anything wrong with realistic

[gatorademan]

Dont see much about realistc here. Is there something wrong with that brand? I replaced my sansui speakers with a pair of optimus pro 4000 speakers and they rock. Im thinking about buying a realistic sta2000 reciever for 70 bucks is that a good buy.
I would like to know about anybodys exp with this brand I know its a radio shack brand but thats about it

[avguytx]

Try the search function in the forum. There are lots of articles and posts on the Realistic STA series receivers and on the various speakers.

Welcome to AK....

[Rock6x]

A real basic opinion? Vintage/older Realistic - yes.

Newer lightweight crap - no.

I'm not familiar w/the Optimus Pro (sounds like a Transformer character) but most of their newer speakers that I've heard suck. Some of their receivers & stuff are ok, though. The older stuff can compete w/the more popular brands.

[outshined]

I have a pair of Optimus 30 speakers in a bedroom system, 10" 2 way. Nice sound. Real walnut. Look nice. Bought new in '85 as temporaries. Still use them to this day, and they've held up beautifully.

[x_25]

They are not super high end but they are still good stuff. I have a Realistic STA-85 that served my dad since he bought it in '83. It was in a system continuously since then up until this summer when i switched it out of my system for an Onkyo amp. It was a reliable amp but it is starting to show its age.

[slow_jazz]

They made some very nice components in the 70's early 80's. They had to to compete. Look for some of their LAB turntables. Very well built...

[DENNYDOG]

I just bought myself a sweet little STA-2080. Its an early 80's digital receiver and is built very well. From the tuner info site these have excellent tuners along with quite a few other Realistic's and this one sounds damb nice too. Its not bad looking either.

106472

[MAXZ28]

I won't part with my T-100 speakers.....underrated, IMHO.

[Sir.Byrd]

In my opinion: YES GET THE RECEIVER!!!
I loved my STA-2080 but didn't know that I would never get anything better and sold it shortly after!!!

[Sir.Byrd]

I won't part with my T-100 speakers.....underrated, IMHO.

Seconded! But I did part with mine, but it was to a close friend who would appreciate them a lot more.

[MAXZ28]

Bravo, Sir.Byrd! :thmbsp: Stereoholic now has my first pair, but only after I found my second set.

[zenith2134]

Got some Realistic APM200 external power meters which work great. Realistic made good receviers IME. i owned the lowly STA-16 and STA-40 and both were good for their 1.5wpc and 16wpc ratings, respectively.

[kydog]

Dont see much about realistc here. Is there something wrong with that brand? I replaced my sansui speakers with a pair of optimus pro 4000 speakers and they rock. Im thinking about buying a realistic sta2000 reciever for 70 bucks is that a good buy.
I would like to know about anybodys exp with this brand I know its a radio shack brand but thats about it
The 70's gear was pretty good. The Minimus 7's & 7w's are great little speakers:music: I have the Lab Turntable and yes it's built well. Almost let it go until I researched it:yes:

[Chazb11]

Every once in awhile Realistic offered something that was an outstanding value. For the most part they were on par with most of the other stuff available in the same era.
My personal view is that Lafayette gear was a cut above what the shack had to offer, again, with some exceptions, like the Minimus 7 speaker.

I'm referring to vintage stuff of course.

[gkimeng]

Dont see much about realistc here. Is there something wrong with that brand? I replaced my sansui speakers with a pair of optimus pro 4000 speakers and they rock. Im thinking about buying a realistic sta2000 reciever for 70 bucks is that a good buy.
I would like to know about anybodys exp with this brand I know its a radio shack brand but thats about it


I worked for Radio Shack in the 70's and had occaision to open up a lot of their stereo gear. Generally, the quality of Realistic audio of the 70's to mid 80's runs from Soundesign/Lloyd's crap at the bottom of the product line to about the midrange of the major manufacturers' of the period (Pioneer, Kenwood, etc.), and nowhere near the level of higher-end brands like Marantz, Sansui or Harman Kardon. In the late 80's, RS went down the tubes in quality along with the big boys and never came back, which is why the brand gets so little respect today compared to brands like Marantz that eventually redeemed themselves or Sansui that went down fighting the good fight. If you're interested in something with the Realistic brand on it, try to research the year it was made, and if it was one of the top two or three models in the line it should be fairly respectable and reliable.

STA-2000 was a mid-late-70's Pioneer clone. Many people thought it was actually made by Pioneer because some of its components are stamped "Pioneer," but companies like Pioneer, Hitachi and Trio/Kenwood sold components to other manufacturers all the time. Most RS receivers during this period came either from the factories that manufactured Sherwood, Hitachi or Foster/Fostex products, but don't confuse the factory facility with the design. Even if it used the same chassis or even faceplates, it was spec'd for RS and possibly even designed by them.

Here are the specs. They're not bad at all.

http://support.radioshack.com/support_audio/doc19/19837.htm

[jsarsfield]

I have a STA-78 and it's a very nice little amp very warm sounding and the looks are top notch too ... it's black with the really bright white lamps for the tuner quite a looker in my opinion paid 7.99 at GW

[dBfreak]

Remember the Realistic Mach One speakers? A real classic!

