 |
 |
 |
Jensen XS2690 www.jensenaudio.com |
||
| Jensen climbs the 12-volt evolutionary ladder with their latest 6 x 9 offering. |
|||
| by Brian Smith | |||
| Not many components in the car audio world have had as rich a history as the ubiquitous 2-way 6 x 9. A few of us old geezers remember when the ultimate in automotive Hi-Fi consisted of an under-dash 8-track player, a 5-band EQ/ “power booster,” and a set of Jensen 6 x 9s in the rear deck. Noise floors were horribly high and alternator whine seemed to be a fact of life, but the rotted out muffler in that old Nova kept most people from complaining. As long as “Fat Bottom Girls” kept pumping out of those Jensens, nobody seemed to care. Times have changed. “Power boosters” gave way to real kilowatt power amps and the 8-track (thankfully) just went away. However, the 6 x 9 lives on, so let’s put Jensen’s latest through the wringer and see how they hold up. Subjective Despite the age of this design — or, more likely, because of it — these systems sound quite nice. Several decades of product development should produce impressive results. They seem a little hot in the very top end, but considering that the majority of installations (i.e., rear deck) will put the listener 90 degrees off axis, this should be a beneficial trait. This top-end rise seems to begin high enough in frequency to leave vocal reproduction relatively unaffected. Listeners can tailor the top end to their personal taste thanks to a swivel tweeter that allows them to direct higher frequencies toward a general spot in the car. There’s a slight midrange coloration that can make some female vocals seem a bit breathy, but it’s not overly objectionable. In our relatively small (compared to a trunk) test boxes, low-frequency reproduction was quite good, delivering considerable midbass impact and a fair amount of extension. We’ve all heard trashy sounding 6 x 9s in the past and, consequently, they’ve garnered an unfavorable reputation in many circles. There’s certainly nothing magical about a round speaker. All other things being equal, a 6 x 9 offers a substantial increase in cone area over a round 6-inch driver. The XS2690s definitely do not fall into the trashy 6 x 9 category. Check them out, they may just change your mind about the old 6 x 9. If you’re an old geezer, don’t forget to bring that Queen CD that you used to have on 8-track. Objective The impedance curve for these systems shows a maximum of 9.5 ohms at 97 Hz and a minimum of 4.1 ohms at 200 Hz. One-watt-at-one-meter sensitivity measured 88 dB SPL with 500 Hz to 2 kHz band-limited pink noise. Both RTA and semi-anechoic measurements show a relatively smooth, if not hammer-flat, response. |
|||
| Price & Contact: $69/pair; 407-333-8900; www.jensenaudio.com |
 |
  |