Going for gold

Mark Craven enjoys the highs and lows of a premium compact 5.1 system from American audio marque GoldenEar

- Mark Craven

GOLDENEAR BRX 5.1/£5,350

US brand GoldenEar was the third loudspeaker company founded by famed designer Sandy Gross, following in the footsteps of Polk Audio and Definitive Technology. Gross has now left, but his parting gift is the £1,499-per-pair Bookshelf Reference X.

This moderately sized bookshelf (or standmount, although GoldenEar doesn't sell any matching stands) is the last design to bear Gross's input, and joins two other pre-existing smallscale models in the Bookshelf lineup the Aon 2 (£899) and Aon 3 (£1,100). However, it doesn't share much in common with those, instead being designed more as a baby brother to the brand's high-end Triton Series floorstanders. In other words, it's GoldenEar's premium smallscale model, and ripe for deployment on both front and surround duty in a multichannel system where larger loudspeakers aren't desired or possible.

Braced for high velocity

The BRX's aesthetic design is typical of the brand, which means it's perhaps a bit of an acquired taste. The speaker is wider at the rear than the front, and its MDF enclosure is given a hand-rubbed piano black lacquer that looks swish but will show up finger prints. Curved magnetic grilles can be attached, although these sit on a protruding lower (plastic?) lip that looks a bit incongruous. Build quality is excellent, though, and the curved top to the cabinet is a nice touch.

Adding to the somewhat unusual look, when grilles are removed, is GoldenEar's HVFR (High-Velocity Folded Ribbon) tweeter, which is the same drive unit that graces the manufacturer's pricey (£11,000) Triton Reference model. This driver claims a reach up to 35kHz, which should make any break-up modes inaudible. It's joined on the BRX by a 6in bass/mid driver with computer modelled cone geometry, also a trickle-down from GoldenEar's Reference products.