Fantastic review Tarun! Really love the more technical approach you bring to the otherwise many reviews on the s400 out there. I need to make a small correction to the presentation though : Kasper Raun is not currently working at Hansong, he did though :) there have been a lot of miss information / misunderstanding regarding our back story done by some previous reviewers that simply had misunderstood a few things. Thank you so much for taking the time to give them a listen, please keep doing this as we need more reviewers like you 🙏👍

This is a great review and I wish more reviewers presented info like this. Tonal balance, scenarios it is good in, weaknesses, and comparisons, along with some discussion of tech. Excellent!

This was probably the best review of these speakers ive seen, great job!

I'm just enjoying every minute if your videos. Surprises me every time to watch a review done right. And your honesty really passes though the screen. Would love to hear more reviews especially on the Harbeth brand.

Great review, Tarun, thanks! Been waiting for this one. You are always very articulate, objective and offer excellent detail in your reviews. Your description of them seems to be in line with most other impressions and helps reinforce my desire to keep them on my list of potential new speakers. Like you, I have some bookshelf classics right now that I love, the Dynaudio Audience 42. Thanks!

One word: superb! Best review of these speakers bar none. You have a unique approach to reviewing hifi gear which is both informed, engrossing and easy to digest. Keep it up!

Congrats on the 10k subscribers. I'm looking forward to more exceptional content from your channel.

Excellent presentation. the review is on scale of journalism! Fantastic review and description.

I have these speakers, and I love to have people over to hear my system. They may not know stereo systems, but my system "wows" people . But the best compliment I can give is that they still WOW me. I drive them with a Class D amplifier, Peachtree Nova 300, and went this direction because there is no doubt that the Buchardt Audio S400 speakers need power to sound their best. Mads was consulted before my amplifier purchase. Within my price range, this was the best choice. In my case, I have the speakers set up by my Television, because they are FANTASTIC FOR MOVIES. But this is a 80 square meter room, and is highly reflective. I do not feel the sound becomes boomy or shrill. Otherwise, I note that the S400's are not enjoyable at low volumes, and this was KNOWN to me before I bought the speakers; if I were to add a system in a smaller room, I would not go with the S400's. I have the suspicion that the coming self-powered (almost certain Class D amplifiers) S500's will solve this problem, by using the rear facing active woofer, instead of the passive radiator. If I had known that this choice was coming, I may have waited on buying the Amplifier and waited for the reviews that I expect to be positive. The S500's have the potential to be shockingly cost effective. I enjoyed this review, found it mostly consistent with others, more technical, but really honest. When he describes the listener that would be drawn to the S400's, he was describing my tastes exactly. But I admit, I don't consider myself an audiophile, just someone that wanted the full warm sound, without a subwoofer. The S400's have exceeded my expectations.

As usual Tarun has given a very balanced review. His eloquence and diction is a pleasure to listen to. Lovely Tarun!

The best review of these speakers I've heard by far. I have subscribed.

I have learned a bit about loudspeaker design and it's very refreshing to watch a review that mentions impedance curves, driver cone material, time alignment, beaming frequency, and so on. Currently my fav reviewer in the KZfaq scene! Keep up the excellent work!

Your review is refreshing, informative, and I really enjoy the learning! Please keep it going and I'd like to see more :)

Excellent review Tarun one or the best I've watched on a speakers/equipment I don't even need. For me the main reason I found the review compelling is, your tech talk at the start was sooooo easy to follow & understand,the fact you had a timeline there is a great idea but,I feel anyone that jumped to the timeline missed the best part of the video/review. It's heart warming to see your channel grow & grow & grow...keep up the excellent work. #hifi4ever

Always a pleasure to listen to you Tarun.

Bravo to your technical point of view in this review. I can not think of anyone who does this kind of in depth reviewing.

