The new Raidho’s vs the new Borressen’s ?


Have you heard the new Raidho’s, TD4.8’s or TD4.2’s?  Reviews are over the moon !  Wondering how they compare to the new Borressen’s Z5’s or 05’s which are also receiving accolades.

I’ve used Magnepan 20.7’s for ten years now and they are great but not necessarily the best “all around” speakers.  My room is very large and the Maggie’s can’t quite fill the space completely.   I’m not unhappy with the Maggie’s but have been lusting for a top-notch dynamic box speaker for many years.  I like a BIG sound with lots of space.  
If you own the big Raidho’s or Borressen’s I’d like to hear you thoughts.  If you have heard these speakers give me your thoughts.  Thanks.
stickman451
I have not heard those exact models of Raidho’s.   I have heard the threes.  The Benno designed Raidho’s (including actual 3 way designs) break in faster and work in more spaces.  The 4s are big speakers and need a big space to be at their best.  But they still need 250-500 hours of break in time and min, 3-5 feet in space behind the speakers.  
The Borresens need 5-8 feet in space behind them (very much like Kaiser) and 500+ (Yes, three weeks of constant play) hours of break in time.  Great speakers.  Probably are better than the Raidho’s but you really need the right room for them to hear it.  And those aren’t common.

If your room isn’t right, the Raidho’s will outperform the Borresens.  If you have the right room, Borresen all the way.  



The room is 20’-6” w x 29’-2” L x 11` h.    The Borressen’s and Raidho’s are very close in retail price.  For the larger floor models they go from around $85k up to $170k.   Unbelievably expensive really, but that’s probably a different thread...


For that kind of scratch I would take a look at these speakers:

Athos 10 + Athos 12 Proven DynamiKKs!


I am not trying to change the topic of your thread.  What I like about them besides the sound is that they make their own drivers.


Happy Listening.    


Raidho D-4.1's are very nice. For a bigger room you might need a couple of subwoofers, but you might need these for any speaker. IMO, These would be a huge step up from magnepan's but so is the cost
I have three SVS SB-4000’s that I use with the 20.7’s.  They definitely help!  I use them in a ‘distributed’ configuration; one centered against the front wall, one on the left wall about 3 feet in front of the 20.7, and a third in the rear right corner.  
The Borresen 02’s got best speakers of the year award from 6moons!
You could add some subs with the 03's and maybe get even better sound for a lot less money than getting the much bigger Borresen 05’s

https://6moons.com/audioreview_articles/2019-standouts/
Heard the Borresen standmounts, The Raidho XT-5 and the Vimberg Floorstander-$60K? You do not mention the Vimberg as an option
but I put it above the Raidho and below the Borresen.

Borresen has employed a new type of magnet that no one else has
yet-1/1/2 years ago anyway.

To me they sound the most engaging. 

By a ways.

FYI I hear nothing over 9k.


Stickman, I think you are making a mistake. If you want a big sound with lots of space you are headed in the wrong direction. Just because these speakers are big does not mean their sound is. They are point sources and acoustically they are not much larger than LS3 5A's. If you want bigger with more space and power you go for larger line sources. If your ceilings are 8 feet go for Sound Labs 845's. If they are 9 feet go for 945's.
I am intimately familiar with 20.7s. I currently own Sound Labs 8 footers. The Sound Labs are a little more efficient than the Magnepans and produce much more bass, you actually might have to turn the bass down!
They produce a better image (more defined) and do the disappearing act better than any speaker I have ever heard. If they do not go loud enough for you just add subwoofers and you can shatter your windows. You will still need at least 200 watts/channel. I use Parasound JC1's. 
The big electrostatics are too close to the Maggies in size and amplifier requirements, and overall sound character.   For my room size I’d have to go BIG on the Soundlabs.  
The bigger Raidho’s and Borressen’s can fill a larger sized room with sound and still disappear.


I wonder how reliable are Soundlabs now in the past they were not very reliable ?
A friend of mine up north has some new Lumen White Kyara's and he said he liked them better than Borresen
I am talking to the guys at Borresen about becoming a dealer.  Thinking I will have to get a pair of the cryo treated.  

If you are looking to consider something other than Raidho vs Borresen I would look at Kaiser and MBL.  
I thought that the Z5’s were voiced a lot closer to neutral as compared to the older Raidho’s that I’ve heard over the years at shows. Not my favorite.  I’m going to hear the new TD models and maybe a pair of the original D5.1’s.

Another speaker that I’m looking at is the Piega Master Line Source 2.  It’s a dipole with smaller planar magnetic tweeters/midrange married to two woofers.  It’s a fairly sensitive load that works well with moderate powered tube amps.
I've only heard the Borresen 05 and that was in a small room at a show. Still great speakers that I would love to hear more.

They also look fantastic in real life. If they and Raidho sounds equally good I would go for Borresen just for the looks.
Would the sealed ribbon tweeter get wear out, sagged overtime? Is it worthwhile to replace it or to buy a new pair of speakers instead?

I've listened to both those speakers then they're definitely not worth 75 85 to 150,000, the monitor audio platinum 500 ll are just as good or better and they're only 32,000 US, Borresson and Raidho speakers are so expensive because Denmark has one of the highest costs of living in the world, definitely not worth the money.

 

chorus I don't know what kind of magnet you're talking about they use neodymium magnets most of the better speaker manufacturers have been using those for years.

Definitely not worth the money in one man's opinion. Others obviously disagree.

There is an iron-free motor system for drivers.

I like the Borresson better than the Raidho, the monitor audio platinum are just as good as the Borresson, the platinum driver technology is just as good as the Borresson and the prices are a lot less because they're manufactured in China and the labor rate is way less than but they sound just as good or better.