@@madsbuchardt7845 Please would you help us understand how such a wobbly stand doesn't interfear with a perfect impulse response from a speaker that for generations was successfully put on spikes to get a very stable stance. so much effort goes into a perfect impulse response, why leave it up to random movement?
Something I really appreciate about your videos is the extensive amount of b-roll of the close-up details of the speakers. It lets me get a better "feel" for the speaker and instills more confidence that I know what it would look like in my home. Manufacturers typically do a terrible job of providing macro shots in normal lighting, so having your up close and personal shots is super helpful towards the cause of decision making.
Not only is the content of your reviews interesting and well thought-through, the quality has to be the best I've seen in the industry. Keep up the great work!
I am surprised you did not get tempted by adding the KC62 to the LS50 in the comparison! I’d love to know how it changes the comparison. Thanks for the great videos as always!
Great review and comparison. Love that Mads Buchardt is young and passionate about delivering the best quality product for a great price, awesome trial period and really nice warranty. Looking forward to seeing more cool products from his and his team.
Thanks for the solid review John. I've had the S400 MKIIs for three months now. Your interpretation of their sonic signature is spot on. I've purchased 2 sets of spearkers from Mads Buchardt and his team over the past 3 years and can say their responsiveness, support and honesty have been exceptional. I don't have a RU-vid channel or any other audiophile affiliation but felt Mads was just as interested in helping me as anyone he might benefit from engaging with.
I have read that the interface that exists between the loudspeaker and the stand is also important because it effects the speakers' resonant signature. You can also go for Blu Tack and stick it at each corner of the speaker stand.
I have had both the KEF R300 and R3, the s400's have hands down the better tone, sound natural, easy to setup and match with amplifiers. The KEFs sound better with techno and can play slightly louder , given the proper amp, but I couldn't listen for more than an hour. The S400mkii are great for ALL types of music.
@@kirkaparty4143 great comparision. Have you heard maybe Tannoy XT6F? They also have dualconcentric speaker and wonder how they would compare with s400mk2.
one thing to be aware of, is that the particular pair of Rosewood S400 mk2 John have here, is an early prototype, so it does have some smaller quality issues which our protection speakers do not have.
Its very controversial topic - r3 vs ls50. Usually r3 preferred if played loud, but it provides way more even and deep bass in all situations (including single and dual subs setups), imho. I own both r3 and ls50, and i think r3 is better all-around speaker. Im really curious in s400 mk2 vs r3 comparison.
Thanks for the great comparison! More comparisons like this are welcome :) It would be interesting to see how these two speakers in a system WITH A SUB would compare. I love all camera shots, angles and compositions. Beautiful esthetics!
My little Yamaha NX-N500 are over 7 years old now and are still working flawlessly for such a small powered active all in one network system with a lot of complicated components. I mostly stream Qobuz through the MusicCast software. Everything from 44.1Khz - 192Khz 24bit, 384Khz 32bit through usb. MQA, DSD 5.6+ 192Khz optical to my TV. Ethernet LAN, Wireless 802.11N 2.4Ghz, DLNA, UPnP, NAS, Bluetooth AptX, Apple Airplay. Optical, USB, 3.5mm AUX. TuneIN Internet Radio, Napster, Deezer, Pandora, Tidal, Qobuz, SiriusXM. There is sufficient weight in mine showing frequencies from 40KHz down to 35 cycle at volume. They are rythmic, expressive, detailed, balanced, transparent, lots of clarity too. Timing and drive, punch are great. Although I love these little Yamaha I am looking extremely hard at a new All in One system such as Dali Oberon 7C, B&W Duo Formation, Elac Navi ARB-51, or the Buchardt A500. These new speakers I decide to go for will be for a lot more Hi Res listening music. I still use my Yamaha as my main speakers, but they also drive my TV sound for RU-vid and Amazon Movies. You can't go wrong with the little Yamaha's for £600 for a set it and forget it hifi do it all system.
