The Realistic Nova 7B: Better Than Okay!

This is a quick tour of the Realistic Nova 7B 3 Way Speaker from the mid 70's. Realistic was the house brand of Radio Shack.
Audio Thrift is a channel dedicated to encouraging newbies to explore the world of vintage hifi by presenting unusual pieces of second hand stereo equipment from various thrift stores and estate sales.
Mean comments will be immediately deleted. And for those wondering about the inferior audio quality and edit of this video over the others... this video was edited at 3am at the last second. I'm sorry. I'm aware of how it sounds.

[@AudioThrift]

BEFORE YOU COMMENT: I know the sound is bad. I filmed and edited this at the last second.

[@todstiles4326]

Great score on your Nova-7Bs! They look fabulous. Note that they are not 3-Way, but actually 2-Way speakers. Earlier Nova-7 (no "B") is a true 3-Way. Its two upper frequency drivers' cones look alike but they have different part numbers. They're fed by separate filters with individual "Midrange" and "High Freq." rotary level controls. Your Nova-7B 16Ω mid/tweeters both have the same 0705Ae part number, are wired in parallel to each other and fed by the same high pass filter with a single switched level control (see 5:45 and 6:03). They work in tandem producing the exact same frequency bandwidth. Ironically Radio Shack contributed to the confusion. Nova-7B was introduced in the '75 catalogue with "3-Way" description lifted from the prior model. Marketing finally got the memo after 3 years and made corrections for the 1978 and 1979 catalogue listings.

[@AudioThrift]

Yeah, I based my description on their description. It's interesting that the marketing team missed such a critical detail and nobody from the engineering department was immediately calling and yelling at them about it. lol

[@velocity860]

I've got a pair of Nova 8b's that I bought probably 6 or 7 years ago from a vintage audio repair store and they kick ass, still. Never got around to re-capping them like I was planning and yet honestly I haven't felt the need to, they sound fantastic all through the range, and they have good enough bass where you don't even need a subwoofer, really. Fantastic speakers, especially for the price, and they match with my also 70s Realistic Minumus 7W bookshelf speakers that I use at my computer. 70s Realistic stuff is really the best kept secret in vintage audio.

[@AudioThrift]

Yeah man, I am amazed how solid their stuff is. I'm not gonna claim they're the best audio quality on the market but you could drop 'em off a building and they'd still work. Bulletproof.

[@richkurtz6053]

I bought a pair of Nova 7B's when I was a manager at Radio shack in the 70's. I used them for many years. They are great speakers for easy listening music, not for hard rock. When Quadrophonic came out (yes I'm that old), I bought 2 Realistic Mach One's and the 7B's went to the rear channels. My 7B's were stolen in a burglary at my apartment. They left the Mach Ones. I guess they were too bulky. They also got the Marantz Quad receiver. All Radio Shack speakers were good values, my favorites (I have 6 pairs) are the Minimus 7's.

[@AudioThrift]

Yeah, you know I hear the Minimus is a pretty great speaker.

[@CivilDefenceCanada]

Love your channel sir. Your aesthetic is great! I'm using my dad's old, tall, wood grained "Soma" brand speakers, which I think were a Canadian manufacturer. Stuff is as old as I am, so 40-ish years old. My intro to music was one these speakers. Thank you for sharing!

[@AudioThrift]

Thank you. I appreciate that. It's fun to have a connection to early days with stuff you use now.

[@cdw4255]

the texture is likely to stiffen the cone and help with breakup. Also to perhaps add a bit of mass effectively lowering the Fs and raising the Qts a bit.

[@AudioThrift]

Can you elaborate on F's and Qt's?

