Buchardt Anniversary 10 wireless active speakers
Danish company Buchardt made a good impression with the S400 passive two-way that I reviewed last year so when the active Anniversary 10 became available it didn’t take long to get a pair in. Key features, alongside the onboard amps, are the use of the much-talked about Purifi woofers, a range of downloadable EQ curves and Buchardt’s new RFA19 tweeter from SB Acoustics. There’s also the possibility to add a Platin Hub (preamp) to create active/wireless loudspeakers. Lots to investigate.
Buchardt
The brainchild of Mads Buchardt, this loudspeaker company bypasses traditional dealer and distributor networks to deliver products direct to consumers. To compensate for the absence of high street dealer audition there’s a 45-day home trial period offered with the option to return items for a full refund. Last year saw Buchardt’s tenth birthday for which the Anniversary 10 active loudspeaker was launched. The first to be made in Denmark, the cabinets are made of solid wood, although the integral electronics are from Platin Audio and made in China.
We are seeing more and more loudspeaker brands experimenting with active models, in all sizes, albeit the bookshelf types like the Anniversary 10s are proving the most popular. The wireless option (they do require a power cord) makes them flexible to place and the fact that Platin is a Wisa system means that they will integrate with many multiroom set ups.
Design
Along with those electronics we have Buchardt’s 19mm aluminium dome tweeter, set in a large aluminium waveguide, paired with a mid/bass unit of some interest. This is the very powerful 6.5-inch Purifi extended-stroke unit boasting ultra-low distortion and custom made for Buchardt with a triple voice coil. The Purifi range is garnering much praise at the moment and chosen by designers for having incredibly low harmonic distortion, ultra-low IMD and impressive power handling figures. The company was co-founded by audio magnate Peter Lyngdorf and has an enviable R&D team.
The Anniversary 10’s compact sealed cabinet is going to struggle to produce much deep bass from this size of woofer but that’s where the electronics do their magic. The limits are overcome by use of equalisation, one of the benefits of an active design. The waveguide does its job well in controlling HF directivity although we noticed that vertical dispersion was limited, albiet this not a problem when seated.
Quick in-room measurements showed an almost exemplary off-axis response of textbook standard. There is a slight hollow around the 2kHz crossover region due to crossover cancellation between the drivers in the very nearfield.
Platin hub
The review sample came with the optional Platin Stereo Hub which adds a new dimension to the speakers. Once you have the app the Hub is connected to wi-fi and then paired with the speakers in a straightforward procedure made even easier by Buchardt’s online video. The Hub has ample digital and even analogue inputs although direct streaming is only available with Airplay, DLNA or Spotify, it is also Roon ready. I connected an Auralic Aries G1 streamer to access a higher-quality audio from Qobuz.
Choosing the best EQ setting is a matter of trial and error, with some sounding rather compressed, others overly-bright. But this is so much down to personal taste. The review sample came with the All flat EQ pre-installed. My preference, and it seems that of most customers, was the Nearfield EQ and, via the Platin Hub and app, there is the option to apply room correction and even manual EQ. Thus, how the Anniversary 10s sound is very much up to the user.
I used the supplied USB stick to install high-pass 60Hz master tuning which, unsurprisingly, removed much of the deep bass and provided a useful ‘night-time’ listening balance.
Zen mic
An optional Bluetooth/wi-fi-enabled Zen microphone is available for measuring in-room response and applying a bespoke EQ curve. It promises greater accuracy under 40Hz although, for most rooms, the iPhone App will do a pretty good job, but it can leave you with a little too much bass. One tip I was given was to be sure to measure the response at not only the likely listening positions but in the corners and near walls as well, to assess how powerful the bass is in the room. The app worked well to generate a room plot and apply this as a bespoke EQ to the speakers’ electronics.