Could you be so kind to describe the sound of your system? I also have the 6000a (the original version) and i just ordered a pair of LS50 metas, but I’ve been reading some reviews that warns about the 3.5 ohm drops of the metas, and even the lack of enough current in the 6000a. So im not so sure if it is a good match. Thank you in advance
@@jonasseguraI love my Audiolab 6000A but I’m curious about how it match with LS50 meta, and also the Buchardt P300. What’s your experience with the LS50?
The Tranquility Bass recommendation was so good that I had no other option than ordering the Buchardts. Can't wait to listen to them on the new system.
Yep main reason I am going with KEFs is I have access to employee discounts from a distributor. The discount I have access to is about cost + 5% markup this is nearly 50% off of MSRP price. Gives you a unique perspective of how much KEF sells them to distributors for and how much dealer markups are.
Talk about an in-depth review! Very good and insightful, especially the differences between going through a dealer or direct-sale kind of business. Personally, I prefer going through a dealership because I tend to live with a product for the long run, so, it is good to have someone in my area who can find parts and fix my audio. Thanks for your efforts!
Before I bought my Emotiva T1+ towers ($700), I compared them to a few other speakers that cost more ($900-$1200ish in general) but were from companies that use distributor/retailer networks. I felt as though the Emotivas, which are sold direct, equaled or bettered them all for less money*. Based on how the $1000-$1200 speakers I listened to sounded, the T1+ would absolutely cost over $1000 if Emotiva wasn't factory direct. You get what you pay for, but sometimes what you're paying for is a significant amount of distributor and retailer markup. *I'm not naming them because I'm just making a general point about business models and don't want to make this an argument about specific speakers.
Would love to see your comparison between the S400 MKII and the A500. May I suggest the following methodology. Keep the overall cost the same for each configuration. A500 should include the Primare SC15. Total cost is Euro 4,350. Take the retail value of any amp & pre-amp you use and halve it to approximate direct to consumer pricing. Limit the total cost of speakers and gear to Euro 4,350. Or simply use the retail value of whatever gear you use but limit it to the same cap of Euro 4,350. What do you think of this suggestion?
My personal experience is the waveguide nature of the woofer cone is very audible in the character of the tone coming from the KEF Meta’s tweeter. I could pick that out in a blind test all day long.
Thank you so much for your great videos. About a year ago I bought AURALiC VEGA G2.1 based on your recommendation on the video you made and I simply could not be happier. Keep on creating. Also special thanks to your vidographer. 👏👏👏
Love the look of these Buchardts and stands... But can't imagine anything less compatible with my high-engery toddler and big clumsy dog, wobbly pads or not! Solid review.
I am curious to hear the comparison between the A500 and S400 MKII. I have the exact MKII model you reviewed on order, just waiting to get them in a month or so. I have considered the Key LS50 Meta many times also. Cheers John, thanks for the review.
hey darko, it sits above the tweeter, so that the polar response goes up, like speaker is firing up, and it was 5 degree tilted baffle(speaker mounted area) so that they can linearize the vertical off axis response also about the smaller tweeter wider dispersion, measure the speaker diaphragm diameter : then find frequency of the wavelength(diameter) on online calculator and you will find certain frequency, and that frequency is beaming frequency so bigger diameter means bigger wavelength which equates to lower frequency where speaker start beaming, so smaller tweeter means smaller dia, which is smaller wavelength or higher frequency where speaker gonna beam also, buchardt can cross lower as the waveguide acts as horn, boosting mids in tweeter, allowing it to measure like bigger driver, so you have low distortion in lower region of tweeter due to waveguide, it helps in crossing it lower I do a lot of DIY and with waveguide, I can sometime cross nearby 1kHz (with expensive tweeter) and about KEF, old coaxial design with perfect horizontal and vertical polar dispersion watching your content for pretty long period of time and appreciate the subjective analysis of speaker and the experience you get out of it
The Kef being crisper up top is due the the meta diffuser behind the tweeter unit, it damps the rear facing sound waves of the tweeter so they don’t reflect back and interfere with the forward facing sound waves.
