mid range and highs

bass

I purchased the X3's with the x1 Center channel for my home theatre setup. I am looking to get a matched set for the rears in a 6.1 setup. I love these speakers especially for the price. While they are not as transparent as typical planar speakers they still sound quite nice. The midrange and highs are particularly noteworthy. The bass as stated before is not great but I've paired with a subwoofer and roll the speakers off at 60 hz and am quite satisfied with the overall sound. I have listened to many speakers in this price range (list is about 1,000) and have not found anything close. The sound is so clean and undistorted particularly the highs. They really shine on acoustic music, and vocal solos. Played Peter Frampton live on these speakers, turned up the volume, and felt like I was at the concert.

Similar Products Used:

nht 2.5 i, sound dynamics 3ti's,

All the above

Don't really have any. Wood finish might be nice

I responded to an Audiogon ad to purchase a Sony cd player from an individual. While at the person's home I listened to his system which included the Bohlender Radia X-3 speakers. They were particularly attractive (they are vinyl finish but nicely done), a reasonable size and I thought they would work in my small to medium size listening room. The more I listened, the more impressed I was with the sound. They were extremely clean, imaged very well and had extended bass for such a small speaker. I asked what the individual would sell the speakers for, bought them and took them home. I couldn't be happier with the speakers..the sound is excellent in every respect, good imaging/soundstaging, remarkable clarity (I hear subtle recorded sounds I never heard before), bass is tight, clean and goes down to 40 hz in my room. I drive them with 25 watt tube amplifiers. I can't imagine why these speakers don't get more press coverage, especially at the price.

Similar Products Used:

Magnepan 2.5R, 1.5, .6, SMG Apogee Centaur Majors (these are also ribbon hybrid speakers)

Sound, imaging, looks, build quality, planar speaker,

none

First, I am not an audiophile but I listen to quite a lot of music and care about its reproduction. I have bought the highest quality equipment that I can personally afford. I really like these speakers. They have a HUGE sweet spot in the horizontal, but above the cabinet, it dissapears. I think this may be inherent in planar speakers. The imaging is incredible with these speakers. I can almost see the musicians on stage. The speakers are warm and doesnt seem to emphasize any frquency range over another, which I really like a lot. Some speakers can be too bright and piercing, but these are great. They may be even a little too warm for my taste since I listen to about 3/4 rock and electronica. However, I hesitate to call that a criticism. I love how the planar speaker is open in back as well as the front. It just sounds great and helps to reflect sound off a wall, contributing to the warmth that I mentioned. Personally I dont want to have speakers that everyone else has. I like the fact that my speakers are unique. The support staff at BG are very good if you have a question. These speakers look and sound great. I know they arent B&O's but I have never heard b&o's so I dont know if I am missing anything. All that I know is that I like these speakers a lot. And for less than 1000$ they cant be beat. Good luck finding them this cheap. I probably would have paid more if I knew that I would like these speakers so much. THese speakers are power hungry. At 4ohms, I needed to buy a separate amp just for them. I also recommend the Audiosource amp3 for this purpose. I think this amp is great and for 350$ with a torroidal power supply, its even better. These speakers and my amp3 really do the trick for a beginner audiophile like me. Oh by the way, these speakers impress people a lot. They look stunning. I was worried that they would not fit into my more earthy decor, but they actually complement it pretty well. Granted they dont come with a wood finish, check out the x3's, but I am still lovin them. Criticisms that I have heard, I will respond to. That they drop off at about 80 hz. I say so what? I am a medical student and I know that noone can hear past about 300 hz anyway! And besides, who doesnt use a sub? (I recommend the audiosource 10 or 15", great sound!) Another criticism, the shipping. Gimme a break! Of course its gonna be expensive to ship these.

