Borresen X2 Review: Deep Bass and a Warm Balance From a Slim Floorstander

Introduction

The Borresen X2 is the newest and most affordable loudspeaker in Borresen’s X Series, priced at $8,800. It is not an inexpensive speaker by any measure, but a great deal of technology has trickled down from the company’s far more expensive designs, and that is what makes the X2 worth a serious look.

The X2 pairs a planar ribbon tweeter with a waveguide, a 4.5 inch Borresen mid bass driver, and a second 4.5 inch bass driver below it. The waveguide is there to improve dispersion and widen the sweet spot. Both drivers use an X Series membrane made from three skins laminated into a single unit: two layers of spread carbon fiber with a layer of honeycomb spacers between them. Borresen states that this structure delivers the best ratio between weight and stiffness, so each driver stays rigid and strong while remaining light and quick to respond. Every driver is designed and manufactured in house, which gives the company direct control over quality and lets it tune each part without outside constraints.

The cabinet is slim, and the rated figures are 88 dB sensitivity with a nominal impedance of 4 ohms and a recommended amplifier output of 50 watts or more. During listening, the X2 was driven by a 200 watt solid state monoblock pair, an all in one integrated amplifier, and a classic tube amplifier, and each pairing revealed a different side of the speaker.

Who the Borresen X2 Is For

The X2 makes the most sense for listeners who want full range sound without adding a subwoofer. Bass extension reached below 30 Hz in the listening room, and the low end stayed textured and nuanced rather than simply loud. If you care about the quality of bass as much as the quantity, this is a speaker that rewards that priority.

It also suits listeners who prefer a presentation on the warmer side of neutral. The midrange is full and meaty, and high frequencies stay detailed without turning sharp, which is welcome for anyone sensitive to vocal sibilance or the edge of a guitar string.

Slim floorstanding cabinets also disappear more easily than large boxes, so the X2 fits rooms where a convincing sense of width and depth matters more than sheer physical presence.

Conversely, if you want a bright, forward, in your face presentation, or if you are used to 15 inch and 18 inch drivers and the air movement they create, the X2 is likely to feel like a different kind of speaker than the one you are looking for.

Main Strengths

Bass performance is the headline. At roughly 3.5 ft from the wall behind the speaker to the front baffle, the X2 produced deep, controlled low frequencies with no sense that a subwoofer was needed. Pushed to 90 dB and 100 dB peaks on bass heavy material, the rear ports produced no chuffing at all, which is a good result given how small the six ports are.

The bass is not only extended but also textured, with exactly the kind of nuance that bass focused listeners tend to look for.

Midrange and treble follow the same theme. Tonality sits slightly on the warm side of neutral, the midrange has body and weight, and detail floats through the mix without any accompanying harshness. That combination holds up at low volume as well, where the speaker keeps its bass texture and detail instead of sounding thin or losing fidelity.

Imaging is another strong point. Vocals lock into a stable center image, and instruments are cleanly separated and easy to place across the stage. The soundstage is not as wide or deep as a good bookshelf speaker can manage, but it is noticeably wider and deeper than several much larger floorstanding speakers in the same room. The slim cabinet helps here.

Macro dynamics are equally impressive for the size. The X2 reproduces scale and bass dynamics in a way that invites comparison with considerably larger loudspeakers.

Pairing the X2 With Different Amplifiers

With a solid state monoblock pair, the X2 sounded refined and smooth. The midrange and treble gained nuance and small details without any sharpness, and the overall balance stayed warm. This pairing also kept its fidelity at low volume, which is not always true of warm sounding systems.

With the Axxess Forte 1 all in one integrated amplifier, from the same group as Borresen, the speaker changed character noticeably. Bass quantity dropped slightly, but the low end became quicker, punchier and cleaner, with fast transients that hit with real impact. The midrange and treble became crisper and more detail focused, and instrument separation improved. The trade off is a leaner overall balance and an upper midrange that can sound slightly dry, plus a slightly narrower but noticeably deeper soundstage.

With a classic tube amplifier, the Dynaco ST70, the presentation became more holographic and spacious, with a wider and deeper stage. There is an earthy lift around the 200 Hz region that adds weight to male vocals, and sub bass presence and overall linearity step back compared with the other two pairings. At higher volumes the edges around instruments and vocals lose some refinement. It remains a musical and enjoyable match, particularly for listeners moving into tube amplification who do not want to give up too much bass.

Things to Consider Before Buying

Placement matters. The X2 is a bass reflex design with three ports at the top and three at the bottom of the rear panel. Moving the speaker back to about 2 ft from the wall was still acceptable and added bass, but going closer produced boomy, resonant low frequencies. Rooms differ, so treat that as a starting point rather than a rule, but the X2 is not a speaker to push right up against the wall.

If you are coming from a large speaker with 15 inch or 18 inch drivers, the X2 will not reproduce the same sense of air movement and room pressurization. That is a physical limit of a 4.5 inch driver, and no amount of tuning removes it, though the X2 does deliver the dynamics and bass quality that most listeners will care about.

The warm balance is also a matter of taste. Listeners who want a more forward, brighter, detail first sound will find the solid state pairing in particular a little too relaxed.

On the practical side, the X2 uses simple metal feet rather than spikes. They look good, feel solid, and give the cabinet good stability, which is worth noting in a room with children or pets.

Buying Advice

At $8,800, the X2 sits in the entry position of the Borresen range, but it carries driver technology and build decisions from far more expensive models. If you want a slim floorstanding speaker that reaches below 30 Hz in a normal room without a subwoofer, keeps a full midrange, and stays comfortable over long listening sessions, it is an easy recommendation to audition.

The amplifier you pair it with will shape the result almost as much as the speaker itself. A solid state design with refinement in the midrange and treble will emphasize the X2’s smooth, warm character. An integrated with a faster, crisper signature will trade some of that warmth for punch, separation and depth. A tube amplifier will add spaciousness and an earthy mid bass lift at the cost of some low end linearity and refinement at high volume.

Decide which of those three characters you actually want, and the X2 will reward the choice.

Conclusion

The Borresen X2 is a slim, well built floorstanding loudspeaker with genuine deep bass, a full and fatigue free midrange, and imaging that holds its own against much larger designs. Its limitations are honest ones: it needs some distance from the rear wall, it will not match the air movement of very large drivers, and its warm balance will not suit every taste.

For listeners who value bass quality, long term listening comfort and a speaker that disappears into the room, the X2 makes a strong case at its price.