Danish brand Tangent has added the Spectrum II X5 Active BT to its Spectrum II line, an active bookshelf speaker pair designed to replace a rack of separate components with a single box. The Tangent Spectrum II X5 combines a built-in amplifier, wireless streaming and a wide range of physical connections, aiming to cover music, TV and turntable duties without external gear.
Tangent Spectrum II X5: What’s Inside
At the core of the Tangent Spectrum II X5 is a 2 x 50 W Class D amplifier driving a 2-way design: a 5″ cellulose-pulp bass/midrange driver paired with a 1″ dome tweeter, crossed over at 2800 Hz. Sony-style all-in-one systems are common at this price point, but Tangent’s spec sheet leans toward a proper hi-fi feature set: a frequency response of 60 Hz–20 kHz (±3 dB), better than 90 dB signal-to-noise ratio, and a bass-reflex cabinet rated at 88 dB sensitivity into 6 Ω.
Turntable owners get a genuine draw here: the Tangent Spectrum II X5 includes a built-in RIAA phono input (MM), so a turntable can be wired straight into the speakers without an external preamp. A dedicated subwoofer output covers the low end further, and a three-band EQ (bass ±6 dB, midrange ±3 dB, treble ±6 dB) lets the system be tuned to the room without extra hardware.
For the living room, HDMI ARC lets the Tangent Spectrum II X5 connect directly to a TV, with automatic power on/off so the speakers switch on with the television and can be operated from the TV remote — one less remote on the coffee table. Wireless duties run through Bluetooth 5.3 with aptX HD, and the input list rounds out with Hi-Res USB audio, optical and coaxial digital, and RCA line-in, covering most sources a household is likely to own.
Tangent finishes the Spectrum II X5 in a satin black or white cabinet, following the brand’s Scandinavian design language, and includes a remote control plus an automatic standby after 15 minutes of inactivity. Each speaker measures 166 x 322 x 205 mm; the active unit weighs 5.1 kg, the passive partner 4.3 kg. Wall-mount and heavy-duty ceiling-mount brackets are available as accessories for anyone who’d rather not use a stand.
The Tangent Spectrum II X5 is priced at €549 per pair and is available now via Tangent’s own site. For anyone assembling a compact bookshelf speaker setup that also has to double as a TV and turntable solution, the built-in phono stage and HDMI ARC support are the two features that do the most to justify skipping a separate amplifier altogether.
Where the Tangent Spectrum II X5 Fits
Active speakers with a built-in phono stage are not a new idea, but most competitors at this price either drop the turntable input entirely or bury it behind a compromise elsewhere, such as a weaker amplifier or a single digital input. The Tangent Spectrum II X5 instead tries to cover every common source in one unit: vinyl through the MM phono stage, a TV through HDMI ARC, a phone or laptop over Bluetooth aptX HD, and a desktop system through USB audio. That breadth is really the pitch here — not a single standout spec, but a genuinely complete connection panel on a compact active speaker that still leaves room on a shelf or sideboard for other things.
For anyone currently running a separate amplifier, phono preamp and TV soundbar as three different boxes, the Tangent Spectrum II X5 offers a route to consolidate all three into a single active speaker pair, without giving up any of the connections those separate boxes covered individually.
