Realistic System Eleven

I came across a Realistic System Eleven today that is from circa 1982. This system would have cost $520 back in the 80's. The catalog even showcased this system on the cover that year labeled as the "Dream System".

The system fires up but needs a good cleaning, the foams are in good condition.

This is the big brother of the System Seven that I had a few years back.

It consist of a pair of Minimus 11 speakers and the STA-111 Receiver rated at 30 watts per channel.

Pretty cool little system from Radio Shack in the final years of making some hip products.

The STA-111 receiver subsequently got a new volume pot, a good De-Oxit could not get the balance worked out.

Camber 2.5 Speakers

This wonderful pair of Camber 2.5 speakers showed up today, this is the second time have owned a pair of Camber speakers. The first pair was a set of Camber 3.5's prior to starting this blog. The bigger brother with 8" woofers.

Camber 2.5's are a 2 way speakers with an 6.5" woofer and a Vifa T-27D tweeter, these are built to rival perhaps Paradigm 7SE's, if not at least the 5Se in the early to mid 80's. They may even compete against the Mission speaker line during that time.

These speakers sound absolutely wonderful, the ported design compliments the 6.5" woofer as the bass is tight and full. In fact I am in awe at how much bass is coming from the diminutive woofer. The mid range is a little laid back but extremely smooth and the Vifa tweeters hit all the highs without any hints brashness, these Vifa tweeters are good.

The build quality of the cabinets and mid bass driver is outstanding. The Bextrene woofer has rubber surrounds that will last for years.

I am super excited to have these speakers again in the rotation as they look as good as they sound.

Any time Camber or Rega Camber speakers appear in a thrift store or Craigslist they are well worth picking up, they are that good.

These Camber speakers remind me of the Paradigm Control Monitors that graced my presence.

Re foaming speakers using the 50Hz method and a smart phone

I usually re foam woofer surround by removing the dust cap, shimming the voice coil and attaching new surrounds.

Springfield Speakers has a pretty good walk through on using your smart phone and your stereo to use the 50Hz. method. I recently used this method on a pair of Pioneer HPM-60's with great results.

NAD Model 30 Speakers

I just picked up a pair of NAD Model 30 speakers that had been lingering to long on a local classified site.

NAD made these speakers in Germany probably under contract with Braun/ADS/Canton/Magnet/Dual as they use the very familiar large dome mid range and tweeter, in fact the woofer is similar to the speakers mentioned above.

I am pretty excited to have these in the house and look forward to updating the listening sessions.

Update:

The sound of the NAD Model 30 speakers is very close to my reference speakers the Dual CL390's. They differ in two areas. The bass is much fuller due to the larger cabinet size, which I like and the mid range is not as forward but only slightly recessed.

Although I paid a premium for these speakers it was worth every dollar.

Pioneer HPM-60 Speakers first generation

I picked up these first generation Pioneer HPM-60 about a month ago and finally got around to sourcing the proper surrounds of Ebay and re foaming the one woofer. The other woofer already had been done.

This pair was in better condition than the second generation HPM-60's that I had earlier.

The build quality of these speakers seems to be better with superior bracing on the inside and a cross over that uses polyester film caps than the second generation HPM-60's. The second gen used electrolytic capacitors.

I added more filling to the internals of the speakers as there was sparse material there to start.

For some reason the fake vinyl veneer seems to peel off this generation of HPM's as I have seen other images of the speakers in the same beige colour. Otherwise these speakers are in pretty mint shape and still have their spec sheets attached to the rear of the speaker.

So how do they sound?

Typical HPM rock sound with tight deep bass, very smooth lower to mid mid range and a sound that puts you in front and center in a concert, a rock concert.

These speakers were designed to to compete against the likes of JBL and Altec Lansing in the mid 70's

How do I like them compared to the second generation HPM's? Aesthetically, I think they look way better than the 2nd gen's. The sound is the same, this pair is starting to grow on me.

PSB 50R 70R foam surrounds

I have a line on PSB 50R and 70R foam surrounds that I have used in the past. I am selling them for $20.00 a pair with free shipping. they can be found on Ebay or contact me directly to buy a pair. These are for the foam surrounds only, glue and shims can be household items, like white glue and business cards cut into small strips.

The measurement are as follows

A: inside edge 6"
B: inside edge roll start 6 7/16"
C: outside roll edge 7"
D: outside foam edge 8"

Here is a picture of a woofer when done.

Contact me at bankofdave@gmail.com

JBL 82 Speakers

I picked a few pairs of speakers recently a pair of Pioneer HPM-60's and a pair of JBL 82's.

The HPM-60's need a re foam job and will be featured in an upcoming post.

The JBL 82's was just a curiosity for me to listen to.

These JBL's seem to have been manufactured for the mass consumer market relying on there reputation in the bass department. The speakers did put out the typical JBL style bass from the 8 inch woofers, the tweeters were a soft dome tweeter with a titanium laminate coated on top.

So how did they sound? Deep in the bass region, sparkly highs and hollow in the mid range. These speakers were really not worth keeping in the collection and where moved along pretty quick.

These speakers appear on a regular basis in the used market and should not be over paid for.