Are Buchardt A500 Signature Edition A Good Choice For First Speakers?
For the past few years I've been limited to a headphones only setup due to having three kids, five and under, at home. Now they're all off to school and I'm looking to purchase my first set of desktop speakers, or similar size, for my desk area. I'm still confined to the loft, so nothing too big, but the Buchardt A500 Signature Edition look to fit the bill. Are these good speakers for $5,000? I like that they are active and I don't have to figure out an additional amp and crossovers to power them. How is the sound quality compared to other speakers in their price range? Is there anything cheaper but better? I was hoping that Borresen will have a new X model desktop version, like the new X3, but only smaller, but that may be out of my price range if it ever becomes available. Thanks for the advice.
Buchardts can sound amazing. So Can ATC or ProAcs or Genelecs and another dozen in the active, great sounding bookshelf category. Audience makes an active, one-way desktop that sounds great. Be aware the Michael Borresen said that Active speakers do not necessarily sound better than passives. Note how many he offers. None.
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Oh, my. My apologies to @audiotroy . Thank you for pointing this out. I shall now attempt to pull the keyboard from my mouth... |
$5k for active bookshelf speakers? That sounds painfully steep... Can’t you browse the classfields on Audiogon? Surely, you can find an excellent amp around $2k or less and an excellent pair of speakers around $2k as well... Or search for some Active Genelecs... EDIT: There's a lot of cool stuff around $2k over on Audiogon. From powered DALI Rubicons to a NAD M22 amp, to Golden Ear BRX speakers etc...
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i've only heard the passive s400, which are vg, but based on features/specs $4k doesn't seem like a bad deal for the a500, considering you get a full range speaker, amp, wifi streamer and dac in one package. i would be curious to hear how these compare to the similarly configured kef ls50 wireless, which don't go as low but are a grand cheaper. |
Thanks everyone for the great input and suggestions. After reading everyone’s thoughts I believe I need to look a little more into passive speakers. I was thinking active speakers would be better, cheaper, and less cables to buy….But that may not be the case. Also if I buy active speakers then the only upgrade path would better cables or sell to get a better unit. With passive speakers I can buy the amp and then buy better speakers as funds become available. My initial research for a power amp is pointing me towards a Burson Audio Timekeeper 3XGT. I’ve had Burson products in the past and I’m familiar with their sound and value. Now I just need to find some good passive desktop sized speakers. Thanks again for the help. |