[@MrFlemmingjensen]

Exactly . Just my words :)

[@ShazeemKhan]

Fs. This parameter is the free-air resonant frequency of a speaker. Simply stated, it is the point at which the weight of the moving parts of the speaker becomes balanced with the force of the speaker suspension when in motion. Qms, Qes, and Qts are measurements related to the control of a transducer's suspension when it reaches the resonant frequency (Fs). The suspension must prevent any lateral motion that might allow the voice coil and pole to touch (this would destroy the loudspeaker). The suspension must also act like a shock absorber. Qms is a measurement of the control coming from the speaker's mechanical suspension system (the surround and spider). View these components like springs. Qes is a measurement of the control coming from the speaker's electrical suspension system (the voice coil and magnet). Opposing forces from the mechanical and electrical suspensions act to absorb shock. Qts is called the 'Total Q' of the driver and is derived from an equation where Qes is multiplied by Qms and the result is divided by the sum of the same.

[@TorontoJon]

LIKE number 3 which I did with glee. Paying only $4 for those Realistic Nova 7B's is amazing! :)

[@AudioThrift]

Hey, that rhymes!

[@TorontoJon]

@@AudioThrift, yeah, it's one of my rhyming catchphrases I often use on KZbin. Another one is "LIKE number 5 and that's no jive" or "LIKE number 6 and learning new tricks", etc. Haha! :)

[@MattDealy]

Just found your channel from an unrelated google search. I love finding channels in this niche with similar size! I love what you're doing!

[@AudioThrift]

Thank you! I appreciate that!

[@MattDealy]

You're most welcome! I just restored a pair of these Nova 7Bs for a friends office setup who is getting into HiFi and he loves them! $4 is an absolute steal!@@AudioThrift

[@AudioThrift]

That's awesome to hear. The deals I run across here in the desert are... just insane.

[@jamespowers8826]

These are great speakers. I have a pair here that I've been using every day since the 1970's. Love them.

[@fido139]

I modified my Nova 6B's to be three way with new crossovers, and ditched the fiberglass for pillow stuffing. They sound superb!

[@AudioThrift]

Nice! I really need to pick up a box of Poly-fil with as many speakers as I've been getting...

[@pervertedalchemist9944]

I came across these almost a decade ago. I gave them to my uncle alongside a Pioneer SX-3600 for his new place at the time.

[@AudioThrift]

That's a cool gift!

[@RonaldSariano]

I have a pair of Nova 8b speakers. I use them as garage speakers, and they're pretty good. I've left them as is for now. These have the 12-inch woofer and three tweeters. I believe the bottom two are mid range and the top is the highs.

[@richardthomas3056]

My vintage speakers were built in the early 1970’s in Silver Spring, MD - about 30 minutes from my house. They are Ezekiel Model 2, a three-way speaker built by Loudspeaker Design Corp. I picked them up at an estate sale about six years ago for $15.

[@AudioThrift]

Fifteen bucks. Nice! Gotta love a good deal. :)

[@butchklapper8194]

I'm running a pair of OP5"s big brother to the Nova 7's 12 inch woofers 2 midrange and a tweeter. Run them with my Realistic 2100D. Bought them brand new, and will stack them up with comparable speakers.

[@AudioThrift]

Nice. I have to say, I like Realistic stuff. As I tell everyone, they haven't done me dirty yet.

[@t00lshack]

I love a lot of the Nova series, they always clean up real nice and are great speakers for someone to jump into vintage gear. I used to flip a bunch of gear I picked up from the same places you do. I would always match up a receiver/turntable/speakers and sell them on facebook/CL. Nova speakers were one of my favs to use because they would clean up so well. A little Howards Feed-n-wax rubbed in with some steel wool would make them shine. Sound was always good for a first system. All that flipped helped pay for a awesome record collection.

[@AudioThrift]

Ooh... I'll look into that Howard's stuff.

[@ericbachmann8037]

Awesome video ! My main speakers are a Pair of Polk Audio SDA-1C’s (original owner) I recently Acquired a Pair of JBL L-150’s. A Pair of Polk Audio Monitor 70ii for home theater. With CS10 center and TSi100 surrounds. 5.1 system with PSW505 powered sub. A friend back in the early 80’s had a Pair of Pioneers that looked like those. Powering those was a 60wpc Pioneer receiver. Not sure what model number it was. HE, eventually got a Pioneer SX-1980 to power JBL L-112’s. Was my first exposure to good audio components. I’ve been hooked ever since.

