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Jensen OPC 24 and OPC 25 Speakers

NicholasG

NicholasG

Active Member
Jensen OPC 24 25.jpg Jensen OPC 24 25 2.jpg As a Kid growing up my parents had the Jensen OPC 22 speakers and I can still remember how great they sounded back then. The bass was deep the speakers looked cool with the plastic thing covering the control and the colored speakers. I was hooked as a kid when I first saw these and even more when I heard them.

Anyways growing up they disappeared and I have always wanted more. Finally found some after years of looking. I not only found one pair but, two pairs. I also did not know they were the OPC series of speakers either till recently. I found on craigslist the Jensen OPC 24's and Jensen OPC 25's all needed foam on all drivers. I went to Chester electronics in town here, bought some foam rings for all the speakers and installed the foam myself. I had forgot how wonderful these speakers sound and I can recall now why I was hooked on speakers after these. The overall sound they put out is super full and robust. Bass is amazing and super deep, mid range is full and the treble is crisp and smooth. I have the speakers stacked on one another in my rec room. Speakers need to be made like this again. Music comes alive these speakers. What I'm really happy about with these is that they bring me back to my childhood...That right there is worth it all! These speakers will have a great home for the rest of their lives. If I could I would replace the other stereo systems speakers with Jensen OPC's if they come around more. These speakers ROCK!!
 
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Welcome to AK!

You are among peers here for sure. Most of us started in this hobby for very similar reasons, we yearned for the stereo of our youth. The reasons vary, like yours, to rekindle fond memories or to own the stereo we lusted after at an age we could not afford it. No matter, the fun is all the same, enjoy them. But a fun word of caution, it can lead to more vintage audio entering your life! :music:

Interestingly, my first real stereo in college during the early 80's had Jensen speakers. They were not too high fidelity at all, but I have only great memories of them. Lugging them back and forth as I moved around campus during those years. Ahhh, the memories.
 
Thanx Audio Fan. I'm so glad there is a site with this stuff still being talked about. Trust me, I have a love for the vintage audio gear already lol. Stuff today is sub par at best where as, almost every stereo produced back then had real watts, not this discrete amp crap! I agree with you it is fun, as I have been searching for these speakers since about the late nineties. In the eighties I was not even double digits but just how they sounded and looked I fell for speakers right then. I would love to get my hands on the OPC 22's as well but they don't seem to come up much around here. I have started to build my vintage audio set up already. If I see more come up I will grab them lol. Your speakers in your profile pic look rather impressive. Bet they crank out the watts lol.
 
Hi Nicholas
I had a pair of the 24's a couple of years ago. I did like them. I believe when new they had a felt ring around the tweeter. The theory was that this reduced the harshness. These felt rings were very susceptible to decay so they didn't last long. The theory of their use seems to be valid and has come up before in AK land. Its fairly easy to make replacements, and you would use red felt to go along with Jensons color scheme. The Inside diameter of the ring would be the same as the outside diameter of the wire mesh covers. And it wasn't to difficult to replace the capacitors in the crossover.
BoB
 
Hi Bob,
Thanks for the tip... They did have them around all the tweeters when I got them but literally, they crumbled when you lightly touched them. I took that stuff off. I will have to look for more of that felt you guys are talking about. I will for sure get the red as I do like the color scheme however I was not able to find blue woofer foam or yellow midrange foam. I took those speakers apart and it looked pretty easy to change out the capacitors. Also, all four speakers had that wire winding below the capacitors. Do those need to be replaced as well?
 
NicholasG said:
Hi Bob,
I took those speakers apart and it looked pretty easy to change out the capacitors. Also, all four speakers had that wire winding below the capacitors. Do those need to be replaced as well?
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Nope, only the capacitors. Be happy, too, because inductor prices are outrageous.

GeeDeeEmm
 
Thanks for the tip! Was not aware of the proper name to call those things.

Seriously......I cant get enough listening time into these speakers...The sound is better than I recall. The bass is unbelievably deep.... I don't know if its because I have the 24's stacked up on the 25's, or they are both in corners but, I have actually come to like stacking speakers A and B on top of each other. I think it improves the overall sound.
 
Read my postings about my Jensen 24 here:
http://www.hifiengine.com/gallery/images/jensen-opc24.shtml
http://www.hifiengine.com/manual_library/jensen/opc-speaker-systems.shtml
http://www.hifiengine.com/manual_library/jensen/opc-24.shtml

I also see the foam ring that originally surrounded the tweeters is missing, it did help tame the high end - a minor repair/update that really helps the high frequency clarity: http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/in...dge-diffraction-on-jensen-24-speakers.421679/


I've had mine since 1978, recently got a vintage tube amp...really opened these speakers up!
 
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Great to hear your're happy with the stacked Jensen's. Jensen used to put out some good woofers so I'd bet the low end is pretty good.
BTW, any sewing store like Joann's will have lots of felt for that tweeter. Or, if you want grey felt, I have a few yards of English wool felt stored around here. I'd be happy to send you a piece for Christmas.
 
Ive heard felt for ring diffusers is good. The oem was open cell foam about same dimensions as the felt weather strip I used.

I recapped mine a few years ago and added the coils to the crossovers to match later tevisions of the speaker.

