Realistic 42-2101A Review (Vintage Phono Stage)

[AudioTodd]

I think I've posted this before, but also great were the quirky folks staffing these stores. And these stores existing as a nice fit for employment of these people. Maybe Best Buy Geek Squad has taken over that role?

That is a great point!! I, as a geek, loved it and loved those quirky folks that loved working there. Everyone can thrive and be fulfilled given the right place to do so!!

 

[SKBubba]

Out of the blue, every bank officer of every "small" bank got a big orange binder of regulatory compliance materials in the mail

I remember that project. Ken Kirchan hired a compliance expert lawyer and staff to do a complete review of all our software and to consult with developers on new products and enhancements. They also set up a hotline for customers. It was very popular, so Kirchman decided what the hell, let's give it away to every bank. It was genius marketing, typical of some of the crazy stuff he was known for, good and bad.

 

[MerlinGS]

I'd forgotten about that. Imagine, if you will, the irony of a 'politically radical' musical group singing about 'the revolution' ("free minds, free bodies, free dope, free music...") taking a software company to court over copyright infringement! You can't make that stuff up.

View attachment 107969

I may be biased, since many of my clients are in the IT space and IP is a matter of concern, but I don't see any irony. One can argue for "free minds, free bodies, free dope, free music...", while at the same time argue third parties should not freely commercially profit from the creations of others. That being said, I'm not familiar with their music. If they argue that a person should be free to commercially profit from a third party's IP without any form of compensation or agreement, then I stand corrected.

 

[Robin L]

Looks a lot like a phono pre I was using about 10 years ago. Not great, not terrible.

 

[cgallery]

Someone at another site suggested possibly eliminating AC from the chassis by using an external linear regulated wall wart.

Finally got around to trying it. Basically pulled everything from the PS section of the board except for the final capacitor (C17), added a DC jack (had to make a bushing with my CNC router to make it fit the old cord grip hole), and used a Bogen 24vdc linear regulated wall wart (already on hand).

My 42-2109 (the Korean version of the 42-2101) has had the eBay parts upgrade kit done previously. And it was already pretty darn quiet, but is even more-so now with the power supply elsewhere. Cranking the volume on my ZPre3 preamp to 100% just gives me some thermal noise, no AC noise whatsoever.

I do like the sound of these. I have used a bunch of other phono stages, a MoFi StudioPhono, Parks Budgie, a TC-750, a bunch of lower-end stuff. The 42-2109 is pleasantly non-grainy but gives me detail in spades. I also appreciate the 36db gain, as my ZPre3 maximum input before clipping is 2.5v. Many MM phono stages these days are of the 40db gain ilk and with a hot cartridge and hot record, you could hit 2.5v output.

 

[jtgofish]

These old Realistic fully discrete phonos sound very good.Much better than most of the sub $500 op amp based phono stages.Better than both the Dynavector 75 and EAR 834P in my system.A number of friends are using them in place of modern ones worth up to $1000.

 

[EJ3]

But I bet the Honda was the better choice regarding reliability, fuel consumption and price.

I have little to no problems getting parts for my 1968, 71, 79, 81 & 96 American cars ([body parts as well] all of which have hit 300K). Same for my 81 & 04 Mercedes (somewhat more difficult to get parts for). My 2000 Nissan Frontier Extended Cab 4 cyl. truck (with 187K miles on it)? Currently I am having to fabricate valve buckets and shims, as they seem to be made from Japanese UNOBTANIUM. Not to mention the parts prices are way better for AMERICAN car parts. So if you keep your cars for the long haul... (And I also own a 2012 Lexus ES350 with 37K miles on it and the paint is flaking off of the primer. I recently sold my 2007 Honda Fit with 50 K miles (a wonderful little white car whose paint had become like chalk).

 

[LTig]

I have little to no problems getting parts for my 1968, 71, 79, 81 & 96 American cars ([body parts as well] all of which have hit 300K). Same for my 81 & 04 Mercedes (somewhat more difficult to get. My 2000 Nissan Frontier Extended Cab 4 cyl. truck (with 187K miles on it)? Currently I am y to fabricate valve buckets and shims, as they seem to be made from Japanese UNOBTANIUM. Not to mention the parts prices are way better for AMERICAN car parts. So if you keep your cars for the long haul... (And I also own a 2012 Lexus ES350 with 37K miles on it and the paint is flaking off of the primer. I recently sold my 2007 Honda Fit with 50 K miles (a wonderful little white car whose paint had become like chalk).

