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.
@@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?
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!
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 TH-cam 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 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.
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.
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.
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.
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 TH-cam 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.
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?
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.
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.
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. 👏👏👏
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?
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.
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.
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 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.
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.
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
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.
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.
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.
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 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.
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
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.
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
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.
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
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.
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.
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!
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 😆
Great Video, i'm going to order some Black S400 mk 2's. I need to get stands also. I have a 20m2 room with listening distance of 2.5 meters and ears are roughly 900mm off the ground. Do you thing the Buchardt stands are the most suitable or would some Solid Steel or better quality do them more justice? Thanks for the reviews they are interesting
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 👍🏻
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.
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!
$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! :)
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.
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
I totally bit on this one...Went ahead and got the of the gels to try with my Quad S2's...was curious if it would - in essence - interfere with the response relative to drivers starting/stopping, etc. Doesn't hurt at all, at least from what I can tell so far. Don't really know whether perfect impulse is affected, or that the relative viscosity of the gels in conjunction with the general weight/mass ranges of bookshelf speakers renders that as a non-issue in this application. Doesn't mean it's still does not happen at much higher volumes. So, noticed absolutely no vibration into the stands (where there was before). Places four on corners of each stand. Stage and clarity seems to have increased, transients as well. But there is more of a disconnected sensation? I'll have to mess around with speaker placement relative to the sub.
I would assume that using a hi-pass of 90 hz for the Metas, and then bringing the KC62 in around 55 hz would free up the Metas, possibly opening up the soundstage and allowing you to still have all the transparency? But the price comparison might not be ideal. Maybe!
I had the LS50s (not the metas) with a sub, and now have these Buchardts. The sub was needed and helped a lot, but the differences in body, warmth, and ability to fill a larger room still were there. Use the LS50s now in nearfield in my office and love them.
@@nathanielFalck I also have ls50 meta and even tried genelec 8361a, both detailed amd revealing but I am not moved by them and also miss immersion. Do you think thr s400 mk2 would better deliver in those areas? Also considering klh model 5.
Hello and tnx for the amazing work you put in these reviews. I have one question concerning my purchase. Which would you choose for speakers that will be connected with tv and laptop and also for lots of spotify, youtube and tidal streaming. Kef ls50w ii +kc62 or Buchardt a10 ? Thank you
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.
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.
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.
The sticky pads are "Moongel Resonance Pads". They're very cheap and easy to find. We drummers use them to reduce ring on drum heads.
these are in fact from the company Skygel in Germany. but they are quite possibly pretty similar 👌
Used to do same with blu Tack a long time ago
Oh hey! "We drummers use them to reduce ring on drum heads". Beautiful.
Been using them to clean my styli for many years.
@@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?
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!
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 TH-cam channel or any other audiophile affiliation but felt Mads was just as interested in helping me as anyone he might benefit from engaging with.
That’s a solid testimony, thanks!
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 as always. An interesting comparison would be between the Buckhardts and the KEF R3’s. Keep up the good work.
Exactly what I was thinking.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 TH-cam 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.
Very interested in comparison between s400mk2 and A500!
Another great review,thanks John.
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?
This is vote for comparison between the A500 and S400 MK2.
This is also a big like and thanks for this video :)
I absolutely love audio product comparison videos and I think many other audiophiles and enthusiasts do also!
Would love a comparison between these Buchardts and the similarly sized Kef R3
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.
@@emilantosik2335 a good comparation between Tannoy Revolution XT6 and Kef LS50 is something I am also waiting for.
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.
@@mpi5850 Yeah - and you will have more placement flexibility as well, Being able to put the Kef where it's best and the sub where it's best.
Keg has 2 x matching subs both go to 14HZ depends on your room size..
Kef ls 50 with k62 subwoofer good
JL audio D108 is great
I actually have 2 KC62 subs with the Metas, but still curious to listen the S400 Mk2.
YESS we want S400mkii & A500 side by side comparison!!! 😁
Side by side are great way to better understand how a given speakers perform. So, more of this, please :)
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 outtakes at the end ! And the content of course. Thank you.
Bluetack is also useful and it keeps the speakers in place on the stand without wobbling.
That's a very good explaination off these two speakers. Everything you explain is also logical.
I run the Kefs with the Audiolab (with gaps) and I am very pleased with the sound across many types of music + with the stands they look fantastic.
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?
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.
I wish I'd known this before, Mads as I don't review prototype versions.
From the video though, the veneer looked very nice.
