realistic optimus t-200

allsmith

Super Member
I got a chance at a pair of these for a reasonable price, anybody like these? How would they compare to the 4029 mach ones? Anything to look out for except for foam rot and obvious blown driver's? I have two pair of 4029's but kinda lost interest in them since i got my Ads 1290's and d9 cerwin vegas. Would these compare to the d9's on a 150wpc Fisher receiver? Im thinking of replacing the d9's with a tower speaker and putting them into garage duty.the d9's just take up too much space for my living room and tower speakers would fit much nicer .any mods for the t-200 i could do? Thanks all
 
I have no experience with them, and have passed by a couple sets in thrift stores, but now I am told by others that they are considered excellent by some, so this may be. I wish I could say from personal experience, but I have none in this area. In general, I have been rather pleased with the Realistic speakers I do have, with the singular exception of my Mach Two's, which I detest.
 
The T-200s are excellent speakers! I think that they are the best sounding speakers that Radio Shack made. I really prefer them to the Mach series of speakers, especially if you listen to a wide variety of music and do not always listen at very high volume. The pair that I bought new back in the day have served me very well over all these years. This comes to you from someone that worked at RS for more than twenty-five years back in the "good old days of Radio Shack" (just don't blame me for what they have become these days - I left them nearly twenty years ago). They did need to have the foam surrounds replaced several years ago but it was a simple thing to do. Search AK for a lot of good information on them. If you like classic rock music they are sure to please! :music: :thmbsp:
 
Last edited:
I got a chance at a pair of these for a reasonable price, anybody like these? How would they compare to the 4029 mach ones? Anything to look out for except for foam rot and obvious blown driver's? I have two pair of 4029's but kinda lost interest in them since i got my Ads 1290's and d9 cerwin vegas. Would these compare to the d9's on a 150wpc Fisher receiver? Im thinking of replacing the d9's with a tower speaker and putting them into garage duty.the d9's just take up too much space for my living room and tower speakers would fit much nicer .any mods for the t-200 i could do? Thanks all
http://www.radioshackcatalogs.com/html/1979/h018.html

I seem to recall selling these at close out. They indeed were nice speakers. Definitely highly regarded among Shack enthusiasts. I don't personally own them, but have the T-110, T-120, Mach One (4024a and VL 4029), Mach Two and many other RS speakers. So far the VL Mach One's are my favorite (among RS speakers). Mach Two, were at a time my favorite and still have the most bang for buck in the bottom and high end. Where they suffer is the midrange, which I now believe is the fault of the lamp in the circuit. I plan to post more on this subject in the Mach Two thread after some more investigation and experimentation (have another set of xovers on the way for revamp).

I kind of doubt the T-200 would unseat your ADS or CV speakers, though for overall performance the T-200 is quite a well behaved speaker. You WILL have to redo the xover since RS was cheap on the networks but had excellent drivers for many years.
 
To all those that have the T200- I'd like to see the schematic of the crossover and perhaps someone skilled in determining the T200 drivers' characteristics for DIY'ers...

Having a couple pair of ported towers, I'm toying with the idea of building taller cabs and using passive radiators in lieu of the ports.

Back to the op, if you can land a decent pair of T200 for a decent price, by all means, don't let them get away.
 
I have never had the 200's, but I have had the 100's and the 120's, The 120's in my opinion sound much better than any of the Mach speakers.
So going by the way these speakers sound I am sure the 200's would be an excellent purchase.
 
Thanks all that replied! Yeah i may have to go check them out,i wouldnt mind having them.

I seem to recall selling these at close out. They indeed were nice speakers. Definitely highly regarded among Shack enthusiasts. I don't personally own them, but have the T-110, T-120, Mach One (4024a and VL 4029), Mach Two and many other RS speakers. So far the VL Mach One's are my favorite (among RS speakers). Mach Two, were at a time my favorite and still have the most bang for buck in the bottom and high end. Where they suffer is the midrange, which I now believe is the fault of the lamp in the circuit. I plan to post more on this subject in the Mach Two thread after some more investigation and experimentation (have another set of xovers on the way for revamp).

I kind of doubt the T-200 would unseat your ADS or CV speakers, though for overall performance the T-200 is quite a well behaved speaker. You WILL have to redo the xover since RS was cheap on the networks but had excellent drivers for many years.

Yeah Copa i started to mod my 4029's but then my ADS's came along and i sorta lost intrest in them.I need to get back on the project ! Did you drill the holes into the mid range horn area?Did you use polypropylene or just electrolytic caps? Also i recall you talking about how the replacement foams are too thick for the mach ones,and yeah i noticed that too,i got mine from simply speakers.I ordered 2 pair but only installed the one set,still have the other set to refoam.Did you find a source for better foams for them?

Also back to the t-200's ,So them came out in 1979,do you know how many yrs they made them? Is there any chance that the foam is still good on these 200's? I seem to think there is no way they would still be good unless somebody has refoamed them before. My mach's were new in 83-84 and the foam was gone on them by 1999.I texted the seller of the 200's today with questions about the foam,and of course no reply! Gotta love some CL people! Will see if i hear back from them tomorrow.
 
I've tried to restore 2 pairs of T-200's but had to abandon due to the condition of the cabs... The cabs are very well built and beautiful but the 2 candidates I tried to restore didn't turn out well, so I parted them out. My observations on the T-200. As cool as the tweeter looks, it's basically a cone tweeter with a horn assembly and the woofers are running straight input as well. With that being said, I've never heard a pair so they may actually be a good sounding speaker. If I found a clean candidate pair, I'd attempt another restoration. I did restore a pair of T-300's to mint, better than new condition. They sound much, much better than my restored Mach Ones (4024A).
 
