Florida Audio Expo 2024

At audio shows, an exceptional room can linger in your memory, much like a catchy song that you can't shake. Perhaps the room's acoustics perfectly complement the speakers, or maybe the chosen demo tracks strike a chord.

It could also be that you are experiencing exceptional performance from the gear itself, when it sounds so good that it earns a spot in your long term memory. With Børresen Acoustics' new X1 speakers ($5500/pair), it's clearly—obviously—the performance that earns your attention, regardless of what's playing.

The X1 speaker's 4.5" midrange/bass driver is made with X3 membrane, a material that combines three layers: a sandwich of carbon fiber around a middle layer of aramid honeycomb. This structure makes the membrane incredibly stiff, reducing unwanted vibrations and noise. The tweeter is a planar ribbon design that is shared with other Børresen loudspeakers, but with a smaller magnet and 4dB lower efficiency versus the tweeters used in towers. It operates from 2.5kHz on up. Here are some specifications for the speaker as a whole: 50Hz–50kHz response; 86dB/W/m sensitivity; impedance >6 ohms. The recommended power is 50W.

This ported speaker design is narrow but deep, and the cabinet tapers almost to a point in the rear. Sister company Aavik makes matching stands that come with the speakers.

The simplicity of the whole system is commendable. The speakers are enabled and empowered by the Axxess Forté 1 ($5500), a streaming integrated amplifier with a rated output of 100Wpc into 8 ohms and a single analog input on RCA. Most of the inputs are digital: one TosLink, one electrical S/PDIF with a BNC connector, and one USB-B port. In addition to driving speakers, this unit offers a 1/4" headphone jack.

Cabling for the system is by Ansuz.

While it's impossible to convey what it's like to be there and hear these speakers in person, if you listen with good headphones, the following video may offer a tiny taste of the system's performance.