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Realistic Mach One Info
Just a little information for those of you who own these classic speakers and wonder why the foam surrounds are usually bad . There were 2 versions -The fist and original cat# 4024 had rubber surrounds, screw terminals, 10 screws in the L-pad plate, 8 ohm woofers and dual wound brass voice coils
The latter vesrions Cat # 4029 had the (known rotter) foam surround, clip terminals, 6 screws in the L-pad plate, and 4 ohm woofers this version also is the muddy whompy sounding machs that were released after 81' There are no comparison to the sound of the two different verions so beware of this verion on Ebay ect..they are junk .
The Original 4024's were manufactured by Thompson Electronics for Tandy from 77 to 81' the 4029's were made by Optimus from 82 to 84' and they were produced much cheaper to hold a changing market
If anyone has not experienced the original line of the Mach Ones (4024) you should take a listen the quailty of sound is unbelievable compared to todays market of speakers
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Quote:
Originally Posted by cpq1c1mo
Just a little information for those of you who own these classic speakers and wonder why the foam surrounds are usually bad . There were 2 versions -The fist and original cat# 4024 had rubber surrounds, screw terminals, 10 screws in the L-pad plate, 8 ohm woofers and dual wound brass voice coils
The latter vesrions Cat # 4029 had the (known rotter) foam surround, clip terminals, 6 screws in the L-pad plate, and 4 ohm woofers this version also is the muddy whompy sounding machs that were released after 81' There are no comparison to the sound of the two different verions so beware of this verion on Ebay ect..they are junk .
The Original 4024's were manufactured by Thompson Electronics for Tandy from 77 to 81' the 4029's were made by Optimus from 82 to 84' and they were produced much cheaper to hold a changing market
If anyone has not experienced the original line of the Mach Ones (4024) you should take a listen the quailty of sound is unbelievable compared to todays market of speakers
I used to own three original Mach Ones that I used in a small screening room. I must agree, these were the best sounding speakers(they were hand made I am told)I have heard for movie presentation in a small room. Great sound, even better construction
I finally passed them on to one of my son's who is following in his fathers footsteps. Even to this day, the speakers would easily compare in sound quality to almost all hometheater speakers I have heard up to this point.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Sir Terrence the Terrible
I used to own three original Mach Ones that I used in a small screening room. I must agree, these were the best sounding speakers(they were hand made I am told)I have heard for movie presentation in a small room. Great sound, even better construction
I finally passed them on to one of my son's who is following in his fathers footsteps. Even to this day, the speakers would easily compare in sound quality to almost all hometheater speakers I have heard up to this point.
I have to agree These speaker were virtually indestructable and came with a "Lifetime Warranty" and a true 20Hz - 25,000 Khz most people never got to experience digital sound through these such as CD's ect.. in fact the only speakers that I have heard that comes close is the Yamaha NS Studio Monitors
although it takes plenty of power to punch the Mach's I wouldn't recommend them to newer intagrated amps under 120 watts RMS minimum because they will soak up bass like a sponge.
Consumer Reports Rated these speakers at # 2 in 1980 of all the speakers they have tested worldwide only beaten by a $1200 Cerwin Vega Tower
http://i22.ebayimg.com/01/i/02/f0/db/85_12_sb.JPG
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I have some questions for you my good man. Do you know what kind of crossover slope this speaker has?(6db per ocatave, 12,24??)
I know it is possible to replace the woofers(I bought the last 4 they had in stock in the Radio shack warehouse), is it possible to replace the mids and tweeters? Besides the scew terminal versus the spring clips, and the amount of screws on the L-pad, what other differences are there between the 4024's and the 4029's. Once you replace the woofers on the 4029's with a 4024 woofer, what sonic differences are there? Is there any way to remove the dispersion "vanes" on the midrange horn? So many questions here...
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Sir Terrence the Terrible
I have some questions for you my good man. Do you know what kind of crossover slope this speaker has?(6db per ocatave, 12,24??)
