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Realistic Speaker ID please

R

reneborg

I'm Vintage Too
There are a pair of Realistic speakers available locally that I can't ID. I can't see them for a couple of days, and the owner isn't able to get me more info at the moment. I was wondering if anyone here can help me ID these, and tell me if they are worthy of acquiring.

Thanks
 

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Aside from the grills, those look identical to a set of Optimus 5B's that I've got.

Very nice sounding speaker; sounded even better after I recapped it.
 
The driver lay out is very similar to the 5's but the tweeters don't look right though it might be the poor quality of the pic. The 5 is a good speaker IMO and worth picking up as long as the owner is not looking for too much.
 
Excellent speakers, my mom had a pair of those on her old stereo. Unfortunately the suspension rotted out of the woofers after she gave them to my uncle. My uncle threw them out :(

Wish I had known, I gladly would have taken them.
 
Nova's

Those look like Nova 8 B's, with minimal 12" woofer, actually 11"something,
cabs are 1" thick mdf,with walnut veneer, Pretty nice vintage speaker.....
Cheers,T:music:
 
What's the difference, if any, between the Nova 8b and the 5b? From what I've been able to glean online, the driver layout appears the same. I have talked to the seller's spouse, and she doesn't know anything about the speakers. I've got an appt. to see them tomorrow or Sun. depending on how all our schedules work out ...
 
reneborg said:
What's the difference, if any, between the Nova 8b and the 5b? From what I've been able to glean online, the driver layout appears the same. I have talked to the seller's spouse, and she doesn't know anything about the speakers. I've got an appt. to see them tomorrow or Sun. depending on how all our schedules work out ...
Click to expand...

I think the difference is just the lattice on the Novas. The catalog lists identical dimensions and specifications. I've bought some loose drivers from both on E-bay and they were the same as each other.
I have and have had 8 or 10 woofers from that series and never any sign of deterioration on any of the surrounds, despite the age (30 or more years old!).
 
My 8b's have cross-sectional lattices. Just ask them to look on the back there for ID. They're fairly heavy, too. Buy em' for 20...I paid more.
 
I remember seeing these on craigslist. If I remember right from researching them, they're Nova 8's, not 8B's. Asked about them in chat an was told with a new tweeter they should sound pretty good.
 
Mazlem said:
I remember seeing these on craigslist. If I remember right from researching them, they're Nova 8's, not 8B's. Asked about them in chat an was told with a new tweeter they should sound pretty good.
Click to expand...

I think they are either the Optimus 5B or Nova 8B. They have the reinforced ring around dust cap on the woofers. But I suspect probably the 5B from the front edge of the cabinet. I believe the Nova series is more beveled.
 
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Thanks for all the responses!

With any luck, tomorrow or Sunday I should see for myself. It seems like whichever model speaker it is, I'm doing well for the price.
 
Realistic Speaker ID ---- The Winner is ....

xxxxx drumroll xxxxxx


Optimus 5B

I picked them up this afternoon and they are playing right now. Haven't given them a 'serious' listen yet, but for $20, a reasonable drive, I think I got a deal. They are not in mint condition, but very, very good. The seller was selling them for his Dad, who bought them new in about 1978. Supposedly, that's the original grille too. The seller told me his Dad likes to take good care of his things, and was getting rid of these due to a Klipsch moving in :-)

These Optimus 5Bs have an adjustment on the back for "Normal - Low - High" settings at both 1.7kHz and 7kHz.


BarryWest: Can you please tell me about the recapping ... did you do anything with the adjuster switches?

Thanks!
 
reneborg said:
xxxxx drumroll xxxxxx


Optimus 5B

I picked them up this afternoon and they are playing right now. Haven't given them a 'serious' listen yet, but for $20, a reasonable drive, I think I got a deal. They are not in mint condition, but very, very good. The seller was selling them for his Dad, who bought them new in about 1978. Supposedly, that's the original grille too. The seller told me his Dad likes to take good care of his things, and was getting rid of these due to a Klipsch moving in :-)

These Optimus 5Bs have an adjustment on the back for "Normal - Low - High" settings at both 1.7kHz and 7kHz.


BarryWest: Can you please tell me about the recapping ... did you do anything with the adjuster switches?

Thanks!
Click to expand...

Congratulations!
I think you will like them. They were supposedly based off of the design of the KLH-5 and the driver layout is similar but the Realistic is a bit smaller.

Here is a link you might want to look at

http://www.radioshackcatalogs.com/catalogs/1978_small/
 
reneborg said:
... did you do anything with the adjuster switches?
Click to expand...
Deoxit is your friend! You'll need to remove the woofers to do the recap. While you're in there, you should be able to get to the backside of switches. There's usually a hole into which you can fire a shot of Deoxit. Don't over-do it, but a brief blast into the switch followed by working the toggle through its motions (slowly) for 20-30 reps. Those 2-3 position toggles are usually easier to get working properly than pots that may have bad wipers.

Those should prove to be nice little speakers. I'm still not quite sold on those grills being original. They appear to be un-framed foam which is not what I have seen from RatShack of the period. Not that it really matters as you have gotten some speakers that I suspect will prove to be enjoyable.

Dave
 
relaximus ... I think you are correct about the grills not being original. I think there's a bit of faulty memory there on the seller's part -- which is reasonable considering these were his Dad's speakers.

I think you're right because just a minute ago I was looking at page 40 of the 1978 Rat Shack catalog and the Optimus 5Bs are shown with a different grille. I do know these speakers are 5Bs, or at least that's what the label on the speaker says. There is also a catalog number 40-2006A.

Anything specific I should know about the recap -- I mean anything special I should keep in mind regarding what type of parts I buy, etc.? I've never done a recap before, but do own a soldering iron and have a friend who knows a lot more that can help.

As far as the sound, so far I've been listening to them mostly in the background (but cranked). Norah Jones, Stevie Wonder, Blues Project, and some Monk have all sounded fine. If anything, I think the highs may be this speaker's weakest point. But maybe when I have time to play with the controls on the back I can dial them in more to my liking.

Thanks!
 
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