Hi Tarun Thank you once again for another in-depth video. I am in the midst of researching for my next speaker upgrade and as l am looking for a bookshelf speaker that will give me good bass response the Buchardt S400 were very recently added to the list. l was very pleased that your review was positive about these speakers and the company’s new price structure. Keep up your excellent public service. 🙏🏾

Damned brilliant! It's always a pleasure to listen to competent people. Now I am looking forward to hearing your comments about the A500 in the standard configuration, of course.

You are quite an excellent and thorough reviewer; clicked subscribe without hesitation. Thank you.

This is a great review of a much reviewed pair of speakers...probably not an easy review to do since so many folks have reviewed them already...thanks for being so detailed and thoughtful!

Just found your channel and subscribed, thoroughly enjoying your presentations. In the middle of a binge watch!

Absolutely the BEST review on KZfaq,very detailed and to the point.Have owned.The S400 paired with the NAD M10/M22 combo for about 6 months now and once you take the time to set them up they are truly great speakers!! Are they for everyone (NO) but no speaker is.

One of the best reviewers of HiFi I’ve come across. Your knowledge and the way you present information to the viewer is very insightful.

Hi Tarun! Very competent and in depth review! Most reviewers are so enamoured with the S 400, it was a bit of a surprise you found many caveats about them. Considering their price for a direct to consumer product, the sound and built quality must be impeccable. Thanks!

Best hifi reviews on KZfaq, no BS well presented facts.

Supreme knowledge, and a fresh take on a speaker we know very well through KZfaq. Terrific Review!

As always Tarun a well researched, insightful and enjoyable video, plus your teaching background really does shine through. From a fellow electronic/electrical engineer the detail you provide is perfectly positioned I feel. Keep up the good work mate, 10k subs is a real achievement, however, I am certain these numbers will climb rapidly and deservedly so. 👍🏻

Excellent, by far most informative review of the S400s!

For a well-reviewed speaker - and yeah, I thought, "Oh gee! ANOTHER Buchardt S400 review..." - your review was extremely good (with lots of detail)!

Great review approach. I find your explanatory style and logical approach very appealing. Thank you.

Exceptional review, Tarun. It was wonderful to hear all the detailed information you gave, and it was very appreciated. As far as the crossover parts go, I believe that possibly in some cases, the synergy produced is why it’s not upgraded, but I could be wrong. There’s also a price point to meet. Thanks for yet another excellent vid.

Just Pulled the Trigger on them! Your insight into Design & Engineering...Amazing...Thank You! I have the S300's in my Wineroom...love them..can't wait to get these for my Livingroom....Thank You for Your Attention to Details Mate...from San Antonio, Texas...

Possibly the most underrated HiFi reviewer on KZfaq. This video really showcases your channel as of of the best s400 reviews. Especially considering that this is perhaps the most reviewed speaker of recent years. I look forward to seeing this channel flourish!

Thanks tarun another great in depth review & explanation of hifi terms I often hear but don’t understand what they really mean. I very much like what you say at the beginning there’ll be no gushing review on this channel 👍 there’s far too many manufacturers pushing products to so called influencers 🤮 who just spout the same old nonsense on every review.. Keep up the great work & I hope your channel grows even more 😀

First time saw u today. Super S400 review and I rang the bell immediately.

Super review.. even after seeing 10 different S400 review, I felt like I was hearing a review of these speakers for the first time in a way that really gave me the best sense of what these speakers are capable of doing...I can't quite explain it, but your review out of any I've heard, perhaps the subtle comparison's in the middle without hesitation about ruffling any feathers, made it all so cohesive. In how I process information, the technical info weaved in was super helpful as well. Thanks for bringing it all together.. Bravo.

Rapidly becoming my favourite audiophile channel.

I was considering trying out these speakers until I watched your review. As I am listening ‘near field’ at low volume, your review was extremely helpful in steering me away from these and some others , once you pointed out the issue. Your advice has helped shape my current setup, so thank you for that. The reason for posting was to request a review, although I’m not looking to change my system, I’m intrigued on hearing a comparison between the Hegel 160 + A400’s and a A500 setup. I wonder if the A500’s with their clever gizmo’s would solve the near field issue you highlighted. I think your insight and down to earth style of review would be fascinating!

