POW! Buchardt S400 MKII vs. KEF LS50 Meta
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- čas přidán 13. 06. 2024
- 👉🏻 This video is brought to you by AudioQuest:
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🎥 Camera: Olaf von Voss
🎬 Editor: John Darko
🕺🏻 Motion GFX: John Darko
💰 Ad segment: Jana Dagdagan
🛋 My listening room in 2022:
darko.audio/darkos-listening-...
🎵 Song IDs? Playlists of all music heard in this video - and other videos - can be found on PATREON: / johndarko
0:00 Intro
0:28 Fit n' finish
2:44 Drivers + listening
5:58 Nearfield listening
7:28 Music!
9:50 More listening
11:23 Yet more listening + sales models
👉🏻 As seen in this video:
Buchardt S400 MKII:
buchardtaudio.com/collections...
KEF LS50 Meta:
darko.audio/2020/12/a-short-f...
Audiolab 6000A Play:
darko.audio/2021/12/audiolabs...
NAD M10 V2:
darko.audio/2021/08/nad-annou...
KEF KC62:
darko.audio/2021/05/a-long-fi...
ISOAcoustics Gaia III speaker feet:
www.turntablelab.com/collecti...
#buchardt #kef #darko
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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!
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.
Love the outtakes at the end ! And the content of course. Thank you.
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?
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.
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. 👏👏👏
I absolutely love audio product comparison videos and I think many other audiophiles and enthusiasts do also!
I absolutely love this video, thanks John.
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!
Thanks for your efforts and time. You have become a reference point.
Yes, I really like comparisons like this one! Keep them coming. ☺️👍
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!
PLEASE READ *before commenting*!
1) Got a question? Please ask it of the Darko.Audio CZcams community (and not me) as I'm off making the NEXT video
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Thank you, as always I really enjoy your work.
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 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
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!
Love the video and the outtakes!
Thank you ever so much John and Olof,, 👍😎👍
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 CZcams 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!
Thanks for helping me narrow the choice down!
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.
Very interested in comparison between s400mk2 and A500!
Another great review,thanks John.
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 like that you consistently show comparisons with techno... you're maybe one of the few!
love your videos, audio take and aesthetic...your b-roll is on point as well!
thank you
The video quality is CRISPY now! Great upgrade!
Thanks for putting me on to Tranquility Bass. Awesome album! Listening to it now!
Side by side are great way to better understand how a given speakers perform. So, more of this, please :)
Good job on this review!
YESS we want S400mkii & A500 side by side comparison!!! 😁
I definetly like this video ! Thank you
Thanks for this review john. I look forward to the Mk2 vs the A500.
Yes please do the buchardt comparison
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.
Yes please, do the comparison between S400 and A500 🤩
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!
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.
That's a very good explaination off these two speakers. Everything you explain is also logical.
ich finde deine Videos richtig toll😂
Great video. I for one would greatly appreciate the S400 A500 side by side comparison.
Speaker wobble. Another good vid 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.
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?
I love that blue color! I hope next trend in speakers will be more colors.
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?
Thank you, sir!
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.
Love this video
The only reviewer that actually tells u what music he uses to test. Every other reviewer just blabs nonsense. Thanks Darko!
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
Hi, great review as always. Did you KC62 with both?
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.
Yes, John, comparisons of the Buchardt MkII with other speakers would be grand. Would a sub be superfluous with the MkII?
Olaf, thank you for recommending Tranquility Bass!
Bluetack is also useful and it keeps the speakers in place on the stand without wobbling.
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?
Minor correction - your S400 IIs are actually in the Rosewood finish, not Walnut.
I have found the rosewood stands at various heights from Monoprice are a great value, easy to assemble, spikes included
Yes, please do compare the A500 with the MK2s.
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.
Good Job again John. Yes please compare the mk2 with the a500.
Great way to start a Sunday, thanks for the great video.
The Buchardt veneer sure looks like Rosewood vs walnut. I’m waiting for a pair in rosewood now.
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
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 CZcams 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.
This is vote for comparison between the A500 and S400 MK2.
This is also a big like and thanks for this video :)
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.
Very interested in a comparison between the S400 Mk II and the A500s!
These likely deserve much better amps. I paired my S400 MK1 with a Rega Aethos at double the price of the speakers and it ruined me (literally it was the only amp choice from that point so I had to buy them). Highly recommended!
@@V1ralB1ack 😅😂
I sit close AF to my LS50 Wireless II. I like the resulting 360 degree headphone-esque soundstage.
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! 🙂
You can actually decouple speakers very well with supermarket bought jelly cubes. The bigger they are the heavier they can go, I'm just not sure about them possibly melting in hot conditions so it may be a good idea to put them loosely into some sealed plastic bags! I'm my experience (as a result of the quasi decoupling) you get a lot less bass, but the stereo image becomes deeper
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!
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.
You must of had fun reviewing these with tranquillity bass, definitely some 90's World Music vibe going on there. I totally get where you're coming from with these speakers as a consequence. It's only just made me aware how important that part of the review process is in conveying the performance. Also i get to listen to new music :)
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.
0:47 Love how they were staring eachother down like it was Fight Night! Great job John! Always love your work!
OMG! I got a Darko Heart!! Thank you so much!
Good job 👍
The only place on the internet where top-tier audio equipment is fortified by doorstops and gummi-pads. I love it!
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 👍🙂
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.
Can’t wait to see the comparison with the a500! Thank you, great review. Do you know which amplifier ( in the 1000-2000 euros range) would be a good match for the 400mk2? Thanks again!
I got the MKIIs recently and i tried them with Primare i35 & Hegel H80 and the Hegel seemed to have better synergy with the MKIIs. I tried them with the Primare when the MKIIS had no burn in time on them. I then got them hooked onto the Hegel amp after 2 to 3 days on the Primare and they sounded better together right off the bat. The one noticeable difference was that the highs seemed slightly muted with the Primare which then appeared to have somewhat opened up with the Hegel and they sounded somewhat better together - like they were made for each other ;)
Around a month & 100 hours on them with the Hegel & they sound well balanced now. Plan to get the Primare back into the mix to see how it pairs with the MKIIS now. Buchardt had responded to me that they pair well with Hegel & Primare. You could email them and check.
Great review again, the Buchardt speakers are pretty unbeatable at this pricepoint! I remember your review of the A500 very well, cause you were so impressed. Love the music you use in your reviews...
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.
I am interested in your tentative buchardt s400 MKll vs the A500. Thanks.
Great video John.
I saw time ago and I have seen it again now because I’m searching about the Kef R3…
I know you always talk about side by side comparatives but perhaps someone else could help…
The advantage from the LS50 against the Buchardt makes me wondering if the Kef R3 could combine both, the deeper and fuller sound with the transparency.
What do you think?
Thanks John. Great assessment, as usual
I'd love it if you could compare the MKIIs with the Ascend Sierra 2-EX and Salk Silk monitors.
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...
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.
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.
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 😆
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
Would love to see a comparison between the 400 and 500.
Our local dealer in Munich had 2 weeks ago crazy sell, ls50 metas with stands and audioquest cables where for 1000€
Yes please, A500 and kef LS50 Wii with KC62
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 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.