Car audio in the 6×9-inch standard is an extremely popular segment. With a pair of good "ovals," you could always achieve decent in-car sound – noticeably higher in class than the modest factory audio of many car models. However, buying quality "pancakes" has become difficult.
Today in Russia, it has become almost impossible to purchase car audio from brands that were always considered trendsetters in the mass segment with sufficiently high quality – Pioneer, Alpine, JBL, Sony, Panasonic, Kenwood, and the like. All these and similar companies have ceased operations in our country, and what is sold under their names on marketplaces is, in nine out of ten cases, crude counterfeits that have nothing to do with the original.
However, domestic brands have successfully replaced a significant share of the universal audio assortment in most popular sizes and niches over the past few years, ordering speakers with the required characteristics for themselves. True, not all and not completely.
Take, for example, the very popular 6×9-inch format in Russia – also known as "ovals" or "pancakes." This is audio with a diffuser size of 16×24 centimeters, typically coaxial – two-way or three-way. Traditionally, they were valued for the ability to create powerful, loud sound with elastic, tight bass, decent midrange, and acceptable highs at minimal cost and effort. That classic "all-in-one" solution in a single pair of drivers, characterized by these properties:
The issue is that replacing the lackluster factory audio in the doors often runs into the small mounting locations of the original speakers. In other words, whatever size speakers were installed at the factory, you have to install the same size when selecting higher-quality and more powerful analogs, and the increase in power and quality is limited in this case (unless, of course, we plan to disfigure the interior with various spacers and trims for larger door speakers). However, large coaxial 6×9-inch "pancakes" are by definition more powerful and wideband drivers, and they integrate perfectly into rear shelves on many body types – sedan, hatchback, station wagon, crossover, minivan, etc.
But let's see what we can actually find today in the "six by nine" segment on the domestic market, if we disregard the fake "Pioneers" and the like from marketplaces for a couple of thousand? In principle, you can find those familiar brands "from the old days," imported via gray imports. But 25-30 thousand for a pair of 6×9 "pancakes" from Alpine or Hertz may rightly seem excessive to many. And what do we see from brands that have taken over our market, which have no issues with shortages, gray imports, or difficulties identifying originals and fakes? Let's examine a few popular brands and models to understand the landscape and evaluate them according to our criteria.
All these speakers are from different DL Audio lines – single-band stage audio, as evident from the frequency response range. In other words, "shouters," severely limited in range both at the top and, more importantly, at the bottom. Belonging to "stage audio" is not a sign of low quality, but simply a set of characteristics for a specific car audio style. But in our case, it's important that the characteristics are not at all what one would typically expect from the 6×9-inch size, where we need powerful all-rounders with a range from deep bass to midrange and highs.
Also DL Audio. Better in terms of bass, but again we are dealing with only single-band audio. And high frequencies are not its strong suit. "Canonical pancakes" are not like this.
A simple economy-class speaker – small magnet, paper diffuser. Classic, certainly, but not in the understanding of the "6 by 9" standard.
Very good figures for the lower limit of reproducible frequencies, but this is a single-band midbass for a component setup. Not it...
In different "Ural" lines in the 6×9-inch size, we again encounter typical single-band representatives of stage audio, although we are not looking for them at all.
Now this is closer to the point – multi-channel coaxial "pancakes" with a wide range starting from a quite respectable bass of 55 hertz. But the manufacturer for some reason only indicates the maximum power in the specifications, and the "max" here is only 200 watts. This indicates a very modest nominal rating. Again, not quite what we would like.
From what was studied, only the three-way Storm 69.3 fully matched our criteria. And although the goal was not to monitor absolutely everything available for sale, considering the coverage of manufacturers whose assortment was studied, the conclusions are clear. In the car audio market in the 6×9-inch speaker segment, there is a clear shift towards stage audio, "shouters." And, accordingly, an obvious shortage of powerful universal "ovals" capable of qualitatively sounding a car interior as is – without the involvement of other speakers, amplifiers, external crossovers, component setups, etc.