By far the most objective review I have seen on the S400s

All I can say is this was an excellent, informative review!

Great review! I agree with your observations. I think I can hear the extra bass plus I wish they were a bit more open and sometimes the details seem obscured but as I upgrade my components they sound better and better so in that sense I feel I am only scratching the surface of their potential. I look forward to more videos from you!

Thanks for this excellent review Tarun. I really like your measured approach to a review - never gushy or over the top. The Bristish Audiophile is the perfect name for you. I'm considering this speaker but am also considering going full digital with their S500 (3 x 150W amps in each speaker). The great thing about Buchardt's direct to consumer business model is that I can try for 45 days and here in Australia, it's very rare that any dealer allows this and certainly never accepts returns for a poor choice. have you had a chance to hear this set up yet as I understand the S500 is basically an S400 with amplificiation (that's probably an oversimplication but you get what I mean). Thanks again for a great channel and good luck - you definitely deserve a bigger audience.

Excellent review, separates the man (that's you) from the boys. My attempt at humor. Best review of the S400 I've seen.

Thanks for your always excellent reviews.

You put quite a bit of intellectual effort in analyzing the nuances of this speaker. Thanks for sharing!

Tarun - really enjoyed your review. I like comparisons to give me a reference point and I like blend of the tech explained to see if they actually translates into audible results. I own a set of S400s which I've been ecstatic about. The aesthetics fit nicely with the style of my home, the forgiving placement is fantastic since I don't have a dedicated listening space, I love the low end, holographic sound and separation - make music very immersive. I'm with you on the "room for improvement" areas too. At low listening levels, the speakers don't work as well because they need a bit of upper-mid/treble boost otherwise you can't hear dialog/vocals very well. Fixed that with Schiit Loki+ and gave the uppermids/treble a kiss up. Have pre-ordered the S400 MKII - can't wait! Almost forgot to mention - I'm driving these with a Bakoon Amp13-R, which is only 25W @8ohm per channel. It's a current based amp, so that may be why it has no problems feeding the S400 - also I have them in a small room. Lovely combo with an R2R DAC.

Don´t think i´ve ever come across someone so knowledgeable in the world of hifi! I normally pass on youtube clips when it come to budget and mid end hifi but you knowledge impresses me.

Your commentary is a refreshing change vs the normal condescending snobby attitudes of some audiophile reviewers. You do not diminish the product because it does not require a thirty year mortgage to acquire. Thanks for taking us 'under your wing' and balancing impressions with performance. Great job!

excellent review precise and to the point .well done sir. u deserve many more subs

Very nice & detailed review. Being from Copenhagen originally it's nice to see quality products still coming from the "Old Country". I have some experience with passive radiators (Sony) & understand how they can make a substantial difference in your listening experience. Thanks brother, i'm subscribing. Take care & stay safe.

Great reviewTarun. I learn something new every time I listen to you. It would be great to hear your views of how this speaker compares to my ATC SCM 11 speakers.

Great review. Subscribed. Best review I've seen/heard/read about the S400. I wish that it was suited for my bedroom for low level listening, but I otherwise love the S400. A Hegel H90 gets them going and that's the least expensive in the Hegel line.

I was like OMG another B review, but this one is different and probably the best!

This is the first positive review I've saw on this speaker.

An Excellent review that provides exactly what people need. You should be giving lessons on how to do reviews of products. Thanks

I appreciate your educational no nonsense approach to sound reproduction. Hopefully other KZfaqrs adjust. Floyd E. Toole developed the „Spinorama“ while he was research scientist at the National Research Council of Canada. After his retirement he worked as a consultant for Harman International. (from the 3rd ed. of his book on Sound Reproduction).

Glad i found your channel! never change never stop!

