JBL T696SE Coaxial 6×9 Three-way
Produced as a replacement for the classic ‘Best 6×9 of all time’ T595, the JBL T696 is a three-way, cast chassis loudspeaker system with soft dome midrange and tweeter and -3dB switch on the front for high frequency attenuation if needed. The box includes a die-cut cardboard template, a set of speaker wires, screws and clip fixings, foam gaskets and a multi-language but very basic manual sheet. The grilles are massively constructed and comprise a mesh panel that fits around the high and midrange driver assembly and has an outer oval of what looks like resin-inlaid carbon fibre but which, under a 10x lens appears to be a clever print. The words ‘High output speaker system’ and ‘JBL T696 Special Edition’ are cast into the inner oval of the grille and there is a neat silver JBL Special Edition badge to the left of each grille as it faces you.
– High Precision cast Aluminium chassis
– Two inch (50mm) voice coil to midbass driver
– Non-interrupt tweeter protection circuit
– Edge-driven textile dome midrange and tweeter
– 3dB Tweeter attenuation button on front of Mid/HF assembly
– Power handling 150w RMS, 450W peak
– Sensitivity 93dB (2.83V, 1m)
– Frequency Response: 35Hz to 20kHz
– Impedance 4 Ohms
– Mounting depth 81mm
– Screw connection terminals for bared-end speaker wires
– Cardboard die-cut fitting template, foam gasketting, fixings and speaker cable included
– Heavy duty cast grilles with carbon fibre finish
– Serial numbered product
Review by Adam Rayner
The JBL T696’s predecessor, the JBL T595 lasted so long that a ‘Decade’ version was released fully, er ten years after it was first sold. With a product lifespan like high end studio monitors and awesome build quality, they were incredible. The mid and tweeter sat on a cast aluminium piece that fitted into a side recess and was Allen-bolted to the side of the massive cast aluminium chassis and JBL proudly stated in their blurb at the time that pole piece-mounted mid/HF assemblies were for lesser brands. I owned and loved (and blew the hell out of on a few occasions before I realised my amps were too weak and were murdering via distortion) at least a couple of pairs of these. I loved them. They were descended from an even earlier product that I had had first, also with a cast chassis but a piezo-electric driven paper HF – a two way. If you recall these, you are at least 40! So these poor babies had a mighty Ivory Tower of excellence to climb before they could even be considered in the same breath as the speakers they were created to honour.
First off, I must get this off my chest. I opened the box and saw that they were pole mounted and was gutted. Surely can’t dust and bits of yuk get into your voice coil gap through this route? That said, I fought back the sheer prejudice and got serious. For one, all 6×9’s including the unbelievably good-sounding Morel Pulse two-ways that I tested when working for Fast Car magazine that won a group test of thirty (yes THIRTY – suck on that other reviewers!) had a pole mounted tweeter and secondly the power handling of these speakers is absolutely mad. At 150w RMS, with a stated 450w peak power handling, these might just beat the also-nutty-but-possibly cheating cut-down ten inch Boo-yah of a set of 7x10s made by DLS; The DLS 1070. They have a not particularly low bottom frequency range of 35Hz and oddly don’t seem to come with tweeters that reach up into the bat frequencies for the DVD-A and high end audiophiles to appreciate but this could well be a function of their immense might. Oddly again, despite this, they have huge efficiency at 93dB, so each watt you put in will really rock your world.
I loved the way they looked overall although bemoaned that the new form is curved Ally not hard-edge cut but that’s just me being an old git. Look at the new Audi TT and say that Fat Bloke! The grilles are gorgeous and I had to get my 10x magnification laboratory bug lens out to see that it looks like a printed finish and not real carbon fibre when you get really close-up.
I plugged in a Vibe Black Box 2 two channel amplifier (signal to noise is 114dB on that amp very clean sound) into a Clarion MAX973DVD two-DIN headunit’s two-zone output (only RCA out it has and it stonks) and put the ovals into a set of lovely plywood boxes made for me eons ago by Fusion’s Area 51 boys. T696s have an appetite for watts that I’m not sure many other ovals anywhere can match. Even the sawn off ten inch subs that DLS use ain’t quite as bonkers as these JBLs. Also, they didn’t seem to give a damn about the poles in their midst. (No references to excellent Polish tradesmen, please.)
They are very loud but do lack the refinement of the originals, yet somehow all these years later cost no more than the �200 odd quid the first product was originally priced at. Made in Vietnam, they are of course part of the eastern manufacturing phenomenon. Does that make then Pnomh Pehn phenomena?
These speakers are perfect for those wanting extremely serious sounds in the back for passengers or simply require an enormous score in the ‘What the F’s THAT?’ game where you score one point for every hundred yards of high street you can turn heads down while driving with your windows open. A hooligan’s delight and a seriously cool product. Daddy Ovals.
Overall 8.8
Sound Quality 8
Build Quality 9
Power Handling 10
Efficiency 9
Value For Money 8