Buchardt e50 reviews

@drubin - It’s been awhile since I auditioned Harbeth speakers, so take my comparison with a grain of salt. On a side note, how would you compare the qualities of your Class A amps? Specifically, how would you compare the Sugden to the Luxman? 

@artistx - Are you planning on picking up a pair of the e50 speakers? 

There are few reviews on Youtube and this reviewer is pretty good. He finds the E50 to be great but is not for everyone.

https://youtu.be/c9ZKXQSt1J0?si=qObBKSKr5_KRo7Dx

Steve Huff also just added his own review of the E50. 

Edit : does anyone know how to include a Youtube video here without having to open the link in another window?  

@bluethinker - I haven’t had the Sugden in the system for quite a while, but plan to put it into duty soon and will report back. That said, I would characterize the Luxman as more lush sounding, though not overly so. As I recall, the Sugden has a lot of drive and is more dynamic. However, it also has the unfortunate quality of too little attenuation at the low end of its volume dial, which means it’s a challenge to fine tune volume. This may be a factor in the drive and dynamics, I got a pair of Rothwell attenuators to help with this. More later..

i have all these amps because I enjoy different types of sound. I put one in and it’s not better or worse, necessarily, but different in a way that brings new pleasures. Expensive hobby, this is.

I’ve read or seen several new reviews of the E50, including Steve Huff’s and the Zero Fidelity review linked by @ryder. Lots of enthusiasm everywhere it seems, but the Zero Fidelity review, which is excellent, does give me pause.
 

The E50 appeals to me because (1) I like the way it looks very much, (2) I'm curious about the Puri-Fi driver, (3) several reviewers have commented that the E50 is impressive at low volume but will also play loud, and (4) I’m impressed by the Buchardt company and its business model. But the Zero Fidelity guy describes the E50 — paraphrasing here — as a bass-first speaker, suggesting that maybe the Puri-Fi driver is being asked to do too much work in the midrange. My audiophile history is mostly with speakers that excel in the midrange but are bass-shy (Harbeth, Falcon, 20 years with Quad 57). A speaker like the MoFi SourcePoint 10, based on limited auditioning, has just too much bass for me and the music I listen to. Will that be true of the E50? Buchardt’s return policy is extremely favorable, so I may just have to find out for myself. Still, bringing in new speakers requires a bigger commitment of attention and effort than other components,