Borresen X3 measurements

@kennymacc

Measurements, smeasurements........The speakers haven’t receive almost universal praise by accident!!!

Actually, they don’t seem to have received universal praise.

Erins review is hardly high praise, and some comments in this thread

From people who have heard the speakers, Are critical as well.

The measurements, especially in this case are quite

useful and predicting some elements of the sound, Especially that

Scoop in the mid range. Erin Immediately heard it.
A friend of mine Who has spent time with the X6

Was immediately bothered by it too. The Fact One would be be able to hear a

In the mid range would’ve been predicted from the measurements.

So measurements can matter.

@mbmi 

This statement is just NOT true...Michael Borresen is one of the most talented speaker designers in the world.
 

The design problems with that speaker Uncovered by the measurements

Are certainly true.

And if Michael Borresen Designed those speakers

It is strong evidence against your claim that he is one of the most talented speaker

in the world!

@prof

I never stated that measurements don’t matter, because they most certainly do, to some audiophiles. However, I say again, I doubt if the average audiophile pays much attention to measurements when it comes down to choosing a particular pair of speakers who’s sound qualities have captured their emotion as well as their imagination. I believe that most people ultimately follow their ears and their hearts over how strictly a pair of speakers measure. Personally, I’ve listened extensively to both the Borresen X3 and X6 (and other borresen speakers as well) on a couple occasions, and despite their shortcomings, I thought they both sounded incredible. Could I live with the X3 or X6 long tern? Absolutely!!! As they say, there’s no perfect speaker. Happy listening.

I have owned/own 4 pairs of speakers that all have full measurements (“spins”) on the Kipple system. It just worked out that way and I did not buy due to seeing measurements

My thoughts are as a whole I think what you see is what you get from the measurements, but two things really stand out. #1 is the estimated in room response. The measurements track pretty closely to how my room measures with those speakers and how I hear it. #2 is the directivity, it really does give insight to how the soundstage will play out in room.

where I feel the measurements lack is in transients, or at least I don’t know what I am looking for to see it. Some speakers have far more kick/snap than others even though the in room estimates are pretty similar. There is more to be learned and understood for sure.

I have also not cared for near perfect measuring speakers (Kef blade 2). They lacked the life and detail I get out of my JBL 4367 that happens to also measure very well. I am not sure where to look in the measurements to see that difference or if it is even there. In my mind a speaker would need to be able to produce a square wave to truly represent the impulse but I don’t than any can.

Ribbon tweeters and cone drivers generally prove difficult to match seamlessly. By way of example, I always preferred the soft dome tweeter ProAc's to their ribbon tweeter equivalents. Borresen make a big thing of their crossovers not having phase shift through the midrange. If that is the case here, it looks like it has been achieved by sacrificing frequency response accuracy. BTW Subjectively, Borresen speakers are not bright, but the full range speakers can be difficult to control in the bass. The measurements appear to bear that out.