[@crhubbz]

I just picked up a pr today from a thrift store. Totally surprised with their sound. Eventually I'll recap but for now just giving the cabinets a.cleaning and polish.

[@stephenmorrissey1254]

Dude! You're almost at 1k Subs. Very nicely done.

[@AudioThrift]

Thanks! I'm stoked!!

[@terrybeavan4264]

Nice, for $4 in that condition that's great! Just looking at that setup brings back the memories, takes me back to my high school days, I never had a set myself but two friends each had the "little brother" to this speaker, the 2 way with 8" woofer, one of them having a setup with a nearly identical looking Realistic receiver, but a few years older and only tuned FM--I really had to do a double-take seeing that receiver and speaker setup! From what I remember they weren't the greatest for detail nor the most efficient but still sounded great and being acoustic suspension the bass was tight and DEEP, you could feel it as well as hear it! Wanted a set of these back then but only found one pair for sale used and it slipped through my fingers. In 1989 after a lot of looking and listening I finally bought a set of then-new KEF C55's which for $800 were a LOT of money for me at the time, but I still have them and love them!

[@AudioThrift]

Oh nice. I have a pair of KEF's that have some loose wires, which will be a video eventually. It's cool yours still work.

[@jameslaidler2152]

The blue haired lady at the front desk just looking on impassively as you're clapping for echos really sent me. Watched your little montage 3 times.😂 Anyway, there isn't much you couldn't do to these. Seen people really go ham with the crossovers in these and similar Realistic/Optimus speaker sets. I don't know if you're familiar, their Optimus Minimus line were die cast aluminium boxes with a 4 1/2 inch driver, with a 1 inch honest to God silk dome tweeter, with an absolutely massive magnet on the back of it. So if you aren't already, be on the lookout for those little gems. If you really wanted, a pair of those tweeters would go well alongside the midrange/tweeters in your Novas.

[@AudioThrift]

Thank you. She's our piercer. You know, I think I actually see those little Minimus speakers once in a while. I'll grab them next time I see them.

[@jameslaidler2152]

@@AudioThrift Do! They are considered to be a surprisingly high quality little speaker not many people realised were pretty good. Also, I'll let you have fun sorting put the slightly different models which had a vent out the back and not. They all came in standard black/grey, white, and even a painted wood grain ala your grandma's 1987 Buick Roadmaster. In the early to mid 90's they made a slightly larger model using a 5 1/2 inch driver with a foam instead of rubber surround (WHY!?) and a dipole dual mylar ribbon tweeter, as well as a small dual midbass woofer tower using the same tweeter.

[@thebottomband]

My first multi-track recordings were done on a defective Archer mono tape recorder

[@1974UTuber]

It's quite possible that the components on the crossover are not functioning as intended so the switch may not be as effective as it was from new. Really nice find, I used to have a pair of these in the 80's and they were brilliant

[@ShazeemKhan]

Nice speakers mate! Great price. I run a pair of Dahlquist DQ12 on my main rig & use a passive Image Dynamics ID12 for sub duties. Greetings from Trinidad

[@AudioThrift]

Thank you!! I bet that sounds great!

[@thomasarmbruster1743]

I have some pretty good desktop speakers and the difference in the switch positions was pretty apparent, so gudonya there. I still have 3 or 4 pairs of Realistic Minimus 7's Adda small sub to those and you have a pretty doggone hi-fi system for a smaller room.

[@montag4516]

Helpful video 👍 I have a pair of the 7B siblings, the similarly styled model 8B speakers, in fine working and physical condition. These 8B have two e.q. switches on the back of each cabinet. So, should I expect to find two capacitors inside? I've been wanting to recap these for awhile now simply to freshen them up closer to original sound and specs. Either way, this video was a good motivation for me to put these back to better use.

[@AudioThrift]

I'll be honest, I don't know the answer to that. But switching them out should still be really easy even if it's two instead of just one like the 7B. Good luck!

