These gorgeous Jensen’s were built during the height of Receiver Wars during the Golden Era of Audio. Branded as the Lifestyle Series of speakers they were heavily promoted in Audiophile publications such as Stereo Review in the mid to late 1970s. The LS-4b’s were smack in the middle of this range of speakers.
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The Lifestyle Series featured what Jensen referred to as as ‘Total Energy Response’, which roughly translates as the ability to completely fill a space not just with noise but with detailed sound information. And for once the adverts are telling the truth! They do indeed have a very wide spatial dispersion of sound throughout the sonic range, filling your room with music, and they truly do immerse you in an enchanting musical experience. The bass is terrific, these speaker were made to party and possess an amazing SPL – they just make you want to get up and dance! And BTW the LS-4B were only the mid-range in this series!
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The LS-4b featured a 25cm Woofer, a 8.75cm Mid-range and a 5cm Dome Tweeter.
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Cosmetically it appears that Jensen managed to avoid the cheap thin laminate that many other manufactures had adopted at this time. Overall the laminate on the pair I acquired is in great condition with no major peeling occurring anywhere, though some tiny lifting here and there is evident.
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Remember these speakers are rapidly approaching 40 years of age and some folks on the internet have described some of these units as having muddy or sloppy bass response. This is likely the situation where some these speakers have been hammered long and hard and their electrolytic capacitors are just plain worn out.
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The solution? While not a cure all often replacing the capacitors in the crossovers will do wonders for the sound in an old pair of speakers, tightening up the bass and delivering clear mid’s and highs, this can be especially the case if the electrolytics are replaced with audio grade polymer capacitors. I haven’t recapped this pair as yet because I have been enjoying them the way they are, but if I do I will certainly post it here.
Posted In: Speakers
Laseray
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Hello I just was given a pair of the S-4 version as far as I can tell, the cabinets & grills are MINT! the woofers & mids are deteriorated due to dry rot / age. Can I re-cone / re-build these speakers? If so, do you know where I can get the materials? I am pretty handy, as i repair Vintage turn tables, used to be a Laser Tech & Automated lighting tech, Jack of all trades master on none type guy! LOL!
Thanks for your site & any help you can offer! or just for putting up with this email.
Cheers!
Laseray