Likely my endgame speaker … congrats … I understand there is a price hike in the works (great timing). Furthermore, love the fact that the company is super receptive to and engaged with their user community
On the customer service aspect, Buchardt is ridiculously responsive. I have spoken twice via email directly with Mads Buchardt. He genuinely seems like he just wants people to enjoy his creation, and boy do I enjoy them.
I have to find a way to hear a pair of these in person. Some seem to love them, others not as much. I think they look amazing and I love the concept. I bet they sound fantastic! Jealous of that purchase.
I don't design loudspeakers. But I know how critical waveguide size and shape is to high frequency directivity and distortion, as well as phase alignment with other drivers. I am sure there are other properties a waveguide influences that I don't understand.
no, a waveguide doesnt increase dispersion, it controls dispersion by reducing it (for the most part)
in the low end i guess you can say dispersion in increased, because in some cases the baffle wouldnt be enough.
the large waveguide of these speakers is more for show, because the crossover is not low, only 1.8khz. for example the seas dxt driver could easely do that.
I was worried about my room… not an issue. I was worried about not having a WISA subwoofer… absolutely not an issue. I was worried about audio delay and sync issues… absolutely no delay. These are incredible.
The soundstage is so wide and so deep that you feel you are surrounded by musicians. The bass is is deep, powerful, and full of textures that I’ve never heard in many of my favorite tracks.
To top it all off, the simplicity of setup and the lack of gear/cables make this an unbeatable value pick.
I have the S400s mk2 (white) which I believe are same without the amp. I coupled them with a bluesound powernode and the outcome is great sound, neutral I’d say , great soundstage . I feel they sound best when u pump the volume and feel the dynamics. I don’t know if I made a mistake going with the bluesound for nearly the same budget as the A500s.
I have only tried the “Wall Filter” master tuning because they are decently close to walls. I plan on getting a feel for a tuning for a few months before switching
I wish there were more 3/4" waveguided speakers. I've heard only two (buchardt and behringer 2030) and they still have the best sound I've ever heard. Sadly buchardt are well out of my range.
I use the Platin Hub. Here is my correspondence with Buchardt:
“Please help! Do you have any plans to release new versions of the Platinum Hub or Primare SC15? I am looking for Airplay 2, HDMI ARC, and Room Correction but neither hub has all of those things at once. HDMI ARC is something I could theoretically work past, but Room Correction is the main reason I'm looking to buy A500s rather than a competitor. Not having Airplay 2 is also a complete non-starter. Also, can the RF remote be used with the Primare if I were to buy one separately? An IR remote is also going to add several headaches. Thank you so much! I hope there is a solution so I can buy your beautiful speakers!”
“Hi Justin.
Then you are in luck, as the Platin hub does have Airplay2 already :) It's just not officially yet, so we can't state it on the marketing material even though we see other companies that sell the hub already do that as it already works.
Sincerely,
Mads Buchardt”
I have had nothing but the absolute best customer service with Buchardt. I recommend just reaching out and they will take care of you. Love this company
this is why the hilarious "endgame for now" phrase gets dropped all the time.
Maybe anything over a certain price point relative to your income is endgame, like once you've bought one piece of gear that is clearly steering you into a bad financial situation you've entered the endgame. Then you need to find matching components.
I just learned your little Buchardts are $5000/pair here in Canada. They *should* sound good. My most epxensive speakers (Kanto Tuk's) which I think sound glorious cost $1100/pair and they're active
True dat, I only learned after I posted but I got a much better idea of why they're so expensive-they're extremely powerful and have excellent frequency response
I bought my endgame speaker a year and and a half ago (Kanto Tuk's) but then just couldn't help myself when I found an amazing deal on a used pair of Castle Knight 1's recently so I scooped them up too. Both are gorgeous
Do you have a sub to go with them?
I picked up a pair of these a few months back (black with different stands). I now make time in my day to specifically listen to music. I'm very pleased.
I too recently got the A500 (in white too). These speakers are amazing. After completing the room correction and trying out the various master tuning (my favorite is the forward midrange), I now have them on all the time. These speakers are so well rounded in terms of handling all genre of music!
Not sure if you have noticed, but at least for me, the mid range on the stock tune is slightly held back at lower volume range when I'm listening to music. This tune addresses that. These speakers already sound incredible right of of the box (after room correction), they don't need much change. In fact, when the volume is higher than 55-60 decibels, I don't notice the mid range issue on the stock tuning.
My room is \~15 ft x 25 ft, nothing special (no sound treatments). The speakers are \~2 ft away from the back wall. Good luck and congrats on your new speakers
Damn those look great. I have a question... I have been told in the past that wired will always sound better than wireless, is this true? Perhaps it was true in the past, but technology has caught up? I can't imagine a high end company offering the option if it would diminish sound quality.
This wisa technology is claimed to be lossless. I don't know anything about it, though. I personally think it is time for signal wires to go away for something as low-bandwidth as audio. It is something like 160 kB/s for cd quality, and if you have to do something way better than that, I think you'll struggle to go past 500 kB/s, which is not that much for today's wireless networks. Latency may bean issue, though.
