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Buchardt S400 Mk II vs Sony SSCS 5 in Bass

I am still in the quest for a ideal bookshelf / stand mount as my secondary system. Recently I procured Buchardt S400 Mk II for in-home auditioning a month ago. The top end and midrange SQ is top-notch, airy and rich with dynamics. However, the bass is a bit on the light side to my taste. Although it is rated down to 33hz (- 3 dB) in room, I do not feel the bass is that impactful as compared to the Sony SSCS 5 which is only rated down to 53Hz (-3dB). Both me and my best half could hear more impactful, better-defined double bass notes from SSCS 5 than from S400. I was so puzzled / annoyed by this. Let me lay out the main specs that might affect the bass performance for comparison purpose.

                      Buchardt S400 Mk ii                Sony sscs 5

Woofer          6" paper cone (on top)             5.12" cone (on bottom)

Enclosure      1 rear 8"x5" passive radiator   1 rear port

Bass rating    33 Hz (-3dB)                            53 Hz (-3dB)

Efficiency       88 dB/m/w                               87 dB/m/w

Both were driven by the same components, speaker placements, supported by the semi-sphere silicone footers, and evaluated with the same music. Does the rear port design more effective than the passive radiator? Does the position of woofer affect the bass weight? Can someone, in particular who owned the S400, shed a light on this please?

 

lanx0003

Showing 3 responses by vthokie83

vthokie83
660 posts
 

Also have used a 70WPC tube amp with the Buchardts, and had no problems.....actually was a beauiful pairing.

vthokie83
660 posts
 

Lanx0003,

I do own the Buchardt S400 MKIIs, and LOVE them. You are correct their sound characteristics are gorgeous except for deep bass. The previous model of S400 had an artificial "bump"t in the bass, that the designers removed for the MKIIs for a more accurate sound.

Your power is not the issue, I run them with a Denafrips Thallo amp rated at 120W into 8 ohm, and 220W into 4 ohms with no issue. The passive radiator does not add any difficulty for the amp.

The Buchardts with their passive radiator MUST be placed nearer to the wall behind them for proper bass response, and not pulled out into the room. I currently have mine 14" out from the wall, but I'll sometimes move them to 11" when listening to a lot of rock music. I did find that the soundstage started to shrink as I got under about 9".

The bass is quick, accurate to a point, and thoroughly enjoyable. I will however add a sub or two at some point, was thinking REL T/5X or T/7X

vthokie83
660 posts
 

Lanx0003,

Best of luck to you on your journey, you sound like a very thoughtful audiophile. Take care

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