Buchardt Audio is expanding its E Series with the E50-S passive compact speaker. The new model features a larger Satori low-midrange driver with a TeXtreme cone, a modified Scan-Speak tweeter, and a crossover without separate resistors. The E50-S is now available for pre-order at 4,100 euros per pair.
At Buchardt Audio, the “S” in the name doesn’t stand for “Sport,” but rather for “Sensitivity.” However, the new E50-S is not intended to replace the well-known E50, and according to the Danish manufacturer, it is not meant to be its successor or a fundamentally better version. Rather, it features an alternative tuning with higher efficiency, less emphasis on the deepest bass, and a stronger focus on the midrange.
“The E50-S isn’t a speaker that aims to be the best in every category. It’s a speaker with character that prioritizes a love of sound over technical specifications,” says Buchardt Audio, describing the philosophy behind the new model.
Satori woofer with TeXtreme cone
The most notable technical change concerns the low-midrange driver. While the well-known E50 uses a 6.5-inch Purifi driver with a paper cone, the E50-S features a specially customized Satori driver from SB Acoustics with a 7.5-inch diameter.
Its diaphragm is made of TeXtreme, a carbon fiber material developed by Oxeon in Sweden. Unlike conventional carbon diaphragms, the fibers are processed into exceptionally thin, flat ribbons and arranged as what is known as a “thin-ply carbon diaphragm.” This is designed to combine high stiffness with low moving mass and controlled resonance behavior.
Buchardt covers the material’s otherwise characteristic black-and-silver checkerboard pattern with a very thin matte-black coating. Neodymium magnets are used in the low-midrange driver. According to the manufacturer, the driver itself achieves a sensitivity of 93 dB. For the entire speaker, Buchardt specifies 88 dB under low-reflection test conditions and 91 dB with the support of the listening room.
Two passive radiators instead of a bass reflex port
When it comes to low-frequency response, Buchardt remains true to its preferred design principle. Two 6-inch passive diaphragms with low moving mass replace a traditional bass-reflex port. The manufacturer specifies their maximum excursion as 28 millimeters from peak to peak.
According to Buchardt’s calculations, the enclosure with the passive membranes can be made about 30 percent more compact than a comparable bass-reflex design. At the same time, this design is intended to prevent airflow noise and the leakage of midrange frequencies through the reflex port. The sealed system is also less sensitive to placement near walls.
According to the manufacturer, the frequency response of the E50-S—taking room acoustics into account—ranges from 38 Hz to 22 kHz. Compared to the E50, the tuning is intentionally a bit leaner. This makes the new speaker particularly well-suited for smaller rooms, placements close to walls, or listeners who prioritize clarity and presence in the midrange over maximum deep bass.
Modified Scan-Speak tweeter
The high-frequency range is handled by a specially tuned 28-mm fabric dome from Scan-Speak. Its design is based on the D2905/970000 from the Classic Series. For use in the E50-S, the dome was given a different coating and the driver was modified.
In this way, the developers specifically reduced the sensitivity of the tweeter to match that of the low-midrange driver. This eliminated the need for level adjustment via resistors within the crossover. The term “resistor-free” therefore does not refer to a theoretically resistance-free signal path, but rather to the absence of separate resistor components in the crossover network.
The crossover occurs at 2 kHz. A third-order Butterworth filter is used for the low-midrange driver. The crossover utilizes, among other components, Jantzen Superior Z-Caps and 14-AWG copper foil voice coils. In the tweeter section, Buchardt also uses cables from Duelund Coherent Audio.
The tweeter’s waveguide is not used as a separate component, but is milled directly from the 28-millimeter-thick solid-wood baffle. It is designed to align the radiation patterns of both drivers in the transition range, relieve the dome, and support a comparatively wide, spatial soundstage.
Conscious Calibration Instead of a “Measurement Olympics”
Buchardt takes an unusually open approach to the sonic character of the E50-S. The manufacturer describes the E50 as the more linear of the two models and has deliberately equipped the new S version with a slightly more pronounced version of the so-called BBC dip. The slight reduction in the presence range is intended to enable relaxed and fatigue-free listening over the long term.
Buchardt does not intend to publish complete frequency response graphs for the E50-S. According to the developers, they fear that these could unduly influence listeners’ expectations prior to the listening test. Anyone looking for a studio monitor that’s as linear as possible is explicitly not part of the primary target audience. Instead, the E50-S is designed to reproduce voices with greater clarity and to deliver a sound that’s more lively, direct, and spatially focused than the distinctly relaxed E50.
Solid wood cabinet made in Denmark
The internally reinforced cabinet is made of solid European wood and is manufactured at the company’s own factory in Denmark. The cabinet walls are 19 millimeters thick, while the front panel measures 28 millimeters. Buchardt also uses finger-jointed connections and sound damping made from Basotect, natural wool, and polyester.
On the back panel are iron-free five-way binding posts from Argento Audio, featuring a silver-plated conductor tube and a brass clamping mechanism. Black speaker grilles are included.
Each E50-S measures 39.5 × 20 × 28.4 centimeters and weighs nine kilograms. The rated impedance is 4 ohms and should not fall below this value during operation. For small rooms, Buchardt recommends amplifiers rated at 15 watts or higher; for medium-sized rooms, 45 watts or higher; and for larger listening areas, more than 100 watts into 4 ohms. The warranty period is ten years. All technical specifications can be found on the Buchardt Audio product page.
Price and availability
The manufacturer’s suggested retail price for the Buchardt Audio E50-S is 4,300 euros per pair. As part of the pre-order promotion, the price is reduced by 200 euros to 4,100 euros. The offer is valid through September 15, 2026, or while the limited pre-order allocation lasts. Delivery is scheduled to begin in October 2026.
For more information and to pre-order, visit HiFiPilot.
