Multitest bookshelf speakers – 2500 euros – part 2

GoldenEar BRX

We’ve had the GoldenEar BRX at the editorial office before. It came out well in the test then. It is a very friendly sounding speaker. Sort of the labrador of speakers. Many people will find the sound very pleasing.

The Americans have taken an AMT – they call it a High Gauss Ribbon – and combined it with a dynamic woofer. A combo that we see quite often and a combo that can be very nice. The AMT does make the disperion behavior very different. Ribbons place in width – and depth, depending on the implementation – but mostly much less in height. That’s inherent in the technology.

GoldenEar does not have a bass reflex system, but uses two passive radiators: one on the left and one on the right. So they radiate sideways.

The sound

The GoldenEars give Beethoven more weight in the basses and a rounded sound in the violins and woodwinds, but it still sounds transparent. There is plenty of space in the sound, the music is given room to breathe and develop. The dynamics in the construction of the movement are beautifully rendered.

The sound of the instruments in Mammal Hands sounds too saturated with the Pass Labs, but the balance is all there with the Nilai. The piano sounds full and warm, the saxophone breathes and the tabla blends nicely into the soundstage. A lot of reverb can be heard, notes sound long. The soundstage is very coherent, the sound of the instruments melting together nicely. The bass sounds a bit uncontrolled at times.

With Sohn, the Golden Ears lose their grip on the bass, the repeating bass drone thumps too much. As the mix gets busier, the sound slows down in the midrange.

Conclusion: Golden Ear offers the listener a relaxing listening experience. The music is a warm bath you can immerse yourself in. A little more control in the bass sound is desirable, though. A solid core speaker cable could fix this issue.

Measurements GoldenEar BRX

Anyone who thinks the GoldenEar BRX is a big sounding American…. forget it. As mentioned, it’s a slightly warmer sound, but it’s not too bad. We see a slight rise around 200 – 280 Hz. That will give a little more “chest” sound. But it’s not much more. Further on, a mild ‘Bowers Bump’ between 4 and 7 kHz. Little bit of air added. It’s only 2dB, so it’s really mild. Besides, this will dissipate off-axis again.

The distortion is a bit higher than the Audio Physic and Sonus Faber. We almost always see the peak in the treble area with AMTs. Those AMT’s just break up, which pushes the distortion up a bit. We see 0.7% between 1000 and 3000 Hz…. That’s on the high side, though. Especially in this area where the bulk is just below 0.3%.

The impedance is not too low with at least 3 Ohms, but we do not recommend a tube amplifier. Despite the relatively high sensitivity of 90 dB.

Specifications GoldenEar BRX