Realistic Optimus 27s, Rare And Surprising

[Lavane]

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...

If you find a pair of Polk Monitor 7's at a decent price snag them too.
They have a very well balanced sound. I have a pair in rotation right now.
I was using a bigger pair of Polk Monitor 10's. They dig deep with plenty of tight well controled bass. The 5Jr's arent bad for near field listening.

 

[Schwienr]

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.

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I recently picked up a pair of the Optimus 27s and discovered that one of them has a blown tweeter. I am in the process of finding replacement tweeters, looking for a decent price on some Minimums 7s. I am thinking I should recap at the same time. Can you tell me what capacitors you went with on your restoration? Thanks!

 

[Bodyblue]

I recently picked up a pair of the Optimus 27s and discovered that one of them has a blown tweeter. I am in the process of finding replacement tweeters, looking for a decent price on some Minimums 7s. I am thinking I should recap at the same time. Can you tell me what capacitors you went with on your restoration? Thanks!

@Lavane do you remember which ones (brand) you told me to buy? It has been too long!

 

[Schwienr]

@Lavane do you remember which ones (brand) you told me to buy? It has been too long!

Thanks. I have these in my cart:

• Dayton Audio DMPC-15 15uF 250V Polypropylene Capacitor
• Dayton Audio DMPC-4.7 4.7uF 250V Polypropylene Capacitor

This will be my first time replacing capacitors.

 

[Lavane]

Thanks. I have these in my cart:

• Dayton Audio DMPC-15 15uF 250V Polypropylene Capacitor
• Dayton Audio DMPC-4.7 4.7uF 250V Polypropylene Capacitor

This will be my first time replacing capacitors.

Those are fine. I never get lost in the weeds of fancy over expensive film caps.
Usually for not much more $$ Audyn brand caps work well for crossovers also.
They don't have as many values for sale at Partsexpress as the Dayton caps though.

 

[Lavane]

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