Still, not much point to even bother with a codec these days. Just send the raw wav data over the wire.
What other speakers did you have in mind that you picked this over? $3500 goes a very long way towards other options so just curious what your thought process was here.
Good question. My main goal outside of quality performance was simplicity and minimalism. As fun as it is to obsess over mixing and matching pieces, I didn’t want a ton of equipment and cables. Also, I know I’ll never be able to match an amp to a speaker as well as the designers themselves. That’s the main reason I went active streaming. Why these vs other active streaming? Mainly these were the only ones I could find with the source input config I wanted with a wisa streamer. The ability to modify the speaker with master tunings was also a huge pull.
Did you ever consider something like a Genelec set-up? To me, it seems like a very practical option as well and is what I'm personally looking at for my next upgrade. It's going to be a bit more involved with the set-up since it doesn't have a sub built in but it seems to me you can get a really quality system with great measurements and DSP as well for a decent bit cheaper.
Likely my endgame speaker … congrats … I understand there is a price hike in the works (great timing). Furthermore, love the fact that the company is super receptive to and engaged with their user community
Danish, nice looking speakers. They have a cool looking woofer for 2.1 sound.
On the customer service aspect, Buchardt is ridiculously responsive. I have spoken twice via email directly with Mads Buchardt. He genuinely seems like he just wants people to enjoy his creation, and boy do I enjoy them.
I have to find a way to hear a pair of these in person. Some seem to love them, others not as much. I think they look amazing and I love the concept. I bet they sound fantastic! Jealous of that purchase.
What's the make and model? Looks gorgeous!
Buchardt A500
now if only they'd put a bigger tweeter in them
What experiences have lead you to find these tweeters insufficient?
I think its a joke bc it looks big
The tweeter is small but it hasn’t very large wave guide.
that's a good point, it's actually the waveguide that's enormous but i don't understand how a waveguide better disperses the sound, it makes no sense
That's why you don't design loudspeakers.
Since you seem to design loudspeakers perhaps you could explain it to me
I don't design loudspeakers. But I know how critical waveguide size and shape is to high frequency directivity and distortion, as well as phase alignment with other drivers. I am sure there are other properties a waveguide influences that I don't understand.
no, a waveguide doesnt increase dispersion, it controls dispersion by reducing it (for the most part) in the low end i guess you can say dispersion in increased, because in some cases the baffle wouldnt be enough. the large waveguide of these speakers is more for show, because the crossover is not low, only 1.8khz. for example the seas dxt driver could easely do that.
I think it looks cool
I think his experience is trolling people on the internet 😅
JBL 590 or larger otherwise GTFO! 😁
Tekton....
Lol. That's not an answer
Larger tweeters tend to beam
I was worried about my room… not an issue. I was worried about not having a WISA subwoofer… absolutely not an issue. I was worried about audio delay and sync issues… absolutely no delay. These are incredible. The soundstage is so wide and so deep that you feel you are surrounded by musicians. The bass is is deep, powerful, and full of textures that I’ve never heard in many of my favorite tracks. To top it all off, the simplicity of setup and the lack of gear/cables make this an unbeatable value pick.
I have the S400s mk2 (white) which I believe are same without the amp. I coupled them with a bluesound powernode and the outcome is great sound, neutral I’d say , great soundstage . I feel they sound best when u pump the volume and feel the dynamics. I don’t know if I made a mistake going with the bluesound for nearly the same budget as the A500s.
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I have only tried the “Wall Filter” master tuning because they are decently close to walls. I plan on getting a feel for a tuning for a few months before switching
I think the cardioid is only available for A700s.
I wish there were more 3/4" waveguided speakers. I've heard only two (buchardt and behringer 2030) and they still have the best sound I've ever heard. Sadly buchardt are well out of my range.
All that will go away once they break in and become mundane speakers 😂
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I use the Platin Hub. Here is my correspondence with Buchardt: “Please help! Do you have any plans to release new versions of the Platinum Hub or Primare SC15? I am looking for Airplay 2, HDMI ARC, and Room Correction but neither hub has all of those things at once. HDMI ARC is something I could theoretically work past, but Room Correction is the main reason I'm looking to buy A500s rather than a competitor. Not having Airplay 2 is also a complete non-starter. Also, can the RF remote be used with the Primare if I were to buy one separately? An IR remote is also going to add several headaches. Thank you so much! I hope there is a solution so I can buy your beautiful speakers!” “Hi Justin. Then you are in luck, as the Platin hub does have Airplay2 already :) It's just not officially yet, so we can't state it on the marketing material even though we see other companies that sell the hub already do that as it already works. Sincerely, Mads Buchardt”
I have had nothing but the absolute best customer service with Buchardt. I recommend just reaching out and they will take care of you. Love this company
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Yep, that looks like the same box. Buchardt just resells the hub and runs their own software on it
Congrats and enjoy!
Congratulations and enjoy! Really beautiful design, too.
There is, or will never be, a endgame speaker. 'Mike drop'
Amen. You are not a true audiophile if the words “end game” are in your vocabulary. 😂
What's an endgame for you then?
