Danny Ritchie from GR Research designed the crossovers for the company.
Buchardt S400II speakers In-Bound
- Thread starter Puma Cat
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Danny Ritchie from GR Research designed the crossovers for the company.
TomS
Member
He gets around with numerous OEM's, but I had not heard that. Just curious, what's the source of that information, GR, Buchardt?
Puma Cat
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- #23
That's so cool, I didn't know that. Danny is the best, and a great guy, also.
I've learned so much from watching Danny's YT videos. I have a pair of his X-LS Encores, and they're also excellent. I built up my crossovers with some tweaks that Danny recommended. I often use 'em with my little Pass ACAs, and am presently have them set up as my L/R fronts for HT set-up.
It is known on the Audio Circles forum. Danny does some crossovers for speaker companies. He did the crossover for the S400 I believe. He also did them for CSS speakers.
Porsche
Active member
The company used crap in their crossovers until Danny Ritchie got a hold of it. He typically uses Soni Caps (which are not cheap) and high quality resistors and air core inductors when he can. He uses high quality wire and solder along with non magnetic binding posts and hardware.
a.wayne
Well-known member
Ah, that's easy. They're connected to my Constellation Inspiration integrated amp's speaker terminals. The S400IIs also have nice binding posts; Mads really went through and used very-high quality parts throughout this speaker's components.
I set the volume on the Inspiration to Unity Gain, and then adjust the actual output volume using the P1's LEEDH volume control, which I find to be superior sonically to the Inspiration. So effectively, the Inspiration integrated simply functions as the power amplifier. The amplifier section of the Inspiration integrated amp is the "standalone" Constellation Inspiration stereo power amp, just with half the number of output devices, so it outputs 100 Wpc RMS instead of 200 Wpc. Other than that, they are identical.
So...it's really good power amp, too.
With my 'Beths, which are nominally 6 ohm, sometimes I also the P1 as the preamp for use with my little Amp Camps amps I built up. Running as bridged monos, they put out 15 Wpc pure Class-A power, so they're more than enough for the levels I listen at (nominally 68-74 dB). And, as they're designed by Nelson Pass, they sound...really good. I also upgraded the parts specification doing the build, with all Vishay metal-film resistors, and larger value audio-grade caps in the power supply.
The little ACAs sound...GREAT. That's Nelson for ya...
-Stephen aka PC
Big case , where’s the amps
TomS
Member
I searched and couldn't find any reference to designing/modding a Buchardt in Danny's circle on AC. This photo is of the S400 II XO, and there are no (white) Sonicaps. Not saying it's good or bad, but it doesn't really look like his work IMHO. I've built a half dozen or so of his various models myself, so have seen a few.
If it is not on AC then I could be mistaken. I know for a fact that he designed the crossovers for CSS speakers and I thought I read that he also was involved with Buchardt Audio.
Here is a link to the original S400 crossover showing cheap caps and sand cast resistors.
Just a moment...
Here is a link to the original S400 crossover showing cheap caps and sand cast resistors.
Just a moment...
Puma Cat
Well-known member
- Thread Author
- #31
From my perspective, this doesn't really matter at all in the "real world" (where we we all live), because the S400 has been replaced with the S400 MkII, and S400 MkII loudspeakers do not use cheap caps and sandcast resistors; instead they use very high-quality parts for the caps and resistors.
So...for all practical purposes, the comment about cheap caps and and sandcast resistors is a "moot point", because it does not apply to current-specification S400IIs.
Puma Cat
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- #32
Update: Just found this excellent YT review of the Buchardt S400IIs today.
Link here to the review here:
If you're looking for a compact stand mount speaker that punches WAY above it's price point and it's size (and well below with respect to bass performance, only -3dB at 33 Hz w/o a sub!), you really should check out the Buchardt S400IIs.
This review absolutely nails the very special qualities and attributes of the Buchardts.
Also fully agree with this conclusions; these are amongst just a small handful of the most musically-engaging speakers I've ever heard.
Link here to the review here:
If you're looking for a compact stand mount speaker that punches WAY above it's price point and it's size (and well below with respect to bass performance, only -3dB at 33 Hz w/o a sub!), you really should check out the Buchardt S400IIs.
This review absolutely nails the very special qualities and attributes of the Buchardts.
Also fully agree with this conclusions; these are amongst just a small handful of the most musically-engaging speakers I've ever heard.
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JCS123
Active member
Update: Just found this excellent YT review of the Buchardt S400IIs today.
Link here to the review here:
If you're looking for a compact stand mount speaker that punches WAY above it's price point and it's size (and well below with respect to bass performance, only -3dB at 33 Hz w/o a sub!), you really should check out the Buchardt S400IIs.
This review absolutely nails the very special qualities and attributes of the Buchardts.
Also fully agree with this conclusions; these are amongst just a small handful of the most musically-engaging speakers I've ever heard.
Stephen,
The fact that a stand mount or bookshelf (or whatever you want to call it) goes down to 33Hz is very impressive to me.
Is there a specific stand and/or tweak that you would consider mandatory for them to achieve their full potential? (I see that Mads recommends a piece of solid oak on top of the stands.) Speaking of Mads - this kid looks all of 15 years old... Young people like him doing things like this are why I have faith in our future!
If I might ask, what are the other speakers in that small handful that you speak of?
Thanks,
Jeff
**edited to ask if anyone knows how to get rid of the error message saying that you must be logged in to be sure you're not a bot? My browser is Safari. I make sure that I am signed in to YouTube, and still the same issue.