I know it is possible to replace the woofers(I bought the last 4 they had in stock in the Radio shack warehouse), is it possible to replace the mids and tweeters? Besides the scew terminal versus the spring clips, and the amount of screws on the L-pad, what other differences are there between the 4024's and the 4029's. Once you replace the woofers on the 4029's with a 4024 woofer, what sonic differences are there? Is there any way to remove the dispersion "vanes" on the midrange horn? So many questions here...
I no longer have the the original graph specs although This can be a very lengthy complex answer given to the Machs speaker design but I will try to break this down simple
First by using a 15" acoustic suspension woofer and backed by 2 horns one being an HC tweeter and the other multicellular midrange, the first thing comes to mind is "timing" the second would be "overlap" with such an awkward compilation of speakers, however the high, band, and, low pass are as follows:
"20-800 Hz (24db) , 800-8000 Hz , 8000-25,000 Hz" Resonance 65 Hz
"what sonic differences are there?"
There are very complex capacitor storage for blockage and gates that the 4029's do not have so, no, replacing the horns will not do the trick that is also why ferrofluid was added to this model, the 4029's could not hold range of frequencies so there was distortion.... but you had a cool looking Liquid Cooled now stamped on the L-Pad plate...
The original expensive 4024 crossovers where no longer needed because the replacement to the foam base surround on the woofer caused the "timing" issue,
the problem with larger woofers is they tend to be
"slower" than smaller woofers, or less punchy and defined and this surround did just that,
hope the 4 you bought are not these., more than likely they are if they were last also 4 ohm.
The 4 ohm woofer was secretly added to try to give extra punch once the receiver wars ended and the lower end receivers came out which could not drive the 8 ohm woofers effectively the 4029's are nothing more than PA speakers.
In fact Tandy denied they ever had the 4024's once the cheaper made 4029's were released even on their site today http://support.radioshack.com/produc...s&ID=003008002
they deny the Mach One name under the 4024 listing, this means they didn't have to give you the more expensive 4024 replacement parts that they guaranteed for life any longer even if they were the ones you owned....because the 4029's warranty was only 5 years.
JBL claims to be the fist to just now have mastered the horn technology just recenty with thier $12,000 speakers that will only drop down to just below 30 Hz ...... did they forget about Fosters Machs Ones? hmmm..
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The woofers I have are definately the 8ohm models, it says so on the bottom of the drivers metal back plate. So you are telling me if my original 4024 blow something, they will not honor the lifetime warranty? It figures!
One set of Mach Ones I own are the lousy 4029. When the woofer's surround gave out, rather than replacing them, I had the speaker completely redone from the inside. New VERY expensive crossover system with time alignment built in, new 15" TAD coaxial driver with a 5" midbass driver behind the dust cap(which they call a dispersion screen), new mid and high frequency drivers also by TAD.
When my buddy who happens to work for Klipsch finished the remodeling job on the speakers, they sounded way better than the originals(4024), and better than any horn loaded hybrid I have ever heard. The sounded so good, that I had my friend match my center and surrounds with the same drivers(the are also both horn loaded hybrids), and crossover unit so I could use them for a 5.1 monitoring system in my old studio.
I would be interested in purchasing another set of the 4024 If I could get my hands on a pair.
I guess JBL has never heard of the HPS-4000XL system by John Allen. He was the first person to develope a horn loaded full range speakers with a horn loaded bass bin capable of 135db at 25hz. They are big suckers though.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Sir Terrence the Terrible
The woofers I have are definately the 8ohm models, it says so on the bottom of the drivers metal back plate. So you are telling me if my original 4024 blow something, they will not honor the lifetime warranty? It figures!
One set of Mach Ones I own are the lousy 4029. When the woofer's surround gave out, rather than replacing them, I had the speaker completely redone from the inside. New VERY expensive crossover system with time alignment built in, new 15" TAD coaxial driver with a 5" midbass driver behind the dust cap(which they call a dispersion screen), new mid and high frequency drivers also by TAD.