[@montag4516]

Yes, I've since watched a video on the 8B. It appears to actually have three capacitors for it's crossover. Routine task for me to swap them out, was just trying to verify what values/how many I would need before going inside. Thanks.

[@Slane583]

I am running a pair of early model vintage Pioneer CS-53's that I bought from a thrift store a few years ago for $40 for the pair. They are being powered by a Pioneer VSX-D466S Dolby Surround receiver from 1997 that I also bought from a local thrift store. I got it in a package deal that came with a basic Sony branded dual cassette deck, a Pioneer PD-F906 101-cd capacity carrousel cd deck and a Pioneer PL-570 turntable for about $100 for everything. It even came with the Pioneer branded component cabinet but it's a bit rickety since it's just made of particleboard. Otherwise it's all there, I just have it stored in a building outside as I have no space to set it up in my room. I originally just bought the package deal for the cd deck but I've been getting more use out of the receiver than anything. I just don't have the space to hook up the rest of the system components. It may not be a valuable sought after piece but it's not often you see a carrousel cd deck that holds 101 cd's anymore. :)

[@louielegs5978]

I've had these speakers for years and I had no idea there was a jack on the black knob between the wire input in the back. I always had issues especially with moving them around to better spots in my place, and the wires lose connection easily and its hard to get it back to the sweet spot sometimes. Is there a drop in quality of sound/other issues with using the RCA jack compared to the 2 wire inputs? I haven't used my speakers in so long because I cannot get the sound to stay without adjusting them frequently.

[@AudioThrift]

I, myself, did not notice a difference in the sound quality between the two but I am also partially deaf in one ear so I'm probably not the best judge.

[@louielegs5978]

@@AudioThrift OK great! What kind of adapters and/or cables would I need to run this with a kenwood kr-4070? I would need one cable per speaker correct?

[@AudioThrift]

I actually use a couple of modified RCA tattoo machine cables that I bought from our supply wholesaler and chopped one end off to turn into speaker cables. They're effective but kind of overkill. You can easily solder an RCA plug onto some decent speaker wire and use that. Or any old speaker wire should work with the terminals on both. Might be worth opening the speakers and checking the solder joints because it sounds like you might have a loose connection on one of the terminals.

[@tjtreinen7381]

Nice that the surrounds are rubber, instead of foam. I had to refoam my Infinity Concerto tower speakers. Not a big deal, but it would have been nice if they hadn't rotted

[@Bob_C]

I purchased a pair of Pioneer CS-66E 40 watt, 8 ohm speakers in 1971 at the Navy Exchange in Yokosuka, Japan. I had also purchased a Pioneer SX-770 receiver at that exchange to power up the speakers. My SX-770 still works fine and there are no bulging capacitors and no hum or other distorted sound. I do need to clean the pots because they are making popping and scratching sounds. My CS-66Es look nearly identical to your Realistic Nova 7Bs, except mine don't have RCA input jacks and there are black clips to hold the lattice work together. I have not recapped the crossovers, because the speakers still sound fantastic after 50 plus years. I clean and inspect the speakers periodically. All the speakers look fine in the front. I've never inspected the crossover circuits. I'm currently listening to them through a Yamaha HTR 5930 AV receiver, which was manufactured around 2006. I bought it for the whopping price of $3.00 at a yard sale! Anyway, you made a good find. Interesting channel. I subbed and liked.

[@AudioThrift]

Three dollars is great!!

[@Bob_C]

@@AudioThrift Yes it was. I bought Yamaha HTR 5930 at my village yard sale in 2013, or thereabouts. It was in perfect condition, and everything worked on it. The only bummer is that there was no remote control with it. Also there are no HDMI ports, of course and no phono preamp. But what can I expect for only three dollars. I use the digital input from my CD player and use an external phono preamp. I managed to program it with the front face buttons. Thanks for your reply.

[@joeyjustin6895]

The Hard Surface on the woofer does three things. The surface add upper midrange the weight adds lower bass and it stiffens the cone for lower distortion. 3 things from one coating

[@davidmorgen4558]

The Shack was sometimes ok with there speakers ! Im trying to track down one of there older horn designs

[@ModelA]

I've always been curious- Audiophiles always say to use large (gauge) speaker wire between the amp and the speakers. Yet, the wiring inside the speakers is almost always like dental floss. Wouldn't it be prudent to change the wire between the crossover and the drivers to larger wire?? Does it matter?

