Buchardt S400 Mk II vs Sony SSCS 5 in Bass

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

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

@grislybutter Amen! Brother. I could happily live with the Dynaudio Evoke. 

@lanx0003 The margins are pretty slim on the OGY. The drivers alone are 380€ for a pair (made in France). If you factor in the cabinet (assembled in Poland) then 1500€ for the plywood model is a bargain. 

They say the bass goes down to 50Hz. I believe that. But specs don't mean much. The Klipsch RP600 go down to 45Hz but they only seem to have mid-bass. 

The OGY's bass is surprisingly punchy and fast, thanks to the transmission line. You don't have port shuffing like most ported tiny boxes. But the bass isn't warm enough or room-filling for big orchestral music. In comparison the Dynaudio Evoke is boomier with recessed mids (annoying for vocal clarity in movies). But the Evoke is just more fun. 

I paired my OGY with a Rel T5x subwoofer and I'm kinda on the fence. It's clear that I could setup the sub better. But I seem to gain a warmer/deeper bass at the expense of midrange clarity. 

@vthokie83

Thank you for confirming the amp. My parasound NC 2125 v2 actually has 2-3 ohm tap and HPF with either 20hz or 40 hz cutoff. When I switch from 4-8 ohm tap to 2-3 ohm and select 20hz HPF, the bass weight seems to improve a bit. When listening to Yulunga by Dead Can Dance from Wake, I seem to getting more satisfactory drum/bass. I am not sure if this is psychological but the amp runs much cooler for sure which is a good thing. It is even cooler than the class D amp I have.

Regarding the placement close to wall, I will try that again and let it sit there for a longer time to see if I like it. One issue I am having is that I actually do not have "front wall". What I have is the blind and heavy curtain. I have used that combination for taming the rear reflection. Maybe that is why I was not getting more bass as expected when I tried last time as @dwest1023 and Buchardt have suggested.  Right now, the PR is 22 inch away from the blind and about 15 inch away from the curtain.

@kokakolia

I am glad OGY / TL works for you. I recalled the port shuffing from one of my earlier bookshelf, Elac DB6 (the one with the rear port before AJ moves it to the front for the 2nd gen.) even cause pain in my ear drum. I switch it to DB62 (still have them) and like them (but not in love).

I recently put together a second system for my office which feature the Buchardt s400 mkii speakers. Driving them with a Luxman 590axii class A amp and Gold Note streamer/dac. For my needs, and the office space, I've been impressed with the base. The above system is giving my reference system a run for its money. 

I'm surprised by the comments on the Buchardt's lack of base. I've been blown away how deep they go driven by the Luxman. If I turn things up, it feels like I'm in a nightclub!