Realistic Optimus 5B - Surprisingly Good

[Lavane]

Thanks,
It's really a bunkie....
The main house system is stacked Advents..

There is what's called the VL mod for the Optimus 5B's and Nova 8B's. It's a crossover mod that has become popular with these. I'm currently looking for a pair myself to try the crossover mod with. And maybe find a soft dome tweeter that will work instead of the paper cone tweeter. There is a long thread about the mods here on AK.

 

[JB1962]

The RS speakers look like a rip off of the KLH Model 5 speakers

http://www.classicspeakerpages.net/_Media/klh5_2-2.jpeg

They do. Lol

 

[JB1962]

My first entry into stereo equipment was with a pair of MC-1000 speakers, not long after I then purchased a pair of 5b's. The tweeters went bad in the 5b's so I replaced them with the RS super tweeters, good sounding speaks! RadioShack started me on this audio journey, it's a shame they pretty much just sell phones now.

They are completely gone from my area in Grand Rapids MI. It's kind of a shame, they had a lot of stuff you couldn't walk into any other store and find. Not sure what happened with them, but their reputation often was unfairly negative, then came the slow but sure downward spiral.

The first speakers (as well as several that followed) were from RS, various drivers for home built cabinets. Never had much technical knowledge but I knew enough to solder the cap, that often came with the tweeters, in place. Then I would run a full range 8" or 12" with it. Not very sophisticated but since have heard a few Karns and Utah speakers wired basically the same way that sounded pretty good. For me at the time, they sounded fantastic as I didn't have anything else to compare to. My first four sets of speakers were ones I built myself using RS components.

The first transistor clock radio I ever owned (also from RS) never even got plugged into the wall until after my father helped me take the back off, where I watched him drill a hole, then solder and mount an external speaker jack. At that time I was just six - seven years old and hanging speakers salvaged from old radios by coat hanger to nails in my 'fort', good times, discovering rock and roll and being introduced to the idea that music can take on many different sounds depending on what its played through.

 

[gster]

There is what's called the VL mod for the Optimus 5B's and Nova 8B's. It's a crossover mod that has become popular with these. I'm currently looking for a pair myself to try the crossover mod with. And maybe find a soft dome tweeter that will work instead of the paper cone tweeter. There is a long thread about the mods here on AK.

I've read about this mod but it may be beyond my current skill level.
I'll enjoy them as found and revisit the mod next year.
I've been looking for a Realistic receiver to drive these.
The prices on these are surprising.....
People have caught on.

 

[gster]

I did a bit more work on them.
Straightened up the warped grills with steam and bungee cords...
It actually worked.
Tightened up ALL the speaker screws. They were all loose.
Someone else mentioned this.

Currently, I have a pair of Black Minimus 7's hooked up to a Pioneer QX 646 "quad" receiver with another
pair of Optimus 5B's.
The "balance" control is rolled off to about a 70/30 split with
the 5B's being the 70%.
Very nice set up.
The 7's accentuate the mids/highs with the 5B's filling out
the bottom end.

 

[AuralAbrasns]

I grabbed a pair of these years ago from an older gentleman. He had them paired with a Pioneer SA-9100, Yamaha T-1 tuner. Pioneer needs work.

Cabinets need some work to make them presentable but man do they sound nice. I have them
in my garage hooked to an HK 430 and they really sing despite such a low powered receiver and such a large space (36’ x 32’).

Yes, prices seem to have climbed noticeably the last few years but they’re still a good bargain IMO.

 

[Sharpstik]

Yep. If you look back at some of the old RS ads, they compare the Optimus-1 to the KLH-6 and the Optimus-5 to the KLH-5 without going as far as naming names. They said things like we designed these to sound like or favorite $134 speaker etc, Guess what the price of the KLH was back then. See page 46
http://www.radioshackcatalogs.com/catalogs/1970_small/

Old post I know. But I’m glad I stumbled on it because I feel a little better now.
I had a beautiful pair of recapped KLH 5 s that I stupidly sold about 2 years after acquiring them . My Optimus 5s ( recapped) sound similar and they go deep. They suck up power just like the KLH did . They are pretty comparable , but now I feel as if I have corrected my mistake.