When I retired my 2002 Honda Jazz (Fit) in 2020 after 225,000 km due to failing gears the paint (metallic ice blue) was still in very good condition except on the rear mirrors on both doors. Those lost their colour years before.

 

[EJ3]

When I retired my 2002 Honda Jazz (Fit) in 2020 after 225,000 km due to failing gears the paint (metallic ice blue) was still in very good condition except on the rear mirrors on both doors. Those lost their colour years before.

The Lexus sat (as obvious by the miles) in 3/4 in the sun 15 degrees above the equator, so, as to the paint... It has only been serviced at authorized Lexus service centers (it's my wife' and I was usually only home every few months. The air bag also shows the red light on the dash (intermittently but 80% of the time) for the passenger side one but the dash indicates that it is on when someone sits there (which is true through testing). I have had the radio module (where the circuits that control the sensors are) taken out and all the connectors checked. It didn't do it for 3 days but started doing it again at that point. It's likely a heat related indicating circuit malfunction in the radio-computer controls that I am not willing to replace for a thousand+$ when according to the Lexus dealership the airbag circuit is actually operating as it should.
I am absolutely not a fan of front-wheel drive (although a Honda CRX, in European engine & Jackson Racing suspension trim gets close) but I liked the way the Honda Fit drove (after I added KYB struts & Michelin rain tires in a +1 size [which I have also done to the Lexus, it's still to soft, even in sport mode) better than the Lexus. But the Mark Levinson sound system in the Lexus is awesome compared to anything Honda had. The Honda's paint turned to chalk [even with quarterly detailing) in 3 years. Part of that is the EPA/OSHA type rules on the paint compositions and application & the trying to be cheap & hit a price point all going through changes back then.

 

[thewas]

In the approximately the last 2 decades most cars have a dual coat paint with clear coat even on non-metallic colours so the fading of paint which was most extreme on red is luckily a thing of the past. Still even the clear coat needs a regular detailing with some wax or polymer or ceramic sealant and quick removal of bird poop (especially at large temperatures) as otherwise it will start cracking, leading to the so called clear coat failure. I own several cars the oldest being from 1975 and they all have their original paint in superb condition thanks to my detailing obsession.

 

[LTig]

I have to admit I never detailed a car in my whole life. Still the paint of the 2002 Honda looked fine to my (non critical) eyes.

 

[Doodski]

I have to admit I never detailed a car in my whole life. Still the paint of the 2002 Honda looked fine to my (non critical) eyes.

I've always run mine through the automatic car wash stuff and got scratchy swirl marks from the sand and whatever debris was in the brushes and mops they used. The closest I got to detailing a car was painting my first car a Ford Cortina 2000 GT in Tremclad Rustolium Red. But my motorcycles where my babies and received regular wax coatings because they have such nice paint and decals.

 

[cgallery]

This HAS to be one of the most interesting thread tangents I've seen in a long, long while.

My 1976 Honda CVCC came with red paint that was factory faded. But it sure was a dependable car, and economical on the fuel.

And the heater could melt your face.

 

[EJ3]

This. In my younger days, no new hi-fi setup was done until a trip to Radio Shack for a cable, adapter, power strip, or something. My wife joked about it. In my early career of mainframe bank software development, no on-site implementation was finished without a trip to Radio Shack for an RS-232 cable, null modem adapter, breakout box, or something. Later on it was that one more ethernet or printer cable you needed. You could always find a Radio Shack, even in rural Alabama, Mississippi or South Georgia. Good times. Now, you might get lucky for something basic at the local Walmart which are ubiquitous. Anyway, thanks for the memories.