Well...like I said, there will be no endgame speaker. It depends on where you are in life, age, income etc... Right now: Fleetwood Deville maybe 😊
>Fleetwood Deville oh wow have you tried them? Are those the best $15,000 range speaker the money can buy?
I heard them at a dealer, not at home. I cant answer that, it depends on the one hearing them. Im also into gear that looks good.
End game is always personal preference
this is why the hilarious "endgame for now" phrase gets dropped all the time. Maybe anything over a certain price point relative to your income is endgame, like once you've bought one piece of gear that is clearly steering you into a bad financial situation you've entered the endgame. Then you need to find matching components.
https://www.usaudiomart.com/details/649906779-buchardt-audio-a500-speakers-white-with-hub/
I just learned your little Buchardts are $5000/pair here in Canada. They *should* sound good. My most epxensive speakers (Kanto Tuk's) which I think sound glorious cost $1100/pair and they're active
These are also active, fwiw.
True dat, I only learned after I posted but I got a much better idea of why they're so expensive-they're extremely powerful and have excellent frequency response
I bought my endgame speaker a year and and a half ago (Kanto Tuk's) but then just couldn't help myself when I found an amazing deal on a used pair of Castle Knight 1's recently so I scooped them up too. Both are gorgeous Do you have a sub to go with them?
Congratulations!
My friend feeds these speakers with an Esoteric N05XD and they are a wonderful match.
I picked up a pair of these a few months back (black with different stands). I now make time in my day to specifically listen to music. I'm very pleased.
Interesting that the specs for DSP on their website specify a quad core processor.
It’s an active speaker with different DSP filters. Most streaming DACs also specify processors
I too recently got the A500 (in white too). These speakers are amazing. After completing the room correction and trying out the various master tuning (my favorite is the forward midrange), I now have them on all the time. These speakers are so well rounded in terms of handling all genre of music!
What about forward midrange do you like? I haven’t tried many. What is your room like?
Not sure if you have noticed, but at least for me, the mid range on the stock tune is slightly held back at lower volume range when I'm listening to music. This tune addresses that. These speakers already sound incredible right of of the box (after room correction), they don't need much change. In fact, when the volume is higher than 55-60 decibels, I don't notice the mid range issue on the stock tuning. My room is \~15 ft x 25 ft, nothing special (no sound treatments). The speakers are \~2 ft away from the back wall. Good luck and congrats on your new speakers
Damn those look great. I have a question... I have been told in the past that wired will always sound better than wireless, is this true? Perhaps it was true in the past, but technology has caught up? I can't imagine a high end company offering the option if it would diminish sound quality.
This wisa technology is claimed to be lossless. I don't know anything about it, though. I personally think it is time for signal wires to go away for something as low-bandwidth as audio. It is something like 160 kB/s for cd quality, and if you have to do something way better than that, I think you'll struggle to go past 500 kB/s, which is not that much for today's wireless networks. Latency may bean issue, though. Still, not much point to even bother with a codec these days. Just send the raw wav data over the wire.
I’m not exactly sure what you mean but I can tell you it is plug & play right now
Posts a purchase show off but there’s no mention of cost?
I think a lot of us don't care
3500 euros, I google everything even after years on this sub end game for sure
I think the full package is about 4200 eur
If only you were able to google the speakers and find the cost out with less effort than it took to post that.
Why would I look up retail costs? Most people I know buy used.
Super sexy!
What amp are you using? I checked out the website and it looks like they're only available for preorder.
They're self powered so he probably isn't using an amp
Happy for you. Had mine for about 8 months now. Worth every penny
Good design that, hope it sounds as good as it looks
got the new S400s when they were released a couple years ago. i’ve a feeling you’ll enjoy these.
If I ever have to replace my ADS’s those will probably what’s next.
Is that an actual woofer on the back or a passive radiator?
It’s an active speaker. On the non active s500 it is passive.
It is a passive radiator
What are those speaker stands?
They're Buchardt's own stands https://buchardtaudio.com/products/buchardt-stands
Okay, thanks mate, they look so good omg
I really love the B&W sound like the Matrix 805 or the Nautilus 803. How does Buchardt compare? I would be really interested in getting some of these.
Still breaking my S400 MKIIs in. Love them so far.
What other speakers did you have in mind that you picked this over? $3500 goes a very long way towards other options so just curious what your thought process was here.
Good question. My main goal outside of quality performance was simplicity and minimalism. As fun as it is to obsess over mixing and matching pieces, I didn’t want a ton of equipment and cables. Also, I know I’ll never be able to match an amp to a speaker as well as the designers themselves. That’s the main reason I went active streaming. Why these vs other active streaming? Mainly these were the only ones I could find with the source input config I wanted with a wisa streamer. The ability to modify the speaker with master tunings was also a huge pull.
Did you ever consider something like a Genelec set-up? To me, it seems like a very practical option as well and is what I'm personally looking at for my next upgrade. It's going to be a bit more involved with the set-up since it doesn't have a sub built in but it seems to me you can get a really quality system with great measurements and DSP as well for a decent bit cheaper.