I tried opening it in Firefox, and the video played no problem. Curiously, just now while composing this edit (in the Safari browser), I tried clicking on the video and it played with no issues. Not sure what's going on here, but welcome to my life in the Twilight Zone.
I'm guessing that other videos that I click on here and other places will still bring up that maddening message, so I am hopeful that someone here knows a workaround. Thanks in advance!
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Puma Cat
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- #34
Hi Jeff,
Yes, I'm impressed with their in-room bass response/performance as well. And, as I've mentioned. they are just so musically engaging that one lets go of that male audiophile "analysis paralysis" behavior that we can be susceptible to (and I'll note that women never seem to get caught up in this behavior). You just get lost in the music and presentation, and let go of all that.
As for the stands, they're resting on Pangea DS400 steel stands that are placed on a painted particle board platform. I tested a number of different platform types/materials for placing the speakers and stands onto using an iPhone app called Hamm Seismometer (what can I say? I'm a scientist, and like to measure things.
) and regular 'ole particle board damped the vibrations the best, better than tile or stone floor tiles, or MDF. It also sounded the best. I also need to fill the Pangea legs to provide more damping. Danny Ritchie recommended using sand, but that's just going to be too messy when filling them, so I'll use clay cat litter.As for what is on top of the stands/under the speakers, the speakers are resting on four EVPs from A/V Roomservice. The EVPs are the best performing vibration dampers I've used, outperforming rubber feet, or even Herbie's Tenderfoot footers. I measured the performance of the EVPs using an iPhone app that is unfortunately no longer available called Vibsensor. You can see the data here plotted in JMP when I tested various footers under my Schiit Gungnir DAC a few years ago. I used a home-made slide hammer that dropped a socket on a bolt from a fixed height onto the rack shelf and measured the vibration imparted to the Schiit DAC. You can see in the data plot how effective the EVPs (blue trace) are compared to stock feet (green), Herbie's Tenderfoot (TF; brown), and those blue Diversitech EVA rubber vibration pads (DVT; purple), and the EVPs are the real deal. You can get them from A/V Roomservice here: EVPs
I've not tried IsoAcoustics or Stillpoints in this experiment, so I can't speak to those.
As for other speakers, the others that come to mind are the TAD CR-1s (designed by Andrew Jones), the Evolution Acoustics MMMicroOne, and the Magico S5s, which I recently heard at Magico HQ in Hayward.
Cheers.
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JCS123
Active member
Stephen,Hi Jeff,
Yes, I'm impressed with their in-room bass response/performance as well. And, as I've mentioned. they are just so musically engaging that one lets go of that male audiophile "analysis paralysis" behavior that we can be susceptible to (and I'll note that women never seem to get caught up in this behavior). You just get lost in the music and presentation, and let go of all that.
As for the stands, they're resting on Pangea DS400 steel stands that are placed on a painted particle board platform. I tested a number of different platform types/materials for placing the speakers and stands onto using an iPhone app called Hamm Seismometer (what can I say? I'm a scientist, and like to measure things.
As for what is on top of the stands/under the speakers, the speakers are resting on four EVPs from A/V Roomservice. The EVPs are the best performing vibration dampers I've used, outperforming rubber feet, or even Herbie's Tenderfoot footers. I measured the performance of the EVPs using an iPhone app that is unfortunately no longer available called Vibsensor. You can see the data here plotted in JMP when I tested various footers under my Schiit Gungnir DAC a few years ago. I used a home-made slide hammer that dropped a socket on a bolt from a fixed height onto the rack shelf and measured the vibration imparted to the Schiit DAC. You can see in the data plot how effective the EVPs (blue trace) are compared to stock feet (green), Herbie's Tenderfoot (TF; brown), and those blue Diversitech EVA rubber vibration pads (DVT; purple), and the EVPs are the real deal. You can get them from A/V Roomservice here: EVPs
I've not tried IsoAcoustics or Stillpoints in this experiment, so I can't speak to those.
As for other speakers, the others that come to mind are the TAD CR-1s (designed by Andrew Jones), the Evolution Acoustics MMMicroOne, and the Magico S5s, which I recently heard at Magico HQ in Hayward.
Cheers.
Thanks for the reply and information. I've been using Tenderfeet under my amp for years with good results. But I've read before that isolating equipment and decoupling speakers are totally different things that require different approaches and materials.
Are you saying that the EVP's work equally well for both equipment (in my case, amps, preamp, streamer, etc.) AND speakers? Your graph suggests to me that the answer is yes.
My Maggies already sit on MagnaRiser stands, and I don't think adding anything underneath them would be practical or even effective, but who knows?
I see that it is critical to make sure that the EVP's are matched carefully with the weight of the equipment because only a certain amount of compression is desired, much like is the case with Isolate-It Sorbothane feet. (Another product that I've been procrastinating about trying for years...)
Thanks for your help (including the graph from your cool experiment),
Jeff
JCS123
Active member
Thanks for the tip, Mech! I checked out their website and I might just get some of those for my washer and dryer.
Puma Cat
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- #38
Yes, that is my experience and also the guidance from Norm Varney. This is why he makes a number of EVPs in different densities, shapes, and sizes, so they can be effectively used and correctly matched for a range components and loudspeakers, with a different range of weights. If I were to hypothesize, they make the biggest improvement when used under speakers, but also they're quite effective under components, as well, especially digital components, which are particularly sensitive to vibration. I'd check directly with Norm on his advice and guidance as to which densities to get for system components and speakers.
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Bones13
Active member
Just saying, all those Jantzen caps are not in-expensive.