GoldenEar BRX

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

- Mark Craven

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, a moderately sized bookshelf designed 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 front and surround duty in an AV system where larger loudspeakers aren't desired or possible.

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 piano black lacquer. 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.

Adding to the somewhat unusual look is GoldenEar's HVFR (High-Velocity Folded Ribbon) tweeter, the same drive unit found on the manufacturer's £11,000 Triton Reference model. This driver is joined on the BRX by a 6in bass/mid unit that's also a trickle-down from Reference products, plus side-facing 6.5in auxiliary radiators, in place of a more conventional bass-reflex design.