[vintaggeman]

i wasnt a big realistic fan untill i got a sta 2300 receiver on craigslist few months ago. not the best , but for the price its a steal. after that, i got some speakers, mach 3 for free ( 2325fan )
mach one and sta 2390 receiver for $20
today i went out for a bike ride and i spot an yard saLE with a bunch of speakers. got a set of mach 2's , optimus t 25 and to finish a yamaha r700 receiver all for $25. what i can do to avoid this? life is good :D

[Rock6x]

Remember the Realistic Mach One speakers? A real classic!

Ya mean these? Just happened to see 'em on CL today.

http://images.craigslist.org/01011001040101160020080824f350782449ab93c9e000408f .jpg

http://images.craigslist.org/01010401041201161420080824ed60934f56c392d61e00c5e6 .jpg

They weren't "cheap" IMO either. :no:

[dBfreak]

Yep, that's them!

[caddisgeek]

I have a realistic sta-95 and it is a very competent performer

[MisterFishey]

A STA-47 receiver, and the only fault in its 34 years of operation was a burned out lamp! That's what I call reliability. Can get much louder than the 16 WPC would lead you to believe. Nice walnut case, too. The matching speakers stink, but you can't win them all. :yes:

[PlanetZany]

Hi all,
Sorry for venturing off the same subject here for a moment, but at the risk of sounding a complete clod, I thought I would enlist the help of anyone knowledgeable in these forums in the subject of step down transformers. I was thinking of buying a Marantz 2270 from a USA dealer. I'd be so grateful if anyone here might give me a guideline as to which step up transformer I would need to buy to enable me to use it in the UK? The only other transformer available to buy is the second one below, which doesn't give ampage.
I may also wish to run more than one Marantz receiver. I have no idea of the ampage or wattage though!
_______________________________________
HEAVY DUTY 240V TO 110V CONVERTER FOR LARGER LOADS
STEP DOWN TRANSFORMER
1000 watts, 8.30 Amps
1500 watts 12.5 Amps
2000 watts 16.6 Amps
3000 watts 25 Amps
_______________________________________
240V TO 110V CONVERTER 100 TO 300 WATTS
STEP DOWN TRANSFORMER
300 watts
500 watts

So grateful for any help anyone can give here.
From a very "novice" novice! http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/images/icons/icon11.gif

[jdandy]

Most Realistic electronics considered vintage (25+ year old or more) were manufactured by many of the major electronics companies in Japan. Often the value of their stereo products exceeded the cost of purchase. They were well engineered and constructed. The same was true with their shortwave radios, which still have a strong following today. Unfortunately, cost savings measures were institued by the bean counters in the 90's, continuing through today, that saw quality fall victim to profit.

[Rock6x]

Can anyone comment on model # MC 1000 speakers from late 60s early 70s? Any good? They look like 2-ways from the pictures.

[yosl]

Most Realistic electronics considered vintage (25+ year old or more) were manufactured by many of the major electronics companies in Japan. Often the value of their stereo products exceeded the cost of purchase. They were well engineered and constructed. The same was true with their shortwave radios, which still have a strong following today. Unfortunately, cost savings measures were institued by the bean counters in the 90's, continuing through today, that saw quality fall victim to profit.

Very true, this is a discussion that's been held here before with the same general conclusion; Realistic just doesn't get any respect.

[melofelo]

don't know much about the realistic brand except i was given a pair of their add-on supertweeters.. model 40-1310A back in '86...
when coupled to any decent, modern, low budget speakers .. they add a lovely crispness and bite to the upper treble that i can't live without these days...very 80's sounding... in fact i find them almost essential when listening to music from that era... :yes:

[ybaolywa]

I've got a few of the receivers (the STA-2000 is killer), a pair of the the Mach Ones & Nova speakers. All have particular performance & sound values that keeps me from letting them go.

[Axcel]

Got a pair of Mach 1's a mint Sta 2200 ( sweet receiver imo) and a Sta 90 oh ya bought and sold a Sta 2100 ( dumb) really like there stuff and really don't care about the RS stigma or opinions

[AnalogDigit]

I bought a STA 2100 receiver recently at a thrift. It is a great sounding receiver. Most of their gear was very good until the mid-80's.

[Rybeam]

Among my circle of teenage "stereophiles" in the '70's, Radio Shack was for parts and Realistic stereos were for weenies. I have come to realize that Realistic supplied a quality product for the price back then, and continue to offer that today as vintage units. That said, I would not use a Realistic componet in a serious system, old stigmas die hard. IMO

[Rybeam]

To mitigate the flames I want to point out my computer set-up uses a Realistic SCP-32 Dolby play back only cassette deck hooked to a Marantz running a pair of Realistic Solo-103 with a sub. I also have a STA-xxx , 70-80 watt receiver with the four meters in the stash, that needs a bit of work. So don't get me wrong Radio Shack marketed some fine, useful and unique products back in the hay day.