When my buddy who happens to work for Klipsch finished the remodeling job on the speakers, they sounded way better than the originals(4024), and better than any horn loaded hybrid I have ever heard. The sounded so good, that I had my friend match my center and surrounds with the same drivers(the are also both horn loaded hybrids), and crossover unit so I could use them for a 5.1 monitoring system in my old studio.
I would be interested in purchasing another set of the 4024 If I could get my hands on a pair.
I guess JBL has never heard of the HPS-4000XL system by John Allen. He was the first person to develope a horn loaded full range speakers with a horn loaded bass bin capable of 135db at 25hz. They are big suckers though.
I would sure love to hear those Machs you have redone!!
As I'm sure we all know Realistic's days of quailty are long gone but there is one more speaker that I would rate very high from them that was around with the Machs they cost only $20.00 more apeice at the time, and that is the T-200's , they were a Tower 3-way that could produce a Flat Uncolored Frequency Responce they had Gradual-slope crossovers that insured smooth transistions in bass mid and highs, staggered tweeters for time alignment so there were no sudden phase shifts or discontinities in the measured phase responce . and I tell ya the sound is just unbelievable cleaner than 2 bottles of 409
These had duel 10" active woofers that moved only half the distance of a single one +
I was lucky enough to pick up a near mint set off ebay for $158.00, although I replaced the surrounds on the woofers, there was not a scratch on these babys. they are probably one of the prettiest set of speakers I have ever seen they have the edgeless tweeter and a 6.5 mid they are cat# 40-2029 and the Shack has no record of these anywhere. The Machs were their Corvette and these were their Rolls Royce.
These T-200's can Handle so much power that it is said you can melt the L-pads before they will clip
My 4024 Machs I also bought on Ebay some time back Mint in the Box from 1979 and stored unplayed the entire time but for a price ---- $650.00 and was worth every penny there were no miles on them, and I think the age on the cones make them sound that much better , kinda like wine
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Quote:
Originally Posted by cpq1c1mo
My 4024 Machs I also bought on Ebay some time back Mint in the Box from 1979 and stored unplayed the entire time but for a price ---- $650.00 and was worth every penny there were no miles on them, and I think the age on the cones make them sound that much better , kinda like wine
I would give my left eyeball to get my hands on another pair of 4024's. What did you do to get them off of EBAY? I think this will be my first project of the new year, to score another pair to use as studio monitors. Can you give me some tips here? I would GLADLY pay top buck for a good set.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by cpq1c1mo
I have to agree These speaker were virtually indestructable and came with a "Lifetime Warranty" and a true 20Hz - 25,000 Khz most people never got to experience digital sound through these such as CD's ect.. in fact the only speakers that I have heard that comes close is the Yamaha NS Studio Monitors
although it takes plenty of power to punch the Mach's I wouldn't recommend them to newer intagrated amps under 120 watts RMS minimum because they will soak up bass like a sponge.
Consumer Reports Rated these speakers at # 2 in 1980 of all the speakers they have tested worldwide only beaten by a $1200 Cerwin Vega Tower
http://i22.ebayimg.com/01/i/02/f0/db/85_12_sb.JPG
Thanks for the pic!
I remember these well.
I remember I would ride my bike up to the Shack and drool over them, but I was just a kid and I could not afford them.
Then a salesman would walk up and ask CAN I HELP YOU KID?
And that would that and I would leave.
Remember the reel to reels they used to have?
I dont know what happend to radio shack but they used to make top notch equipment back in the day. Now I dont think they even sell stereos anymore.
Shame
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Sir Terrence the Terrible
I would give my left eyeball to get my hands on another pair of 4024's. What did you do to get them off of EBAY? I think this will be my first project of the new year, to score another pair to use as studio monitors. Can you give me some tips here? I would GLADLY pay top buck for a good set.
well I just typed in ebays search "realistic speakers" or "realistic mach" day after day till I found a mint set I was lucky because I found them with the "Buy It Now" option so I didmt have to bid -really simple shipping is steep on these = but hey, they are heavy
Tips: never place a bid until close to the end of the auction , and always check feedback ratings
These speakers sold new for $239.00 a peice back in the late 70' which was a hefty price for the time if these speakers were reproduced exactly as original today and sold with that exact quailty, you would be looking well over $1.500 a peice.
