GoldenEar BRX Review (high-end Bookshelf Speaker)

[Niber]

I think far too many of you look at measurements and do not use your ears. That is rather sad.

When I did my review on these speakers (

) I used all ears no measurement (and hadn't seen this thread yet), but unfortunately found that the speakers did not sound as good as any of my other speakers (B&W CM5, KEF q950). Not sure if that's because of the same problems that these measurement revealed, or other reasons.

 

[Niber]

When you add a sub with room correction, it really makes a difference. The "score" with sub is 6.9. Not that the score is perfect, but it does tell us that it should sound pretty good once you add room correction and a sub.

Hi Hoostat, could you clarify what you mean please?
Do you mean that the BRX actually gets a great score if there's a sub involved? does that happen with most speakers or is it a score high enough to finally justify the price point?
Is this only if there's a bass management to cut away problematic low ends from the BRX, or does the score boost that much even if no bass management (such as on my RA‑1572MKII)

 

[617]

Hi Hoostat, could you clarify what you mean please?
Do you mean that the BRX actually gets a great score if there's a sub involved? does that happen with most speakers or is it a score high enough to finally justify the price point?
Is this only if there's a bass management to cut away problematic low ends from the BRX, or does the score boost that much even if no bass management (such as on my RA‑1572MKII)

The preference score is based on a sound quality metric devised by Harman which established that bass quality accounts for some significant portion of subjective preference. Can't remember how much, maybe 1/3. The increase in preference score with an 'ideal' subwoofer is significant with most speakers, and all small speakers.

For professional AV installations and in professional audio it's not uncommon for large speakers to be designed to not produce much bass below 80hz or so since it is assumed that a subwoofer or array of subwoofers will be used.

 

[Niber]

The preference score is based on a sound quality metric devised by Harman which established that bass quality accounts for some significant portion of subjective preference. Can't remember how much, maybe 1/3. The increase in preference score with an 'ideal' subwoofer is significant with most speakers, and all small speakers.

For professional AV installations and in professional audio it's not uncommon for large speakers to be designed to not produce much bass below 80hz or so since it is assumed that a subwoofer or array of subwoofers will be used.

So I guess you're saying that while 6.5 sounds impressive, you would probably still achieve that score with a more budget speaker as well.

Also for me, my main complaint was that the audio didn't sound clear, but boomy rather. So I guess it makes sense why turning on the subwoofer didn't really help the BRX in my case.

 

[lewdish]

I think far too many of you look at measurements and do not use your ears. That is rather sad.

To be fair this is Audio Science Review~ It's kinda in the name of the platform....

 

[617]

So I guess you're saying that while 6.5 sounds impressive, you would probably still achieve that score with a more budget speaker as well.

Also for me, my main complaint was that the audio didn't sound clear, but boomy rather. So I guess it makes sense why turning on the subwoofer didn't really help the BRX in my case.

Most speakers are fairly flat in the bass region, at least insofar as they lack peaky resonances (apart from the resonance of the driver itself).

The scientific consensus on sound reproduction is to measure some full range speakers in your room, and establish the frequency at which the room modes transition from being dominated by few dramatic room modes to having so many room modes that they cancel each other out leaving a smoother-looking frequency response (this is called the Schroeder frequency). In a typical room it can be 100-300hz or so. Below this frequency, you should use LF transducers (hard to call them subs if they go up to 300hz) positioned randomly (according to one technique) and equalized to create the smoothest bass possible. Your bookshelf speakers should be positioned according to conventional methods for best imaging and intelligibility.

My point in saying this is that small stereo are not really the right tool for bass reproduction; some boominess is inevitable if the speaker's position is set the way they need to be. In his listening tests of speakers, Amir often equalizes a 'room mode' which causes boominess in his room. This is not an ideal technique but it's better than the 99% of people who don't equalize at all.

 

[Ghost2231]

I realize I am late to the party but I thought I would add my experience. I have owned three BRX as my LCR for about two years now.

I am guessing most of the people who rated this speaker as poor either went solely off the full range measurements, or heard it in an environment without a subwoofer. I will be the first to admit without a subwoofer these speakers are just meh.

It appears golden ear wanted to make a smaller, lightweight bookshelf with the ability to put out a lot of bass. They kind of succeeded, it puts out more than you would expect, but it’s a waste as it’s not enough to not need a subwoofer just like most any speaker this size would.

