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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
grislybutter
3,285 posts
 

I totally agree with skipping a sub. Interestingly 2 years ago my list was (whatever version I could afford):

Dynaudio, Totem, Buchardt, Revel, Sonus Faber (my 3x my budget list was the Martens, Sonner, Harbeth and Joseph Audio)

I pretty much couldn’t afford any decent SF, the Totems were lean, I didn’t go for Buchardts, and the Revels would have been the best bang for the buck. I am happy with my Evoke 20s but I would accept the Contours for sure.

kokakolia's avatar
kokakolia
198 posts
 

The Dynaudio Evoke speakers have "big bass for their size" and they should be easy to power with any amp. They're more like entry-level speakers however. But don't sleep on them. 

I personally use Closer Acoustics OGY speakers. I don't think that anything could match their midrange clarity and bass speed for the money. The single driver (EMS LB5) paired with a plywood transmission line shines here. The Ogy just suffer a little bit in terms of bass quantity (compared to the Dynaudio Evoke, but they outshine the Klipsch RP600M in every single metric). 

Be careful with higher end bookshelf speakers like the KEF R3 or Amphion Argon 3S. They sacrifice bass quantity for bass/midrange quality. I suppose that they expect you to buy a sub. 

 

 

lanx0003 OP
877 posts
 

Thank you for the recommendation and advise.  What a surprising bass quantity from a TL design with a tiny 4" driver, although from the demo there seems a bit artificial boominess but it maybe the effect of amplfication thru the TL or the recording.  I also prefer larger driver (> 6.5") for the sense of scale but it is just me.

grislybutter
3,285 posts
 

"They're more like entry-level speakers" - in the audiophile world, that's what thy are.

In my non-audiophile world, they are fantastic :)

lanx0003 OP
877 posts
 

No offense but agree. Look like a fun DIY speaker. But it might be cubersome to make by yourself. Need to have sort of precision machining tool. I wonder how deep will the bass go if the box is proportionally enlarged to house a 6.5" driver there?

 

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