If you have a high current amp pushing 22wpc, you should have no problem driving the 400’s. It could be your placement of the speakers. Try moving them closer to your back wall.
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?
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Maybe I was over reacted to the lesser wattage of my Parasound amp. I wrote to Buchardt and they also mentioned the amp is a great one and should not be a concern/issue. They were saying S400 is a neutral speaker aiming for flat response. The mid-bass is not boosted like most of the ported speaker (like Sony) so S400's bass might not be that strong as a comparison but it hits deeper notes for sure. As you have suggested, they recommend to move the speaker closer to the wall even to the corner. I did find the bass is essentuated but still prefer leaving its tweeter 3 ft away from either back or side walls to give the speaker space to breath. I found also the soundstage depth suffers a bit when I move it closer. Lastly, Buchardt suspects one of the speakers may not be airtight enough (which is important to being a closed-enclosure speaker) and asks me to do the airtight test. The test goes like gently push in the passive radiator on the backside, and then noticing that the front woofer get pushed out and see how long time it takes for the front woofer to return to its default position. It should take 3-4 seconds, maybe a bit less. I am going to test both speakers tonight. |
I will appreciate if you could also perform the airtight / leak test as described above on your S400, and let me know how long does it take the woofer or PR to get back to its normal position / equalization of internal pressure. I have read somewhere that it will actually take longer time (say 6-8 seconds instead) to return to its default position. Appreciated. |
Oh, agreed @grislybutter. I would like to have @dwest1023 test on his speaker, not the Pass int 250. The Buchardt has suspected one of my S400 Mk ii's internal is NOT airtight enough to the standard to push the PR well. I just want to confirm that. |
- 42 posts total