Realistic Optimus T-100 Speakers

[Copa1934]

The concept behind "tower" speakers was simple Small foot print AND putting drivers closer to "ear level", thus eliminating the needs for stands or tilting them back. Only physical adjustments at that point is toe in, if needed.

I liked my T-100, but will say I liked my T-120 better. Wish I could have owned T-200 or T-300, just not sure which I actually liked best. Agree with James, Poly are not very expensive and worth the investment. The woofers on mine were the non rotting type,as were many RS speakers from that era and earlier. When the Mach Two's, T-120's and other speakers came out, late 70's early 80's, they moved away from the "good" foam. Such a tragedy. Oh well. Their speakers also moved from Life time warranties to 5 year like the rest of the industry.

 

[mikey7]

Well, I'm new to AK as far as posting things but I have read posts for a while. But I bought a pair of these T-100's a year ago on e-bay in brand new condition. They were listed as new, though they had been opened and taken out, but they showed
absolutely no signs of use and were sent to me in their original boxes and again, are absolutely mint! The veneer of course was dry but a good application of lemon oil took care of that. Now for sound quality. I read much of the earlier posts on these and the consensus was that they were just OK to fairly good. Well, when I listened to them, my thoughts were along the fairly good range for a while. I like towers but when put in place, they were a bit larger than I would have liked. Well, that year I used them some and decided then to try to downsize. I bought some mint Nova 6's, then decided I wanted a little bigger, then got some also mint Nova 7's. They both have very good bass for their size but somehow with these Novas, and I've owned several pairs of each in my time, they lack some brilliance. My T-100's sat unused most of this summer and one day I wanted to declutter my small efficiency condo. I hade recapped the Nova 7's with good Dayton caps but was disappointed that it didn't really make any difference in brilliance. So, I decided to put the T-100's back in place and I must say that the difference between them and the Nova's is night and day. The T-100's are much more articulate sounding when comparing using the A and B speakers setting on my receiver. The bass seems to have gotten better and yes the tweeters are a little "bright", but their level can be adjusted up or down to suit you. Also the midrange in the T-100's is to my ears, anyway, very good. Vocals are more muffled in the other speakers but stand out well in the T-100's. So, I just think they needed to be broken in some, and while they are larger than I would like, I just can't bring myself to replace them. They are driven by a Realistic STA-2270 receiver and seems a very good match. So that's my thoughts on the T-100's and while yes, there are better speakers out there, I think these deserve a decent place in the speaker niche.

 

[larry777]

And they are actually decent looking speakers also !

 

[Dolby_1000]

Just cross-posting this reply from another thread in case someone finds it useful. I just installed a pair of Visaton DT94-8 tweets in my T-100's. I bought them on Parts Express for about $76 delivered. https://www.parts-express.com/Visaton-DT94-8-0.8-Polycarbonate-Tweeter-8-Ohm-292-556?quantity=1 I had to cut some approximately 3/4" x 1/2" notches just below the original cutouts to accommodate the terminals, but not too bad overall. I put some masking tape around the cutout and penciled in the approximate cut I needed. I used a hand file to remove the fiberboard. File, check fit with new tweeter, file, check fit, etc. I found it helpful to remove the top woofer as well, and place a trash bag under the openings to collect the sawdust that falls into the cutout - really cuts down on the mess. I had to drill three new holes and was able to reuse the original screws. The old screw holes are just covered by the new tweets. Probably took me two hours or so total including installing larger width connectors for the positive terminals.

The new tweets are way better than the originals, but are somewhat bright/loud at high volumes. At normal (sane) volumes they are quite detailed and engaging. My listening room is small so they are only 6 to 7 feet from my listening position. In a medium to large room these would sound amazing at any volume. I keep the grills on which tones them down a bit, and brings up the bass. They might benefit from some smalls tweaks to the crossovers but I'm going to give them some more hours to break-in before making any changes. I'm thinking of upgrading the woofs as well - I really like these vintage walnut cabinets!

 

[rcaman]

the tweeters in my t-100 was bad when i bought mine. bought some aftermarket from the bay installed them great sounding speakers. i used
Phenolic Ring Tweeter

 

[Dolby_1000]

the tweeters in my t-100 was bad when i bought mine. bought some aftermarket from the bay installed them great sounding speakers. i used
Phenolic Ring Tweeter

I like these speakers. Have you ever considered upgrading the woofers and crossover? I'm not sure if the cabinets are good enough quality to justify spending the money to put better components in them - I'm tempted though. I doubt I'd ever get any of my money back when I sold them.

 

[onwardjames]

I like these speakers. Have you ever considered upgrading the woofers and crossover? I'm not sure if the cabinets are good enough quality to justify spending the money to put better components in them - I'm tempted though. I doubt I'd ever get any of my money back when I sold them.

You should, at a minimum, replace the cheap caps. That will help with any sibilance or shrillness. I'd use any decent poly cap.

As for "getting your money back", you likely won't, but at least for me, that's not an obstacle. This is a hobby. They're inherently a net loss, lol.