Just scored a pair of T-200's! :banana:

Haven't got to listen to them much, but first imppression is: a smoother, warmer, fuller sound than any of my Machs. The Machs will take it a little lower into the basement, alright, and have the magnet power to crack plaster if you're not careful, but the T-200's beat them in every other aspect. They remind me of my Optimus 40's in their warmth and fullness. The highs are so much more delicate than the Mach's, the imaging is better, and the soundstage is projected rather spookily in front of them. I think the last part has to do with their height and narrowness.
 
Just scored a pair of T-200's! :banana:

Haven't got to listen to them much, but first imppression is: a smoother, warmer, fuller sound than any of my Machs. The Machs will take it a little lower into the basement, alright, and have the magnet power to crack plaster if you're not careful, but the T-200's beat them in every other aspect. They remind me of my Optimus 40's in their warmth and fullness. The highs are so much more delicate than the Mach's, the imaging is better, and the soundstage is projected rather spookily in front of them. I think the last part has to do with their height and narrowness.
I think what set them apart was better mid-bass response AND of course having the speakers closer to ear level. That really goes a long way in improving speaker performance. Of course they have really nice cabinets too. Only speaker I feel is missing from my ridiculous collection (4024a, 4029, 4032, T-110, T120, 7b, 5b.....infinitum)

Congrats. I guess doing caps and cleaning them up is all. Post images if you will, please.
 
I gave up on the pair i was interested in,as the seller wouldnt send me no good pics and she said one woofer was muffled,whatever that is but probably means it aint working! Her pics on line are so crappy,and dark but i enhanced them a bit and could see the bottom woofers were not original and the foam was bad on the others. I like how she says they sound exellent in her ad!! there still on mansfield ohio cl if anybody needs parts from them,she only wants 30 for them and still cant sell them!
 
I gave up on the pair i was interested in,as the seller wouldnt send me no good pics and she said one woofer was muffled,whatever that is but probably means it aint working! Her pics on line are so crappy,and dark but i enhanced them a bit and could see the bottom woofers were not original and the foam was bad on the others. I like how she says they sound exellent in her ad!! there still on mansfield ohio cl if anybody needs parts from them,she only wants 30 for them and still cant sell them!
I like your description of "Ohio". Good one.

Too bad I'm not near Ohio. For good cabinets I'd be game.
 
I like your description of "Ohio". Good one.

Too bad I'm not near Ohio. For good cabinets I'd be game.
Lol!! I've lived in Ohio my Whole life and never heard that saying till i went to a Tool concert in Columbus and Maynard came out and said that!! I was like What did he say!! LOL I thought it was something he made up but i looked online and i quess its a popular saying.Actually i think Maynard is from Ohio.
 
I think what set them apart was better mid-bass response AND of course having the speakers closer to ear level. That really goes a long way in improving speaker performance. Of course they have really nice cabinets too. Only speaker I feel is missing from my ridiculous collection (4024a, 4029, 4032, T-110, T120, 7b, 5b.....infinitum)

Congrats. I guess doing caps and cleaning them up is all. Post images if you will, please.


Ask, my friend, and you shall receive! :)

Vintage Realistic in the Man Cave, baby! :D

The pics really got mangled by the online resizing, sorry. :thumbsdn:

With my 4024's, STA-2000, STA-2300, and LAB-395. My 4024A's and 5000's are on the back wall, and my STA-2080 is on another cabinet on the side wall with my SA/ST/SCT-500 stuff.

picture.php

picture.php

picture.php
 
Last edited:
Very nice! I still have my original STA-2100D, LAB-400 turnrable, Mach 1's, and T-200's from when I was 17. I used to set them up for school sock hops, and graduation reunions every year until 2004. The T-200's compliment the Mach 1's well. :thmbsp:
 
Very nice! I still have my original STA-2100D, LAB-400 turnrable, Mach 1's, and T-200's from when I was 17. I used to set them up for school sock hops, and graduation reunions every year until 2004. The T-200's compliment the Mach 1's well. :thmbsp:

Thanks dude!

Just scored a second set of T-200's (the inside set below). They are so mint I nicknamed them my Time Machines, because they are as close as you'll ever get to 1979...

The other pair have a really smeary job of refoaming, and a lot of rough handling marks on the cabinets.

picture.php
 
Just picked up a set of T-200's getting ready to restore. Did you recap yours? Did you try different components, which work best? Thanks!!
 
Just picked up a set of T-200's getting ready to restore. Did you recap yours? Did you try different components, which work best? Thanks!!
Cool. If you use google and search t-200 or t200 and add audiokarma you will find a number of hits with some good info. Mostly people re-capped, but were drivers were missing or damaged they usually went for replacements. Let us know how it goes, one of my favorite, and yet to own, RS speakers.
 
Leave it to RS to have beautiful walnut cabs & looks!! When everybody else was selling utility cabs for more. Even their small cheap receivers & amps had walnut cabs! I hve severl versions on their Minimus speakers which always surprise me. 200's are very nice looking speakers. Rock ON!
 
The T-200s are excellent speakers! I think that they are the best sounding speakers that Radio Shack made. I really prefer them to the Mach series of speakers, especially if you listen to a wide variety of music and do not always listen at very high volume. The pair that I bought new back in the day have served me very well over all these years. This comes to you from someone that worked at RS for more than twenty-five years back in the "good old days of Radio Shack" (just don't blame me for what they have become these days - I left them nearly twenty years ago). They did need to have the foam surrounds replaced several years ago but it was a simple thing to do. Search AK for a lot of good information on them. If you like classic rock music they are sure to please! :music: :thmbsp:
Loved it when you all gave out free flashlights for Christmas...i used to wait for that Sunday paper with that coupon, and then i would go down with my dad on Monday and grab my flashlight...great memories!!!
 
Back
Top Bottom