[@ModelA]

Oh, and congratulations on 1K subs!

[@AudioThrift]

That's a good question. I really don't know.

[@ModelA]

@@AudioThrift Care to take an educated guess? Haven't you ever wondered that too?

[@AudioThrift]

I would think that as long as the wire allows more current than the limit of the speaker itself, it shouldn't matter. But I have a feeling someone might have a counter point to that.

[@AudioThrift]

And thank you!! :)

[@6cooks68]

I recently saw a pair of these 7b for sale- along with the 'matching' sta-77 receiver.

[@AudioThrift]

Oh nice. What were they asking for the whole set?

[@robertdavis5714]

Added fabric probable delivered better sound when testing. Wonder how they would sound with port hole drilled in back.

[@AudioThrift]

I could probably try that by just unscrewing the little back panel and leaving it down in the case. Interesting idea.

[@terrybeavan4264]

Probably not the best thing to do, from my experience way back when working on a friend's set of the smaller Novas in the same range with the 8" woofer, it has a pretty loose suspension meant to be used in a sealed acoustic suspension cabinet. The 10" woofer would be similarly designed and the woofer and cabinet are designed to work together, so adding a port could actually make the bass performance worse and could even have the speaker bottoming out on the suspension without the air in the enclosure giving back pressure--bad news there, could damage the woofer. You could try it by removing the back panel, just be careful and be easy with pouring on the power and especially the bass as you see how it does!

[@johncoops6897]

​@@terrybeavan4264- correct. These speakers are designed to be sealed, and it will cause bad sound and potentially damage the woofers if you run them in a ported or partially ported enclosure.

[@later_daze_4080]

Glad this video showed up in my feed! I dig your style! Subscribed!

[@AudioThrift]

Thank you! I hope I don't disappoint. lol

[@Kane26510]

New Subscriber. I like the review of the 7B's - I'm a treble head, so I'd be accentuating the highs as much as possible. Back in 1991-92 I worked in and managed a Radio Shack Store in NY. At that point, we didn't have anything like Nove 7B's. We had pressboard with vinyl veneer crappy towers and had just gotten in the BOSE AM3 (Acoustimass 3). Our most popular speakers were the Minimus 7's (those small metal (or wood - 7Ws) that everyone seems to have owned and gets nostalgic for). I currently own a pair of the Linaeum Pro LX-5's (Radio Shack) I'd like to someday score some Mach One's (also Radio Shack). Realistic stuff from the Golden Age (1977-1982) has a cult following and is NOT cheap. Currently, I try to find and buy PSB (made in Canada models), B&W (Made in England models), older Polk Audio stuff, and Pioneer stuff designed by Andrew Jones. Of these, most current Bowers and Wilkins stuff is well out of my current price range. I'd like to get some really nice 800-series some day. I'd also like to get and have room for a pair of Polk Audio SDA speakers (but they'd have to be towards the upper end of the range). On my various systems in my house right now, I have smaller B&W speakers connected to each of them. I think they sound perfect to my ears. Thanks for the video. Cheers.

[@AudioThrift]

Yeah, I'm admittedly a fan of Realistic. They haven't done me dirty yet... which is more than I can say for some higher end brands.

[@Kane26510]

@@AudioThrift I also have a soft spot for Realistic stuff. I used to look at Radio Shack annual catalogs the way other kids would look at the Sears Christmas Wish Book.

[@alanmaier]

The Nova 7B was a decent speaker, and they sold like hotcakes. Then went on sale for half price once a year at $64.97 each. The Optimus 1B was the same speaker without the fancy grills. Replacing the crossover cap does wonders for them.

[@hubbsllc]

Need to point out that electrolytic capacitors in crossovers have to be bipolar (aka nonpolarized). Usually you can tell at a glance because they don’t have minus or plus markings and in my experience the metal casing is crimped at both ends instead of just one.

