Southwest Audio Fest 2024

At the Southwest Audio Fest in Dallas, Børresen Acoustics took a room and outfitted it with two killer systems. The cost-no-object system featured the flagship M6 speakers; the other showed the capabilities of the more affordable but similarly imposing X6 towers.

First, the Børresen M6 ($550,000/pair). When a pair of speakers sells for more than half a million dollars, expectations are high. Paired with Aavik's top-tiered components (see list below), the M6 speakers demonstrated astonishing agility and seemingly boundless dynamics.

The electronics were Aavik's C-880 preamplifier ($70,000), P-880 power amplifier ($70,000), and SD-880 streamer/DAC ($70,000). Cables were by Ansuz Acoustics, another sister company within the Audio Group Denmark group.

Børresen made things interesting by having the two systems share the room, mirror each other, and use the same demo tracks on both systems in the same acoustic space, allowing an apples-to-apples comparison.

The first track was "Queen Mary" by Francine Thirteen. It kicks off with crisp electronic percussion, then Francine's beautiful, powerful voice quickly offsets that. Things slow down. Anette Askvik's "Liberty" shows her voice reached great heights; the system conveyed much emotion and power. The strings were sublime.

The pace changed dramatically with Hedegaard's car stereo-friendly urban-EDM track "Ratchets," which caused the room to resonate with ultratight bass, a hallmark of both Børresen tower speakers.

How did the two systems measure up? You can listen for yourself, a little, by watching the two videos below with good, full-range headphones. M6 first.

Going by price versus performance, the value proposition of the $22,000/pair X6, below, is incredible. It stays true to the design philosophy of the Børresen brand, mating small mid/woofer drivers in a narrow, deep cabinet with a high-performance ribbon tweeter. While not in the same class as the M6, this full-range, high-performance tower delivered an exceptionally good listening experience. (The M6 system was slightly louder, so make a volume adjustment for a precise comparison.)