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Any Buchardt A500 users?

carruthersesq

pfm Member
I’m rather intrigued by the thought of these speakers and wireless hub. A few questions if I may.
  • Anyone have real world experience with home usage?
  • What amps did you have before?
  • How do you stream to them, I’m not sure there is a native app? I use Qobuz.
  • Do you have a vinyl system playing through them?
I know I have 45 day home trial available which I may take up but interested in users thoughts.
 
I’m rather intrigued by the thought of these speakers and wireless hub. A few questions if I may.
  • Anyone have real world experience with home usage?
  • What amps did you have before?
  • How do you stream to them, I’m not sure there is a native app? I use Qobuz.
  • Do you have a vinyl system playing through them?
I know I have 45 day home trial available which I may take up but interested in users thoughts.

I had a set but ended sending them back before I ran a set of ATC SCM40 and matching ATC amp
I would use them not only with my Michell Orbe but also as part of my 5.1 system ,
They had a big sound you really don't need a sub with these wireless is a great idea
BUT sometimes they would switch channels or you would try a new master tuning and after them would both be set to the left channel
As part of my 5.1 if they get any sound after 5 secs they'd switch off and then switch back on again to late , I even ordered a new AV but it was the speakers
At the time I was new to steaming and so used apple airplay it would most of the time but not always

I ended up sending them back and they were really good about it as I was out of my 45 day trail

I replaced it with a set of ATC SCM7s a BK sub and Musical Fidelity MS6i amp and BlueSound Node Gen 3 for about the same price
I find this set up blows the A500s out the water for detail and is bomb proof no software updates for the speaker or the hub they
just work
 
i asked a similar question on forums re the buchardt . they are very similar to amphion in looks . one amphion dealer said this about the buchard

Buchardt have obviously used many of Amphion’s design features. The Amphions use quite a low 1600Hz crossover point - Buchardt use 1800Hz despite using a 0.75” HF unit, which sounds a little low for such a small tweeter to me - would explain the sound that some people have described to me.

if you can get a listen to the amphion 3s and ESPECIALLY the argon 1 .
P1070794 by https://www.flickr.com/photos/158267783@N02/, on Flickr

P1070805 by https://www.flickr.com/photos/158267783@N02/, on Flickr

I have used about 5 types of amp with these . the latest being moonriver . I am quite frankly rather blown away by the argon one . it is exceptionally good. it just fills the room and just sounds so amazing . its about 1200 quid i think

certainly get the buchardt to try but compare it with the amphion for sure

https://pinkfishmedia.net/forum/threads/amphion-speakers.262526/page-3#post-4560956
 
Curious to hear more experiences. I’m very seriously considering trying the 45 day home trial later this month.
 
Apparently there is a big update coming soon, so curious to wait and try it with that.

Saying that, they haven’t had the best reputation in meeting update deadlines so having a bit of a ‘wait and see’ approach in starting the trial. Do not mean to sound nasty, they seem a very enthusiastic company working very hard to bring our great products. And can imagine it is challenging, dealing with various hardware, software, streaming protocols, external suppliers, and users with different home situations.
 
Thanks for the updates guys.
The reviews all seem very positive but am really keen to hear long term listeners opinions.

I have over the years found a short listen can sound very impressive but living with them is another matter.
 
Apparently there is a big update coming soon, so curious to wait and try it with that.

Saying that, they haven’t had the best reputation in meeting update deadlines so having a bit of a ‘wait and see’ approach in starting the trial. Do not mean to sound nasty, they seem a very enthusiastic company working very hard to bring our great products. And can imagine it is challenging, dealing with various hardware, software, streaming protocols, external suppliers, and users with different home situations.

For those not on Facebook, this is the update planned.

The Big A500/A700 and Hub update.

Dear all A series customers.

As many know already, we and Platin have been working very hard to improve stability for the whole system, including fixing and changing some known issues. Even though It's still a relatively low number of customers with issues, it's important for us to work towards pushing this number as close to zero as possible.