[@AudioThrift]

Ooh. Good call.

[@timothyquinn4870]

I believe the texturing is to help stiffen the cone.

[@danielknepper6884]

Pioneer did the same thing on the HPM 200. It is meant to lower the resonant frequency of the driver.

[@AlexMitchell-sj4sb]

$4?? Nice find! Not sure about the lattice grilles, do they not affect the sound quality?

[@AudioThrift]

Uh... it might. But if I'm honest, my ears aren't good enough to discern the difference. lol

[@daveandreahoward8203]

Just found a pair of Nova 16's at the Goodwill for eight bucks. And dang, if the punch and stereo image don't make you go heyyyyy...

[@AudioThrift]

That's great! Is it the speakers or the headphones?

[@tarstarkusz]

Do not replace the cap with an axial lead cap. They are like 10 times the price. A regular cap will work fine and the legs should be long enough. But even if they aren't, it is trivially easy to just J-hook the leads to make them longer.

[@AudioThrift]

Good advice.

[@dingus-fox]

I have polk audio rt600 tower speakers, a denon s650h receiver with a velodyne ct-150 subwoofer

[@bloryblummers]

I think my mom had these when I was a kid. shout out mom

[@bloryblummers]

why is my username just a bunch of gibberish???? well anyway you just lost the game

[@AudioThrift]

DAMNIT!!!

[@ardiris2715]

I run a JBL pro PA system suitable for a small club. I own my house; my neighbors all rent. Can't beat that. (:

[@AudioThrift]

What do your neighbors listen to? Whatever you're listening to. haha

[@ardiris2715]

Yup. (:

[@AudiophileToday]

These were a knock-off (cosmetically) of the old Pioneer CS- series. I used to own a pair of the CS-99A's for a number of years.

[@AudioThrift]

I just learned that last night while looking at reddit. I wished I'd known that before the video so I could have said it in the intro.

[@Notawhitchhunt]

They probably sound better than those garbage speakers that people sell out of the back of vans

[@AudioThrift]

Depends what kind of speakers they stole, I suppose. lol

[@terrybeavan4264]

HAHA I had some shady looking guys approach me in a parking lot many years ago trying to sell me some "fantastic" speakers literally out of the proverbial white panel van--sure, hey, not a brand name I recognize and buying them without even being able to hear them first, what could go wrong? 🤣 My coworker with me said he couldn't believe I walked away from such a "deal" LOL! And yeah I suspect these old Novas of this era are not just better but way better!

[@Kane26510]

Of this I have no doubt.

[@VicariousAdventurer]

"Recapping" - replace the electrolytic with polypropylene

[@VicariousAdventurer]

Just because the maker was cheap in massive economies of scale does not mean that you have to. Better speakers spring for polypropylene.

[@VicariousAdventurer]

Also, cheap carbon resistors add noise (not as much as in the feedback network of an amp) Metal film...

[@AndyBHome]

Realistic speakers suffered from being too accurate. Yes, they'd made speakers that were actually technically good which made them less popular. People don't like the sound of accuracy as much as they like the sound of boosted bass and treble. It's like eating strawberries or strawberries with sugar on them. Yes it still tastes real, but better.

[@AudioThrift]

Now that you mention it, they do remind me a little of the studio monitors my friend uses, sound wise... though obviously not as precise as his.

[@joeyjustin6895]

ALOT OF THESE WERE MADE BY HITACHI

[@cuttinchops]

Moist

[@SuperWooba]

The texture is a dampening disc.

[@bloryblummers]

if you paid $4 for these, how do you still have $4 to record this????

[@AudioThrift]

Because I started with 8 dollars. Didn't Mikemike teach you math?

[@bloryblummers]

no he never did@@AudioThrift

[@AudioThrift]

He's let us both down.

[@bloryblummers]

are you growing your hair out

[@AudioThrift]

Yeah.

[@bloryblummers]

@@AudioThrift well it looks great

[@AudioThrift]

YOU look great!