Note that this is a discontinued product. You may want to visit the brand's page here to browse their newer products.
What reviewers think
Bloggers and YouTubers have tried this product—so we've summarized their strongest opinions below. Links to full reviews follow.
All
03
reviews
Manufacturer details
- Dimensions (HxWxD): 124,1 x 30,5 x 58,0 cm (48.9 x 12.0 x 22.8 inches)
- Weight: 38,0 kg (83.78 lbs)
- Frequency response: 35Hz – 50KHz
- Sensitivity: 88 dB / 1W
- Impedance: > 4 ohms
- Recommended Amplifier: > 50W
- Tweeter: 1 x Børresen planar ribbon tweeter
- Drivers: 4 x Børresen iron free bass/midrange driver: 4.5 inches
- Finish: Walnut veneer Black high gloss
The Børresen membrane uses a composite of thin carbon layers on both sides of a 4mm Nomex honeycomb core, providing ultimate stiffness to weight ratio at just 5.5 grams for high acceleration and resolution.
The revolutionary iron-free magnet system uses 4 opposing neodymium ring-magnets with solid copper discs as pole pieces, achieving 1.1 Tesla flux. The copper poles act as heat sinks and reduce voice-coil inductance to just 0.04 MH for faster response and tighter bass.
The serial crossover configuration allows drivers to share the same current flow in the crossover region for phase-locked performance. Premium components include foil coils, military spec stack-foil capacitors, and metal strip resistors.
The heavily braced cabinets are block milled from compressed wood with walnut veneer and solid walnut inserts, following Danish furniture design traditions. They feature vented tweeter sections and tuned bass ports.
Brand highlights
Taking a step back to look at reviewers' thoughts of the brand's entire lineup—not just this product—what stands out most is the following:
- The brand distinguishes itself through its implementation of iron-free magnet systems in its dynamic drivers, designed to significantly reduce inductance and improve driver control, linearity, and overall sonic purity.
- Borresen speakers utilize a proprietary ribbon tweeter, offering a lightweight membrane for exceptional speed, clarity, and extended high-frequency response.
- The company produces its own proprietary capacitors, voice coils, and baskets for use in the speaker crossovers.
Select products
Børresen X6
- Positioning: Entry-level line, designed for affordability and accessibility.
- Description: Offers a strong entry into high-end audio with its advanced spread-tow carbon membrane, ensuring maximum stiffness and minimal noise. Unlike the more premium M-series, uses a simplified magnetic motor system with double copper caps, making it more cost-effective while still delivering impressive sound quality. Ideal for those with budget constraints seeking high performance in smaller spaces.
Børresen C1
- Positioning: High-end stand-mounted speaker, focused on precision and design.
- Description: Features the RP94 ribbon tweeter, providing exceptional speed and clarity. Compared to the X6, the advanced magnetic motor system and laminated carbon fiber membrane offer superior sound detail and depth.
Børresen Z5
- Positioning: Top-end of the Z-series, offering high-end performance with conventional components.
- Description: Features a high-efficiency ribbon tweeter and a unique magnet system, delivering clarity and dynamics akin to the 0-series but at a more accessible price point.
Børresen 05
- Positioning: Flagship model of the 0-series, representing the pinnacle of Børresen's technology.
- Description: Equipped with an iron-free magnet system and a composite membrane, delivering exceptional sound purity and precision. Surpasses the Z5 in terms of technological sophistication.
Børresen M6
- Positioning: Premium model in the M-series, blending form and performance.
- Description: Features a zirconium basket and a multi-layered membrane, providing outstanding stiffness and resonance control. Compared to the 05, offers enhanced musicality and aesthetic design.
Our take on the brand
Look inside the brand
Our interview with the brand
What are two key technological innovations or strong opinions that differ you from other brands?
What's your approach to customer support?
What are your favorite tracks for showcasing the strength of your products?
What other products pair best with yours?
Used
Borresen
What if you spend more?
The M3 is equipped with 4 unique 4.5" M-series speaker drivers. These drivers are connected in series in pairs so that one pair acts as a bass/midrange and another pair acts as a bass speaker driver. This approach ultimately results in increased speed, precision, and depth, which enriches the speaker with much more musicality.
