Buchardt A500 Measurements and Spinorama

[brandall10]

Thanks @mSpot ... signed up, looks like the last update 11 days ago had some good news regarding fixes for the WISA bug, connection dropouts, and new master tunings and Roon Ready cert. Looks like most of this should drop in the coming weeks: https://www.facebook.com/groups/753355601955043

 

[muslhead]

Thanks @mSpot ... signed up, looks like the last update 11 days ago had some good news regarding fixes for the WISA bug, connection dropouts, and new master tunings and Roon Ready cert. Looks like most of this should drop in the coming weeks: https://www.facebook.com/groups/753355601955043

Thanks for posting this. I dont FB so I appreciate the info

 

[brandall10]

Sure thing, happy to post anything in particular you'd like more detail on, it's a long post.

 

[Emlin]

Thanks for posting this. I dont FB so I appreciate the info

I don't understand why such information should be confined to FaecesBook. Why isn't it on Buchardt's website, for example?

 

[brandall10]

I don't understand why such information should be confined to FaecesBook. Why isn't it on Buchardt's website, for example?

Yeah, it's annoying. I only have a FB account for meetups and product groups like this. I imagine in part it's for the group engagement factor. Should at least post to the main site as well.

 

[muslhead]

I don't understand why such information should be confined to FaecesBook. Why isn't it on Buchardt's website, for example?

good question but my conjecture since i had an email conversation with Mads regarding his website is he is redoing it as the current one does not have all the capabilties he needs or wants so he is forced to use other resources. I believe he is fully aware of this not being the ideal setup

 

[brandall10]

Just want to give an update that Mads posted today on FB - special note for those who find FB aggravating at the end. It's shorter so I'll just copy the text:

- The Platin team have yesterday released the most recent test build version 449 for the hub. I have uploaded this under the downloads section at "fix for match batch". This also works for the first batch A500 and are ongoing some final testing before it would be released on the automatic update. If you do not have the left/right channel issues, then no need for manual updating to this beta.

- After this update is released, they would start fixing the dropouts issues some are also experiencing. - here many customers have found the "WiSA dropout fix" under downloads effective now.

- The latest big IOS update have made a lot of complications with many apps out there, including the Buchardt app. The hub is no longer visible on the new update. We are looking into this as well.

- The Mastertuning 2.0 is nearly complete. We have hoped to get it out this week, but there were a few minor bugs that needed some additional attention, so we sadly have to delay this to next week to ensure this would be top-notch! This is really a big deal and would arrive first for the A500, then later for the A700.

- We are very soon launching a real Buchardt Forum! This would give us and users a much better overview on everything that is going on. It would be a place for news, help, bug reports, update reports, ongoing development, future plans and much more. The Facebook group is really not optimal for this, which have been very clear lately. We would be much more active here, as it's much easier for us to navigate as well.

- An all new website is also coming.

 

[muslhead]

For the fifrst time since i purchased and received the system (hub and speakers) are functioning as i believe they are supposed to.
Constant dropouts, l /r speaker identification and a non functional remote control have been resolved. I will put a caveat regarding the dropouts as i only ran it for 4 hours but during those 4 hours it functioned flawlessly. Not enough time for me to say conclusively its fixed but its definitely a step in the right direction

 

[brandall10]

That's great - this is after applying the above updates?

I'm having some random issue every 1-2 hours (reminds me of my first year w/ the original LS50W) but I'm concerned updating the hub will wipe out room correction... as his note above mentions, the iOS app no longer sees my speakers.

 

[muslhead]

I cant follow which updates those mentioned above are.
Apparently the ONE mastertuning bin file that has been there since the most recent US buyers received their pack was to be installed when you got the kit. I was not aware of this. Its not in their website. its not on the packing material i received when i got the speaker. The other thing that added to the problem was it clearly states in the mastertuning instruction we (the most recent US buyers who received shipment) should not update the mastertuning. So while there was that one file stating this is for the recent US recipients i never installed it due to the other warning. They admit the communication has been horrible, confusing (well those are my words , not theirs) and why they are making changes to their website (a forum) to be able to better deal with all the problems. One other way, of course would be to not ship defective product but hey, thats just the way i was taught. The instructions are missing a lot of info so you are left to assume what you are supposed to do in virtually every step. The problem was, no matter what i did to try and fix it, I still had the same problems , that is until today.

