Optimus 1000 speakers

m4rz

Well-Known Member
Does anyone know anything about the Optimus 1000 speakers? They certainly don't look like the Mach1's or 2's but they do have the 15" woofers? I have not seen or heard any of the optimus line, but I was curious.
 
Response: 50 hz - 20000 hz.
System resonance: 60 hz
Efficiency: 92 db/w/m

Sounds like they play loud but not low. Certainly not as deep in the bass as the Mach 1 or Mach 2.
 
I am afraid that they were from the kabuki period that Radio Shack and much of the rest of the audio market was going through at the time. The Optimus 1000 speakers were taken from the pseudo-rack system, the "System 1000", and sold separately. Unfortunately they did not have the build quality that the other "Optimus" speakers that came before them had. Using the "Optimus" name on that series of equipment was the beginning of the end for what Radio Shack private labeled equipment ultimately became - extinct. I think doing that really watered down the Optimus name. They should have taken it in the opposite direction. Things could be very different for them today if they had. They just wouldn't listen. (Uh-oh, I feel another rant coming! :rant: :gigglemad :rant: I'll stop now!:bash:)

Now, having said all that, as I recall they sounded OK but not the same as one might expect from a scaled down version of the Mach 1 or Mach 2 speakers. They were large, very light weight vinyl covered cabinets. If you found a pair in decent shape and the price is right you might give them a try. If you had the chance to A/B compare them with Mach 2 speakers I would expect to hear a noticeable difference. Of course, they were less expensive.
 

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Looks like I will be holding out for a pair of Mach 1 or 2's

Thanks for the information
 
Looks like I will be holding out for a pair of Mach 1 or 2's

Thanks for the information

Good man!! I recently got some Mach II's. Just finished refoaming them, and am half-way through re-capping them(lots of caps). You'll be glad you waited.
 
I would look for Optimus 9's if I was going for old Realistic speakers. They were the model before the Mach series..

Mach 1and 2's have so much cabinet resonace, you can almost see them vibrating!
Any good speaker requires, especially with a 15" woofer, a cabinet volume, and rigidity to provide uncolored bass. These cabinets are way too light weight, to small of volume, and under dampned to provide realistic bass response. There is no real bass response below 60-55hz, and it drops like a rock. R.S. made up for it with a emphasised mid bass hump. along with using the cabinet resonace to make them sound like they have deep bass.
Put them next to, say for example a Large Advent, and you will know what I mean. There is no real comparison.
I don't mean to be a downer, but every one of these I have heard (too many to count over the years), is best served as a 'disco' speaker at best.
 
So it would appear that I will stick to my large advents, and potentially a stack of 'em as my rock speakers :)

Thanks for all the advice.
 
Mach 1and 2's have so much cabinet resonace, you can almost see them vibrating!
Any good speaker requires, especially with a 15" woofer, a cabinet volume, and rigidity to provide uncolored bass. These cabinets are way too light weight, to small of volume, and under dampned to provide realistic bass response. There is no real bass response below 60-55hz, and it drops like a rock. R.S. made up for it with a emphasised mid bass hump. along with using the cabinet resonace to make them sound like they have deep bass.
Put them next to, say for example a Large Advent, and you will know what I mean. There is no real comparison.
I don't mean to be a downer, but every one of these I have heard (too many to count over the years), is best served as a 'disco' speaker at best.
I agree. I added 6 internal 3/4 in. mdf braces to each of my Mach II's, along with some thick, rubberized damping material(door mats). Add that to recapping with metalized poly caps, and you end up with a much improved speaker. Other possibilities include tinkering with port size. I don't intend increasing box volume as that would destroy the authenticity of the speaker.
 
I agree. I added 6 internal 3/4 in. mdf braces to each of my Mach II's, along with some thick, rubberized damping material(door mats). Add that to recapping with metalized poly caps, and you end up with a much improved speaker. Other possibilities include tinkering with port size. I don't intend increasing box volume as that would destroy the authenticity of the speaker.

Wow!, good job!
 
So it would appear that I will stick to my large advents, and potentially a stack of 'em as my rock speakers :)

Thanks for all the advice.

Sure why not! I have never heard these before, but it sounds interesting. I saw a pair (I mean 2 pairs!) on Ebay recently. I replaced my tweeters long ago in my Large Advents with Advent Domes ( a complete bolt in) that Jensen International recommened in the very early 90's. Boy they can rock now, much more balanced high end response vs low end, with out fear of buring the tweeter out. I can drive them with my PA-2400 (peak 600 watts per) and they sing!!
Two pairs of them might just make knock a wall over:thmbsp:!!
 
hmm....can you still get those tweeters? I would be interested in doing that as well. Any other changes needed when you replace the tweets?
 
hmm....can you still get those tweeters? I would be interested in doing that as well. Any other changes needed when you replace the tweets?

Simply Speakers sells replacement tweeters for the Large Advents, they are the same as mine. They were out of a large 2 way that was basically a modern version of the Large Advent, don't recall that model #.
They aren't cheap, at $69 ea, but in my experience are well worth it.
You don't have to change any thing electronically, and they bolt right in, with the same gasket.
I haven't recapped mine, since they still sound fine, maybe in the future.
 
Those aren't the only big RS speakers. There's the Optimus 7, Optimus 9, and the not-well-known and rare Nova 9.
 
Does anyone know anything about the Optimus 1000 speakers? They certainly don't look like the Mach1's or 2's but they do have the 15" woofers? I have not seen or heard any of the optimus line, but I was curious.
I too have listened to and owned a wide variety of speakers. My most recent acquisitions include JBL L3's, L88's, Advent1's, various Optimus vintage speakers and of course my Mach One's. This past weekend I picked up a set of 4029 (third gen) Mach One's which will get the full VL treatment.

While I totally agree on cabinet volume I don't agree on build quality (though my Mach Two's I believe were not as stout as my One's). Compared to my L88's, which are very close in size and have a woofer designed to compete with 15" drivers, the Mach One is more solidly constructed (thicker sheets of comp board all around, the Mid chamber bottom adds strength to the cab just above the woofer. I've run mine loud enough to be unbearable and feel very little vibration coming from the cabinet. Let's not forget, this is a SEALED design, so comparing to bass reflex is not fair by any stretch of the imagination.

In spite of (perceived) inferior design the only speakers I own that are more well rounded are my VC Haydns. My L3's are quite impressive too. As for bottom end (Mach One's), I have no problem rattling windows, floors or just about anything else that isn't securely fastened.

This of course comes from a significant amount of listening time with them and many other speakers, not just some casual listening. If I went by casual listening I would never have kept my L3's. I gave the L3's adequate "break in" time and time for me to acclimatize to them. Once that happened they replaced my Mach's in my HT system. Only issue thus far is they can't handle the same dynamics as well as the Mach's, but they blend well with the other speakers in the HT system. The problem with the Mach's is directly attributable to deterioration of the components in the Mid driver which causes the driver to become harsh, particularly at higher volumes. The few issues with performance are easily and cheaply corrected with the VL mods.

There are those of us who have experience with many brands and models of speakers, and the reason so many of us recommend Mach One's has less to do with performance and more to do with availability. Yes there are other speakers out there that are better, none of which I've personally owned or had the opportunity to own, however coming across them, let alone at an affordable price, just doesn't happen in every town across the USA. If it did the thousands of members on AK would bore the tears off each other with the same "great finds". As it is, we don't really see that many posts of such spectacular finds. Mach One's are a lot of bang for the buck. Cheap mans Klipsch? The only Klipsch I've seen for sale were 50 miles away, were corner horns and were listed for $6k. I don't have that kind of change.
 
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