Can you tell me about the Jensen Model 4

secondslc · Nov 4, 2008

Hey guys
Picked these up months ago at a local thrift store. I am finally getting around to re-foaming them to see how they sound. The cabinets are a rather sturdy walnut covered MDF, and the 10 inch woofer seems well built enough with a decent magnet. The mid is in fine shape behind the grille, but the dome tweeter has wrinkles in it as if it was pushed in and pulled back out.

Does anybody have any experience with this era Jensen? I know their earlier stuff is respectable, but I was wondering if these are good candidates for a zilch style upgrade, or I should leave them be and enjoy. :music:

Pics

Franksta · Nov 4, 2008

I have a pair. It's been quite a long time since I heard them but I remember being less than impressed by the sound. i think it is partly because I was expecting a lot from a 3 way with a 10 inch woofer. Also the speakers that I have to compare them to are big competitors. The lack of bass response is what I remember most. I would like to give them another try. Perhaps I under powered them or it was poor room placement.

I am sure that they are worth the refoam. i don't think the wrinkled dome on the tweeters will make much difference. Please post your impressions after you test them out. Good Luck! Franksta

shocley · Nov 4, 2008

Every time I see a Jensen 4 post asking about how they sound, I reply with my experience with them. I auditioned a pair for sale on Craigslist. The owner left me alone with them while he went out to cut the grass. I listened to a broadcast of a Baroque-era opera on the local classical music FM station. A female vocalist was singing. It was absolutely stunning...almost identical to the real thing. Now, YMMV for different kinds of music or speaker postitioning. Maybe it was a fluke. The speakers had been re-coned (rather than re-foamed; I presume the owner knew what he was talking about), so maybe the new cones were better than the originals.

I didn't buy the speakers because they were a little overpriced and I'm more than a little cheap. Idiot.

karlo · Nov 5, 2008

i had a pair and am sorry i sold them. they were a favorite for a long time, but i kept
getting newer ,flashier missions ,paradigms , jbls ..so i sold them to make room.
now i miss them

mine had excellent tight bass after a refoam. those phenolic domes have rather
large alnico magnets . the veneer was flawless.

the tricky thing w/ these speakers was getting the damned controls for tweeter + mid
levels set properly (be sure to clean them well while you have access to them )

feed them 50-80 watts of clean power (yamaha,NAD,Rotel, etc ) + i think you will be pleasantly surprised .

secondslc · Nov 5, 2008

shocley said:
A female vocalist was singing. It was absolutely stunning...almost identical to the real thing. Now, YMMV for different kinds of music or speaker postitioning. Maybe it was a fluke. The speakers had been re-coned (rather than re-foamed; I presume the owner knew what he was talking about), so maybe the new cones were better than the originals.

Thats the exact post I remember reading when I was deciding to pick them up, i just couldn't find it!

I picked them up for 30 bucks, Cant wait to have them foamed. I might match them up with my 2270, or my JVC integrated(45 wpc) that I really really really like with my KLH 23s. Cant wait to hear the jensens that should be a bit fuller range.

Roypercy · Nov 6, 2008

I had a pair, and sold them when "upgrade fever" gripped me and I ran out of storage space. I still kind of regret it. Mine were in beautiful condition, and after refoaming the woofers and recapping the crossovers they were very good speakers; detailed, neutral, tight bass. Just a good all-around speaker. SOme of the most substantial internal construction I've seen (heavy-duty wiring, etc) Very underrated speakers IMO. Enjoy them!

shocley · Nov 6, 2008

secondslc said:
Thats the exact post I remember reading when I was deciding to pick them up, i just couldn't find it!

I picked them up for 30 bucks, Cant wait to have them foamed. I might match them up with my 2270, or my JVC integrated(45 wpc) that I really really really like with my KLH 23s. Cant wait to hear the jensens that should be a bit fuller range.

Well, I hope they work out OK, then...otherwise I'll have angry people coming after me: "Thou fool, talking me into those @#*$*!! speakers!!".

I still think they'll be fine; they'll give highs that are completely there, yet rounded nicely. I suspect that the excellence I perceived in the vocals is due to a nice midrange driver, which the owner hadn't done anything to. Interestingly enough, the ones I auditioned were driven by a JVC receiver, with the 5 band equalizer, though a slightly later model than your integrated amp. I think all the controls were set flat. With 5 bands on the amp, and a tweeter and midrange control on the speakers, you have a lot of room for sonic tailoring.

I also have KLH 23's, which I like for classical music. The 23's have many fans, and some detractors, too. Going to the audio boards, I found that at any given time the fans would predominate, then the detractors ruled the roost, sort of like the liberal/conservative pendulum in politics.

I think the Jensen 4 will do better than the KLH's, though

mysticvinyl · Nov 11, 2008

Yeah I just had mine refoamed, I'm in the UK pretty rare here Id imagine.
They seem okay, female vocals seem a bit shouty though, unless the surrounds/bass has to run in a bit , to catch up sorta thing? Running them on a Pioneer A757 Mk2 SO MAYBE NOT THE BEST MATCH IN THE WORLD. OOps big letters, sorry. Good potential, should get them on a Luxman perhaps

)
Well worth a fix, good for rock, but match them up well. Take care all.

Live the life you love, love the life you live

secondslc · Mar 3, 2009

shocley said:
I also have KLH 23's, which I like for classical music. The 23's have many fans, and some detractors, too. Going to the audio boards, I found that at any given time the fans would predominate, then the detractors ruled the roost, sort of like the liberal/conservative pendulum in politics.