Curious how the 25 sound compared to the 24.
 
cgutz said:
I also see the foam ring that originally surrounded the tweeters is missing, it did help tame the high end
Click to expand...

Yes, the foam was all there on the speakers but literally if it got bumped it fell apart. I just took it off as it was getting all inside the tweeters. So that foam really does help with the sound? I just read your post about the difference. Did you notice any other improvement? I will look for felt or something similar in red I can put there. You seem really happy with your Jensen's as well. I can understand lol. Perhaps one day I will find a tube amp I can connect them to.

cgutz said:
Curious how the 25 sound compared to the 24
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The difference from what I can tell is it has more lower end but that could be because they are on the bottom as the woofers do not seem to move as much as the 24's. But that could be because the 25's have a higher power rating. There seems to be more mid range coverage overall output through the speaker but, the power the two put out seems to equal the power output of the 24's single midrange. It appears that Jensen used 16 ohm midrange speakers in the 25's and hooked them up in a way to make it 8 ohm speakers. I went back and bought the 25's actually because I was so pleased with the sound the 24's output. I knew they would be just as awesome as a speaker......they are. :P

westend said:
Jensen used to put out some good woofers so I'd bet the low end is pretty good
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Yes those appear to be rather good lol. I am very pleased with them.
And thank you so much...that is so awesome of you to offer. :)
 
Since those photos were taken I used a red sharpie permanent marker to dye the weatherstrip read. Looks great, but then I also fabricated black cloth covers so the cones are not exposed.

The felt weatherstrip around the tweeter did make a noticeable improvement in sound, but then I switched amplifiers to a tube amp around the same time, put in new gaskets on the speakers, and rerecapped, so the effects were cumulative.The reality is that the original foam rubber around the tweeters was not just cosmetic, it was functional, and replacing it would improve the smoothness and imaging of the sound. I read a post from a former Jensen designer who said their speakers were susceptible to cabinet edge diffraction on the tweeters, hence the foam to help tame it. Whether it was the best design solution is arguable, but I simply mimicked the original engineer's solutions. A good article: http://www.speakerdesign.net/audioXpress/diffraction/diffraction.html

I also found moving the 24's 1.5 feet out from the corners, and placing them on a stand so the tweeter is at eye level while seated, while diminishing bass a bit, made the sound stage REALLY bloom. I moved them around a bit to find the balance between strength of bass and open soundstage.

I have kept the Jensen's through all the years, through many different amplifiers. In the 90's I once tried to replace them with a set of Polk Audios that were about $900/pair as I remember. Even my wife thought the Jensens sounded better overall, so I had them refoamed and took the Polk's back.

In my opinion, these are basically the last of the really good Jensen bookshelfs. Follow on models were cheap and cheap sounding. They really went downhill in their home audio speakers after the mid 70's. That is one reason these speakers don't get much attention or respect. The Jensen name became damaged due to latter marketing and design decisions.
 
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cgutz said:
In my opinion, these are basically the last of the really good Jensen bookshelfs. Follow on models were cheap and cheap sounding. They really went downhill in their home audio speakers after the mid 70's. That is one reason these speakers don't get much attention or respect. The Jensen name became damaged due to latter marketing and design decisions.
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I think you nailed it exactly. Good to see that some fine examples have survived. A quick Google image search brings up some of the exceptional products that Jensen became famous for.

GeeDeeEmm
 
Wow you really cleared things up, I will for sure hunt down some felt and affix it to the tweeters. As westend stated I will go to joann's and get some felt to put around it. I saw wool mentioned as well, if that is available should I go that route?

As for your suggestion about moving them up off the floor; I actually thought about doing that as well. Glad to hear you tried it and are pleased with the sound. As for the bass.....If your Jensen's sound like mine; the slight reduction will hardly be noticeable. I had to turn my bass down with these Jensen's to two notches past normal....I love bass... I don't ever turn bass down lol.
Your lucky to have kept the Jensen's with you the entire time...If I would have known...I would have kept better eye on those Jensen OPC 22's form my child hood...but, glad to have two pairs in my possession now. These speakers rock and have quickly become my most favorite speakers now. :)
--These speakers will not go anywhere.....I want more OPC Jensen's lol.
 
I just found a pair of 25's today. They also need refoaming. The foam on my mids are also cracked in many spots. Did you replace the foams on your mids?
 
Hey there. Bcbud3 yes I did replace the foam on all but one of the mids on the Jensen's. Those were easy to do as well although not as easy as the woofers were. Only because of the smaller size. Very rewarding though as I still love the sound these speakers produce. I always get compliments on how full and deep the music sounds. Both my Jensen's are proudly shown in my man cave, no covers. I still want more Jensens. Its my goal to replace those speakers with Jensen's. OPC speakers preferred or the LS series speakers. If you need tips LMK!
 
I bought a pair of 24s today, cheap. The ad didn't mention brand. The pic showed 2 speakers up in the rafters. Said they'd been unused for 20 plus years and had to go.

They need refoaming, but seem original and complete. 3 of the 4 knobs are stuck, but that's not a big deal.

The covers are in good shape. Even have the tinted plastic knob covers.

Here they are: DSC_2214.JPG DSC_2212.JPG DSC_2211.JPG DSC_2213.JPGDSC_2210.JPG DSC_2209.JPG
 
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