Bookshelf Speakers

Crystal Acoustics TX-B1 Bookshelf Speakers

In Use

I tested the TX-B1 with an OPPO BDP-95 universal player, BAT VK-5i preamplifier, and Emotiva XPA-1 monoblock power amplifiers. Cables were Marc Audio.

It really is amazing what $349/pair gets you with these speakers. They sounded very neutral, and that silk dome tweeter maintained detail without excessive sibilance. Really deep bass was not there, but the TX-B1's are designed to be used with a subwoofer if you are using them in a home theater. Nevertheless, even by themselves, there was sufficient bass with most of the music I listened to.

A jazz trio without percussion (drums) is tough to pull off, but Ray Brown on bass, Monte Alexander on piano, and Russell Malone on guitar manage to do it, and the TX-B1 reproduced the sound with clean, clear detail. The string bass had a few notes here and there that would have benefited from a subwoofer, but for the most part, the speakers held their own.

I used this disc to test the transients occurring at the leading edge of Rory Block's steel stringed guitar, while she sang the blues. Sometimes a silk-dome tweeter can be a bit soft in this regard, but that was not the case with the TX-B1's.

Tierney Sutton is a good test for female voices, because she has a tremendous range. Sometimes she sounds like Barbra Streisand, and other times, Bette Midler. Smooth as silk, she was, literally.

Overall, The TX-B1's had a very pleasing sound. I consider them a bargain at $349/pair.