Hi Tarun. Thank you for contributing your time to build up this KZfaq channel. I hope your reviews will remain as objective as always, especially as your channel continues to grow and evolve. My personal preference leans towards a brighter Focal/KEF house sound, so S400's are indeed too warm and full sounding in the lower-mid range for my taste. However, after having owned the S400's for over a year, I've come to admire their capabilities in a 2.0 home theater environment. My family members appreciate the exceptional off-axis response and the extra kick from those passive radiators. After giving it a lot of thought, I moved the old KEF LS50's to my desktop rig, and let Buchardt S400 dominate the living room. What wouldn't we do for our families, right? 😉 One point I felt that you neglected to mention in your review is imaging. From my experience, sound image is not the S400's forte. I've struggled a lot with speaker placement and tow-in, but no matter what I do, instrument placement continues to be a bit vague. If you know how to get that pin-point center image from S400's I would be happy to hear.

Congrats on reaching 🎉 10000 subs.

I miss Hifi stores where one could actually listen to gear one was thinking of purchasing. (I don't mean the mass-market stores with a wall of speakers though.) Glad you take the time to explaing the strength/weaknesses of these speakers.

Impressed with.the review also you can purchase direct from the manufacturer. With the advent of dealers shrinking this could be the trend where you can purchase hifi direct from all the manufacturers. Please carry on the good work you do with the reviews as I find yours very comprehensive. Regards Brian.

That was a great thorough review. I would like to see you put out a review for the JBL studio 590. I enjoy watching your videos.

Great review as usual from you

Great review Tarun. I love my S400s. I keep going back and forth between these and my Graham LS6 - each have their strengths (the S400’s advantage being mainly in the low end). I agree Mads should be very proud of them. I would love to see you compare these to the SE version.

Very informed review. I have two brief comments. I don't want a speaker to be warm or cold or anything else. I want it to accurately reproduce sound. If it's a bad recording, so be it. If a speaker fixes one issue due to its design, that built in correction factor will adversely affect being able to fully enjoy the nuances of other recordings. Also, while I understand the necessity to produce a product at a certain price point, I cannot understand why company after company continue to use cheap parts in their crossovers. Maybe a product's superior build quality, which would be praised by reviewers like yourself, would generate more sales which would offset the small extra cost of better quality electronics. Thank you for an outstanding review. By the way, I'm a big fan of passive radiators. If they are done right, they can really improve a speaker's bottom end, and they make it possible to get really big sound out of a relatively small package. I'm sure Mr. Buchardt would agree.

This review that made me pull the trigger on ordering S400

I will have to go along with the consensus, and agree, that this one of the best reviews I've seen of this speaker. I really enjoy your method for reviews. As a DIY'r, I will have to be one of those annoying people, and say, yes, there shouldn't be any wire wound resistors in that crossover. I am using SB Acoustics drivers in my own speakers, and I am pretty sure that the difference with MOX resistors in the crossovers. For all those people that own these, when your warranty runs out, you could life the sound quality of these by swapping the caps and resistors with better quality. And you wouldn't be losing any of what you like about them, either.

Excellent review style....I’ve always said there’s no “best” speaker......they all have different presentation styles/ pros and cons. it all depends on your preferences. You explained brilliantly the circumstances where someone might love this speaker and more importantly you also explained why someone might dislike this speaker. Well done Tarun.

This is a good fair review. I had a pair in my system but ultimately couldn't live with the rolled off treble, compared to my PMC DB1 Gold it seemed like there was a lot of missing information in this region. The design is extremely interesting for sure but I've heard a lot of British mini monitors that give a more balanced and less compromised presentation IMO. I'm glad I tried them though if only to rule them out as something I'd be unwilling to listen to long term.