Similar Products Used:

no planars, but nakamichi systems, missions, bose, acoustic research

build quality, silver finish, high waf factor, horizonal dispersion

hard to find a place to demo, highly underappreciated

I am using the 520/220/420 setup for my HT w/ Krell equipment. Unlike Maggies, these will not fall apart on you in a few years. The woofer section on the bottom which the Maggies lack helps with the lows as well. These babies are power hungry and will take just about any load you feed them. No ear fatigue is just icing on the cake.

Similar Products Used:

magnepan 2.5r, 1.4, mmg, mgcc

Sonic sound

Need a SUB

This is a review for both 520 and 220 center. They are excellent. Yes, they need a lot of power and don''t have much bass. First, I used my old ONKYO receiver, they sounded very bad. I purchased a new DENON AVR-5803 and a HSU VTF-2 sub. After hooked them up, hey, you can not go wrong with these setup. I love it. It''s unbelievable.

craftmanship, high frequency.

so-so mid-bass, not too deep, not too tight. high shipping charge, not a famous brand, no famous magazine review it (i.e., Stereophile or Absolute Sound).

This is for the Radia X3 review, BG''s lowest priced model. Since audioreview.com does not seperate the 520, 420 and X3 (also center channel X1 and Planar 220), so I saw many guys put 520 review on this 420 area. I''m looking for good value speakers. So far I once I had Infinity, AR, Celestion, KEF, JBL, Wharfedale Sapphire 87, Sappire 89, Modus 1.6, Modus center, Sapphire center, Modus 8, Opal 30, Opal center, Movie 5, Klipsch, Parasound, Speaker Craft, Aura, Mission, and Snell. The best service is Wharfedale and Snell, the sound quality is very subjective, and also depends your peripherals, setup, room layout, and the lucky of the unit you received. In speakers industry, it seems has no QC or reproducible spec can be followed! The pairs arrived with uBid''s greedy high shipping charge, even the units were "drop shipped" from mfg NV to CA (not from uBid''s TN warehouse to CA), the greedy uBid still charge it full price shipping at $80 range! The craftmanship is good, polish and material looks fine. The units has hybrid cone woofer unit, to extend the bass extension. THe tweeter is hybride ribbon style design, which is the ONLY selling point of this no-name or not-famous brand speakers. Although the tweeter is tiny smaller than 420 and 520, it still can deliver claer high frequency sound, I guess the 13X and 17X larger 420 and 520 tweeter will give you better results. The mid-low frequency is so-so, not deep enough (spec says 40 Hz, I doubt it!), and not so tight. You may a bit disappoint on bass and overall soundstage, but the crispy high frequency may give you back some confidence. The equipment I used is Pioneer Elite VSX THX receiver, and Sherwood Newcastle Burr-Brown 20-bit chip CD player. All these setup are "poorman''s Mercedes" in audiophile kingdom, but I don''t get any expected or surprise from this BG X3 units. Perhaps, I may need try Magnaplan, or BG 420/520 with $500 subwoofer, but if I do so, the setup is no longer has a good cheap-value ratio. The X3 was selling at rare few distributors over US, at a higher price tag. While SE version only selling at uBid with extensive low tag, maybe it explains the sound quality not so high. So far the best sound I got was from Snell E-III, it has deep and tight and clear bass, cost me $850, but not from this BG X3 ($550, somehow give me satisfied high frequency crispy sound!).

Similar Products Used:

KEF, Celestion, Wharfedale Modus 1.6, Sapphire 87, 89, AR, Snell, Infinity.

Accurate, great soundstage, visually stunning.

Will likely need a subwoofer, need room (3 feet away from walls, with a 12" ceiling is best, but this is typical of ALL ribbon drivers and not a weakness of the Radias).

