Borresen X3 vs Harbeth 40.2 -- my impressions


After reading so many glowing reviews of the Borresen X3 speaker, I decided to go and audition them at a local dealer who was gracious enough to let me stay there for over 4 hours. I went there with the intention of buying the X3 if they appealed to me. I thought I’d share my impressions here for those who are interested, especially in comparison to my Harbeth 40.2 speakers that I adore.

 

The dealer at first hooked them up to the Axxess Forte 1 integrated amp. To be brutally honest, I was about ready to bolt in the first 10 minutes. I just don’t understand why Axxess is getting so much praise. It was the most flat, dry, and boring sound I’ve heard. Luckily, the dealer had some very high end Burmester amp, preamp, and music server (close to $100K retail for the three pieces), which he agreed to use instead. Huuuuuge difference! The Burmester really made those Borresens come alive and sing. IMO, AGD is really doing a disservice to the X line by pairing them with the Axxess in audio shows. They are capable of scaling with much better gear. Shame!

 

If a massive, immersive, and holographic soundstage is your primary criteria and your budget is $11k max, you should stop reading at this point. Run and get these speakers before AGD decides to raise the price. I have yet to hear a speaker in this price range with this kind of soundstage. But if you value other aspects of music reproduction, keep on reading ...

 

Soundstage Width, Depth, and Height:

No contest. Borresen is noticeably better. The soundstage is as tall as it is deep. I heard sounds coming from besides me and behind me. Depth, while not outstanding, is there for sure. Just not as impressive as the height and width relatively speaking. I still can’t get that immersive feeling out of my head.

 

Ability to disappear:

This is one area where Harbeth always struggles. Owing to the thin walls of its cabinets, one is always aware of the big box the sound emanates from. The X3s totally disappeared. Again, very impressive for a speaker in this price range.

 

Vocals:

Sorry, but the X3 is simply not in the same league as the 40.2 when it comes to vocals. There’s this little extra, lifelike quality to vocals in most Harbeth speakers that is hard to beat. I listened to some very familiar songs on the X3, and it became clear why I fell in love with the Harbeth sound many years ago. Female voices are more ethereal and nuanced, male voices have more chestiness. You hear the emotions and every little inflection in the singers’ voice. It simply gives more of the ‘singer in the room’ feeling.

 

Instrument Separation:

This is a tough one. Both are excellent in this regard. But I will give a very slight edge to 40.2s here. Or maybe not. I don’t know. Let’s call it evens.

 

Transparency and Realism:

This is where Harbeth pulled ahead of the X3s in a major way. I’m not saying that the X3s are deficient by any means, but the 40.2s just give you a lot more of it. You really have to live with them for a while to truly understand and appreciate what this speaker brings to the table. It’s truly addictive. The only other speakers I’ve heard that are better in this regard are the Quads or other electrostatics.

 

Midrange and Lushness:

My impression of Borresen speakers prior to this was that they were very fast, neutral, and quiet. But, much to my surprise, the X3s (or perhaps the X line itself) has been voiced to be more on the warm side of things. Sound was warm and had body. Unfortunately, this is being achieved by adding a bit of a mid bass bump. While it gives the speaker an overall warm predisposition, I felt it came at the expense of hiding details in the mid bass region. Harbeth is also known for a lush midrange but it doesn’t get here by sacrificing detail or exaggerating the sound. Another side effect of this characteristic was that acoustic instruments felt bigger than life. Guitars felt like they were 10 foot long. Piano strokes lacked the bite and immediacy that I get with 40.2s – and by the way this is not a particularly strong point of Harbeth either.

 

Tone and Timbre:

Harbeth to the front of the line, please. The timbre and tonal accuracy of the 40.2s is on another level. X3s are also very good in this regard but are somewhat outclassed by Harbeth.

 

Overall Refinement:

I apologize in advance if this is going ruffle some feathers, but the 40.2s are overall much more refined sounding than the Borresen X series. Again, this is only in comparison. On its own, I would never label the X3s as unrefined. The Harbeth just has this extra layer of refinement that you come to appreciate the more time you spend with it.

 

Bass:

As they say, there’s no replacement for displacement. The 4.5” drivers on X3 produce a prodigious amount of bass which is hard to believe considering the size of the drivers. Yet, the 12” woofer on 40.2s gives you more of that deep and tuneful bass. It just sounds more satisfying and fuller.