A friend of mine worked for the Shack back in those days and he told me he had never seen a Mach One speaker ever brought back to the store for any type of driver damage burnouts ect.. and there were people useing the Pioneer sx1980 to drive these at 270 wpc there were some strong amps of pure power back then, not like this Elite overrated intergrated junk of today.
I run an downfiring sub between my 2 Machs for the front, a custom 4024 cabnet professionally shortened just under the L-pad ( minus the woofer )and recrossed for my center just above the downfireing sub and two T-200's in the rear split between a second downfireing sub. I have a vent installed under the floor leading to the 2 subs simalar to the Isobarik fashion which they are out of phase so the cones are always pushing in the same direction. This is my theater room set up for my ceiling DLP Projection. very nice live presense sound
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Quote:
Originally Posted by BRANDONH
Thanks for the pic!
I remember these well.
I remember I would ride my bike up to the Shack and drool over them, but I was just a kid and I could not afford them.
Then a salesman would walk up and ask CAN I HELP YOU KID?
And that would that and I would leave.
Remember the reel to reels they used to have?
I dont know what happend to radio shack but they used to make top notch equipment back in the day. Now I dont think they even sell stereos anymore.
Shame
I feel ya man! I did the same thing ........
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http://i22.ebayimg.com/01/i/02/f0/db/85_12_sb.JPG[/QUOTE]
These beauties you see in this photo will be sitting in my living room in about 5 days. Just picked up these very speakers in the photo for about $280 on ebay. At this price they are well worth it. Can't wait to hear them. If they sound half as good as my son's original Mach 1's(4024), I am in for a real treat!!
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Mach 1
God, seeing those brings back some fond memories, my first good set of speakers were the origional run of Mach1. I remember as a kid i saw them in the window at radio shack. they looked so ominous and threatening. i was with my mom and she said there is no way im going to let you spend that kinda money on speakers. well ... i saved my money up saved and saved. I didnt buy one pair either. i had bought two pairs. I was the king of the block running an old crown amp on them. there is another difference i have noticed on the origional run they used better wiring terminals,. the 81-3 version had cheapo push type connectors. my biggest regret is not holding on to these. I know they are not magnetically shielded but can you imagine listening to 5 of these on DVDA or SACD in multichannel?? you wouldnt need the .1 thats for sure. When they released the Mach 2 series I bought a pair of those too they sounded ok but they were not built as stout and didnt stand the test of time. I remember after a while i sunk my pair of mach 2s in the trunk of my grand marquis they gave some booming bass untill the ravages of winter destroyed the surrounds.
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yes these are the 4024's as can be seen by the L-pad plate .
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jamison
set . there is another difference i have noticed on the origional run they used better wiring terminals,. .
yea I mentioned that earlier when I said the "screw terminals were changed to spring clip"
As for the Mach 2's they were ok on lowerend amps but these were very cheapy built speakers that port was not there for extended bass , it was there to protect the cone on that generic 15" inch woofer, and that 4 ohm mid really sounded terrible what really errked me was that grill cloth that was not glued - but melted to the plastic frame . we used to put a Mach One on the Left channel and a Mach Two on the Right and really laugh at how much worse the Mach Two sounded .
These speaker were a Joke to even carry the Mach name... but they sure were pretty.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by cpq1c1mo
yes these are the 4024's as can be seen by the L-pad plate .
As viewed from the photo's on Ebay, these speakers are beautiful and very well kept up. And yes the are the original 4024's because they do lack the "liquid cooled" wording on the L-pad, have the ten screws holding the L-pad on, and has binding posts as opposed to spring clips.
More questions CPQ, did the crossover in the 4024 do any kind of time alignment, because it looks like the midrange driver extends all the way to the back of the speaker, and the tweeter doesn't and neither does the woofer.
It appears to me the drivers in the 4024, and the ones on the 4029 are the same. Why did they need ferrofluid cooling anyway? Was the distortion you mentioned in the 4029 eliminated by the ferrofluid?