The M3 and M6 are both offering the option of bi-amping, allowing you to feed the bass and midrange/treble sections individually. This not only provides sufficient power to each section, but also results in a cleaner, more precise sound.
The larger cabinet has also improved the ventilation behind the bass/midrange drivers. This provides less compression and thus a much faster and more agile speaker driver, which has a significantly positive impact on the overall sound image. Furthermore, the bass speaker drivers are equipped with a bass reflex section inside the cabinet, which ensures a dynamic and harmonious balance between midrange and bass.
.svg)
Our summary
Product Strengths
- The M3 presents music with an unprecedented degree of individuality and specificity, without sacrificing tonality, texture, or body
- Remarkable level of resolution
- Astonishing transparency and is resolute
- Accurate tonality and represents timbre faithfully
- Exceptional high-frequency detail and speed due to a planar tweeter
- Accepts only banana terminations
Product Considerations
- The planar tweeter misses the very last measure of extension, shimmer, and effortlessness accomplished by the very best available today
- Low-frequency extension was limited to the high 20 Hz, low 30 Hz range
Comparisons (according to reviewers)
- Compared to Magico M9, the M3 has recalibrated the resolution yardstick by which all other loudspeakers must be measured and compared
- Compared to Von Schweikert Audio ULTRA 9s, the M3 has recalibrated the resolution yardstick by which all other loudspeakers must be measured and compared
Takeaway: The Børresen M3 loudspeakers boldly represent the realization of striking potential in audio and push known boundaries. People who choose the M3 will enjoy a specific level of playback that is unavailable from other loudspeakers.
Video review
Our take on the brand
We began with the launch of the highly acclaimed and award-winning 0-series loudspeakers. Willing to break new ground, we designed innovative electronic components, used unconventional materials and employed state-of-the-art manufacturing processes. Since all of these audio components are engineered and assembled in-house, highest quality standards are permanently ensured.
The Børresen tweeter features elaborate finite element methods to linearize and optimize the magnetic flux field, facilitating driver movement and ensuring high efficiency and outstanding linearity. The efficiency of this closed ribbon tweeter amounts to an exceptional 94dB and operates from approximately 2.5 kHz upwards. The moving mass is extremely low at 0.01 grams.
The Børresen membrane consists of a composite of two layers of very thin carbon on both sides of a 4 mm Nomex honeycomb core. This composite structure provides the ultimate combination of stiffness to weight ratio. The exceptionally low weight of only 5.5 grams allows a very high acceleration factor in the driver.
The Børresen magnet system is uniquely designed without the use of any iron. It uses 4 opposing neodymium ring-magnets to squeeze the flux lines together over two solid copper discs. The system has a high flux of 1.1 Tesla, with copper pole rings acting as effective heat sinks.
The cabinets are heavily braced, block milled, compressed wood structures, beautifully veneered in walnut and fitted with solid walnut inserts. They follow the best of Danish furniture design traditions paired with stylish shapes.
Our summary
Product Strengths
- Tidy, Scandinavian look with a clean design
- The Børresen 05s go down to 25 hertz and are 90 dB efficient
- The Børresen 05s throw a holographic soundstage
- The 05 SSEs flood the room with perfectly proportioned low-frequency energy and compensate for room-related frequency dips naturally
- The 05 SSE is capable to display a large, precise and three-dimensional sonic image
Product Considerations
- The Børresen 05s weigh 165 pounds each, so a helper will be needed to set the speakers up
- The 05 SSEs need to be focused on the listening position
- The speaker cables of 05 SSE need time to accumulate hours of operation
Comparisons (according to reviewers)
- Vs Göbel High End Aeon—the 05 SSEs definitely stand up to these in terms of transient reproduction and speed
Takeaway: The Børresen 05 loudspeakers offer a clean, Scandinavian design and produce a holographic soundstage that immerses the listener in the music. With their ability to deliver a realistic and engaging listening experience, they are worth considering if one is seeking high-end audio performance.
Video review
Our take on the brand
By replacing the copper pole rings by in-house manufactured, hand-crafted silver rings the inductance is reduced substantially. Additionally, all metal components, are subjected to a cryogenic treatment. This loudspeaker set a new and unsurpassed benchmark. Clarity, refinement and sound staging at its very best.
