REALISTIC speaker opinions

[xaosbass]

i'm 24 hrs into the re-cap of my optimus 5's and they are much brighter and clearer than before. these are the ones w/ the variable L-pads on the input board on the back of the cabs. sorry for not having pics but these were made in '73 or '74 i think.

BTW, i used Partsexpress polypro caps on the mids and tweets; NP electros on the woofer circuit. the old ones were really weak, but only after the changeover was this obvious. this is a very nice design from the beginning.:thmbsp:

 

[markw300d]

My Nova 10's came along at a time when I couldn't afford really nice speakers. I had already sacrificed a beautiful pair of A25's to unemployment and was down to a pair of headphones. After a recap and a little box work though, they have pleasantly surprised me...especially on classical music, jazz, bluegrass etc. I don't consider them rock speakers and I don't think they were meant to be but they are enjoyable for the types of music that I usually listen to. They use the same woofer as the MC2001's that were mentioned earlier. Personally, I am glad that there are a lot of old Realistic speakers still out there. I'd dearly miss mine right now.

 

[Copa1934]

Rather ambiguous statement since we have no clue when all this occured. I was going to say RS's best speakers were prior to the 90's, but I'd be wrong as there were the Mach Three's and the LX line with the Linaeum tweeters (which I have). My LX-Pro5 II speakers are amazing, and have had many many positive reviews.

Reading part of your statement I sense more bitterness than anything else. I don't get the impression you truly checked out what RS had to offer, as I did for many years. I also get the impression that more than anything the system you did get wasn't designed or meant for your listening tastes, which is a problem with any speaker system. I have very fond memories of listening to "Beatles Again", "Abbey Road", and a number of other albums for the first time on a department store "class" stereo. No bitterness, no "eewww that was aweful". I was listening to music I loved, music I enjoyed, music that shaped my ideas of what was enjoyable music.

Did they sound as good as anything I have today? Not in the wildest of imaginations. But boy the memories and the pleasure. All too often raw drivers have popped up in other "name" brand speakers that were the very same units used in RS speakers, but unlike the "name" brand RS gave you real wood, a better warranty and more often than not a better price, especially during their sales where you often got a pair for the price of one speaker.

Most of the negative posts I've read about RS speakers sound more like bias than real critique. The best? Heck no! Garbage? Depends. When talking about top tier RS speakers, very good for their price bracket/range.

 

[DR_Simpkins]

Enjoy the music

Best response I've seen in a while.

Worked for RS from 83-90. That means I got to listen to all the speakers of that era quite a bit and with a wide variety of music and even early HT stuff. I have a wide variety of speakers today, roughly 12 working pairs of speakers, many listed in my sig.

Openess? Depth? Soundstage? If you couldn't hear that, then you simply had them positioned wrong. My top 3 speakers are my Machs, L3's and Haydn's, each having their own strengths. But what they do all have in common is similar soundstage and presence, with each having strengths with different instruments or vocals, etc. In each case I didn't hear left or right speakers, only balanced presentation. Only when something was intentionally mixed to left or right was it apparent. And when sound panned, it sounded panned and not jumping from left to right or vice versa.

I don't understand all this smack about RS speakers. First and foremost RS fed the masses, which most of us know are the vast majority of people who's budget prevented them from owning what many people here refer to as "real" speakers. I feel sorry for these people as it's more arrogance than anything else. RS produced speakers far superior to many brands and prices the "average" person could afford AND gave people a step into real Hi-Fi that wasn't attainable by many many department store systems, and even many brands and models sold in Audio Stores.

When people talk JBL, Klipsh, Infinity, Maggies, etc., these are truly the elite. These are NOT average consumer speakers. These speakers fit two categories to me. Those that truly appreciate musicality at it's best and can afford ALL the components neccessary to accomplish that goal and the others for which it's more about status.

I would never put RS gear in the same league as top flite electronics. But for people like myself they fit the bill nicely. I never find myself "auditioning" my speakers. I don't find myself regretting my purchases. Do I have an ear for good sound? Absolutely no doubt in my mind. Dirty Harry said "...a man's got to know his limitations..." Mine is distribution of the funds I have in the most appropriate manner for my budget.