For about 2 hours the hub was bricked. it could not be turned on and every button on the remote, while still liting up, did nothing.

This has one been one big clusterf#$%

 

[brandall10]

The notice for this was at the bottom half of a shipment update email sent on April 7th. It should have been sent in a separate email as I missed it as well, only found while typing "buchardt left channel" in my email inbox, as I discovered a left channel lock issue while noticing some Beatles songs had no vocals.

 

[muslhead]

no wonder i thought the imaging was poor when i first set them up LOL

 

[brandall10]

Hey everyone, Mads finally set up discussion forums:

https://forum.buchardtaudio.com/

He still seems to post primary updates in FB though unfortunately. Latest news is the 2.0 master tunings are about to drop any day, still have a few kinks. Apparently this is a ground up rewrite that are going to improve quite a few things about the speaker's behavior.

Also interesting to note is this new products announcement, an A300, which is a smaller version of the A500: https://forum.buchardtaudio.com/for...48-new-buchardt-audio-products-in-development

 

[muslhead]

Hey everyone, Mads finally set up discussion forums:

https://forum.buchardtaudio.com/
Latest news is the 2.0 master tunings are about to drop any day, still have a few kinks.

Yawn!. Same as last week. Same as week before. At least they are consistent.

 

[muslhead]

OMG there are now 2 mastertunings for the December ... January .... February ... March April batch.
Of course, they are not labeled so no one knows what they are but hey, they have doubled their number. Woohooo

 

[VintageFlanker]

MasterTuning 2.0 is now online!

Only one for now, and others to come. And a lot of claims...

https://www.facebook.com/Buchardtaudio/posts/4116375865050112

 

[brandall10]

Just updated to MT 2.0. It does seem to sound better on a small sampling of songs. The bass appears to be more visceral/detailed, and there's an edginess in the upper mids at higher volume levels that seems to be fixed.

What say the rest of you?

 

[VintageFlanker]

What say the rest of you?

I just measured both. Keep in mind these are low res/in-room (1/12, on-axis and nearfield) measurements. As always, I averaged several (5) captures for each Tuning :

Massive difference below 30Hz and post-10Khz.

The drop in sub bass helped a lot (9db less distortion in that area). But the rest is overall worse all the way...

There's new trouble coming, tho... I now have a little popping noise almost each time speakers receive a signal... and a few seconds after the signal is gone. Like it would continuously wake up and go back to standby mode... (Note that I'm not using this completely fucked-up Hub anymore, so upgrade was not even a thing)

I also notice back LEDs (channel indicators) are way darker than before. Same for you?

Edit: There is already a fix coming:

Read this!!

Tomorrow we will release a new version. We expected that the LLE (Low Level Enhancement) could possibly be to overwhelming in some homes. And we see from the first customer reports that this is the case for some. If you experience too much bass / out of balance sound at lower volumes - the update tomorrow would change that.

 

[daftcombo]

I just measured both. Keep in mind these are low res/in-room (1/12, on-axis and nearfield) measurements. As always, I averaged several (5) captures for each Tuning :

View attachment 130717

Massive difference below 30Hz and post-10Khz.

The drop in sub bass helped a lot (9db less distortion in that area). But the rest is overall worse all the way...

View attachment 130718
View attachment 130719

There's new trouble coming, tho... I now have a little popping noise almost each time speakers receive a signal... and a few seconds after the signal is gone. Like it would continuously wake up and go back to standby mode... (Note that I'm not using this completely fucked-up Hub anymore, so upgrade was not even a thing)

I also notice back LEDs (channel indicators) are way darker than before. Same for you?

Edit: There is already a fix coming:

Thankfully, Matt is quick to help. Another hi-fi manufacturer would have answered that the new DSP settings need some break-in.

 

[muslhead]

Just updated to MT 2.0. It does seem to sound better on a small sampling of songs. The bass appears to be more visceral/detailed, and there's an edginess in the upper mids at higher volume levels that seems to be fixed.

What say the rest of you?

If my speakers actually worked i would give you my impressions.
As soon as i receive replacement parts i will see what effect MC2 has