The patented Børresen iron-free magnetic system has been further refined. Børresen uses iron-free drivers in all its loudspeakers. Their inductance is about ten times lower than that of conventional drivers. This exceptionally low inductance has now been even further reduced to an unprecedented new minimum level – about 12 times lower than the inductance level of conventional, iron-based drivers.
Since silver has 6-8% better conductivity than copper, we replaced the copper pole rings with in-house manufactured, handcrafted silver rings. To take full advantage of all the performance-enhancing audio properties of the Silver Supreme 0-series, all other metal components of these premium speakers also undergo cryogenic treatment. This reduces their inductance by another 6-8%. The result is absolute musical purity. With their unadulterated authenticity of musical reproduction, these premium loudspeakers set a new and unsurpassed standard – clarity, refinement, and sound-staging at its very best.
Our summary
Product Strengths
- The Børresen 05 Silver Supreme Edition floods the room with perfectly proportioned low-frequency energy
- The Børresen 05 Silver Supreme Edition seems to be largely immune to the influences of their surroundings
- The Børresen 05 Silver Supreme Edition displays a large, precise, and three-dimensional sonic image
Product Considerations
- The Børresen 05 Silver Supreme Edition only allowed one centrally seated person to enjoy music to the fullest, needing precise positioning
- The optimal listening experience with the Børresen 05 Silver Supreme Edition requires a dedicated listening position, which may not be ideal for shared listening experiences
Comparisons (according to reviewers)
- The Børresen 05 SSEs stand up to the Göbel High End Aeon in terms of transient reproduction and speed, and they both play homogeneously and seamlessly
Takeaway: The Børresen 05 Silver Supreme Edition speakers offer state-of-the-art sound with perfectly balanced low frequencies and a large, precise soundstage. If optimal sound for a single listener is a priority, these speakers are worth considering.
Video review
Our take on the brand
Our summary
Product Strengths
- Detailed, exciting, dynamic, and transparent sound
- Vanishingly low cabinet coloration, contributing to speed and detail
- Lung-emptying, bowel-clearing, demolition-grade bass
- Bass integrates well with the rest of the frequency range for an integrated musical performance
- Voices have breath and contour, yet the result always retains a minimum of warmth
Product Considerations
- Room acoustics should be a strong consideration, as the BC150 reveals room issues
- Needs a lot of quality electronics upstream
- Requires firm control and ample current capacity from the amplifier
Comparisons (according to reviewers)
- The BC150 sounds more like a Burmester B38 with greater abilities to scale
Takeaway: The Burmester BC150 is a high-precision audio instrument that is both musically communicative and musically analytical, offering a detailed and transparent listening experience. It offers clarity and purity of sound, and brings music to another level.
Video review
Our take on the brand
What competes at this price?
Our Summary
Product Strengths
- Unique design where form follows function, resulting in a contemporary and sleek aesthetic
- Incredibly tight, impactful, articulate, and controlled bass response with impressive dynamic power and clarity
- Seamless integration of midrange and tweeter via the M-Array, creating a virtual point source for maximum imaging and soundstage
- Exceptional clarity, transparency, and detail retrieval across the entire frequency spectrum
- Soundstage is incredibly wide, deep, accurate, and immersive with instruments placed precisely in a three-dimensional field
Product Considerations
- Significant power from amplifiers is required to perform optimally, with recommendations ranging from 200 to 1600 watts RMS
- The Hyphn is a large and heavy speaker, needing a decent-sized room and strong flooring
- Sensitivity is rated at 86 dB, which is considered low and necessitates high-power amplification
Comparisons (according to reviewers)
- Vs Sonus Faber: Hyphn has a far more forward-sounding presentation compared to the more relaxed and recessed soundstage of Sonus Faber
- Vs JBL Everest DD67000: Hyphn's bass is not as 'huge' as some monster high-end speakers like JBL's Everest, but it is tighter and more tuneful
Takeaway: Monitor Audio's Hyphn is a state-of-the-art loudspeaker with a unique design, delivering exceptional clarity, deep bass, and a wide soundstage. If unrestrained performance and a forward-looking aesthetic are desired, the Hyphn is worth considering for an immersive listening experience.