Nice video John. After watching your ‘Giant Killer’ video, I was interested to see how the Buckhardts compared to my LS50 Metas (with KC62 sub)… interesting the KEFs suit a smaller room, which I have (4.6m x 3.5m). Fun fact: the Metas are cat friendly - bolting the metas to the Kef stands has been a life saver (esp. with Atabites filler). Cheers 👍🏻
I was about to comment and ask you how they fare against the A500, and you start mentioning a potential comparison coming. I hope you find the time for it, I'm super curious about Buchardt
You may note that these 400’s are not amplified. The Buchardt A500’s are and are highly recommended. I needed a all-in-one solution and the A500’s are excellent active speakers.
I really like your comparisons and reviews in general. But now I am a bit confused because I was 100% convinced to buy a pair of KEF LS50 Meta. Now I have to let it sink for a while. Anyway, thanks for all and keep up the good work!
I had the S300 and actually own the Metas. I preferred the Metas for the bass response in my room (which is a square but not cubic at least). I'm wondering if I should try the S400 and see what happen.
Darko is right about the ls50 meta being picky with amps. I enjoy my ls50 meta with tube amp. I haven't got a good solid state combo with it yet. However, I still love ls50 meta with all the technical capabilities and innovations of it. It's easy smooth or warm up the sound with an amp, but it's impossible to boost non-existing technicalities.
if I understand correctly, what was said in the video, the Buchardt is better, as long as You have the space for them. And of course the money, depends on how much You want to spent. From the video I don't get the feeling, that someone will be unhappy with the Kefs. I own them, I like them.
Decoupling speakers from resonating the floor system is a good idea. Trying to accomplish that by making your speaker wobbly is detrimental to sound quality for several reasons. You will lose bass quantity and quality. According to the laws of physics ever action has an equal reaction, thus you want your speakers rock solid. A good analogy is throwing something (a medicine ball pushed from your chest) standing on (an unstable) skateboard, compared to doing the same with your back against a solid wall. If your speakers can wobble backwards much of the energy pushing forwards from the drivers will be lost. It gets much worse when double or triple bass slams are fighting the back and forth movement. If the speaker is moving backwards the slam will be considerably reduced and vice versa if the speaker is rebounding and moving forwards. Forget about the science. I have tested LS50s extensively on wobbly (yet damped with sand filled 4" ABS stands) and rock solid ridged metal sand filled stands. The latter is better in every regard. Wobbly speakers cause a ton of distortion. Especially evident when you put some power to the speakers. I noticed the same on big tower speakers wobbly on rubber feet on thick carpet. I added spikes so the speakers were anchored to the concrete floor and the bass doubled and was much tighter. Muddy bass ruins the entire ensemble. This concept matter most on small speakers. I can't even listen to my LS50s if I just plucked them down on a desk or book shelf. They have to be decoupled, but also stable. Maybe Buchardt offers these jello pads to lessen the bass at lower volume in a desk top system and add a little (not enough) decoupling. I'm sure it would help some in that regard, but not if people want to turn it up a bit. Then a whole new can of worms is opened up with added distortion.
14:30 Yeah those do look like Moon Gels used on drum heads. Mainly used on Snare drums to dampen like you said. Although Moon Gels appear thicker than those shown.
I wanted to try isoacoustics but I'm going to look for something like these first. Hopefully you'd get the majority of the benefits without the insane costs
Does the score change if a subwoofer is added to the Kef? With the price difference, adding a good compact sub could come in at the same price or less.
Was fully expecting the Kef’s to be played with their sub as you did with the Bucharts esp as you had it sat there. I suspect the Kef’s would then do everything better, go deeper, and more because the sub also alleviates the load on the amp driving the LS50’s. I would suspect resale value on the Kef’s to be stronger too.
