Vintage Radio Shack/Realistic Speakers?

I remember the Minimus-2 very well, they sure surprised a lot of people who took the time to listen to them.....without prejudice.
 
I use a Realistic STA-64 receiver with Minimus 7's in my office hooked up to my Mac and I like it. I only paid $3.50 for the entire set-up at yard sales but I would have paid much more and still been happy with it.

As long as most people think Realistic is junk the prices will stay down... and I'll keep buying more.
 
I had the Nova 8B 12" woofer 2 midranges and another acting as a tweeter. The Optimus 5 has the same configuration but I never had the pleasure of listening to them, but they are highly regarded.

the main difference between the nova 8b & the optimus 5 besides furniture appointments, was the crossover
the Nova 8 crossed over lower from woofer to mid speakers, and the Optimus 5 had a higher crossover point, making it a little dryer .
The rock crowd seemed to go for the Optimus while the easy listening and classical crowd seem to flock to the Nova
Other than that they are identical .

Rob
 
I run orig. Mach 1s and nova 7bs in my main system I have swapped them out many times but they always come back i just like the way they sound better than any of the others I try. I should add Im stricky a classic rock and metal listener.
 
What about the minimus-1? Anyone ever own a set? I haven't been able to find out much about the 1's although I have read that the audio review magazines of the day seemed to favor them. I picked them up last week along with the Ohm's and the Realistic 20 watt amp at my local Goodwill 1/2 off sale. They need a little TLC but they work and sound pretty damn good. A re-cap and re-fin and I think they will be keepers.
 

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Optimus 5b's are rocking in my house right now. Hard to decide if I like them better than my Mission 770s's, or my Paradigm Titans.
 
I'm listening to my Mach 1's right now. I also have a set of Minimus 7's on this receiver. Even for such a tiny speaker, they really put out a full and pleasing sound. You can hear the bass, just can't feel it. It's nice to have a small speaker running late at night :)

Wish they still made these things :( (The Mach's that is, you can still buy these Minimus 7s)
 
I'm glad that this old thread has been revived a time or two, as somehow I missed it. I first read it last evening. I figured that I may as well post pics of my speakers as well.

Don't know how many of you have heard of the Optimus STS-1500 models with 15" woofers in the first photo, but here they are. They were first manufactured in 1996 and I believe were the last of the "big boy" speakers that Radio Shack produced. I've always been very pleased with these and have been my main speakers since purchased. Kind of wonder how these would compare next to the older Mach series, but have never heard the latter. I've seen these come up for sale on ebay a few times, so there must be a few out there, but nowhere near the number of Mach series that were sold. Even when I purchased them, seemed as if everyone was going toward the smaller tower speakers. Don't know when they stopped making them exactly, but am sure that this is why RS didn't offer any large speakers of this type afterwards.

In the second photo are two pairs of smaller speakers. The larger ones are Realistic Optimus-650's, which I bought in the late 80's. Please note that the woofers in these are not original, but still wanted to post the photo so you could see the layout. These used 10" woofers and are a very nice sounding speaker, although nowhere near the bass response of the 15" woofer models. The second smaller pair in the photo are some RCA bookshelfs. Cat no. 40-5014. These are from around the year 2000. They are very nice sounding for a bookshelf. They have a bass port located on the back of them.
 

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Thanks AAA-
 
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As someone else mentioned, I can't comment on their gear as much as their prices. Comparing watt for watt they were always more expensive than typical Pioneer, Kenwood, Technics, etc. Their product lines were MOTL or lower. They did have a few higher end products.

I loved their catalogs. If something was ON SALE it was comparable to other manufacturers offerings in price. I could not find many reviews on their gear either.

I owned some Minimus 7s, and they were a great low price compact speaker. They served in a Ground Round kitchen for 6 years.
 
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As someone else mentioned, I can't comment on their gear as much as their prices. Comparing watt for watt they were always more expensive than typical Pioneer, Kenwood, Technics, etc.

Can you provide examples of this? MSRP to MSRP, because that wasn't my experience.

Their product lines were MOTL or lower. They did have a few higher end products.

Same could be said for Pioneer, Kenwood, Technics, etc.

I loved their catalogs. If something was ON SALE it was comparable other manufacturers offerings in price.

Again, I'd say the reverse.

Could not find many reviews on their gear either.

Consumer Reports tested RS gear all the time, and liked it. Stereo and Hi-Fi didn't often test Realistic gear for the same reason they didn't test McIntosh... the manufacturer didn't play that game.

I owned some Minimus 7s, and they were a great low price compact speaker. They served in a Ground Round kitchen for 6 years.

The Minimus 7s were a great mini-speaker at a great price (low). My dealer's claims to the contrary, they were identical to the Audiosource LS-1s I bought for 3X as much as the Minimus 7s in 1982. The XO in the LS-1 was slightly different (but similar in design and quality), but other than that, they were clearly made by the same manufacturer.
 
