kayla20081982

Overall Rating
 1 of 5

Value Rating
 1 of 5

Used product for
Less than 1 month

Visitors rate this review
1.80 of 5, 5.00 votes

Price Paid:  $0.00

Summary:
hi guy's my name is kelly,i'm new to posting reviews about the incrediable mach one speaker. the only thing that i can realy say is that every thing that i have heard other people say about them is true 100%. i would like to share some info for someone who might be interested i currently have a nice set of the origianal mach ones cat# 40-4024a that i am trying to get rid of only because i have to many of them.they are 100% fully functional,only flaw is that the boxes have some scratches and scraps normal when moving around,and also that the grills don't have the velcrow to make them stay on snugg so if any body would be interested in them please e-mail me at kaash3082@yahoo.com thanks

tb429be

Overall Rating
 4 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
More than 1 year

Visitors rate this review
5.00 of 5, 2.00 votes

Price Paid:  $239.00 from Radio Shack

Summary:
I wish to clear up a few misconceptions about the second generation Liquid Cooled Mach One's. First of all,they were both made by Foster/ Fostex, a Japanese company that was known for studio quality speakers and gear. The only difference besides the ferrofluid cooled midrange and tweeter which improves damping factor and power handling is the foam surround on the woofers which is inferior. The woofers are 6 ohm and still have the 4 layer brass voice coils just like the first gen. speakers. If you refoam with the newer rubberized surrounds they will sound as good as the originals. I still own mine and will put them up against anything in their class and blow them away.

Strengths:
I have owned a pair of Liquid Cooled Mach's since new and they sound as good as the first gen. Mach One's. Great bass,tight and smooth, for their price range they sound as good as anything under $1000 a pair in today's market. To best sum them up in 2 words: AWESOME & INDESTRUCTIBLE!!! Buy a good pair of the second generation Mach One's and have the woofers refoamed with the rubber surrounds and ENJOY!!!

Weaknesses:
If you are a serious audiophile or a picky listener who expects perfection, these speakers are not for you. If you are not nitpicky, these are great speakers at low volumes and can tear the walls down at high levels.

Similar Products Used:
Have owned all kinds and models of vintage Realistic home and car speakers. All were good quality and none ever gave any trouble.

tb429be

Overall Rating
 4 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
More than 1 year

Price Paid:  $239.00 from Radio Shack

Summary:
I wish to clear up a few misconceptions about the second generation Liquid Cooled Mach One's. First of all,they were both made by Foster/ Fostex, a Japanese company that was known for studio quality speakers and gear. The only difference besides the ferrofluid cooled midrange and tweeter which improves damping factor and power handling is the foam surround on the woofers which is inferior. The woofers are 6 ohm and still have the 4 layer brass voice coils just like the first gen. speakers. If you refoam with the newer rubberized surrounds they will sound as good as the originals. I still own mine and will put them up against anything in their class and blow them away.

Strengths:
I have owned a pair of Liquid Cooled Mach's since new and they sound as good as the first gen. Mach One's. Great bass,tight and smooth, for their price range they sound as good as anything under $1000 a pair in today's market. To best sum them up in 2 words: AWESOME & INDESTRUCTIBLE!!! Buy a good pair of the second generation Mach One's and have the woofers refoamed with the rubber surrounds and ENJOY!!!

Weaknesses:
If you are a serious audiophile or a picky listener who expects perfection, these speakers are not for you. If you are not nitpicky, these are great speakers at low volumes and can tear the walls down at high levels.

Similar Products Used:
Have owned all kinds and models of vintage Realistic home and car speakers. All were good quality and none ever gave any trouble.

Price Paid:  $720.00 from Tandy Store

Summary:
The Realistic Mach One is as great an American product as the Mammoth Jackstock, and nearly as forgotten. This review is about the 'BABY MACH ONE' or X-100 and follows an interest in this earlier version with 12-inch woofer. Enough may have been said about its bigger stablemate.

The Mach One and X-100 were sold in Scotland and Canada as first class loudspeakers for the bagpipes and accordion, if not the 12 whatever Lute! It follows that these should be heard with Ali Bin Mohammed's 'Ta'm El Masa' and Rowaishid's 'Wein Rayeh' album, the beginning of the track Ahiback a bit like something from the film 'Braveheart'.

