
Lavane
Lunatic Member
They way the passive is weighted probably has something to do with it. I've seen some that are just a cone connected to a spider. One flat passive I saw in a cheap speaker wasn't weighted at all or attached to anything except the surround. It made for a very flabby, boomy sound. The one in the 27's is dampened pretty well.
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miltaryman
Active Member
Hey bb, upon some of you guys opinions on the better RS vintage speakers, my continued search for some Nova 8b's or Optimus 5b's I ran across a pair of these 27's. I highlighted the model, clicked search, and this AK post was the first link. You speak pretty highly of these, but are the 8b and 5b still better candidates? thanksI am always on the lookout for speakers that are strange or rare. On Wed I saw on CL these Optimus 27s and laughed at how strange they looked.......I mean, tall and skinny and that looks like something from Craig for $39.99?? So I kept looking around and a few hours later I looked them up in the RS 1980 catalog. I was expecting them to be next to the cheapest items but it was on the same page as the top of the line (for RS) Mach Ones with a price of $149.99 each! Hmmmmm ok that makes me at least read the entire page on them.
After I read the article I messaged @Lavane since he is a far more informed speaker guru than I am, and sent him the RS catalog page and the CL listing. After some research he found out the domed tweeters are actually Peerless units. After looking at what Lavane sent me and digesting the specs I sent the seller an offer (fairly lowball) and he accepted instantly.
When I picked them up I was surprised at how tall they were and skinny they were. I was also surprised at how heavy they were. They may look weird but they are build sturdy and solid. The usual high quality RS walnut veneer looks decent but it needs to sanded and oiled.....that will be done in the next few days. These speakers were used in the now closed Towe Ford Museum in Sacramento....the drivers are all in perfect condition and the grills are nice but there is a small hole in one of them that is not noticeable when installed.
They have the Peerless dome tweeter, six in driver and eight in drone cone. They seem to need a decent amount of power and are probably around 88 db sensitive I estimate. Even though they are skinny, they are tall and wide and have decent air volume.
How do they sound? Stupid good for how strange they look. The highs are excellent, not too bright but very detailed with great soundstage. The bass is so much better than I thought it would be. It does not go real deep but it is fast and tight and is just so surprising.
This speaker was a one year only design. The year after they lost the Peerless tweeter, made the cabinet smaller and changed the name to Nova. I bet they did not make any money on them and did not sell well because probably nobody believed they would sound good from the look of them.
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How funny you just posted this. I rotate the speakers I have in and out of our two bedroom systems. Last night I dug out a pair of Original Large Advents and to stack on them, I pulled out my set of 27s!
I have been through at least 20 pairs of speakers of all brands since 2020. I buy them, recap them and then sell them if I dont like them or am not real impressed by them. After recapping the 27s I fell in love with them. They are clear as a bell, image great and have damn good bass. Now our bedroom is over 20 feet long and I have them in the corners so that helps a lot but they still can bring it. The bass is not nearly as deep and strong, but it is faster than the 8Bs and 5Bs for sure. And they have better tweets in them than the cones in the 8s and 5s.
They are weird and funky and I have loved them since I got them. They do better with a decent amount of power and they will get screaming freaking loud without distortion. If you want something to do rap or extremely bass heavy, they would not be my first choice. Anything else? Hell yes.
Ask @Lavane , I lent them to him a while back.
miltaryman
Active Member
Ive only bought 3 pairs of speakers since the vintage audio addiction hit me in late 2022 (and I have about 8-10 other hard to find pairs on my BOLO list), but 1 of those 3 that I do have are 10/31/73 stamped OLA's. Ill add the 27's to my list. I found some beauties near Phoenix, but Im in Fl. (I see you're triple stacking on top of those omni Pioneers...haha).
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Those are actually Radio Shack Optimus speaker end tables. I have two sets that I use for speaker stands. Three of them work but I use them just for stands. This is from my front system.
Thanks! We started switching to mid century/brutalist about 7 years ago. It is very addictive! It makes vintage audio seem like nothing when one gets the bug.@Bodyblue , I dig that mid century decor you've got going on.
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Lavane
Lunatic Member
We grew up with mid century furniture in the house, along with audio gear that looked like something from the Jetson's cartoon. I love the late 50's & 60's space age look of some equipment.
My wife and I are big time picker/scrounge. A few weeks ago we were in a local Goodwill where I found this mid mod tallboy for the Princely sum of $45. Solid walnut fronts and in beautiful condition. The pics were before we moved it into our spare bedroom.@Bodyblue , I dig that mid century decor you've got going on.
It was just stupid.,.....it had been sitting there for two weeks, it had been marked down twice and still no one bought it. The pictures are after I wiped it down with Feed N Wax. A lot of the older stuff I dont put Feed N Wax on because so much of it has too much build up. This one had virtually no build up and it came out fine. I looked over every square inch and found no label or stencil with the brand name. There are some model numbers on it but even with Google Lens etc I could not find a maker. I took the pics to a local owner of a specialized Mid Century Mall and she said retail would be around $850 for it. I would never flip it since the freaking thing weighs more than our minivan!
savagegerry
New Member
Just picked up a pair of these for $20 at a yard sale. One tweeter was blown and the caps were mostly toast but luckily I found a cheap pair of Optimus 77, which have the same tweeters, so the repair was quick and easy. But yeah, couldn't agree more with you about how crazy good these sound. I'd previously owned a pair of Polk Monitor 5s that have the exact same configuration with the passive radiator and while those sold for $500 in 1985, more than 3 times what the 27s sold for, I actually prefer these. As a note though, some mention was made in the posts of Realistic copying BA and/or Polk but my research would indicate these came out well before any of the similar models produced by them...
I just took my 27s down after a rotation in one of my bedroom systems. I still like them a lot and am always amazed at how they sound when I hook them up after a long time in the closet. They are amazing with piano and acoustic guitar music......and like so many of the RS speakers of the era, they can get freaking LOUD without distorting.
I have gone through a bunch of speakers since I got the 27s and they are still here.