The design, construction and operation of a compact, high-efficiency Bragg diffraction spectrometer are described. An accurate method of alignment is presented. The spectrometer has been tested with a lead stearate analysing crystal by measuring carbon K (methane) and argon L x-ray energies produced by direct electron beam excitation. The high efficiency of this apparatus is demonstrated by measuring satellite lines of the neon K spectrum with a RbAP analysing crystal.