The Radia 520 is the "big brother" of the Radia 420. The B-G Radia 520dx (with the fancy aluminum) were are replacement for 15 year old Carver Amazing Silver Loudspeakers. The first thing that impresses is the size: these are 68 inches tall, about 12 inches wide, and 3 inches deep; except for the traditional woofer section at the bottom: about 12x12x18. www.bgcorp.com has more accurate measurements. The sound is fast, tight, and crystal clear. These are excellent speakers at the list price (around $3200, I bought mine used 5 months). The tall ribbon drivers ensure a more even dispersion than the Carver''s did (partially because they start some 18" from the base), giving a wonderful soundstage, whether one is standing or sitting. The nature of the ribbon serves to minumize ceiling and floor bounce, however, you really want a room with a Cathedral ceiling for these. Mine are on carpet, so I ordered a spiking kit from B-G: $30 plus shipping for a set of four threaded inserts, spikes, and locking nuts for each speaker. It makes a noticible difference in the bass response (as the spikes help prevent the speaker from sliding back and forth due to bass reproduction). This brings me to the only weakness, though hardly a flaw... The only weakness is an intentional rolloff below 80 Hz -- you won''t get very low bass out of these puppies. Then again, each speaker only has two 6-1/2" cone woofers. It is said that keeping energy below 80Hz out of them helps a great deal (most THX preamps can do this), lest the upper bass is muddied. For music at moderate levels they are fine, but you WILL likely want an accurate subwoofer or two to mate with these. This is a MUST for home theatre applications. Overall, an excellent speaker for those who strive for sonic accuracy in the upper bass and above. I only rated it 4/5 because it isn''t "far better than expected", but it deserves, say, a 4.8/5.

Similar Products Used:

Carver Amazing Silver Loudspeaker

Looks good

Sound Qualiy Customer Service Must be returned to Nevada for warranty service Company will charge the customer $50+shipping just to send a box for returning the product.

I bought a pair of 520dx to relace a pair Klipsch LaScala''s that were just too large for my apartment. Although I knew they wouldn''t match the sound output of the LaScala''s, I was shocked at how poorly they sounded in comparison. After the initial breakin period recommended by BGcorp, I found that one of the speakers was defective and produced hardly any sound at all. On top of that, I will need to purchase the Radia center channel speaker because I presently have a Klipsch center channel, and it overpowers the 520''s so completely that even with the center channel volume reduced to it''s minimum, it still overpowers the 520 once the main volume is turned up high enough for sound output from the 520dx. As stated earlier, I live in a 1-bedroom apartment, and space is a big concern. Because of this, I did not save the boxes the 520''s came in after the first month. I contacted BGcorp. to arrange repair/replacement of the defective speaker, and they told me that even though there is an authorized dealer/service center in my city, the RadiaDX series are warranted if returned to the Nevada headquarters for service. They also told me this cannot be done through their authorized outlets, and must besent directly by the consumer. To make matters worse, the consumer must not only pay for shipping the product to Nevada, but also $50 + shipping costs for the box to pack the speaker in. That will probably add up to close to $150 to get a product repaired "free of charge" under the warranty! What a major rip-off!! A speaker that is supposedly high-end, audiophile quality, costs more than the average consumer would dream of spending, is defective from day one, AND will costs heavily to get repaired under the warranty. One would think that a company that really cared about it''s customers would at the very least be willing to supply a container in which to return a defective product without bleeding the customer out of every dime they can. I wouldn''t recommend buying BGcorp. products to anyone...not even an enemy. Besides the difficulties in getting repairs, the sound sucks even on the "good" speaker. I am extremely disappointed that I purchased these. It''s understandable why there is no place one can go to demo the sound of the RadiaDx series before purchasing. If they had such a place, they''d never sell a damn one!

Similar Products Used:

None...my first and LAST pair of BGcorp. products. Give me a good pair of Klipsch horn driven speakers anyday.

