The Børresen X3 ranks #35 out of 37 total Large Size Floorstanding Speakers for sound quality. See Top Recommended Speakers By Attribute for all the top speaker suggestions.
#35 Børresen X3: $111,000.00
Pros: A 2.5-way tower built around a planar ribbon tweeter, a 4.5” mid-range driver, and dual 4.5” bass drivers, spec’d at 88dB/1W sensitivity into a 4-ohm nominal load (measured minimum impedance stays a friendly 6.1 ohms above 80Hz, so it doesn’t actually need much power despite the sub-90dB rating). Very wide, remarkably consistent horizontal directivity around ±70° gives an expansive, enveloping soundstage, helped by the reviewer’s pair measuring essentially identically to each other for tight image precision. A pronounced high-Q bass shelf centered around 80Hz (roughly 8dB above the mean level) delivers a punchy, attention-grabbing low-end thump at moderate volumes. Harmonic distortion is clean through the midrange at 86dB, and multitone distortion stays under about 3% even though the low end is handled by relatively small 4.5” drivers rather than something larger. Detailed, extended high frequencies when seated on the tweeter’s intended axis.
Cons: A significant midrange suckout centered around 200-300Hz measures 8-11dB below the mean SPL, creating an audible hole in the mid-range that multiple independent listeners also flagged unprompted. The 80Hz bass shelf comes with the worst low-frequency ringing the reviewer says he has measured to date on a waterfall plot - it lingers well after the surrounding frequencies have decayed, giving kick drum and bass notes a boomy, one-note quality. Significant dynamic compression sets in as volume rises: bass output near 90Hz drops only about 1.5dB at 86dB SPL, but the loss grows substantially by 96dB and 102dB (around 26dB of total dynamic range), so the appealing bass punch measurably fades at higher listening levels. The upper-midrange and lower treble (2-4kHz) read soft and recessed unless the listener sits almost exactly on the tweeter’s reference axis, within about 15° - the manufacturer’s recommended setup (tweeter aimed above ear height, per their design intent) makes this worse rather than better for a seated listener at normal height. A crossover-related directivity kink between the tweeter and mid-range driver, visible in the vertical response, trades some pinpoint image precision for a more diffuse sense of envelopment compared to smaller two-way designs. Resonances appear in the impedance curve near 300Hz and 2kHz, coinciding with the measured midrange dip.
How it compares: Just above it: Dali Rubikore 6 - $103000 cheaper, 0.5Hz higher bass extension (-3dB). Just below it: JBL Studio 590 - $109000 cheaper, 2.3Hz higher bass extension (-3dB).
| Bass Extension (-10dB) | 25Hz |
|---|---|
| Bass Extension (-3dB) | 50Hz |
| Dimensions | 50.8"H x 13.6"W x 23.9"D (1290.0 x 345.0 x 607.0 mm) |
| Drivers | Planar ribbon tweeter, 4.5" mid-range driver, dual 4.5" bass drivers |
| Impedance | 4 ohms |
| Sensitivity | 88dB |
| Weight | 121.3 lbs / 55 kg |
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