These loudspeakers are best used with Realistic receivers like the STA-2000 that have 15,000uF lone standing Elna cans, but a rebuilt Technics SU-Z2 MkII with its 'potted transformer' delivers excellent results as will anything designed to work with 12-inch woofers. The NEC A-820E Authentic Series for a rarer example.

Strengths:
For the BABY MACH ONE, Realistic Optimus X-100.

First for Agricultural styling, sheer detail and sensitivity in the mid and treble, these speakers of the Bagpipe and accordion are great for Gulf Arab music, that features strings, pipes and accordions and tend to be played on expensive equipment of the horn hybrid and other formats. They produce deep bass with the likes of Puff Daddy's 'Tribute to the Notorious B.I.G.' ,theme tune to the film Titanic and Le Commandant De Bord "Josky-Kiambukuta's" version of Titanic. They produce a valve-like sound with the SU-Z2's VMOS devices - that is not MOSFET, but rather a transistor type common to all chip type outputs. It should be said the the SU-Z2 Mk2 is a greedy watts guzzler, giving about 40 watts per channel but using ten times that! This meant at one time better quality watts or so it was thought! The bass is not of the chest gripping kind you get with a Wharfedale XP2 and rebuilt Sansui A 60 DC Servo amp with variable loudness, but is totally satisfactory.

Weaknesses:
For the BABY MACH ONE, Realistic Optimus X-100

This a bedroom speaker in modern terms, best used as a bookshelf model, even though it's a floorstander in big tall rooms of old-fashioned type. It must have loudness as the Realistic receivers had a circuit that automatically added the right loudness enhancement.

After standing for some time, they may need to be run to get the capacitors inside working properly again, but no attempt to replace these should be tried. They are mounted on the mid treble pot board but it is brittle and the screws must be left alone.

Best used with Realistic receivers and equipment including Genexxa CD players!

Similar Products Used:
For BABY MACH ONE - Realistic Optimus X-100

A rebuilt Sansui A60 DC Servo with variable loudness and Wharfedale Glendale XP2s will compete with a chest thumping bass, but without the X-100's light years more accurate mid and treble and sensitivity. The harman kardon A402 like the Sansui prefers to run at near full power on these less sensitive Glendale type loudspeakers. The Realistic STA-2290 like the Technics SU-Z2 doesn't sound very loud with 3-way Celestion 22 loudspeakers and these huge receivers are feeble around 9 o'clock with anything not from the Radioshack Fort Worth stable.

The Realistic packages are best compared with Bang & Olufsen, if buying either secondhand you must try to get the receivers or loudspeakers to work together as intended in any model year. Some later Realistic products are okay to use with earlier ones, the black plastic Realistic STA-12 will turn heads using the Realistic Mach Two - but plug in a black STA 2280 and you better have a chair handy!

Brian9090

Overall Rating
 4 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
More than 1 year

Visitors rate this review
5.00 of 5, 4.00 votes

Price Paid:  $250.00 from Radio Shack? Not sur

Summary:
Bought new in mid-80's, bought a second pair for $150 ea. (also new) in the late 80's because they were being discontinued. An excellent value for a good loud rock speaker. Ran at over 100 watts periodically for their entire lives, never had a driver blow. I've seen many have had problems with the surrounds rotting. Three of the four I have are still perfect. One has a small hole. The foam surrounds seem to be thicker and more durable than most of the "kabuki-style" speakers of the same era. Not audiophile quality sound, but matched with the right amp/receiver it can get close. I'm currently running it with a Sansui 9090 and Nakamichi CD player and they sound better than any combo I've had before. Bass is stil a little muddy and the mid-range could be a bit brighter. If you don't mind this, they'd be a great deal used for under a hundred bucks a pair.

Strengths:
Excellent durability and power handling. Will easily play at 100 watts for hours. Strong Bass response. Knobs on speakers can adjust Mids and tweeters. Walnut veneer cabinets. Impressive, clean look to them. Were an excellent value new and could be an excellent value used, as long as the woofer surrounds are in good shape. Even better, have been replaced by a competent person.

Weaknesses:
Bass is strong, but is a bit "fuzzy" and not what I'd call "tight". Mid-range is not as bright as more expensive high end speakers. Not ideal for jazz, classical or the like. May be a bit large for smaller livingrooms. Quite heavy (70+ lbs.)

Similar Products Used:
Kenwood KL-A900X (kabuki) Klipsch Heresy (as a reference) both roughly same era.