Buchardt S400 *MKII* Spinorama and measurements

[Freeway]

How do you compare the S400 mk2 to the M105?

Both fine speakers.
I have thought everyone at some time should give a good listen to Revel M105/106. Taught me alot about what is talked about here at ASR - charts, neutrality and all. Opened my eyes. A reference speaker. I still think seriously about getting the M226Be.
The Buchardt is a lot of fun. Cool design. I think I prefer it over the 105, but i haven't listened to the 105 in a while. My 105 is now going to my son.

 

[chang]

Both fine speakers.
I have thought everyone at some time should give a good listen to Revel M105/106. Taught me alot about what is talked about here at ASR - charts, neutrality and all. Opened my eyes. A reference speaker. I still think seriously about getting the M226Be.
The Buchardt is a lot of fun. Cool design. I think I prefer it over the 105, but i haven't listened to the 105 in a while. My 105 is now going to my son.

Yeah, I'm trying out the M105 & M106 right now. They're definitely my type of sound. I prefer the sound of the 105, just wish it scaled bigger. I'm curious if the f206 blends both and takes it to another level.

I've always been curious about the buchardt sound, maybe I'll find out one day

 

[DearSX]

Both fine speakers.
I have thought everyone at some time should give a good listen to Revel M105/106. Taught me alot about what is talked about here at ASR - charts, neutrality and all. Opened my eyes. A reference speaker. I still think seriously about getting the M226Be.
The Buchardt is a lot of fun. Cool design. I think I prefer it over the 105, but i haven't listened to the 105 in a while. My 105 is now going to my son.

I think I am going to try a Revel speaker later this year or next year. Going with the Buchardt A10 next. I tried the KH120ii and I like a bit. Thanks for the comparison.

 

[Matt_Holland]

I lived with a pair of S400mkII for about 6 months (long term loan from Mads) and I had no preconceptions or expectations except that they wouldn’t perform as well as the Meridian DSP5200.2 DSP active floorstanders that they replaced.

I was very wrong. I’m a big fan of measurements as a way to assess audio products, and the Buchardts do appear to measure quite well. My subjective impression of these speakers is that they are extremely musical and convey music/singing in a very pleasing way compared to many speakers I’ve heard over the years. For example, nothing in the technically superb Meridian Audio range comes close to the S400mkII for musicality and connecting you emotionally to the content. The S400mkII is a speakers that focusses on the midrange. Subjectively they convey the natural “tone” of instruments very realistically and this was somewhat of a party trick when demonstrating them to guests. Even non-audio types commented on how realistic they sounded. A musician friend particularly enjoyed how they reproduced acoustic guitar.

They place sounds slightly in front of the plane of the baffles, bringing the instrument/voice into the room with a real sense of the performer actually being there as opposed to creating a facsimile of the acoustic space behind the speakers with instruments portrayed within it as some designs do. The high frequencies are what some may describe as sweet. I think they are balanced perfectly for delivering huge amounts of details whilst never becoming fatiguing. The bass is very deep for a speaker of its size and I found they can be placed very close to the wall without becoming boomy.

I tried three amplifiers with them. Buchardt’s own amp which is very powerful but I found too bright and lacking weight to the sound. This could be attributed to the ADC and DAC possibly as well as the amplifier design. I tried a Primare A25 which was a very good match. Loads of control and very refined. I also tried them with a Waversa WSlim Lite which was quite awful sounding to my ears. Again could be attributable to the internal ADC/DAC. With the Primare I used a Meridian 218 DAC. The other two amps I used with their digital inputs or their analogue inputs with went through ADC. So not a fair test. However I would say with confidence that the S400mkII require an amplifier with plenty of power (at least 100W) and plenty of current delivery.

The S400mkII are not a monitor speaker although they are highly revealing. For me they are an almost perfect example of a “hifi” speaker in that they add some kind of flavour to the sound that somehow (hopefully measurable) makes music sound beautiful and enjoyable and addictive (they have a very coherent sound with excellent separation and what HIFI people would call good timing). I have listened to a lot of speakers over the years and these may well be the most enjoyable I have heard regardless of price. When funds permit I will purchase a pair to keep.

 

[VintageFlanker]

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Buchardt S400 MKII Bookshelf Speaker Review

Buchardt S400 MKII Bookshelf Speaker Review

www.erinsaudiocorner.com

 

[Matt_Holland]

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Buchardt S400 MKII Bookshelf Speaker Review

Buchardt S400 MKII Bookshelf Speaker Review

www.erinsaudiocorner.com

Great review by Erin. I really like what he's doing on his channel.

Probably down to room acoustics and subjective impressions, but where I don't quite concur with Erin is that to me the S400 mkII don't sound bright at all, although details of instruments like cymbals, for example, are incredibly easy to discern and are portrayed in a very "natural" sounding way. The second area is bass response, where in my room (5x4m), the S400 mkII played down to nearly 35Hz. In larger rooms and with the speakers further away from the walls, I can imagine the bass needing additional support.

It would be cool if Buchardt offered a tuneable passive radiator solution for room and subwoofer matching.

 

[VintageFlanker]

The second area is bass response, where in my room (5x4m), the S400 mkII played down to nearly 35Hz.

That's your in-room response VS anechoic.

It would be cool if Buchardt offered a tuneable passive radiator solution for room and subwoofer matching.

Or simply some DSP matching with their I150 amp.

 

[Freeway]

Great review by Erin. I really like what he's doing on his channel.

It would be cool if Buchardt offered a tuneable passive radiator solution for room and subwoofer matching.

Erin did say the passive radiator could be somewhat tuned by removing a screw and adjusting some weights. First I heard of that.

 

[Freeway]

Or simply some DSP matching with their I150 amp.

You can apply adjustments thru their iPhone app. Room modes, EQ and such. They now have a dedicated calibrated microphone available.
Mastertuning for the i150 like they have for the active speakers would be cool.

 

[Matt_Holland]

That's your in-room response VS anechoic.

Yes, absolutely. My comment was more to build on Erin's comments with real world experience as Erin doesn't do the bass output of the speaker full justice. For its size, it's fairly impressive in my opinion - at least subjectively, and with some room loading.

Or simply some DSP matching with their I150 amp.

That's an interesting and valid point. I did test the I150 and it has some great features, and is built well and looks nice. However, it's not the best sounding, particularly when compared to something like the Primare A25, and locks you into using its ADC and DAC.

 

[Chromatischism]

I'm very sensitive/picky about bright speakers. I can't live with them. For me, the S400 1 and 2 are amazing. You can listen without fatigue. A little less so with the MKII but I think it comes closer to true neutral, with nice detail.

Imagine my surprise to hear "bright" in the same sentence.