Borresen X3 measurements

Some of the Spatial open baffle speakers, lots of lovers, lots of haters.

And it’s worth noting we do see a lot of these pop up on the used market, along with many Revels, KEFs and Harbeths. Apparently there are some for whom a flat line is not the end-all, be-all.

Step a) Get 2 kef kc62 subs. Face reality, the X3 small drivers are meant to do something else very good, not get you down to 20 hz and qualify as a full range speaker. It is also meant to be a sleek looking speaker, not some fat eye sore.
 

I can get the X3s to produce a 30Hz tone in my room. 

congratulations on your X3's!! I get to hear the Raidho D1.1 at axpona and always come away floored by how impressive they are. I just don't have the courage to spend $27k on a pair of bookshelves.

Ultimately, I still preferred the Harbeth 40.2 because of better midrange, refinement and transparency. That seemed to offend a lot of folks though. Somehow, folks equate cool technology/drivers, buzzwords, etc. with better sound. That’s not always the case as most of us already know.

I wasn’t offended, only perplexed. Based on my auditions of 40.2s, it’s difficult for me to fathom how someone would come to the conclusion that they are the more refined and transparent speaker. That actually goes for any speaker I’ve heard that employs Textreme-based midwoofers—to my ears, all have performed at a higher level than any Harbeth I’ve encountered.

Still, it’s difficult to make definitive conclusions without hearing each speaker back-to-back in the same room, with the same ancillaries. Our auditory memories are not very reliable.

@helomech I wasn't referring to you when I made the comment. I think our conversation was civilized and on point. I understand and respect what you like about the X3. You made your points without getting personal or nasty. There were other folks involved in that discussion who apparently have a lot of growing up to do :)

Regarding which speaker is better, we can continue to go around in circles with no good outcome. We all have our preferences and have a different priority scale when judging speakers. However, I'm still amazed by how so many people (not you) get so worked up over something as trivial as this. I mean, for god's sake, we're not talking about our children. Folks should lighten up a little :)

I have no interest or specific loyalty to Borresen or Harbeth, or any other speaker company for that matter. I have owned many great speakers and I prefer Harbeth over many others. I have zero expectation that others have to agree with me, nor do I get all emotional and confrontational when someone disses the speakers that I own. Who gives a damn!

However, I would like to point out the apparent hypocrisy in some of the posts made in this thread. We're told that unless you have owned and heard a particular speaker for over 500 hours, you have no right to comment. But the same folks have no qualms trashing another speaker, e.g. Harbeth, that they have never owned. Talk about talking from both sides of your mouth!

If Harbeth or other BBC speakers were inferior they would have died a long time ago. The audio industry is a harsh mistress. You don't survive this long if your product doesn't offer the extra value to at least a segment of the audiophile population. So I heard the X3 and still preferred Harbeth 40.2 over it. What's the big deal? These are my opinions and I have a right to share as long as I'm not misrepresenting anything. Lastly, if we are making this a requirement that you can only opine about a speaker that you have owned, 99% of the reviews and opinions will be null and void. Just sayin :)