The difference between me and a number of "audiophiles" is I grew up with musicians, I was a musician and I still love live performances. Speakers have to be pretty bad for me to not listen, because for me it's not about the speakers or the receiver or the amp or the tuner or the TT. It's the music. People say "...but your missing this, or that or something else..." Really? I don't think so. My question to them is, were you really listening or just auditioning?

 

[nick12345]

Radio Shack speakers weren't bad speakers. Not the best out there by any means, but not awful. If they were bad speakers, why did they sell so many of them?

Their receivers, however, were REALLY NICE. I love the classic Realistic receivers.

 

[budgetaudio6]

I own a pair of Optimus 9 speakers. I must say the build quality is superb.

The woofer is a cast frme unit. Dome tweet in its own cage for protection. And three mids with an open back for added spciousness. I find they are very good for some older rock music. Ok with jazz, but works better with the Blues.

Fit and finish is very good. Grills fit in there tightly. Presense knobs in the back give a feeling of quality.

For a point of reference i have a pair of dynaco a25s, smaller advents Tannoy 12 inch golds, Among many others. And i find that these RS speakers dont lack in sound quality.

 

[Renzor213]

Rather ambiguous statement since we have no clue when all this occured. I was going to say RS's best speakers were prior to the 90's, but I'd be wrong as there were the Mach Three's and the LX line with the Linaeum tweeters (which I have). My LX-Pro5 II speakers are amazing, and have had many many positive reviews.

Reading part of your statement I sense more bitterness than anything else. I don't get the impression you truly checked out what RS had to offer, as I did for many years. I also get the impression that more than anything the system you did get wasn't designed or meant for your listening tastes, which is a problem with any speaker system. I have very fond memories of listening to "Beatles Again", "Abbey Road", and a number of other albums for the first time on a department store "class" stereo. No bitterness, no "eewww that was aweful". I was listening to music I loved, music I enjoyed, music that shaped my ideas of what was enjoyable music.

Did they sound as good as anything I have today? Not in the wildest of imaginations. But boy the memories and the pleasure. All too often raw drivers have popped up in other "name" brand speakers that were the very same units used in RS speakers, but unlike the "name" brand RS gave you real wood, a better warranty and more often than not a better price, especially during their sales where you often got a pair for the price of one speaker.

Most of the negative posts I've read about RS speakers sound more like bias than real critique. The best? Heck no! Garbage? Depends. When talking about top tier RS speakers, very good for their price bracket/range.

Curious how the Linaeum tweeter's are holding up in your Pro 5's, as have some(not model II's though) in my basement fitness room, and had Radio Shack replace cooked tweeter's twice. The second time wasn't the same, and sounded pretty crappy, so changed over to some Tang Band dome's which fit under the mesh grill's, and a very good sound match. I liked the sound of the Linaeum's, but just didn't seem to hold up in my experience.

 

[borus]

One thing seems to be missing here RS had speakers built with what ever drivers they could get at the time. So you can find their speakers with well made drivers and good crossovers that have serial numbers within 100 of speakers with stamped out drivers and throughway crossover parts. Both speakers can have RS assigned name. if You were unlucky enough to buy that set you can love one of your speakers and never be happy with both. Or if you get a set with the good stuff so you send a friend to pick up a pair like yours than RS's and your reputation will be soiled. I believe this is why RS rep is so askew. I have two sets of vary old solo 1 they have the same look but could not be more different design wise if they had both been in the store at the same time I can't imagine how I would have reacted if I had got them home.
Borus

 

[marc mc]

Anyone that thinks all RS speakers were junk needs to hear my Optimus 7's.

marc mc

 

[MarkSA]

I agree with most of the comments made about RS speakers. I have had a few and heard others,thought they were OK and more than reasonable.

The average person doesn't listen to music through any decent speakers. They use ghetto blasters/cd players with tiny speakers in them. If you point them to anything "better", they will sneer at you and walk away. They certainly don't come here to know what you can hear your music on.