However, some manufacturers see the strangeness of the current situation and deliberately try to uphold traditions that are being eroded. The Ultera RS69 "ovals" fully preserve (or restore?) all the best canons of this type of audio for those who do not need a noisy "stage style" in car audio. The power, frequency range, and design features of these coaxial "pancakes" are like those of the typical departed representatives of the class from brands like Pioneer, Kenwood, Sony, and others who knew a thing or two about classic "6 by 9s" and delivered a cohesive and powerful full-spectrum sound.
Incidentally, a new name on the domestic car audio scene is not so new. The developer of the Ultera line of dynamic drivers is Neoline. Yes, that very Neoline brand you all know well from some of the best dashcams and radar detectors. Having studied the market's specifics, the company formed its own line of "above-average" car audio in the most popular sizes, initially focusing on models most suitable for users planning to replace mediocre-sounding drivers in factory car audio systems. A feature of the Ultera family is the use of high-quality materials and solutions typical of significantly more expensive audio, as well as special attention to design, which is an issue with budget competitor models.
The emphasis in materials is on combining sound quality and the durability of the audio itself. Today, many can no longer change cars as often as before, every 3-4 years, and a car (new or decent used) is bought with an eye towards longer-term use. Accordingly, the sound quality of the audio system must also remain stable for many years. The fiberglass diffusers on butyl rubber surrounds and silk dome tweeters used throughout the Ultera speaker line are among the best acoustic materials, maintaining consistent characteristics across the widest range of temperatures and humidity typical for a car.
The two-way Ultera RS69 model in the 6×9-inch size comes in a large box, inside which are two individual "half-boxes" made of thick corrugated cardboard for each of the pair of drivers, eliminating even a hint of damage during transport.
The speakers are equipped with durable, resonance-resistant protective grilles and a set of mounting hardware.
90 watts nominal and 360 watts peak for the Ultera RS69 is a very good indicator. The overload capacity of drivers with large and heavy magnetic systems is very high, four times the nominal power. This is very important for reproducing bass peaks without distortion, characteristic of "proper pancakes." For budget drivers in general and "stage" ones in particular, the difference between maximum and nominal power usually does not exceed 2-2.5 times.
Signal transmission through the filter to the tweeter is provided by flat braided wires laid along the centering spider. This is a very serious solution used in high-quality audio. In the majority of simple models, round-section wires to the tweeter simply pass straight through the midwoofer diffuser, leading to their premature breakage and sometimes knocking against the diffuser at high volume.
By the way, the coil impedance of the RS69 is 3 Ohms, which allows you to painlessly get 15-20% more power from the head unit or amplifier compared to standard four-ohm speakers. Such impedance is often found in component and coaxial series of many brands.
The lower limit of the frequency range at 50 Hertz provides dense, punchy bass. The impact dynamics of drums are slightly excessive, but this does not spoil the sound. The "kick drum," of course, is not as expressive as in systems with a separate subwoofer, but it is quite full-bodied. Moderate bass distortion is ensured by a wide, honest butyl rubber surround without any "optimization games" with width and materials typical of inexpensive audio. Fast and transparent midrange frequencies with almost no distortion – their guarantee is the very light yet rigid fiberglass diffuser. The one-inch tweeter, responsible for the ceiling of 20 kHz, is equipped with a silk dome, which softens the highs, preventing them from becoming "razor-sharp" – but this is neither good nor bad, just a matter of taste.
Sensitivity is above average for the class. For good "ovals" in their traditional understanding, a sensitivity of 90 dB is normal. Here, this parameter is 92 dB (1W/1M). Higher sensitivity is typically characteristic of stage "shouters."
Today, the Neoline audio family consists of 4 models in the most popular sizes. Besides the RS69 "ovals," these are:
It is obvious that the Ultera line in general and the RS69 model in particular deserve attention first and foremost from those replacing factory drivers in new cars or "refreshing" audio systems in used cars. High-quality materials, impeccable assembly, and worthy characteristics are similar to audio components claimed to be significantly more expensive. In the future, the Neoline audio family will surely expand – we await!
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