 

Look and Feel:

This is very subjective, of course, so please feel free to take it with a grain of salt. But I was not impressed by how the X3s looked in person, they lacked elegance. It kind of reminded me of Tekton – okay, maybe that’s too harsh, I take it back. But I was a little disappointed as they looked really nice in pictures. Wish they would lose the carbon fiber touch and the checkered driver patterns. The Harbeths, on the other hand, don’t look as impressive and nice in pictures. I mean what do you expect from an oversized shoebox on stands. But, the quality and craftsmanship of hand-built cabinets has a more timeless and elegant feel to it that has to be seen and felt to be appreciated. I just feel this style, boring as it is, just ages more gracefully.

 

Long story short, I have decided to stay with my 40.2s. They have many quirks, as pointed out by several members on this forum. But what they do, they do it exceedingly well. I found the Harbeth 40.x to be overall more transparent, lifelike, refined, and balanced. They don’t do dynamics as good as other speakers or disappear as much as other speakers in this price range, but they more than make up for it in other ways. I’ve heard people claim that the X3 are twice (or even thrice!) as good as their asking price. If soundstage is your primary criteria for judging speakers, then I wholeheartedly agree. But if you value transparency, vocals, timbre, tonal accuracy, and overall refinement ... the Harbeth 40.x series justifies its higher price, despite the shortcomings.

 

Having said that, I was still very impressed by Borresen X3 and won’t mind having it as a second pair once they hit the used market. But I feel the hype doesn’t quite align with what I actually heard during the audition. In this price range, I find Audio Vector to be a better value.

 

Please note that these are my opinions based on a ‘mere’ 4-hour demo, and only in comparison to my favorite speakers. It’s totally fine if someone draws a completely opposite conclusion, or tells me that I’m biased. My taste, my preferences, IMO, IHMO, etc. etc. etc.

 

 

128x128arafiq

Wonderful comparison!  Very well done.

 This is the kind of stuff I come to these forms for.

Your description is what I would pretty much have guessed

At beforehand.

Again, as I said they are a steal at their asking price. Are they as good as speakers twice the price? Based on my limited (4 hours) exposure, this is true in some cases (soundstage, imaging) but not so much in other cases (refinement, tonality, timbre, vocals, etc.). Just sharing my findings based on my preferences. Feel free to disagree :)

Since you somehow appear to have the price of a Harbeth 40 justified, allow me to shed some light. Have you spent any time around real musicians? I am a hobbyist violin/piano player who makes some guest appearances in some shows from time to time. Not sure what you understand about tonality, timbre, etc (something’s way off there too) but, lets keep it simpler...do you understand how a real instrument in real life hits ya?

A trumpet will hit a 110db. A trombone will hit a 110 db. A cello will hit a 110db. A flute will hit a 100db...etc....percussion, don’t even go there... These types of things will just exterminate your Harbeth 40.

That cheap cabinet, drivers, lack of innovation, etc are also the cheapest ways to make a rinse/repeat speaker and they have the audacity to charge 20k+? based on what? I wouldn’t even consider paying 2k for that speaker.

It could work though for trying to doze off to some Diana Krall/Eva Cassidy vocals at 60db (that kind of apparent "female vocals refinement" is certainly not my thing).

Anyways, i suppose we shall agree to disagree & move on...

 

 

@arafiq

Nice post! I’m in agreement with you on Harbeth. Amazing speakers when setup with some care. They display truth and color in music and are capable of being highly emotionally engaging. I never quite understood the vitriol directed at Harbeth by some folks. It’s like they are put off that other listeners love them… But pretty much pick any two speaker brands and a roomful of picky audiophiles and you might see similar discordant opinions.

@yogiboy Glad you enjoyed it and found some value.

@dpac996 I also struggle to understand the vitriol directed at Harbeth ... a good example is one of the posts on this very thread :)

Usually, it devolves into exactly what you can witness on this particular reply from our esteemed friend ...

1. If you like Harbeth, you really don't understand tone, timber, etc. You have no idea how instruments sound like in real life. ONLY I know this because I'm a wannabe musician.

2. You must only listen to Diana Krall or Norah Jones if you like Harbeth.

3. How dare Harbeth set the price of those boxes so high? Anyone who buys Harbeth does not know how real music sounds like ... yada, yada, yada.

 

The simple fact is that if Harbeth speakers are grossly overpriced then no one would buy their products and they would go out of business. Hasn't happened since the late 70s while many other manufacturers have come and gone. 

If you don't like the Harbeth sound it's your prerogative to not buy it. But to throw around your credentials and make assumptions about someone's understanding of how instruments do or don't sound, or their music preferences shows some people need a lot of growing up to do.