Radio Shack Optimus Pro- X33AV mini speaker review

I take a look at these 20 year old mini speakers.
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[@simplygame5530]

Nice to see a review of speakers from u John!

[@hightttech]

Really like that audio test setup. Love Snickers cameo appearance.

[@raymondheath7668]

I have the model #40-1361 that has surround sound and bass boost switch from around the same time period and about the same size. They sound very good to me

[@HumbleTrader001]

I have the Pro-X55AV with 5 inch woofers. The foam surrounds are still intact. I use them as computer speakers and audio monitors with a Sony subwoofer. The X55AVs are rated at 70 watts power handling.

[@noelj62]

My old 90's mini boombox had piezo tweeters that didn't do anything. It's mainly because the woofers simply were too bright. But they were good for the looks I guess.

[@RobertKohut]

Nice!!

[@travis4798]

These are extension speakers for a home theater setup, not entirely designed for music. We have the larger versions that are ported at the back, good bass for their size but of course the two front speakers are what is most important.

[@coolelectronics1759]

word. I have something very similar to this as my rear speaker in my small bedroom. Its made by jetsound and connected to a yamaha 5.1 amp. They still worked fine for a temporary mobile vinyl test rig setup once though

[@coolelectronics1759]

I just got 4 wireless speakers from this same brand. They all came with power supplies. Any idea if I need a special transmitter to use them and about how much it goes for on ebay? Plan on referbishing them and selling them. They come in a molded plastic cabinet, but appeare to have this same setup in them. Two of them have a rocker switch on the top, the other two are slightly different. Familiar with these?

[@MichaelBeeny]

Might be worth measuring that cap, might be a miss print. Could understand if it was 2.2ufd. Did look a reasonable tweeter, seamed very odd to add such a unit and then not use it. If it was not in use why put a cap of ANY type on it? I doubt that bass unit would go much higher than 8-9khz the surround was that of a bass only unit. I think with a little experiment with that cap would improve the sound quite a bit, starting WITH a 2.2ufd. Will not be the first time a manufacturer messed up. I found a screw driver in a loudspeaker once, stuck to the magnet. Been inside for 10 years!!

[@MarkTillotson]

You can see the value clearly in HD - "50V0.22µ" - its a _high_ pass filter with a rolloff at 90kHz, in other words is down 20dB by 9kHz, so its principally compensating for the tweeter being _much_ more efficient than the woofer, and assuming the woofer acts as a low-pass filter. Usually tweeters have more efficiency than woofers and often resistors are employed (L-pad) to attenuate the tweeter in a decent crossover network. However a single capacitor is a cheaper way to attenuate if you aren't aiming for a flat response... I suspect the tweeter is a horn-type, so perhaps >100dB sensitivity?

[@paulfisher4660]

i have the 44AV with soft domes.

[@MassimoTava]

Did that come with a free AOL CD?

[@1pcfred]

I'm listening to a Japanese manufactured pair of Minimus 7s right now. They're da bomb! But they don't have a real crossover in them. They only have a cap on the tweeter. I got the pair of them in a thrift store for $6. I use them as rear speakers in my PC's 5.1 surround sound. I've thought about putting crossovers in them. They're way better than the Sony speakers that came with the Blu Ray player I use as an amp. I got it at a yard sale for $10. With all the speakers, wire and the remote. I still use the sub and center channel speaker from all that. I have another pair of thrift store special speakers as my fronts. Audiosource 120s? Something like that. I have that Blu Ray hooked up with a Toslink optical cable to my PC. It's nice. That I had to buy separately. I'm never going back to sub mini jacks though.

[@JohnAudioTech]

I had the silver Minimus 7s many years ago. I though they used a crossover. Perhaps some versions did.

[@1pcfred]

@@JohnAudioTech Mine are black. Here is the back of one i.imgur.com/t2KPiKZ.jpg

[@kloug2006]

Oh, midrange generators !

[@steveone]

Maybe remove the .22 cap and try an alternative ?

[@CraftAero]

I have a pair of "vintage" RS Realistic Minimus 7W speakers (Japanese-made; 40-3029A made from 1985-1987). The "7W" model name is misleading as they are 40Watt max. Quite hefty for their size, I find them very warm and rich for near field listening. (8"h x 5"w x 4 1/4"d @ 4lb5oz/2Kg) I've never opened them up to see how they handled the Xover, but now I'm curious. Modding them seems to be popular among the audiofool community, claiming "obvious gains" by replacing the caps with "$audiophile grade$" caps. The grain-of-salt is taken when they also mention high$$ speaker wires. [rolleyes] IMO, replacing 35yr old electrolytics isn't a bad idea... spending $25/cap IS.

[@vaughntonkin539]

7W meant they are the wood veneer model

[@mikafoxx2717]

You should change the cap and see for yourself what they do. Film caps are ideal. These were made cheaply, so even new, that bidirectional electrolytic capacitor may not have been any good. Really, what they need is a real crossover. Listening to mine, the two drivers, stock, definitely do different things. If you cover up each driver and put your ear up to it, you can hear the difference.

[@JonathanGerardDias]

They have good mid tone, lack highs thou

[@CoolDudeClem]

Snickers sure likes to get his few seconds of fame! Those speakers could make fairly decent computer speakers if they had a built in amp, or even satellite speakers in a surround system.

[@1pcfred]

I use some Rat Shack Minimus 7s as my rear fills on my PC's surround sound. I like that they don't take up much room. They sound better than the Sony speakers that came with the Blu Ray player I use as an amp too. Those little Sony speakers sounded really thready and thin.

[@vaughntonkin539]

@@1pcfred Sony are well known for bad speakers

[@1pcfred]

@@vaughntonkin539 I still use the Sony center bar and sub. The satellites were really thin and tinny sounding to me though. Just weak with no presence. They worked but the sound was meh. Did not do it for me.

[@vaughntonkin539]

@@1pcfred never liked SB & subwoofer crap

[@1pcfred]

@@vaughntonkin539 I like 5.1 surround. My PC can do 7.1 but the amp I use can't. I don't even know where I'd put another pair of speakers really.

[@iceberg789]

sound was quite underwhelming. those 3" multimedia speakers these days, along with slight piezo tweeter touch and a simple inductor crossover make better sound effects.

[@sayantanmaiti2513]

Why sponge is stuffed inside the case??

[@iceberg789]

high frequency dampener.

[@sayantanmaiti2513]

@@iceberg789 Can you explain a little bit how does that damp high frequencies and is it a mandatory thing to be used while building speaker cases??

[@noelj62]

@@sayantanmaiti2513 I think it's more to avoid ringing at resonance frequencies of the box and the driver. To my knowledge, you can also use dampening foam when the cabinet volume is under estimated for the selected driver. I don't think they do much though when you have a bad cabinet material such as tough plastic.

[@MarkTillotson]

Make the enclosure effectively larger (extend the bass response by damping/spreading the sharp resonance of a woofer in a sealed enclosure), as well as reduce internal reflections at higher frequencies that will bounce around and re-emerge through the cone later (reverberation). Basically its an attempt to make the enclosure more like an infinite baffle.

[@dreamdiction]

You sound stoned.