The big update is about to hit, and we have this scheduled with Platin to release a few days after new year, so we know all hands are on deck, should there surface any problems doing the update process.
This update will require all customers to install updated mastertunings into their speakers. This is to ensure they work as intended with the new App and new hub firmware that will automatically be installed.

So what has changed?
  • New speaker setup method : When you set up your speakers for Left/Right, you no longer do this on the speakers itself. This is now controlled from the hub. You can do this via the new App, or from the remote (new setup video guide is in the works to be released with the update). *This is done to increase stability against radio frequencies interference (wi-fi) and help reduce the risk of dropouts.
  • XLR sensitivity changed : This means the speakers would no longer go into standby at low volumes after 20 mins when connected to XLR (A500 and A700).
  • Automute removed : The speakers would no longer go into a mute stage 5 sec after the music is paused.
  • Significant sound improvements for A500s newer mastertunings. (do not include changes to the Theoretical tunings)
  • All new mastertunings for A700 with completely redesigned DSP structure and sound.
  • A second update to the hub would be coming later, depending on when Google and Roon give the go ahead.
  • Google Cast update to version 1.55. This is a very big and needed update from Google that would significantly improve stability over Google Cast. Gcast stability is something that has been a struggle for many audio companies that offer this feature - great to see this fixed.
  • Roon Ready : We've been waiting for a very long time here! I apologize for being too optimistic about this in the past with release dates. I would have never believed it would have taken this long to get the Roon Ready certified since the hub had it working at launch! There has been a lot of back and forth with Roon and Platin since the Platin hub was the first WiSA transmitter to be certified with Roon Ready. This included a lot of new requirements from Roons side in their certification process.
  • Platin has delivered all needed material to Roon, we are just waiting for them to return with the certification now. We strongly recommend our customers to consider using Roon Ready protocol. It's by far the best option to stream to the hub.
  • Tidal Connect : Platin do not have any information about the process on this matter yet, sadly. We would provide updates when we get them.
  • Android App : Would be released in January as well.
We thank all of our customers for the support so far, without a great community, many of these improvements would simply not have been possible! We know that for some, the system has not been a problem free experience. It has been horrible to see customers' frustration about the Hub performance in particular, which has led to customers finding alternative solutions to replace it. Despite the hub being relatively cheap for the features it offers, it still needs to perform as intended! We are sure that 2022 will look much better with these updates.
 
OP, Do you follow them on Facebook? Lots of very interesting posts on the Buchardt user group. By most accounts the speakers sounds fantastic but the third party hub isn’t brilliant, and has a habit of auto updating via WiFi and causing problems. Mads buchardt and the team are super communicative and are clearly committed to sorting these issues out, but one gets the impression that they won’t have total control of the situation until they have their own hub in place.

I was very tempted, but went down the Lindemann musicbook route instead after reading up. That said I’d certainly reconsider the A500 when the hub issues are nailed down.
 
I assume the Platin hub that the A5/700 are shipped with in the current bundle. You can save 200 EUR or so and don’t get the hub. Then you can use use your own WISA hub such as the Primare SC15 (or newer LG TV’s) for wireless connection, or use something with XLR outputs for cabled connection. Hear people using them with the Naim Atom headphone, Cambridge CXN streamer, or NAD C658 or MiniDSP if you want DIRAC room correction.
 
That’s true, but you’d lose the room correction element with many other interface options.

That wasn’t actually that much of a priory for me, and I did seriously consider the Lindemann Musicbook source and then the A500 sans hub.
 
OP, Do you follow them on Facebook? Lots of very interesting posts on the Buchardt user group. By most accounts the speakers sounds fantastic but the third party hub isn’t brilliant, and has a habit of auto updating via WiFi and causing problems. Mads buchardt and the team are super communicative and are clearly committed to sorting these issues out, but one gets the impression that they won’t have total control of the situation until they have their own hub in place.

I was very tempted, but went down the Lindemann musicbook route instead after reading up. That said I’d certainly reconsider the A500 when the hub issues are nailed down.


Noi don’t follow them but do so now. Thanks.
 
Apparently there is a big update coming soon, so curious to wait and try it with that.