If you want to find some really **** speakers, just go down to the local dump/salvage yard, there full of them.

 

[hogdaddy]

Lets be Realistic here. .

Fwiw I have 2 pairs of Realistic speakers. The Optimus 400's sound very good imho and the unmodified T100 sound decent also with both having very good veneer finishes.
The Forte's sound better and when I get the JBL L100T's sorted out I am sure they will also sound better but for a good cheap speaker they aren't bad.

 

[Sharpstik]

Not having the name Optimus doesn't equate to lesser. I like them better than the Optimus 21 which can sound rather boomy with some receivers.

I like the Nova series and a favorite was a pair of Nova 8Bs I regretfully gave away. I have since got an Optimus 5B which is very similar.

As they say let your ears decide and not your vocabulary.

Same take.

I own the 21's, the 23's , 8B's, 45s' and once owned the 5B's. Nice cabinets and no junk. I like the 23s' best.
The 5B was very similiar to the KLH 5 which I also own. The KLH is superior.

 

[Copa1934]

Anyone that thinks all RS speakers were junk needs to hear my Optimus 7's.

marc mc

Or my capped Mach One's, or my LX-Pro5II, or my 5B's or my 7B's....

I'm LMAO on the "mid-junk" comment. Now I just need a definition of Low-junk and hi-junk so I know better what to shop for, next time I'm in the market for speakers, if ever. Too funny.

 

[Doc Rock]

My LX-4s are my "main" office speakers. They fit in that small space nicely, and after adding an air coil to roll of the woofer they are extremely good sounding little bookshelf speakers. My tweeters are holding up fine so far, but they're never pushed very hard.

 

[Vintage_Hi-F]

If they were bad speakers, why did they sell so many of them?.

If that logic were true than the US Auto Industry wouldn't be in the shape it's in. I mean look at how many Dodge Shadows are on the road to day (or would be if they didn't make them out of recycled Die cast toys) Sales number don't always equal quality.

I'm not saying all Radio Shack Speakers are bad but you can't deny that the majority of there components (speakers, receivers, turntables, all of that lot) where made to a price point, they were made to make a profit in other words cheap. Again there are good and bad out there I'm not denying that but to say that "Well they can't be that bad, they sold alot" doesn't really make sense.

 

[Copa1934]

Curious how the Linaeum tweeter's are holding up in your Pro 5's, as have some(not model II's though) in my basement fitness room, and had Radio Shack replace cooked tweeter's twice. The second time wasn't the same, and sounded pretty crappy, so changed over to some Tang Band dome's which fit under the mesh grill's, and a very good sound match. I liked the sound of the Linaeum's, but just didn't seem to hold up in my experience.

Mine are serving as rears in my HT setup and I'm not kind to them AND I bought them for $50 ( I think it was) on cheesebay. Used and still cranking.

 

[drummergrl]

Well, I sure am enjoying these Realistic Minimus 7's that I just got from a thrift store yesterday -notice the price tag. Here's some pics I just took while giving them a little kitchen test (while on AK- look closely at laptop screen). I llove these little babies!!

 

[Copa1934]

Well, I sure am enjoying these Realistic Minimus 7's that I just got from a thrift store yesterday -notice the price tag. Here's some pics I just took while giving them a little kitchen test (while on AK- look closely at laptop screen). I llove these little babies!!

And woodies no less. Nice! Hobart? Man you take your kitchen equipment pretty seriously eh? And a classic Osterizer. Vintage equipment all around, nice!

 

[drummergrl]

And woodies no less. Nice! Hobart? Man you take your kitchen equipment pretty seriously eh? And a classic Osterizer. Vintage equipment all around, nice!

Haha, I was a chef for 30 years.

 

[Copa1934]

Haha, I was a chef for 30 years.

Aint that the life, whip up something nice in the kitchen, go relax on the (couch, sofa, chair, recliner, take your pick) and enjoy some tunes! My father had two successful restaraunts in Hemet CA. I started cooking around 7 or 8? Can't recall anymore.