Probably the best planars on the market. Their choice of dynamics with which to mate them are not nearly as fast. The dynamic drivers sound like vifa''s or something similar. Should have gone with Dynes for this range, but then again, some have done so and ended up charging $45 000+ like genesis or Red Rose have.

idiocy factor, similar to when people hook up an atari 2600 to a quality CRT complain about how much clearer their friends'' plasma TV is...Under appreciated and cheapens image selling on Ubid- but hey it increases their sales volume and total revenues I guess. Most buyers are yahoos looking for a deal and probably wouldn''t know the difference between their radio shack optimus and a quality pentode, but then again, what can you expect if they make you go to Ubid to mail order these things?

I don''t think most people who bought this speaker really understand what it is they really are using. These speakers are by far the best value out there, except that only Class A amps bring out anything worth listening to, and even then you need an incrediblly high slew rate to have them be able to respond, lest they sound like a cardboard box. They''re open and spacious, but their mid-bass units are not particularly impressive. They didn;t do a great job in matching their dynamic drivers with their planar tweets but it''s acceptable. The amps that most people have been driving these things are a joke, and bank on spending 4X as much for a good amp otherwise I suggest going you shopping for speakers elsewhere. Even the Class A Triodes I hooked them up with sounded deficient at times when they peaked, though the vocals were always clear and detailed at the upper end. It takes time to get used to the speed of these drivers, but this is such an esoteric market that most people will buy them only because they''re cheap. For vocals and other warmer tube sounds, go with Carys or a pair of conrad johnson premier 17s. Otherwise, if you want more power, bryston 7''s or my personal choice for these, Rowland 8''s. You want an amp with clear highs and warmer bass, but doesn''t drive mid-bass dynamics like Mcintosh to B&W or you''ll puke from hearing the slop. The mid range cutt off at 325 hz for the high end and lows at 80hz, for which I would suggest M&K''s 5000 subwoofer. Unfortunate, but then again most people are probably using these to watch The Matrix over and over again for all I care. System Rowland Model 8 Pass-Labs 5000 pre Cardas gold cross Miller and Kriesler 5000 Source- Sony 9000ES

Bass, Midrange clarity, high end detail

None

Bohlender Graebener Radia X3. Associated equipment. Harman/Kardon 2.0 preamp Acurus 125x5 power amp used to Bi-amp fronts Crown CE1000 used to power rears. I recently took a chance and purchased the BG Radia X3 speakers without hearing them based on a review I read in home theater Magazine. When I first hooked up the speakers I noticed details in the music that I had never before paid attention to. I bought the speakers out of a curiosity involving the ribbon tweaters and felt that if I was able to get the type of clarity in the high end that I was looking for and the midrange was all there that I could supplement the Low end with my Boston acoustics PV600 subwoofer. I use this system exclusively for listening to music and my taste run from jazz and blues to Hip Hop and Rap. When I initially hooked up the speakers and applied power I was pleasantly surprised. Not only was the high end clear and transparent but the midrange was all there and the low end was tight and solid with good punch even at low listening levels. BG recommends 100 hours of break in for the drivers to really perform. Well these speakers sounded great right out of the box. I have been listening to them practically non-stop since hooking them up and they do get better with break-in. I have found that my subwoofer only smeared the low end content and have discontinued using the sub since bass output from these speakers was sufficient with all the musical program material I listen to. I played the Isley Brothers Eternal CD and track 3 on this CD has a prodigious amount of bass and with my previous speakers which are Boston Acoustics VRM60''s coupled with the Boston PV600 sub the base was overwhelming and boomy which I felt was due to placement and room acoustics. When this same CD was played through the BG Radia X3''s the base was tight with full extension down to their rated cutoff of 40hz and the midrange remained clear with no evidence of accentuating the upper base. The Highs sparkled and there seemed to be more space between the instruments over the full musical spectrum. I have since purchased 2 more of these speakers for my rears and have ordered the Radia X1 center channel for future needs of SACD audio. If you are looking for High End sound on a budget then these speakers are for you. I believe you can buy comparable sounding speakers for $2000.00 a pair but none better.

Similar Products Used:

Boston Acoustics VRM60''s Wharfedale Saphire 89''s DCM Time Windows