Thanks so much for the tip on the speakers, I really appreciate it!
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Sir Terrence the Terrible
As viewed from the photo's on Ebay, these speakers are beautiful and very well kept up. And yes the are the original 4024's because they do lack the "liquid cooled" wording on the L-pad, have the ten screws holding the L-pad on, and has binding posts as opposed to spring clips.
More questions CPQ, did the crossover in the 4024 do any kind of time alignment, because it looks like the midrange driver extends all the way to the back of the speaker, and the tweeter doesn't and neither does the woofer.
It appears to me the drivers in the 4024, and the ones on the 4029 are the same. Why did they need ferrofluid cooling anyway? Was the distortion you mentioned in the 4029 eliminated by the ferrofluid?
Thanks so much for the tip on the speakers, I really appreciate it!
The woofers are completly sealed off from the horn and tweeter. Yes there were precise time alignment as I mentioned earlier --" There are very complex capacitor storage for blockage and gates that the 4029's do not have - that is also why ferrofluid was added to this model, the 4029's could not hold range of frequencies so there was distortion...
The ferrofluid did not stop the distortion in the 4029's caused by underlap of frequenices and timeing issues , it was used to keep the drivers from overheating resulting in burnout or persay ,-simply to protect the cheaper drivers from the much cheaper used crossover network in the 4029's
The drivers in the 4024's and 4029's are NOT the same.again also remember the 4029's has less capacitor storage.
The Machs you just bought (4024) will have the very expensive and famous woofers with the 4-layer voice coil that is wound on a brass form , this is the one that can take the power and produce a true 20 Hz that you can feel, it is a very soild woofer that can blow out a match at 6 feet that we have done with a Pioneer SX-1980
What amp are you planning on driving these with?
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i know this is a very old and very dead thread, but if anyone of the people who know a decent amount about these speakers is around thatd be great.
exactly how bad are the later versions?
are they worth buying for 150 bucks?
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Hey Sir Terrence...was reading through this old thread and I just found these for 150 bucks in the Detroit area posted on feb 24 07, they might still be available.......The originals and they look nice http://detroit.craigslist.org/ele/283828174.html
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Is there anyone out there that can give me the spec's on the Mach I 's ? I have a set of the mid-range horns and would like to know the frequency range and the wattage they can handle. I would love to know the crossover that was used with these. :23:
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resurecting mach ones
I was given a pair of 4029's 1 has no woofer and the other is in need of foaming. I am thinking of replacing the both woofers and looking for suggestions. Alternately I am thinking of pulling the horns altogether and making a center channel out of them, any thoughts on that? (center channel would be powered by 100 WPC Adcom amp.
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I have a pair of the 4024 Mach Ones. I am the original owner and have not used them very much at all. I still have the original boxes they came in. I am interested in selling them on ebay and was wondering what I should expect to sell them for. I also have the STA 2000D receiver and LAB400 Turntable I purchased at the same time. My daughters decided they don't want them and I'm ready to downsize. All the equipment has been babied and well taken care of over the years. Any help on pricing of the speakers and the other equipment would be appreciated. I realize this is an ancient thread so I may never hear from anybody. Also someone local is interested in the equipment so I may be able to sell everything to him.
Thanks in advance.
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4024 Woofers for sale ... excellent condition
Got a pair of Mach One 4024 8 ohm woofers for sale ... if interested I'll be more than happy to send pics, and will accept ANY fairly decent offer. I'm in Baltimore, Maryland.
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I am interested in the pair of 4024s you have for sale. I am also new to the
forum, so I'm not sure how to inquire about photos and information about the
speakers. I would like to know about their history. Thanks, mlunsford
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2 Attachment(s)
I've attached photos, and if you want a history of this model speaker go to the top of the page .... if you're asking where my woofers came from, ... I found them in trashed 4024 cabinets and they're in great condition mechanically and cosmetically. These are 15" 4024 woofers but I've got speakers already with 12's so I'm ok. Later
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