What about the minimus-1? Anyone ever own a set? I haven't been able to find out much about the 1's although I have read that the audio review magazines of the day seemed to favor them. I picked them up last week along with the Ohm's and the Realistic 20 watt amp at my local Goodwill 1/2 off sale. They need a little TLC but they work and sound pretty damn good. A re-cap and re-fin and I think they will be keepers.

those Minimus 1's look suspiciously like the venerable Goodmas Maxim :yes:
 
I wonder if I should post the Mach 5000's I have here. I posted a little bit of info in another thread though. They don't seem to be too common a speaker. Even at that, I think they were only sold in Canada.

I have a pair of Realistic Mach 5000 speakers. They aren't branded Optimus. I have a feeling these speakers may have been a Canadian only speaker as they were made in Canada.

Realistic Mach 5000:

2 X Bullet Tweeters
1 X 5" Cone Midrange
1 X 15" Polypropylene Cone Woofer, Foam Surrounds

Cat Number: 40-8032

Frequency Response: 20Hz - 20kHz
Power Handling: 100 Watt RMS/160 Watt Peak
Efficiency: 91dB 1Watt/1Meter

Digital Ready, Auto Reset Breaker

Rear ported bass reflex design. Removable face grill. No controls for any drivers.

Pictures:

Nameplate on the front:


Compared to my Mach 1 (40-4024A)
 
I've always had a soft spot for the old Rat Shack stuff and grab it where I can. Of course everyone knows the Mach series, Minimus 7's (I own both) but another that seems to go under the radar are the Optimus T-120's. A friend in high school bought a set new and I've always been highly impressed by them.
 
Can you provide examples of this? MSRP to MSRP, because that wasn't my experience.



Same could be said for Pioneer, Kenwood, Technics, etc.



Again, I'd say the reverse.



Consumer Reports tested RS gear all the time, and liked it. Stereo and Hi-Fi didn't often test Realistic gear for the same reason they didn't test McIntosh... the manufacturer didn't play that game.



The Minimus 7s were a great mini-speaker at a great price (low). My dealer's claims to the contrary, they were identical to the Audiosource LS-1s I bought for 3X as much as the Minimus 7s in 1982. The XO in the LS-1 was slightly different (but similar in design and quality), but other than that, they were clearly made by the same manufacturer.

I agree with P.M. ........................ dollar for dollar with comparable products RS beat everybody else hands down.
 
Can you provide examples of this? MSRP to MSRP, because that wasn't my experience.



Same could be said for Pioneer, Kenwood, Technics, etc.



Again, I'd say the reverse.



Consumer Reports tested RS gear all the time, and liked it. Stereo and Hi-Fi didn't often test Realistic gear for the same reason they didn't test McIntosh... the manufacturer didn't play that game.



The Minimus 7s were a great mini-speaker at a great price (low). My dealer's claims to the contrary, they were identical to the Audiosource LS-1s I bought for 3X as much as the Minimus 7s in 1982. The XO in the LS-1 was slightly different (but similar in design and quality), but other than that, they were clearly made by the same manufacturer.

I used to look at the Circuit City, Audio Buys, Georges (appliance store) and Reliable Home Appliances ads in the Sunday Paper every week. These were SALE ads as I never bought gear that wasn't on sale.

In 1979 you could get a Pioneer SX-780 for $200 or less. I could give many examples, but for the money RS gear was more expensive (unless on sale)

Their gear seemed to be contracted out. There was a definite resemblance to other manufacturers gear. I followed prices very carefully. They probably did not move as much gear as Circuit City did in their heyday.

Being a military Dependant, I also got to shop at the PX. Rs definitely could not compete with them either.

Look through their catalogs, and compare watt for watt.

I am not saying their gear wasn't any good, but I trusted familiar brands that were almost always cheaper.
 
I worked at the Shack during in the late 80's early 90's. I've gotta admit, with the exception of the Minimus 7's I thought most of the audio equipment was crap. Maybe I missed the Shack's audio heyday?

-Dave
 
I worked at the Shack during in the late 80's early 90's. I've gotta admit, with the exception of the Minimus 7's I thought most of the audio equipment was crap. Maybe I missed the Shack's audio heyday?

-Dave
Your analysis is correct. "The good old days of Radio Shack" had expired by 1980. Not much has changed for the better since. :sigh:
 
I have worked for Radio Shack for 16 years and there are good bad and ugly just like any brand. I think the draw for many is the memories, memories of those "wish" catalogs. I know in my house there was the Sears, The Monkey Wards, JC Penny's and RS catalogs. And from December 26th to December 24th we all poured over them and dreamed about what Santa might bring, or what we could spend our Birthday/Lawn mowing/Newspaper/allowance/whatever money on. Shiny glossy pages filled with dreams and hopes. And the promise that if you had just the stereo, toys, or whatever, that you would be popular and everyone would like you. Yes there were some truly unique offerings, but for me, it was that shiny dream that I could never quite save up enough to afford before it was discontinued and replaced with a new shinier version. I suspect that is also part of the draw of the Silver faced 70's units is the sheen. Just don't get that with the flat black stuff later on. Mmmmmm shiny!
 

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