Another fantastic review. Thanks

Thank you Tarun for comprehensive review. I still wonder weather has sense of buying this kind of speakers. Of course it punches above its weight but had I been on the market I would have gone floor stander route. There are floor standers that give the same for even less half of price. Just to mention few of them DALI zensor 7 . FOCAL CHORUS 726 .Triangle - Borea BR08 .MONITOR AUDIO BRONZE 6 , Klipsch RP-8000F. Q Acoustics 3050i with the benefits of not spending extra for the stands.

Great review. Amazing technically designed speakers. Love Danish speakers - own a pair of Jamo 7.3 bookshelves from early 2000's.

Excellent review. Even after seeing so many reviews on this particular speaker I still really enjoyed this one. Now the question is how will Buchardt’s new A500 actives compare against these. I love active speakers and I feel they may be the way to go as they eliminate the problem of amp matching. The 500’s are available for pre-order so we will have to wait to find out! I also want to mention the 500’s go down to 25 Hz which is another advantage. Bass to me is soooooo important and so many great bookshelf compact speakers fail here and you are left with a messy subwoofer situation in tight spaces.

I enjoy the tech talk on the speakers few have the knowledge to really get into. Excellent info,

This is the best review of the S400 I've heard so far. Yes, there are other good reviews but this one gave me the clearest picture of what this speaker is about. The opening shot of the factory in China was brilliant!!!! Wow, I'd love to hang out and watch every step of their production relevant to these speakers. I'm in the market for some new speakers and I am considering Harbeth and/or Magnepan LRS's but now there has been a positive disturbance in the force and I have to reconsider these 400's. It's a tough life but I can do it. I get all of the near-field goodness I want from my rather excellent desk top system but having said that, I am concerned about low level listening with the 400's. I do enjoy background classical but jazz and decent rock often fit the bill as well. I guess the best part about any potential disappointment with Buchardt products is you can return them. Somehow that seems quite unlikely as this key-stone review has got me thinking about things Danish again. Excellent review ... I hope others are paying attention. Charles, Canada

Once again great stuff. Thanks.

Hello Tarun, really enjoyed your review of this speaker and you are very well right on the comment of crossover component choices made by the manufacturer. Being a tweaker, your term DIYer, I do not share the company’s choice of resistors used simply because sand cast resistors are not the best choice nor are standard polypropylene capacitors. The air core inductors are the best and better if larger diameter wire is used. Without internal bracing, most speaker enclosures will have problems with resonances. This can be avoided by using denser and thicker walls and dampening the surfaces inside with thin dampening panels which have foam as a layer. Poly fill is marginal in my opinion as a dampening material. A minimalist answer to internal bracing would be to use pyramid shaped pressed wood corners at each of the eight corners of the inside of the box structure. I am sure there are those who won’t share my enthusiasm for correcting product deficiencies by modifying a design. I learned by using my understanding of materials and their characteristics while building my boss’s turntables in the eighties. Key to being a part of a solution to problems in product performance is knowing the product characteristics from a material aspect and addressing them effectively at the base level. Boxes are resonant cavities and as such require damping to remedy the issues caused so the listener ears are not offended. Pardon my lengthy explanation. If it requires further explanation, I will try!

Thorough Analysis...Thank You!!!

I'm from Canada, I own and would love to hear totem forest , rainmakers reviews, if u get your hands on them (I know u do what u can ) Your approach is interesting and entertaining , great channel hope u hit 40 k subscribers like some others on KZfaq !

Another good vid. Thanks Brit 👍

A good, informed review, Tarun - thanks! The waveguide on the tweeter reminded me of the pioneering work done by Technics on their SB-F1 forty years ago, though obviously the little SB-F1 can't compete with the Buchardt at the bottom end. I wonder how the S400 would compare to Canon's odd-looking, Allen Boothroyd-designed S series from the 90s, which seem to have had similar design goals re: dispersion and generous sweet spot and gone about achieving their aims in very different ways? (Again, of course, the Buchardts would win on bass extension.)

Always enlightening,thanks.

Excellent review simply explained....

