Any opinions on the Realistic Mach One speakers?

rhkwon: that info about cap replacement is something I've read about over and over the last couple years on vintage audio forums, usually by people who are not impressed with certain other audio enhancements that, umm, cause constroversy elsewhere & which soon I personally will be able to report on. That's because those CS99s really seem like they should be brighter than they are (particularly because of their horn tweeter with its metal diaphragm) and right now they are significantly warmer than my Bostons with their soft-dome tweeters.

I also want to re-cap a pair of Smaller Advents but they seem to sound fine so far.

Usually refoamed woofers aren't as well applied as the factory ones i.e. drops of glue or uneven edges, but if done by an experienced hobbyist or competent repair person they can look pretty much identical. Sorry that's not much help! There is a small chance the surrounds are original but that's pretty rare. Though Radio Shack is known to have used a special type of coated foam surround on many of their older models that seems to survive for decades: for example anyone who owns one of their "tiny mity" Minimus speakers, the one with the 4" heavy-duty acoustic suspension woofer, knows what it looks like which is kind of a greenish black color with a shiny finish.

Here's a long thread about them over at Audiokarma.org. "I lucked into a pair of Mach 1s!"

FYI: here's a page at partsexpress.com with info about crossover caps & prices (electrolytics go from 35 cents to $7 each).

 

Here's the page for the Mach 1 in their 1977 catalog.....

 

I just picked up a pair of these and I am very much impressed by them.

but we dont all have the same ears.

I have the mach twos also, the ones blow them away. as much as I love my original large walnut advents, I prefer the mach ones. a very cool speaker for the money.

 

Not unexpected, because they are a sound sensation at a sensational price.

I'd also like to find a pair of these for a secondary sound system, one that is just for enjoying - at immature volume levels - my Sonic Youth, DJ Shadow, Minutemen, Chemical Brothers etc albums, and not fussing over as far as 100% accuracy is concerned.

 

That's just it...they were fun to blast, but not the greatest for critical listening.

In '88 my younger brother bought a new pair of Mach Two's (his first decent loudspeakers as a teen), which he used in abundance to blast Depeche Mode, Pet Shop Boys, The Cure, et al! They were fun for awhile, but he later traded up for a pair of better sounding AR towers. He ended up giving the Two's to his roommate who ultimately blew one of the tweeters and were later trashed (sad).

 

I'm listening to Blondie's Denis on my new old vinyl on my Mach Two's right now. They sound good to me, but what do I know?

I bought them new in about '88 with limited funds; my Advent bookshelves were lacking something. I will buy new speakers one day, if I can find some under $1000/pr with big fat woofers that I can find in a store to listen to. But I'm not so unhappy with these that I make that effort.

 

Nice to see that these two have taken the time and trouble to find the sweet spot.
.

 

Concerning the Mach Twos: that port opening looks quite small considering the size of the woofer - has anyone noticed any port noise (or chuffing as some call it) at high volume levels?

Audio geek FYI: if one wants to use a larger diameter port tube, because of the physics of the bass reflex system, the tube also has to be made longer to maintain the same tuning frequency. So if your cabinet isn't deep enough........

BTW: Cerwin Vega is the only company I know of still selling systems with 15" woofers (one "casual" series & another un-Cerwin like series that uses more refined drivers including a soft-dome tweeter from Vifa) but only see them at online stores.

 

I know of no port noise, but I probably wouldn't know it if I heard it.

I covet our host's Tannoys; I came close to getting some old Klipsch Cornwalls lately, but the deal didn't happen. I'm some kind of unrefined anachronist with that type speaker, I guess.

 

....get a PVC elbow and make a bend.

 

Or they're about to go behind that speaker to find a sweet spot.

 

Machs are by far audiophile speakers but there not junk, they have there place in history. my story, lol, ive owned a lot of speakers at one time i had them stacked to the ceiling in a big room. pioneer, sansui, jbl, acoustic research, bose, you name it all vintage. but its what you like! lately i decided to put together a bone crunching system for old time sake, love volume! heres how it goes machs need power, plain and simple. im feeding 4 mach ones with a sta 2000, then i have a denon avr-3000 (i hate anything all black) feeding 2 acoustic design and two cerwin vegas, each split so i have total control over individual volume. audiophile - i doubt it but i love it. my son said it was the only thing he heard that could ravel a concert. beauty is in the hands of the beholder lets enjoy more and not cratic, just love the music as you like it - peace

 

.....use PVC elbows to make a longer pipe.

Seriously.

 

I remember seeing and listening to Mach Ones at my local RS store when I was a teen (now there's a decent Japanese restaurant in the same location). The Mach One's looked awesome in this teenager's eyes, both in person and in the RS catalog. I mean, what was not to love? Big and beefy with a huge woofer. Unfortunately, they really were not very good speakers.

What did I like at the time? JBL L100's

 

Nate i disagree but its all personal preference, whats bad about them and further more have you ever owned and tested them with different equipment? ive owned just about everything vintage under 2000 dollars (ie a receiver or pair of speakers, not the entire system) and i love this system. Yes in 1977 at 17 i wanted one but could not afford so a bit of nostalgia i guess but i like it over my others. interesting idea jbstephens, im looking for a pair of mach twos and a pair of mach threes to use with a pioneer 1050 then couple with my sta 2000 and mach ones. i may try that with the mach twos but wont touch my mach ones, thanks. anyone know of mach twos or threes for sale other than ebay?

 

This might interest someone. I got (1) mach one speaker for 35 dollars on Craigslist and plugged it into a Fender practice amplifier. I play guitar through it. The amplifier is 15w solid state. It sounds very clean. Anyway, for the price it was worth a try and I like the unique sound. What else could one speaker be used for anyhow.

 

Don't sell them. Buy another set of speakers and then you can decide for yourself what sounds best to you. It's the only way.

 

My kind of gentleman. High efficiency and Dixie Fried. Likes galore from me!

 

My mate had a pair of mid 80's Realistic speakers with a 15" woofer, rated at 180W.
He tried using a couple of different amps to drive them but couldn't get the setup to work well. So, he bought a kit and built his own amp, 400 WPC from memory (or it may have been 200WPC, we are talking 30 years ago). With that setup, the speakers sounded amazing.
I think they were Mach 1's, but I can't remember. Did they have an Optimum with that sort of spec?

 

Actually, looking at google images, they were Mach 2's

 

People always compare Mach speakers to true audiophile speakers which they are not.Weren't they something like $99 each on sale?Anyway from what I gather a powerful amp(200wpc) usually brings out the best in speakers.Too many probably ran these Machs on 50 wpc hence the bad reviews.I have had some mach 2 and 3s.Have them to my kids who love them.

 

A less talented Sansui SPX-6700. And I'm being kind.

 

I had those 40+ lb monsters in the early 80s but I also had the smaller Mach on top for more high end.But really IMO they are made for turning the Who Live At Leeds up to 9+ so as to disturb the neighbors 4 houses down.Thats what I did with mine when the wife and kids were gone.Im happy with my vintage Kenwoods now that the neighbors cant hear 4 houses down.Of course I am 64 yrs old now.Perfect for the 30 yr old rocker they are.I ran them through a all Realistic high end system and they came out sounding absolutely stunning.Especially when
I played my Beatle MFSL records through my German P/E TT.

 

Easily among the worst speakers I've ever heard.

 

I can't comment on how the speakers sound, though based on other Radio Shack stuff I can't imagine they would suit anyone wanting to hear quality sound. But I can most definitely say this has been a very fun thread to read! I distinctly remember as a teen seeing those in their catalogs and wanting them badly!