The video quality is CRISPY now! Great upgrade!
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.
I’d go with KEF’s too as looks matter….I also own the KEF’s and love ‘em!
Jeez, that's steep. Lucky you can get them for those prices.
From what I know, US dealers pay $900 - $980, pending volume ordered + shipping for the $1,500 Meta’s.
Few dealers, especially the smaller ones, are getting wealthy off the audio biz, trust me….
In Uk 🇬🇧 often the best way of purchasing a premium set of loudspeakers 🔊 is as part of an amplifier package deal 👍🙂
You guided me to new(to me) good music. Good music makes my heart smile and my soul dance. For this I'm truly grateful. Thanks mate.
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 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.
Considering the price, I think a comparison between the Kef R3 would be interesting. I always enjoy your reviews.
Yes, I was thinking the same way.
Most people who heard the original S400 preferred it over the R3, I can only imagine the outcome would be similar. That is, without EQ.
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.
BTW kef r3 weighs twice as much as buchardt s400, so basically way way better cabinet.
@@V1ralB1ack would you buy Kef R5 or Q750 for a living room for music and cinema?
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
Thanks for your technical contribution, dhruv. Appreciate it!
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.
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.
The Buchardt veneer sure looks like Rosewood vs walnut. I’m waiting for a pair in rosewood now.
The only reviewer that actually tells u what music he uses to test. Every other reviewer just blabs nonsense. Thanks Darko!
I absolutely love this video, thanks John.
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.
Thanks for your efforts and time. You have become a reference point.
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?
Thanks for this review john. I look forward to the Mk2 vs the A500.
i like that you consistently show comparisons with techno... you're maybe one of the few!
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!
Buy the KEF’s….cheaper and look better…add a sub if needed? You should be very happy.
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.
I say save your money and focus on new music…..enjoy!
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.
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 use moon gels to clean my stylus.
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
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.
Stick with the 400mkll the 500’s are just a constant worry that they will turn into a brick with any update.
@@justlookingaround9834 nonsense.
Thanks for putting me on to Tranquility Bass. Awesome album! Listening to it now!
Minor correction - your S400 IIs are actually in the Rosewood finish, not Walnut.
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
I am interested in your tentative buchardt s400 MKll vs the A500. Thanks.
Very interested in a comparison between the S400 Mk II and the A500s!
love your videos, audio take and aesthetic...your b-roll is on point as well!
thank you
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.
I think you made the right choice
Have u heard the r3 meta vs your 400s?
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
Can we expect the comparison between the MKII and the A500 you mentioned?
Yes, I really like comparisons like this one! Keep them coming. ☺️👍
Love the video and the outtakes!
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!
Speaker wobble. Another good vid John.
I would love to see a comparison to the A500. I am forcing myself to wait to buy the A500 and that itch ain't gonna scratch itself.
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.
Someone needs to send Darko a pair of Ascend Acoustics which, together with the S400s and R3s, seem to be the hottest contenders in the 2000 USD range
I'd throw in the Philharmonic BMRs to that group, which I think edge out the Ascends by a hair.
@@glennwatkins8290 Yeah I’ve heard that the BMR driver really fills out the mid range and that ‘disconnect’ between the RAALs and woofer
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.
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!
I have found the rosewood stands at various heights from Monoprice are a great value, easy to assemble, spikes included
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 😆
Thank you ever so much John and Olof,, 👍😎👍
Great Video, i'm going to order some Black S400 mk 2's. I need to get stands also. I have a 20m2 room with listening distance of 2.5 meters and ears are roughly 900mm off the ground. Do you thing the Buchardt stands are the most suitable or would some Solid Steel or better quality do them more justice?
Thanks for the reviews they are interesting
The only place on the internet where top-tier audio equipment is fortified by doorstops and gummi-pads. I love it!
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 👍🏻
"Cat friendly", oh that's important for me. I have 3 of them. No floor standers for me. LOL
I love that blue color! I hope next trend in speakers will be more colors.
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.
Thanks for helping me narrow the choice down!
Yes please do the buchardt comparison
Yes please, do the comparison between S400 and A500 🤩
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!
Hallo.
Would you describe the main differences between buchardt S400 mk2 vs GoldenEar BRX please , thank you for your opinion. Best Regards Janusz
$400+ for stands made from cut down broom handles painted with undercoat!