Saying that, they haven’t had the best reputation in meeting update deadlines so having a bit of a ‘wait and see’ approach in starting the trial. Do not mean to sound nasty, they seem a very enthusiastic company working very hard to bring our great products. And can imagine it is challenging, dealing with various hardware, software, streaming protocols, external suppliers, and users with different home situations.

I was told every other day there was a big update coming just got feed up in the end ,

Have a look on there Facebook site Buchardt Audio Worldwide Owners Group
But honestly my ATC SCM7 with a BK sub blow the A500 out the water for detail the top end just simply isn't there on the Buchardts plus if your
Going to be using a turntable don't get the hub your going to want a pre amp with a XLR output to feed the speakers otherwise you limiting
out put of your deck to 96KH which I found always felt like it was being held back
 
I was told every other day there was a big update coming just got feed up in the end ,

Have a look on there Facebook site Buchardt Audio Worldwide Owners Group
But honestly my ATC SCM7 with a BK sub blow the A500 out the water for detail the top end just simply isn't there on the Buchardts plus if your
Going to be using a turntable don't get the hub your going to want a pre amp with a XLR output to feed the speakers otherwise you limiting
out put of your deck to 96KH which I found always felt like it was being held back

Hi Bazza,

thanks, yes that is also one of my concerns. Certainly as the the performance / functionality is so dependent on the software. To be honest they are not the only one, I’ve seen quite a bit of delays regarding (for example) Dutch & Dutch speakers. It seems that these software updates can be tricky!

With Buchardt a of lot of issues seem to be coming from the hub, swapping that for a pre-amp (optional one with room correction) seems to help a lot.
For me all my music is streaming (local collection and Tidal through LMS, so I’d connect my Squeezebox Touch to the USB input of the hub) so if the hub is ok that would be enough for me.

My general view:
Pros
> The performance of these new DSP active speakers seems to be very impressive (not heard myself, going by reviews / user experience).
> Does take into account a lot of the room issues we generally have in domestic environments.
> It does minimize the equipment needed.

Cons
> Large dependency on software, chance for a lot of bugs, updates breaking things.
> The integrated nature means that if something breaks, your whole system is broken and you need to repair / replace everything with the associated costs.
> Question for future support, what happens if the manufacturer changes focus to next great product.
> A lot of these companies are pretty new and small, what is chance they will still be around and able to support the products in 5 - 10 years.
 
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Hi Bazza,

thanks, yes that is also one of my concerns. Certainly as the the performance / functionality is so dependent on the software. To be honest they are not the only one, I’ve seen quite a bit of delays regarding (for example) Dutch & Dutch speakers. It seems that these software updates can be tricky!

With Buchardt a of lot of issues seem to be coming from the hub, swapping that for a pre-amp (optional one with room correction) seems to help a lot.
For me all my music is streaming (local collection and Tidal through LMS, so I’d connect my Squeezebox Touch to the USB input of the hub) so if the hub is ok that would be enough for me.

My general view:
Pros
> The performance of these new DSP active speakers seems to be very impressive (not heard myself, going by reviews / user experience).
> Does take into account a lot of the room issues we generally have in domestic environments.
> It does minimize the equipment needed.

Cons
> Large dependency on software, chance for a lot of bugs, updates breaking things.
> The integrated nature means that if something breaks, your whole system is broken and you need to repair / replace everything with the associated costs.
> Question for future support, what happens if the manufacturer changes focus to next great product.
> A lot of these companies are pretty new and small, what is chance they will still be around and able to support the products in 5 - 10 years.

If you going to be streaming mostly do be awear the hubs max out put is 96HK I know its only a small thing but you always feel like you maybe missing out
on the real HR files
The room EQ is great to be fair and I was impressed with it but would never make up for the times I wanted to throw the bloody things out the window lol
As for the master tuning the best I found was forward mid range they do offer a big full sound but the highs are just not there
If i was going back down the road again I'd look at the Kef's but with there new sub
That way you can a home demo for free ,were as the Buchardts you'll have to order them in Euros which will cost you bank fees and if you don't like
them its €50 to send them back plus you'll have to pay import fees as we are no longer part of the EU but Buchardt will reimburse you for this
 
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