I own both speakers in this video. If you add a sub to the KEF's, they are a more complete system than the S400 MKII's on their own. But if you add a sub to the S400 MKII's, the Buchardt system wins hands down (for my tastes). I'm also not so sure about which would hold the higher resale value. The KEF is undeniably the more recognized speaker of the two, but the used market (at least here in Canada) is saturated with them. Furthermore, the Buchardt's are getting quite a name for themselves and are quickly gaining a sterling reputation due to all of the positive press they are receiving. That, coupled with the fact that they cost more, leads me to believe that I could get more money from the Buchardt's if I had to sell either pair. I ended up using the S400 MKII as the speakers in my main living space, and the LS50 Metas are now used in my bedroom system.
great as usual man, can’t wait for the comparison with the A500 as you mentioned at the end, that could be really interesting, thank younso much for the great work and channel
John, please, please, please make a review of Buchardt A700s - especially now, that you have KEF LS60s. If you could make a comparison - even better! These are my two targeted sets but there hardly is anything on the net about A700 so I don't know how it compares to A500 that you liked so much. I currently have LS50Wireless first edition and I'm starting to feel this audio uneasiness. Thanks!
A better comparison would be between the Buchardt S400 mkII and the Kef R3 since they are much more comparable pricewise and what most people within a specific budget would be choosing between. Also, I have a friend who purchased the S400mkII with walnut and I bought the white finish. I think the white finish is beautiful and more comparable to the KEF in quality.
Glad for the comparison as I have the KEF LS50’s and am looking at the S400 Mk2. I play a lot of vinyl and I use an Audiolab 8300a so will work on putting some cash away. As always love the music tips and have added Tranquility Bass to my streaming to check it out. Thanks and cheers!
Thanks for this video. Since KEFs are cheaper in both the active and passive versions, I would consider KC62 part of the KEF equation. So the burning question is whether the A500 is good or KEF LS50W 2 + KC62 is, given that both cost the same. In some parts of the world, it is not as easy to import Buchardt speakers.
$400+ for stands made from cut down broom handles painted with undercoat! Life is full of compromises - I'm happy to concede that the larger S400 II speakers might produce a larger and warmer sound than the LS50 Metas (as will a lot of other larger, higher priced speakers, including from Kef); however, I prefer the size and style of the Kefs and their output is more than good enough for my circumstances (room size, furnishings, budget etc)...not forgetting to mention my age and lifestyle compromised auditory range! :)
Very intriguing. I had the LS50 Wireless II in for a month and didn’t care for them. They lacked something and had a weird effect with sound of the bell part of cymbals. While it sounded very realistic it was also louder than everything else. I suspect I really needed the sub with the KEFs. The KEF were amazing in many ways but just not my flavor of quirky.
I had the LS50 II as well, and really did not enjoy the sound. Felt way too metallic or artificial. Ended up with the Buchardt A500s they are beasts (although have issues with the platin hub). Still prefer my cabasse farella 400, so much more musical, but they don’t quite fit my current apartment.
Probably cone resonances from the aluminum driver. + i find passive speakers almost always sounding better than active speakers, unless you invest serious money
I have the Metas and think that treble is even too rolled-off, never had any issue related the highs. Instead, I blame them for the mid-bass response, even with two KC62, I still have something bad in the mid-bass area, but could be my room there. Could you elaborate better what you mean about "weird effect"?
Fair is the fact that direct to consumer companies due it all themselves without the benefits to them that retailers provide and most pass some of the savings on to the consumer. They usually are much easier to deal with as far as getting a human to talk with in the event of a problem.
Tip on the gel pads, an equivalent earthquake resistant gel pad cost like 3 euros for a pack of 4 here in HK from a Japanese household shop. Not as squishy as the ones John has but very similar in clear blue or white. You can probably find it online.
