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Xtant XSC 2.5 www.xtant.com |
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| An extra-shallow mounting depth and accurate reproduction make Xtant's XSC 2.5 component systems a solid choice. | |||
| by Brian Smith | |||
| The XSC 2.5s are 2-way component systems consisting of 5-inch midrange drivers, 1.25-inch soft dome tweeters, and external crossovers. These systems are intended for shallow mount applications, and to that end, the mid drivers measure a scant 2-3/8 inches deep. In addition, the mid-range driver also utilizes a 2-1/4-inch voice coil with the magnet structure on the inside. Both the mids and tweets feature neodymium magnet structures and the mids utilize butyl rubber surrounds. The crossovers feature 12 dB-per-octave slopes, gold-plated connections and a high frequency pad. Subjective Hershey Kisses ain't the only good things that come in small packages. Xtant has a sweet little component set going here, especially considering their ultra-shallow mounting depth. As expected, the low frequency performance from the 5-inch drivers isn't exactly astounding, but from about 200 Hz and up these systems deliver accurate reproduction. There seems to be just a little extra meat in the lower midrange compared to our reference monitors. However, as we've said many times, you're going to need an equalizer if you expect to get good spectral balance in a car, regardless of whose speakers you use. The only unusual thing we noticed with this system was that the flattest perceived overall response was attained with the tweeter adjustment on the crossover in its maximum position. That may well be a first for this reviewer. Most systems in this category will make your ears bleed when the tweets set at the max. (Xtant reports that the tweeters' flat response is due to the material that they utilize in their soft dome design.) Objective The impedance curve for these systems shows a maximum of 9.1 ohms and a minimum of 3.8 ohms over their usable range. These values occur at 2.1 kHz and 260 Hz, respectively. One-watt-at-one-meter sensitivity measured 84.1 dB SPL with 500 Hz to 2 kHz band-limited pink noise. Both RTA and semi-anechoic measurements show a smooth and relatively flat response over their usable range. |
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| Price & Contact: $TK; 888-449-8268; www.xtant.com |
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