Set up properly (these are finicky) with a quality sub. I would say these are very, very good speakers for both movies and music. The tweeter is excellent, the mid range is punchy, and they give a nice full sound with the low end being taken care of separately. The highlight is probably using it as a center as I have never heard a center with such crystal clear dialogue, given I have never heard any of these multi thousand dollar centers out now.

Are they overpriced, of course, but pretty much every speaker is in my opinion minus perhaps the BMR monitor. Those were second choice on my list, but the size and weight had me worried about one of my animals knocking it over and getting injured. Where as these are very small and lightweight and not top heavy on my stands. These also have a much higher sensitivity, and from what I understand, the BMR doesn’t have the best dynamic range for movies, though I would still love to have a pair as they are so highly rated for music.

Not to call anyone out but I did find the video at the top of this page pretty funny with the review. Yes, the felt liner is the bottom of the speaker cover and when installed correctly, it lines up perfectly with the top. Also, as I was saying, these speakers are finicky with set up, so putting two speakers right next to each other, and what appears to be standing near field, listening to them, isn’t going to get you any kind of real sound test.

it took me a while to find the best set up because my room is not ideal in anyway and can’t pull far off wall. I moved the speakers everywhere from 9 inches (goldenear recommended) to 2 inches off the front wall, 6 1/2 feet apart to 7 1/2 feet apart, which is the maximum I can get and toe in from straight ahead to extreme 45°. After a lot of work, I found that just under 7 feet apart, 2.5 inches off wall and a very small toe in was best. It was pretty interesting how different it sounded with just the smallest changes in movement. 5 inches off the wall, no toe in was the absolute worst‍.

That’s my review, these speakers are not for everyone but no speaker is

Yes my cat sleeps next to them lol

 

[tw 2022]

I realize I am late to the party but I thought I would add my experience. I have owned three BRX as my LCR for about two years now.

I am guessing most of the people who rated this speaker as poor either went solely off the full range measurements, or heard it in an environment without a subwoofer. I will be the first to admit without a subwoofer these speakers are just meh.

It appears golden ear wanted to make a smaller, lightweight bookshelf with the ability to put out a lot of base. They kind of succeeded, it puts out more than you would expect, but it’s a waste as it’s not enough to not need a subwoofer just like most any speaker this size would.

Set up properly (these are finicky) with a quality sub. I would say these are very, very good speakers for both movies and music. The tweeter is excellent, the mid range is punchy, and they give a nice full sound with the low end being taken care of separately. The highlight is probably using it as a center as I have never heard a center with such crystal clear dialogue, given I have never heard any of these multi thousand dollar centers out now.

Are they overpriced, of course, but pretty much every speaker is in my opinion minus perhaps the BMR monitor. Those were second choice on my list, but the size and weight had me worried about one of my animals knocking it over and getting injured. Where as these are very small and lightweight and not top heavy on my stands. These also have a much higher sensitivity, and from what I understand, the BMR doesn’t have the best dynamic range for movies, though I would still love to have a pair as they are so highly rated for music.

Not to call anyone out but I did find the video at the top of this page pretty funny with the review. Yes, the felt liner goes on the bottom of the speaker cover and when installed correctly, it lines up perfectly with the top. Also, as I was saying, these speakers are finicky with set up, so putting two speakers right next to each other, and what appears to be standing near field, listening to them, isn’t going to get you any kind of real sound test.

it took me a while to find the best set up because my room is not ideal in anyway and can’t pull far off wall. I moved the speakers everywhere from 9 inches (goldenear recommended) to 2 inches off the front wall, 6 1/2 feet apart to 7 1/2 feet apart, which is the maximum I can get and toe in from straight ahead to extreme 45°. After a lot of work, I found that just under 7 feet apart, 2.5 inches off wall and a very small toe in was best. It was pretty interesting how different it sounded with just the smallest changes in movement. 5 inches off the wall, no toe in was the absolute worst‍.

That’s my review, these speakers are not for everyone but no speaker is

Yes my cat sleeps next to them lol

part of the like is that you prioritize your cat(s) over hi-fi.. this by itself is a fine quality...

 

[Neddy]

I use the GE SuperSats for surrounds, and am very happy with them. Excellent for providing 'directionality cues', ok down to 100hz or so. And tiny, and dissapear into the clutter, too.
Cats prioritization? Wouldn't know about that, too busy keeping tracks of cats popping in and out of the darned StarGates....