Loudspeakers

Specified by GoldenEar at 90dB, the sensitivity of its compact BRX standmount is more realistically rated at a lower 87dB, although the 4ohm nominal impedance is confirmed by the 3.3ohm/200Hz minimum. However, the broad ~40-45° phase angle at 385Hz-1.2kHz pushes the speaker's EPDR down to sub-3ohm from 100-800Hz, with a tough 1.56ohm/140Hz, so this is one small speaker that will benefit from a big-hearted amp...

Payback comes in the BRX's forward response trend [Graph 1] which, even with that broad 3dB dip in output at ~500Hz, is flat to within ±2.5dB (200Hz-20kHz), tightening to ±1.5dB over a 800Hz-10kHz bandwidth. The perforated metal grille introduces a series of dips and peaks above 9kHz [blue trace], not affecting the moderate main resonance of the HVFR tweeter at 30kHz or its fine ~38kHz extension (–6dB re. 10kHz). Pair matching is 1.5dB (200Hz-20kHz), due to a dip in output of one speaker at crossover [black trace], or else it would be a tighter 0.7dB.

The HVFR unit (phase-inverted at crossover) shows some slight irregularity from ~3kHz-6.2kHz, as does the bass/mid unit below this, these minor ripples on the forward response also visible as breakup modes on the CSD waterfall [see Graph 2]. Resonances are not harmonic distortion, of course, and here the BRX offers a low ~0.5% through the midband (re. 90dB SPL) albeit principally 3rd rather than 2nd harmonic. The polypropylene bass/mid driver covers a 91Hz-435Hz (–6dB) bandwidth, before picking up thereafter to the ~3kHz crossover. Supplemented by the sharp 48Hz tuning of those two ABRs, it yields a modest corrected freefield bass extension of 68Hz (–6dB re. 200Hz). PM