S400 MK3

The third generation of the speaker that made Buchardt's name, and a clean-sheet redesign: the only part carried over from the MK2 is the binding posts. The cabinet grows 18% in volume, the passive radiator that defined the first two generations is gone in favour of a rear port with foam plugs, and the woofer is now a 7.5-inch SB Acoustics Satori Egyptian Papyrus — a driver normally seen in high-end DIY builds — with 65.5% more displacement headroom than before. The tweeter is a new 26 mm aluminium dome sitting in the waveguide Buchardt developed for the original S400 back in 2016, using a Klippel Near Field Scanner, which at the time made it the first commercially sold hi-fi speaker designed that way. Crossover at 2.2 kHz on Jantzen Cross-caps and air-core coils only. €2,300 a pair with shipping, tax and import included; Buchardt sells direct and quotes no US price. The 87 dB figure here is the anechoic one — the page also prints 90 dB in-room.