John Darko
Uncompromised; Masterpiece; Danish — three words that leap from the page of Buchardt’s latest press announcement.
The E50 is a new passive standmount loudspeaker that marries a 1″ custom Scanspeak textile dome tweeter to a 6.5″ Purifi long-stroke mid-bass driver – aided by two rear-firing extended-stroke passive radiators – for a two-way that mines down to 36Hz (at -3dB). The drivers’ outputs are stitched together with a crossover that uses Jantzen Audio components: foil-based cross coils and Superior Z-Caps.
As might be apparent from the photos, the E50’s cabinets aren’t veneered MDF. They are made from FSC-certified solid wood. The side walls measure 19mm thick but the front baffle is thicker at 28mm, presumably to accommodate the tweeter’s waveguide. Everything is CNC-d and assembled at Buchardt’s Danish headquarters.
From the press release: “A speaker made from so many Danish parts is a rare sight! Many other speakers may qualify to bear the label “Made in Denmark,” but having the cabinets, woofers, tweeters, binding posts, as well as all assembly and testing done in Denmark is something few can claim. The only part of the E50 sourced outside the EU is the passive radiators, which are made by SB Acoustics—though they are specially engineered by Danish engineers specifically for this speaker.”
Voicing? According to Buchardt, the E50 offer more transparency and detail than the S400s to sound “neutral with a slight lean toward a laid-back and comfortable character.” The press release also says, “Technically, our speakers have always been tuned to be very frequency-flat, but what you see on paper doesn’t always translate to what you perceive.”
Buchardt doesn’t sell its loudspeakers via a dealer-distributor network but directly to the customer. The E50 is priced in a choice of six finishes as follows:
Stained Black: €3950/pair
Smoked Oak: €4100/pair
Natural Oak: €4100/pair
Rounded Natural Oak: €4100/pair
Rounded Smoked Oak: €4100/pair
Rounded Charcoal: €4000/pair
Pricing includes shipping the E50 to anywhere in the world and covers local import duties and taxes. All pre-orders attract a €200/pair discount.
Further information: Buchardt
