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General information
The Realistic 2-A is an electrostatic speaker in the Electrostat category.
O. (April 2000): The 2a speaker specifications are: Frequency 45-20,000; Crossover 5,000, power capacity: 60 watts; Impedance: 8 ohms. Contains 4element tweeters, bass energized, built in attenuator, 8 inch speaker. This might be of assistance to others.
I have a pair of the 2a which I find to be superb. These are NOT boom boxes but offer a very fine clear, pure musical sound. I had a pair I bought new in the late 60's later sold them but later acquired the 2a. These continue to be part of my system and are over 30 year old.
I find the new electrostats from various makers probably too expensive for my retired status and the frequencies of the 2a are 45-25000 which I always found to be most adequate. Why, however, do they seem to perform the same whether plugged in or not??? I took mine to a Martin Logan dealer to have them checked out and he could not offer any reason for the performance being the same whether plugged in or not. Comments welcome.
John Hamm (December 2004: An interesting pair of electrostatics were the Electrostat 2A sold by Radio Shack in the mid-70s. These speakers were the size of a medium pair of bookshelf speakers. Typical size of a 10 inch woofer in acoustic suspension cabinet. But well made and very heavy. They actually used real wood products then, not the flimsy lightweight flake board common today. They consisted of a 10 inch, maybe 8 inch, woofer and 4 gold-leaf single-ended electrostatic panels. The woofer overloaded the electrostats but in retrospect I think the single-ended panels they used deserve more attention. The problem is I can't find any!
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Alternate names
This model is known under several names:
Realistic 2-A
Realistic 2 A
Realistic 2A
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Forum, post your questions -and answers- here
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Reason for AC plug?
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Jerry Reynolds (2004-02-26): The 2a's are my favorite speakers. I think they sound great, no bass but fine with a sub. But I really only notice a slight difference in brightness when they are plugged in (on both). Does anyone know the reason for the ac plug?
Donovan H (2008-08-20): I recently salvaged a pair of 2a's from a thrift store. I found they functioned but did not produce the crisp response others wrote about. (woofers we shot as well and had to be replaced) Upon inspection I found 2 resistors had evidence of overheating (6 & 25 ohm) on the circuit boards and the resistance had changed as a result. I could not find "exact" replacements, but got something close from RS. After replacing them, I was amazed at the improvement. I also found that the potentiometers were oxidized and restricted full range adjustment. This produced the same effect of not being powered up. Once corrected it made a huge difference. If you find either of these conditions you may not be hearing the full potential of the stats. One other possiblilty is that the circuit holds a charge in the capacitors and will perform well for a period of time as they discharge. If you have short periods of running without power, you may not notice a difference. After repairing and upgrading the woofers, they are now among my favorites!
Richard Rallo (2009-02-01): Donovan,
I recently purchased a pair of Realistic Electrostat 2a speakers for $9.99 plus tax. The tweeters are not working at all. Two problems. One trace of the main circuit board is so corroded, that a jumper must be installed. The smaller resistor is blackened.
Can you please provide the ohm values of the small resistor and the large resistor, as I will replace both.
The cabinets are in fair to good condition. They look even better now with a few applicaitons of Old English lemon oil.
Thanks,
Richard
Donovan H (2009-07-05): Richard,
The resistors are 6 ohm and 25 ohm. RS did not have exact match, but pretty got close and they work fine.
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Tweeter needed
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Omar (2004-02-26): Hello, I have a 2A that has died and want to know if anyone can locate a tweeter element for one? Omar
Nathan (2006-03-25): My parents are thinking of getting rid of a pair of these speakers. As far as I can tell, they are in excellent condition. You can reach me at mailforng at gmail.com
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