John Darko
‘LE’ — in marketing parlance, it often means ‘limited edition’. With its extremely popular A700 active floorstanding model out of stock for some time (review here), Buchardt Audio has this week announced a new version called the A700 Limited Edition (LE). The A700 LE is an upgraded version of the original which retains the cabinet dimensions and driver array but gets two new features.
The A700 LE’s first new feature is an upgraded tweeter. According to Buchardt, the outgoing tweeter is being replaced by an in-house developed model called the RFA19 (that debuted in the Anniversary 10) for “better detail retrieval and increased resolution at the top and end upper midrange”.
A new tweeter also means new Mastertunings: downloadable firmware files that allow end users to adjust the sound of the speakers. Grab a Mastertuning firmware file from the Buchardt website, drop it into a USB stick, plug it into the rear of each loudspeaker and presto, you’ve changed the DSP that handles the crossover and overall speaker voicing.
Among those new Mastertunings, Buchardt will be offering a new cardioid dispersion file that repurposes the rear-firing bass drivers as cancellers of frequencies in the 90 – 300Hz for better room integration.
According to Buchardt’s website, the Buchardt A700 LE is available for pre-order for โฌ6100/pair or โฌ6400/pair with the Platin hub. Once those are sold through, the price will revert to โฌ6300/pair or โฌ7000/pair with the Platin hub.
Lastly, because the A700 LE will be made in Denmark (and not Asia), Buchardt is promising “beautiful new cabinets”. Your choice of black or white but also – for an extra โฌ200 – a real walnut veneer whose visual lustre is reportedly brought to life by an oiling and waxing process.
Further information: Buchardt Audio
