Полочная акустика — Børresen Acoustics Børresen Z1

The Z1 is the standard, non-cryogenic version of the compact two-way monitor in the Z-series from Børresen Acoustics of Denmark. In the USA it was listed at USD 12,000 per pair, below the Cryo Edition at USD 14,500, and in Europe it has been quoted at around EUR 10,000 per pair with the dedicated stands about EUR 2,500 more.

Key specs that matter

A proprietary ribbon tweeter sits above a 13 cm bass and midrange unit in a bass reflex cabinet, with the ribbon taking over from about 2.5 kHz. Børresen gives 50 Hz to 50 kHz, 86 dB sensitivity and a 6 ohm nominal load. The speaker is 18.5 cm wide, 37 cm tall and 34 cm deep and weighs 11.6 kg, and the stand brings the overall height to 101.5 cm with a footprint of 28 x 36 cm and adds 3.3 kg.

Engineering and use context

The ribbon uses neodymium drive and a diaphragm made of a six-micrometre conductive aluminium layer laminated to five-micrometre PEN foil, closed at the rear and without a transformer. The woofer cone sandwiches a 4 mm Nomex honeycomb core between two thin carbon skins and weighs 5.5 g. Its custom iron-free magnet system carries four copper rings to linearise impedance, giving a voice coil inductance of just 0.06 mH, around a tenth of a conventional driver. Filtering is a second-order passive network with few parts, arranged in parallel and fixed so that it resists vibration. It is joined by an active circuit that generates a square wave to limit the antenna effect of cables, a technique shared with Aavik and Ansuz products. The enclosure is made from HDF, a material the designer picked deliberately. Satin painted finishes come in black or white, and the voice coil measures 8 mm across. The crossover components come from the Børresen 0-series. The optional stand is also of multipart HDF, stands 64.5 cm tall on its own, and rests on four steel ball bearings with titanium adapters, and its adjustable cross plate feet are designed for Darkz resonance control. Speaker and stand together weigh 14.9 kg per side.

Pairing

With its moderate sensitivity and easy load the Z1 suits integrated amplifiers of moderate power, solid-state or valve, rather than needing a large power amplifier. Buyers who later want the treated version can compare it with the Cryo Edition, which keeps the same cabinet, drivers and figures.

Alternatives

The Børresen X1 is a cheaper stand-mount from the brand, using a spread tow carbon cone and copper-capped pole rings instead of the Z1 motor.