Pairing A Realistic STA-120B

miltaryman

miltaryman

Active Member
After having given into an impulse and buying this Realistic STA-120B receiver, I would now like to pair it with some Radio Shack speakers. Would anyone have an educated opinion as to which ones might make the best match?
(Machs, Optimus(1b, 10's), Nova(8, 8b's), etc...?
Thanks !
 

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Attached is a link to the 1973 Radio Shack catalog, go to pages 28 & 29 and you'll see the speakers they suggest for your receiver model

www.radioshackcatalogs.com

1973 Radio Shack Catalog

Flip through the 1973 Radio Shack catalog containing vintage: transistor radios, stereo systems, walkie-talkies, amplifiers, tape players, headphones, CB radios, electronics, test equipment & more!
www.radioshackcatalogs.com
 
Dswankey said:
Attached is a link to the 1973 Radio Shack catalog, go to pages 28 & 29 and you'll see the speakers they suggest for your receiver model

www.radioshackcatalogs.com

1973 Radio Shack Catalog

Flip through the 1973 Radio Shack catalog containing vintage: transistor radios, stereo systems, walkie-talkies, amplifiers, tape players, headphones, CB radios, electronics, test equipment & more!
www.radioshackcatalogs.com
Click to expand...
very cool....
 
The Optimus 7's are too big, but if one were to judge based on their pricing one might assume that the Optimus-5s & Nova 9s were their premium candidates back in 73...
Now, the search to find some...
 

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Congrats on the beautiful receiver. I'm sure any will sound pretty good. Do you have limited space? Why do you say the 7's are too big? I have an STA 90 that I've fully restored and it sounds amazing with everything from the Mach1's down to the Minimus 7. Actually its hooked to the Minimus 7's now and they fill the room great. I've never heard the Optimus 7's but I know they are regarded as some of the best the Shack had to offer at the time. It sounds like you're looking for a catalog matched set, but when I hooked my STA 90 up to my pair of Polk Monitor 7 speakers I was blown away. That was a really good match, especially as the volume went up to about 4 or 5. That'll rattle the walls.
 
Nimbley said:
Congrats on the beautiful receiver. I'm sure any will sound pretty good. Do you have limited space? Why do you say the 7's are too big? I have an STA 90 that I've fully restored and it sounds amazing with everything from the Mach1's down to the Minimus 7. Actually its hooked to the Minimus 7's now and they fill the room great. I've never heard the Optimus 7's but I know they are regarded as some of the best the Shack had to offer at the time. It sounds like you're looking for a catalog matched set, but when I hooked my STA 90 up to my pair of Polk Monitor 7 speakers I was blown away. That was a really good match, especially as the volume went up to about 4 or 5. That'll rattle the walls.
Click to expand...
Haha, rattling the walls is one of my favorite hobbies. What timeframe are the Minimus? I have other stuff that's mixed & matched but for the realistic I just wanted to combine it with some RS speakers...and probably put some advertising sign on them for fun, like this I found on the bay...
1742622323880.png
 
The Nova 7B is a solid speaker and seems to have a lot of fans around here. I have a pair hanging in my garage. Decent frequency response and not too large. Came out in 1978.
 
While I'm partial to the Realistic silver front receivers, Like the STA 90 I bought new in 1977, This particular black one is really is beautiful too. It's 40 wpc and 4 ohm stability will drive just about any speaker built to very satisfying SPL's, Certainly anything Radio Shack sold.

I paired my STA 90 which was 45 wpc with a pair of Mach Ones. It looked great on paper and in my house. Really kicked A#$ for rock music played loud, However at lower SPL's there was something missing. Some might call it a lack of warmth or richness, so important at low to moderate volume. I like their larger Nova series, as well as their T series towers for main speakers. Their MC series speakers might make a fine choice for a second set.
 
Addendum to my post above. There were two "Nova" series speakers that Radio Schaak came out with in early 70's, I think 7's and 8's, which were exactly the same as the Optimus-1 and 5, with the exception of the lattice grill. They were probably branded "ARS" from the Allied Radio merger as they were introduced at that time.

The "B's" in both those series came out after my time working there, so would guess mid to late '70's. I never recall seeing them.

When the Optimus-1 was introduced in the late 60's (1968?), it was a replacement for the KLH-6, which was supposed to be their big selling point. 10" woofer and two 2 1/2" tweeters, not really the same, but about same size. When the Optimus-5 came out, it was its own thing. 12" woofer and three 2 1/2" tweeters (probably arranged as mids and highs, as there were pots on the back for adjustment). During my time there, the 5's were "top-of-the-heap."

The STA-120B, a nice receiver, was replaced by the STA-150 after a short while.
 
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Bill Ashton said:
Addendum to my post above. There were two "Nova" series speakers that Radio Schaak came out with in early 70's, I think 7's and 8's, which were exactly the same as the Optimus-1 and 5, with the exception of the lattice grill. They were probably branded "ARS" from the Allied Radio merger as they were introduced at that time.

The "B's" in both those series came out after my time working there, so would guess mid to late '70's. I never recall seeing them.

When the Optimus-1 was introduced in the late 60's (1968?), it was a replacement for the KLH-6, which was supposed to be their big selling point. 10" woofer and two 2 1/2" tweeters, not really the same, but about same size. When the Optimus-5 came out, it was its own thing. 12" woofer and three 2 1/2" tweeters (probably arranged as mids and highs, as there were pots on the back for adjustment). During my time there, the 5's were "top-of-the-heap."

The STA-120B, a nice receiver, was replaced by the STA-150 after a short while.
Click to expand...
Great info, you worked at a RS retail store?
This is what I found in the 73 RS catalog that Dswankey forwarded me:
1742770008508.png
 
charles 1973 said:
While I'm partial to the Realistic silver front receivers, Like the STA 90 I bought new in 1977, This particular black one is really is beautiful too. It's 40 wpc and 4 ohm stability will drive just about any speaker built to very satisfying SPL's, Certainly anything Radio Shack sold.

I paired my STA 90 which was 45 wpc with a pair of Mach Ones. It looked great on paper and in my house. Really kicked A#$ for rock music played loud, However at lower SPL's there was something missing. Some might call it a lack of warmth or richness, so important at low to moderate volume. I like their larger Nova series, as well as their T series towers for main speakers. Their MC series speakers might make a fine choice for a second set.
Click to expand...
My other receivers are silver faced because I too prefer the look, but the black face and blue tuner lights really spoke to me on this one, + it was only a smidge over $100, so I grabbed it here locally
 
Bill Ashton said:
There were two "Nova" series speakers that Radio Schaak came out with in early 70's, I think 7's and 8's, which were exactly the same as the Optimus-1 and 5, with the exception of the lattice grill.
Click to expand...
The Nova-7 was not exactly the same as the Optimus-1. The Nova-7 was a 3-way, the Opti-1 was a 2-way. When the B models came along, they were the same despite what the annual catalogs said.
 
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