Sound quality
I let the units bed in for several days, although the Editor had also had them running-in for a while. With the Hub installed and digital sources connected (internet tuner, satellite receiver and streamer) I settled down to enjoy a raft of my usual listening material. The Anniversary 10s were atop a pair of Custom Design metal column stands, partly filled, to bring the tweeter to ear level when seated.
The level of bass output from such a compact cabinet with a small drive units was noticeable from the off – not that it went very low but it was fast and taut. There was also plenty of treble detail although with a slight tendency towards sibilance at times. This combination had the effect of subduing the midband and, for me, all-important speech components of my everyday listening to drama and current affairs, not to mention oratorio vocalists. With most loudspeakers this is a problem: one is stuck with the designer’s chosen frequency response and has to resort to changing ancillaries such as stands/spikes, cables and even amplifier. No such worry with the Anniversary 10s though. Simply download and install a different Mastertuning and bingo! With Nearfield EQ now onboard everything sounded just right and even that sibilance had vanished.
I enjoyed many hours of speech-based material along with a raft of classical material including Radio Three’s offering of Dvořák’s Cello Concerto in B minor, Op 104 (Alisa Weilerstein). The broadcast was convincing in drawing me in to the performance by the BBC National Orchestra of Wales under Ryan Bancroft and helping to transport me to the venue. The soundstage was wide enough with adequate depth and plenty of detail from the instrument which was superbly played with a rich, singing tone. These Buchardt boxes have an uncanny knack of digging deep into the material, revealing textures and creating a convincing soundstage.
Panel musings
Arguably, best results can be obtained when connecting a high-quality preamp, and the recently reviewed Leema Neutron would fit the bill, not least because it has myriad input options (more than the Hub, even) and a balanced output to drive the Anniversary 10s.
I opted to use the preamp/DAC sections of my trusty Hegel H190 which proved a great match for the active speakers. Yes, we had to forego the room correction but there are still all those Mastertunings to select from. In this form, I felt that the speakers really came into their own, opened up and showed what they could achieve as compact active monitors.
The panel assembled and were impressed that such a small box could contain so much, and no wires. They noted that the bass was well controlled and integrated well with the overall sound, at least in my modestly-sized listening environment. It would be unfair to expect a transducer of this size to play loudly so as to fill a vast space but we managed to produce sound levels sufficient to annoy the neighbours. Although with the 1988 remix of New Order’s Blue Monday (12-inch version), the lower frequencies were beginning to strain, probably due to second-harmonic distortion. Nonetheless we enjoyed the kitschy late-80s sound effects thrown on top of this catchy dance tune. The answer here for bass junkies is simply to employ a subwoofer and, indeed, Buchardt themselves mention use of the Anniversary 10s in a 7.1 system.
Other aspects of the Buchardts reveal that it’s a loudspeaker cable of great clarity, being able to handle complex, layered material very well. We enjoyed a part-Danish group on Danish speakers with Aqua’s Barbie Girl which saw a revival following the recent movie (despite not being used in it). This well-recorded track, with its amazing sound effects and opening speech, came across well in a very clean way, retaining its 1990s’ driving pop sound to reveal the Anniversary 10s timing credentials.
To reinforce the speakers’ dynamic abilities, we moved to Wizzard’s See My Baby Jive from the ‘70s, and found ourselves immersed in what is probably the loudest, most powerful opening of any popular song. These little speakers are deceptive; they do a lot and do it well; if not quite in the BBC monitor-style that I am accustomed to, they certainly have studio credentials.
Conclusion
There’s no doubt that direct sales result in something of a bargain for the end-user. The Anniversary 10 comprises a lot in a real value-for-money package. It can be many things to many people.
Firstly, we have an active loudspeaker, so no need to buy amps, with a range of ready-made EQs to suit various taste and different room acoustics. Then we have the hub option to provide a complete and compact audio system and finally Anniversary 10s will be ideal for surround systems thanks to their compact size, ease of installation and sound quality. If anything is worthy of Best Buy status it’s the Buchardt Anniversary 10 active loudspeaker.