Life is full of compromises - I'm happy to concede that the larger S400 II speakers might produce a larger and warmer sound than the LS50 Metas (as will a lot of other larger, higher priced speakers, including from Kef); however, I prefer the size and style of the Kefs and their output is more than good enough for my circumstances (room size, furnishings, budget etc)...not forgetting to mention my age and lifestyle compromised auditory range! :)
It's solid oak but I agree, overpriced.
Pretty cheap undercoat as well by the looks of it. Or maybe they forgot to put on the finishing coat 😁
Could also be due to scandinavian style, where sometimes 'rough' is considered nicer.
Hi! Would like to see a review of the Buchardt amplifier, i150. Providing sub integration with room correction etc. Sounds like a winner to me...
Thank you, as always I really enjoy your work.
Hey John, What about that Lyngdorf TDAI 3400 on your shelf? Why don’t you use it to demo speakers?
I do. I'm just not ready to talk about it yet.
Great video. I for one would greatly appreciate the S400 A500 side by side comparison.
Active speakers yes! Looking forward. Don't have time and resources to hunt for amps until I find the right synergy.
You may note that these 400’s are not amplified. The Buchardt A500’s are and are highly recommended. I needed a all-in-one solution and the A500’s are excellent active speakers.
Dynavoice 65 EX V4 gives a frequencyrange 25-200000.Great base and 93db sensetivety for about 600$.It sounds marvelous.
So the Kef LS50 meta sell for £899, the Buchardt S400 mk2 for £1795- not the fairest of comparisons.
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
I sit close AF to my LS50 Wireless II. I like the resulting 360 degree headphone-esque soundstage.
Thinking of getting the buchardt s400 mkII or the amphion argon 3s ? Which do you think is a better speaker?
I totally bit on this one...Went ahead and got the of the gels to try with my Quad S2's...was curious if it would - in essence - interfere with the response relative to drivers starting/stopping, etc. Doesn't hurt at all, at least from what I can tell so far. Don't really know whether perfect impulse is affected, or that the relative viscosity of the gels in conjunction with the general weight/mass ranges of bookshelf speakers renders that as a non-issue in this application. Doesn't mean it's still does not happen at much higher volumes. So, noticed absolutely no vibration into the stands (where there was before). Places four on corners of each stand. Stage and clarity seems to have increased, transients as well. But there is more of a disconnected sensation? I'll have to mess around with speaker placement relative to the sub.
While you're at it, try half cut squash balls under each corner of the speakers. Very cheap but quite effective
Hallo. How would you describe the differences between buchardt S400 mk2 vs GoldenEar BRX , thank you for your opinion. Best Regards Janusz from Poland
Buchardt S400 MKII vs MA Silver 100, as both are great without a sub in smaller rooms?
Hi, I have the new Marantz Model 40n Stereo Amp. Do you think, that the S400 MK2 also good for movies in kind of dynamic and effects?
ich finde deine Videos richtig toll😂
I would assume that using a hi-pass of 90 hz for the Metas, and then bringing the KC62 in around 55 hz would free up the Metas, possibly opening up the soundstage and allowing you to still have all the transparency? But the price comparison might not be ideal. Maybe!
I had the LS50s (not the metas) with a sub, and now have these Buchardts. The sub was needed and helped a lot, but the differences in body, warmth, and ability to fill a larger room still were there. Use the LS50s now in nearfield in my office and love them.
@@nathanielFalck In 20m2 room, should work better the LS50 or the S400?
@@nathanielFalck I also have ls50 meta and even tried genelec 8361a, both detailed amd revealing but I am not moved by them and also miss immersion. Do you think thr s400 mk2 would better deliver in those areas? Also considering klh model 5.
A500 vs S400Mk II comparison please! I'm sure a lot of potential buyer will consider between the two.
Hello and tnx for the amazing work you put in these reviews. I have one question concerning my purchase. Which would you choose for speakers that will be connected with tv and laptop and also for lots of spotify, youtube and tidal streaming. Kef ls50w ii +kc62 or Buchardt a10 ? Thank you
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.
@@sebastienbreton4580 Interesting! What's sub are you using with the Buchardts ?
@@sebastienbreton4580 are you high passing the s400 or running them full range with the sub(s)?
fwiw I sold the S400mk1 for $1550 and purchased the mkii . In black, the fit and finish looks excellent and they are great for ALL music types.
@@zbojtdifnmj currently the KEF KC62
Hello John, would be interesting to do a side by side with the P300...S400 vs P300
Isn’t the R3 Meta a better match to the S400? Interested in your thoughts on the comparison of them. Thank for the channel!
Please compare the S400 MK I I with the A500.
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.