In this review, we will be comparing BRX and Bronze 100, two Passive Bookshelf speakers from GoldenEar and Monitor. Let's have a brief look at the main features of GoldenEar BRX and Monitor Audio Bronze 100 first before getting into our more detailed comparison.
In the following sections, we will get into details in order to better understand how GoldenEar BRX and Monitor Audio Bronze 100 compares and hopefully end up with enough arguments to decide which one of these loudspeakers is the better choice for you.
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Drivers
Both BRX and Bronze 100 are 2-way speakers. BRX features a " Folded Ribbon Tweeter and 1 x 6" Polypropylene Woofer . On the other hand, Bronze 100 features a 1" Hard-Dome Tweeter and 1 x 6.5" C-CAM Woofer with a Crossover frequency at 2200Hz.
Frequency Response
BRX has a frequency range of 40-35k Hz whereas Bronze 100 has a frequency range of 37-30k Hz. With a minimum frequency of 40Hz, the BRX can go slightly deeper then the Bronze 100's min frequency of 37Hz.
Below graphs depict how these two speakers compare with the max, min and average values of the Min and Max Frequencies of other speakers under Bookshelf class in our database.
Low Frequency
Bookshelf Speakers
High Frequency
Bookshelf Speakers
Impedance and Sensitivity
BRX and Bronze 100 has the same Impedance of 8 ohms but where they differ is the sensitivity levels. BRX sensitivity is rated at 90 dB and Bronze 100's is at 87 dB. This 3 dB difference makes GoldenEar BRX a more sensitive speaker compared to Monitor Audio Bronze 100, hence will play louder with the same amount of watts.
Sensitivity
Bookshelf Speakers
Power Range
Power range is the range of input power in watts RMS that a loudspeaker is designed to handle. While using an amplifier within this range ensures the nominal performance , inputting a power that is higher than the max wattage can result in a damaged speaker.
BRX can handle a max power of 250 watts RMS from the amp the whereas Bronze 100 has a max power handling value of 100 watts RMS, 150 watts less than the BRX.
Keep in mind that higher max power handling value doesn't necesssarily make that a louder speaker compared to a lower max handling speaker. Loudness or the sound level is also impacted by parameters such as Impededance, sensitivity and system efficiencies.
Input Type and Bi-Amping / Bi-Wiring
Bronze 100 features Post posts which makes bi-amping or bi-wiring possible. BRX has a 5-way post which doesn't feature bi-amping/bi-wiring.
GoldenEar BRX's 5-way post terminals
Cabinet Type and Port Position
Both BRX and Bronze 100 have rear firing ports. Rear ported speakers generlly need more room between the backside of the speaker and the wall compared to sealed and front/bottom ported speakers. Placing too close to the walls may cause the bass to sound boomy.
Physical Specs
Size of a speaker can sometimes become an important decision factor due to space constraints or in some cases purely for esthetic reasons. In this section, we are going to compare GoldenEar BRX's and Monitor Audio Bronze 100's external dimensions. GoldenEar BRX has external dimensions of 308.0 x 207.0 x 313.0mm ( 12-1/8 x 8-1/8 x 12-5/16inch) whereas Monitor Audio Bronze 100 has external dimensions of 376.0 x 231.0 x 325.0mm ( 14.8 x 9.0 x 12.7inch) .
Monitor Audio Bronze 100 is clearly the larger of the two speakers. Its body is 24mm wider, 68mm taller and 12mm deeper than GoldenEar BRX.
Base Surface Area Comparison
Base surface area of a loudspeaker may become a determining factor when the space in your room or desk is limited.
The base surface area of the GoldenEar BRX is approximately 647.9cm2 / 100.4inch2 and base area of the Monitor Audio Bronze 100 is approximately 750.8cm2 / 116.4inch2. The BRX requires 14% less surface area than the Bronze 100 which gives it a small advantage on placement in tight spaces.