Hi there Tarun, I got them today and i couldn't be more pleased with the sound, let me tell you i had a grate system onceuponatime i had a spark valve amp that you needed two people to pick it up, and i had a luxman cd player, with colin whatmough tower speakers, that sounded superb sounding system, my house was broken into and they took the lot, ever since i have serious trust issues so i dont have friends over any more, but remember when i told you i bought the second hand Nad Amp but never had speakers to test it? well im listening to my cd collection through it now! and it has plenty of power on tap so yer my days been good today hope your days been well, i have 5 kids well two little ones and 3 teenagers they love the sound to anyway hope to see some more of your content soon take care. 👍🎶🎶🎶✔😊✨.

Thanks. Very interesting and informative review.

Excellent review 👍

Thanks for that review. A bit late for me as I could not resist buying a nicely priced pair of returned whites. Great match w/ my old Lindemann amp4.99 delivering quite some watts which are needed. This might (wife needs to be informed) get replaced by a class-D like a XTZ. Hope is this would add to the top end. Base is great and even in my 50m² living room with high ceilings I do not miss a subwoofer. Again, Tarun, thanks for the great work. Like your channel a lot.

Excellent review! I've been waiting to hear your thoughts on this speaker. I second your thoughts on pairing this speaker with higher powered amps with a bit more "bite". It does not have the zing like B&W, Proac, or KEF speakers do. I also find that adding tubes in the DAC/Pre enhances the depth even more - something my 1SC could not do (in my room). This makes some music sound like instruments/effects are coming from behind me - and I do not have a wall remotely close behind my listening position. Also interesting is the height. Music always sounds large and I find it good for orchestral/soundtrack music. Anyway, well done on the review!

Absolutely excellent review! Nice to hear the incorp of psycho acoustics into the explanation. just one thought-its dB not dBs! However, great overview .

As others have said - best S400 review out there, and by a country mile. Have been looking forward to this since its 'background cameo appearance' in your previous video :) Incredibly well researched and so, so, so informative. I've been considering these for a while, but your review has pretty much made my mind up to throw the best part of £2k at something I've neither seen or heard. May I ask - what are the stands? And are the stand plinths an add-on from somewhere?. Thanks in advance, and greetings from Derbyshire.

Excellent review!

Excellent review

outstanding review

Tarun you take your time but nail it. Awesome review. I am looking at a most powerful bookshelf or say larger BS speskers never heard these in India though. Am on radar to try Purifi Drivers with ribbon tweeter and PR with Hypex and miniDSP. I like your judgement and trust you.

An excellent review in every way. If you are ever able to get around to it I would love to hear your opinion about good desktop speakers for near field listening. There are a lot of very mediocre speakers out there for people who are sitting at their computers but there are some good speakers to and it's hard to sort out the good from the bad. It also raises the active vs passive speaker question which would be interesting to see you fold into your commentary.

Great stuff Tarun..

Definitely the best review of the S400 on the net! A couple of rather specific question. Does the treble roll off causes "edges" to become rounded off or softened in some way? And how does it handle busy songs, are the instruments separated clearly enough?

A couple of things to note about the x-over: (1) there is an electrolytic cap in there - it's that NPE 47uF cap in the upper right hand corner, likely in the woofer bypass circuit. Not much choice there - a 47uF poly cap would be HUGE. Like D-size battery huge. And the inductors are all mounted in different orientations - a known tweak to ensure that the electromagnetic fields from each inductor doesn't affect the others. I'd love to see the schematic for that x-over BTW. At first I thought it was a simple 4th order one (4th order on both woofer and tweeter). But the wire used in the three smaller inductors looks a little thin for bass driver duty. Hmm.

Excellent and detailed review of these fine speakers. 33hzts is lower than many floorstanders can manage and that's very impressive for a stand mount speaker. Nice looking speaker in the wood but I'm not a fan of speakers in white. Looks cheap. Good quality components where needed being used is a big plus. Would have been nice to hear these with your Exposure amps.

Great review thank you