Another highly effective and low cost method is to use 2 squash balls which have been cut in half under each speaker. Completely decouples the speaker from the stand
Darko John Darko ! Hey buddy it's the Bargainphile , I like the use of damping between the speaker and stand , but i want you to try something else Get you some Easyliner cabneit liner its made out of Polypropylene . then measure your top plate of the stand the speaker sets on and cut the easyliner to the same size then place the easyliner on top of plate and then the speaker of course . works great and cheap . this helps to ground vibrations very well and keeps the standmount speaker more sturdy from falling off 😆 Member since 30 k !! Thanks Darko ! on a side note love the door stoppers of 7lbs setting on top of my Burson Composer Dac 😆
Why didn't you run the Kef subwoofer too which then would have been more comparable since the Buchardt has a passive radiator that helps it go down to 30 hertz vs. the Kef's which are missing below mid 40's?
I own the A500. I would be interested in the S400/A500 comparison. Either way. I am very happy with my Buchardts. I wanted the walnut but had to settle for the black due to covid supply chain constraints (white was too strong a statement). The speaker is understated. If you look at closely it reveals itself to be quite elegant in black. The stands are quite sturdy. They withstood a sizable earthquake here in Japan and a frighteningly strong and agile American-shorthair kitten’s first year of test-flights. I chose unfinished oak so I could customize them to my decor.
Instead of buying expensive, rigid stands then adding decoupling pads, you can just use cheap stands that are very slightly wobbly. My steel stands were something like $50 for the pair and everything I put on them sounds excellent. If the stand wobble has a resonance it would be way below the frequency range in music, it’s perfect to decouple the speakers from the stands and the floor
Generally the pads are sorbothane isolation pads and can be found in different shapes and hardness. I've used them for several years to provide speaker decoupling and find they have a pretty big effect and tighten up the sound.
Sorbothane isolation pads vs blutack ? Pros and cons? One couples and one de-couples. I thought the point was to couple speakers and decouple electronics?
@@HAL9007 it doesn't make a bit of difference whether you bolt electronics to the floor or hang them with strings, but with speakers it depends what you want, like with subs.
Dear Darko, first of all thanx for your review: side-by-side comparisons are a very good idea! But I'm a little surprised about this comparison because of the different price tag, above of all if we consider the selling policy of Buchardt: 1300 euros vs 2000 (but could be 3000 or 3500 !) is not fair 😉 Could be a more interesting and honest comparison between Buchardt and Dynaudio Special 40 or Sonus Faber Sonetto II or B&W 705 S3 or JBL4309 etc. who are more or less in the same price range considering Buchardt could value 3000/3500 euros if sold through traditional system.
Nice tip on ‘Let the Freak flag fly’ - picked up one of the last vinyl copies on discogs. Sounds right up my street, look forward to giving it a spin when it arrives from Japan.
I am using the KEF Metas with 2 SVS Subwoofers driven by an Audiolab Preamplifier and a slightly "warm" sounding Rotel 200 watt per channel Power amplifier in a room 26 x 15 x 8 feet, and i can get very loud undistorted sound with this combination.
Thanks John! Please pretty please do the comparison between the S400II and the A500. I hope that one day you also review the A700. I've not hear d any of these, but often wonder why, as much as the Kef 50s in all variants get great reviews, they seem to do the rounds in forum classifieds.
More s400 mkii comparisons please. A lot of audiophiles are crossing their fingers to see if they can save 1.5-2K on their way to “mid-fi heaven” with these speakers.
Direct sales of KEF could be viewed as low as 6 or 700 euros! That goes to show the material & labor cost of a lot of top named bookshelf speakers are not that expensive… interesting.
Great video and expected outcome. But one should also take into consideration, that as the S400 is about 50% more expensive, these speakers are not at all in the same class. Put the S400 up against a 3.000,- € speaker and expect similar result. The LS50 Meta remains the very best speaker in it’s class :)
@@mpi5850 maybe not clobber, but on paper it looks compelling if it manages to combine all the best elements of both speakers. Question is what's the timeline for kef release? Seems possible that they could drop some time late this year as they have been clearing out r3 with sales for some time.
Somehow I've never heard "Keith Don't Go" before! Must add it to my records to take to shows now 😜 Yes, I did play DSotM once, I bought the 30th edition vinyl at the show in S.F. and an exhibitor wanted to put it on, so we did, and the room filled up to the brim! 🙂