Video review
Our take on the brand
Our Summary
Product Strengths
- Impressive midbass solidity
- Remarkable fidelity at lower volumes due to the alacrity of its drivers
- Comprehensive and dynamic sound signature with plenty of detail and clarity
- The newly developed tweeter allows for faster response and a frequency range that easily extends to 28,000Hz
- Features a modular design, offering flexibility with passive, iTron active, and all-in-one wireless streaming versions
Product Considerations
- Integrating the Spacehorn subwoofers requires careful alignment
- High-quality source components are needed to match its performance level
- Some reviewers found that the iTron amplification did not produce the requisite bloom and musicality for classical and jazz music
Takeaway: The Avantgarde Trio G3 speaker is a top-tier audio system known for its exceptional sound reproduction and flexibility with different configurations. If you appreciate high-quality audio performance and aesthetics and want a sound system that sounds exciting and sophisticated, it is an excellent option.
Video review
Our take on the brand
Our Summary
Product Strengths
- An all-encompassing sound keeps listeners rooted to their seats
- A unique 360° sound wave design creates a natural balance of direct and reflected sounds
- A truly huge, yet meticulously crafted, soundscape is created
- Not physically evident in the aural landscape, offering a sound that seems to have no origin
- Integration of the woofer's and melon's outputs was far smoother than previous models
Product Considerations
- High-powered amplifiers capable of delivering ample amounts of current are required due to its insensitivity (around 80dB)
- Placement can be tricky, needing more space away from room boundaries than some rooms can provide
- The biggest problem has always been the audible lack of seamless integration between the bass box and the stack of omnis atop it
- A 'chesty, compressed, almost grainy midbass coloration' can be exhibited if placement and other factors are not optimized
Takeaway: The MBL Radialstrahler 101 E MkII loudspeaker offers a distinctive and immersive listening experience thanks to its unique omnidirectional design. It can fill the room with a natural and balanced sound, creating a captivating musical soundscape for the listener.
Video review
Our take on the brand
Our Summary
Product Strengths
- Upgradable from older Model 7 versions, representing long-term value for owners
- Features a 'CounterForce Bass' system with opposing woofers to minimize cabinet movement and improve clarity
- Offers extensive bass adjustments for room integration, including 11 trim pots for precise frequency adjustments
- Time-and-phase coherent design ensures that all drivers move in unison
- Provides a relaxed ease and warmth that fosters musical engagement
Product Considerations
- Sensitivity is relatively low at 85dB, requiring a powerful amplifier to achieve its full potential
- Requires careful rake angle adjustment for optimal performance
- Bi-wire capable, the mandatory HP-7 filter costs extra
Comparisons (according to reviewers)
- Vs KEF KC-62 subwoofer: Both use counter-opposing force woofers to stop cabinet movement
Takeaway: The Model Seven XTRM is a technologically innovative speaker designed for music lovers. It offers powerful bass, harmonic beauty, and exceptional tonal realism, making it a worthwhile investment for those seeking a high-fidelity audio experience.
Video review
Our take on the brand
Our Summary
Product Strengths
- Superb resolution, incredible mid/low synchronicity, and uncanny bass extension
- Phenomenal, tight, and fast bass, playing below 15Hz
- Great balance, detail, and articulation at every volume level
- Amazing imaging and natural space in the soundstage
- DSP9 is easy to install and place in a room, due to the DSP controls available
Product Considerations
- At £60,000 per pair, the DSP9 is still expensive
- Fairly generous footprint
- Finishes other than piano gloss black are available at a premium depending on cost and complexity
Comparisons (according to reviewers)
- Vs Meridian DSP8000 XE: DSP9 is smaller, lighter and more svelte, but aims to offer equally top-line performance
Takeaway: The Meridian Audio DSP9 is a sensational loudspeaker with amazing imaging, natural space, and incredibly tight bass, suitable for various music genres and volume levels. The active configuration, design, and range of finishes make it a strong proposition for premium installations.
Video review
Our take on the brand
How to buy
Speakers
Search all hifi products
Explore our database of 10,000+ new and 25,000+ used hifi products.