Just to let you'll know that they still exist and have much of what you folks are used to seeing at a Radio Shack: There are still some Radio Shack Franchises around: Hurricane Electronics/Radio Shack in Summerville, SC is one (it's about a 20 mile drive for me to go there but it's worth it when I go:

Brands We Offer​

We offer some of the Radio Shack product line, JL Audio sales and installation, Crossfire Audio, Pioneer Car Audio Products, and Cobra and Wilson CB Products, and more..
Also go to RadioShack.com for:

BREADBOARDS & IC SOCKETS

• TRANSISTORS & ICS
• SWITCHES
• LEDS & OPTOELECTRONICS
• CAPACITORS
• RESISTORS
• DIODES & RECTIFIERS
• KNOBS
• PROJECT ENCLOSURES
• MORE PARTS & COMPONENTS >

TOOLS & MATERIALS

• SOLDERING IRONS
• SOLDER & FLUX
• CHEMICALS & CLEANERS
• HAND TOOLS
• METERS & TEST EQUIPMENT
• HOOK-UP WIRE
• FLASHLIGHTS

3D PRINTING

• 3D PRINTERS
• FILAMENT
• PARTS & ACCESSORIES

HOBBY & DIY KITS

• ELECTRONICS KITS & PROJECTS
• ROBOTICS
• ARDUINO
• RASPBERRY P

and all sorts of the other stuff that you are used to seeing in a Radio Shack store.

 

[jtgofish]

Just to let you'll know that they still exist and have much of what you folks are used to seeing at a Radio Shack: There are still some Radio Shack Franchises around: Hurricane Electronics/Radio Shack in Summerville, SC is one (it's about a 20 mile drive for me to go there but it's worth it when I go:

Brands We Offer​

We offer some of the Radio Shack product line, JL Audio sales and installation, Crossfire Audio, Pioneer Car Audio Products, and Cobra and Wilson CB Products, and more..
Also go to RadioShack.com for:
BREADBOARDS & IC SOCKETS

• TRANSISTORS & ICS
• SWITCHES
• LEDS & OPTOELECTRONICS
• CAPACITORS
• RESISTORS
• DIODES & RECTIFIERS
• KNOBS
• PROJECT ENCLOSURES
• MORE PARTS & COMPONENTS >

TOOLS & MATERIALS

• SOLDERING IRONS
• SOLDER & FLUX
• CHEMICALS & CLEANERS
• HAND TOOLS
• METERS & TEST EQUIPMENT
• HOOK-UP WIRE
• FLASHLIGHTS

3D PRINTING

• 3D PRINTERS
• FILAMENT
• PARTS & ACCESSORIES

HOBBY & DIY KITS

• ELECTRONICS KITS & PROJECTS
• ROBOTICS
• ARDUINO
• RASPBERRY P

and all sorts of the other stuff that you are used to seeing in a Radio Shack store.

The thought that they still exist is sort of comforting.It is like listening to Jim Reeves in mono.

 

[ronniebear]

I bet the Realistic sa-150 would beat the realistic pre amp. sa-150 has a switchable cartridge section and even jacks for speaker. I'll be it, only 1 watt at 8 ohms. They both go around the same price on ebay. I would pick the one with more options.

Have you used the SA-150 or its successor micro-amps, the Optimus (or RCA) SA-155? These once were very common at garage/yard sales, swap meets, estate sales, pawn shops and charity thrift stores. It seems like there's a novelty value, they are compact and (I presume) are very reliable. As for the phono stage, on VWestlife's YT video pertaining to the RCA SA-155, he states that the internal MM stage (in his observation) doesn't seem to follow the RIAA equalization curve. Realistic mini component stereo system It's kind of fun to poke around at the bottom-of-the-line entry-level low-cost hi-fi components of decades ago, it is surprising that some of these low-end units are still usable three or four decades later. I'm guessing that BOTL Aiyima Class D amps outperform the SA-150/SA-155 but will they last as long?

 

[Capitol C]

I call BS on this. Making and importing from somewhere else is just cheaper (and you’ve gotten used to that) but only because you don’t care about impact on that somewhere - human exploitation, environment exploitation, tax evasion, etc.

A late reply, but David Ricardo is rolling in his grave.

 

[cgallery]

A late reply, but David Ricardo is rolling in his grave.

Yeah, well, a lot of economists were/are oblivious.

 

[Jp_nh]

Oh wow that was my first turntable preamp for a mono Heathkit tube amp my uncle gave me in the late 80s. That brings back memories. Thanks for the review!