I think the Jensen 4 will do better than the KLH's, though

Bringing this thread back from the dead.

Interesting you compared the 4 to the 23 on a bigger JVC integrated. I did just that after the re-foam.

Using a JVC A-X5 (70wpc), i played a track with some very low bass extension. The Jensen had slightly less bass in this song, but the surrounds are still rather new, so that may change.

The midrange and highs were extremely smooth and natural. But I was less than impressed with imaging. It may have been the placement...but the 23s were dead on..while the Jensens didnt really have a sweet spot.

Either way, they are more than impressive given the investment, great build quality, and they will make my brother happy.

electro440 · Sep 29, 2012

Great Speakers

I picked up a pair of these at Goodwill for 13 bucks and they are in magnificent shape! I looks like he might have replaced the woofer though. I haven't taken it off yet. I'll get some pics on tonight and I'll see if I have time to take it out. As soon as you take the grill off it looks like the day it was made. The cabinet is beautiful too. It only has a couple of small corner bumbs in the back side. He obviously took great care of them. What really struck me was how heavy they were! Anyone know how these would compare to KLH model 6's?

electro440 · Dec 2, 2012

Pics

I know you guys already have some pics, but here are mine. Like I said the woofer has been replaced. Sorry it's so dark I'll try to get another one with a little more light.

beefsquasher · Mar 12, 2013

I recently picked up a pair of Jensen Model 4 speakers at my local goodwill for $15. Did a quick re-foam and re-cap. The pots for the treble and midrange were shot, so I replaced them with a suitable alternative.

All told, about $60 spent.

And I'll be darned if they aren't some very fine sounding speakers! Very real and natural midrange. The dome tweeters also give the system real high frequency extension that I find a lot of speakers from this era lack. I find the bass to be very tight and extremely detailed. I use an eq to bump the very bottom octave (maybe 40-80hz range) as I find that the speakers sound a bit rolled off and over damped. They take the boost just fine, and it seems that the woofers have plenty of power handling and excursion in reserve to keep up.

Very worth the investment if you can pick up a pair cheaply. I think a pair just sold on that auction site for $150 or so, so somebody else must like them...

electro440 · Apr 11, 2013

Yes, I'd agree with you. They sound absolutely wonderful. Glad to have them back after going so long without them. (Some stuff happened, and I couldn't use them)

dlev4 · Jun 13, 2013

I guess this dates me but I still have my Jensen 4s that I bought back in high school in 1971. I even have the original receipt ($99 each, or over $550 each in todays dollars). I've always thought they sounded good so never replaced them. I use them now for listening to CDs and as the front left and right speakers in a secondary home theater set up with Paradigm center, sub, and back speakers.

mhardy6647 · Jun 13, 2013

mysticvinyl said:
Yeah I just had mine refoamed, I'm in the UK pretty rare here Id imagine.
They seem okay, female vocals seem a bit shouty though, unless the surrounds/bass has to run in a bit , to catch up sorta thing? Running them on a Pioneer A757 Mk2 SO MAYBE NOT THE BEST MATCH IN THE WORLD. OOps big letters, sorry. Good potential, should get them on a Luxman perhaps )
Well worth a fix, good for rock, but match them up well. Take care all.

Live the life you love, love the life you live

IF one were to compare the titular Jensens to the IMF SuperCompacts in this poster's avatar - there would be no comparison

(MY hardly-humble opinion, of course). The Jensens would be fun if they're cheap enough. The IMFs are superb.

cgutz · Jun 13, 2013

Jensen went through some changes in the 80's and got a reputation for cheaper home speakers, cone tweeters, etc.

I have a set of 24's (3 ways) that I've had in use since 1977. I have refoamed and replaced capacitors. With my recent acquisition of a Bell tube amp, they have a whole new life. Very good high end detail, good sound stage when properly positioned. Bass is deep & tight if a bit weak. This is easily corrected by a bit of bass tone control boost.

I really like them. $375 list price in 1975. Over $1000 in todays dollars!

Teradacto58 · Jul 15, 2013

I passed a pair at a VV store last weekend......$24.95 each....but the woofers were duct taped and cones frozen! If they were 1/2 off I would have bought them!

tswmcello · Jul 16, 2013

Just picked some of these last week with a Sony STR-DE135 for $40, the foam shipped yesterday and I'm grabbing some 4" dustcaps tomorrow from PE (local for me). Does everyone here use shims too? I just like being sure it will be centered... Otherwise tested one of these with foam mostly intact, sound pretty goos, cant wait to foam them and crank em up.

tswmcello · Jul 17, 2013

Just refoamed the Model 4's this morning at about 10AM, came home around 5:15 and they're all set up so I tried them out..wow! These honestly compete with the Column II Infinities in the room and I actually like the sound a little better! Definitely worth a refoam, and because the spiders seemed strong I tried without shims for first time, great success..so much easier than tearing off the dust cap etc.

rob303 · Jan 5, 2015

I just scored a really nice pair at a thrift store. Grills are great too!

I'd like to rework and upgrade the crossovers, upgrade the wiring and replace the spring-loaded taps with spade binding posts. Does anyone have experience doing this? Anyone know anything about bypassing the tone controls? I am also wondering if I should replace the woofer foam even though the current foam is intact. I'm trying to get the most out of these for a secondary system in my living room.

Thanks!

Can you tell me about the Jensen Model 4

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