The Buchardt Sub 10 Review. Almost Perfect?

The Buchardt Sub 10 Review. Almost Perfect?

By Steve Huff

DISCLAIMER: I was not paid for this review nor did I get a free unit. This review is not sponsored. I made zero money on this review and do not offer ad space here. My words here are just my honest feelings and to me this is important. Enjoy! 

Video Review of the Sub 10

The all new slim and sleek Buchardt Sub 10 has been with me for many weeks and I have tested it with various speakers and amps as well as in varying positions. I even set it up with the Buchardt A700 LE’s that I still have here. After all of my testing of this rather unusual looking subwoofer I have come to a conclusion. This is the easiest subwoofer to set up and implement/blend that I have ever tested. Really.

This sleek and very slim sealed cabinet sun with one 10″ driver can do subtle or it can do an all out assault on your room when it comes to bass performance.

It may not have the all out impact and depth of a huge multi thousand dollar REL sub but what this sub does is different in so many ways I had to sit down and write this review out to tell you all about it. In fact, after many weeks of using it I feel this may just be the perfect subwoofer for those like me who value these things in a sub:

1. A sub  that is smaller than most, light weight and easy to move
2. Goes deep, down to 20Hz
3. Is supremely musical
4. Is very easy to place and get going without any frustrations
5. Can be placed under furniture, the side wall or behind you
6. Can be used wireless via WISA with Buchardt powered speakers

Some of you may have subs in use right now and my guess is some of you have a single lone subwoofer in play, some have dual and a few may even have multi subwoofers in use within their two channel music system. Then there most likely also some reading this that may have never used a subwoofer due to the fact that they can be challenging to blend in with a main system, especially if you are looking for clean, tight and explosive bass that doesn’t muddy up the rest of the frequencies. Some subwoofers out there are muddy (the usual $300-$500 subs) and can make your sound more beefy but these subs may also muddy the treble and obscure details, even adding a veil over the sound.

I have tested and owned a few of these “cheap” subs in the past and they never satisfied due to either being noisy, floppy or loose. These kinds of subs are usually not bringing tight, controlled and tuneful bass but rather “boom” to make the mids flesh out and give the illusion of massive bass. Some may like this but for audiophiles and those with serious 2 channel systems it would be a shame to place one of these boomy subs within your system. Some may not want a huge square box that costs thousands of dollars and is challenging to implement with your main speakers so finding a solution that is small, tight, controlled, musical and explosive has been tough.

Some subs that cost $2k and up are usually large, very heavy and very powerful. Sometimes too powerful for some rooms. Sometimes these subs can be so hard to blend in and often times we give up and just send back the sub if we cant get it blended. It has happened to me before where I stay for hours trying to dial in a subwoofer that I eventually gave up and sent it back.

The Sub 10 has power but it’s not trying to be the Hercules of bass, rather it’s trying and succeeds as being supremely musical and invisible all while truly opening up the soundstage with a more effortless flow. This sub sounds remarkable in my system and goes as low as others I have had that cost more. This subwoofer looks different and does not look like it can push out big bass but somehow it does, and it does so without chuffing (no ports) and without breaking much of a sweat.

The true beauty of the Sub 10 though is the fact that it is a breeze to set up and for me, it easily blended with all speakers I tested it with, within seconds.

The rear houses the settings. 

When Buhcardt asked me if I wanted to review the new Sub 10, their very 1st subwoofer ever, I of course said yes as A: I love Buchardt for what they are doing. Making great products with great prices sold direct. Also B: I was very curious as to what they created for their very 1st subwoofer. Mads Buchardt sent me along a black unit and when it arrived I was shocked to see how small it is. Very light, slim in profile and in looks it was like no other serious subwoofer I have encountered in design.

I wondered if this was a gimmick as surely this small sub could not deliver the bass I was used to. Then again, I remember back in the 1990’s I bought a sunfire true sub that was tiny but what a powerhouse it was for movies. I still have memories of that sub and its small size. Was remarkable back then. So as I had memories of that I started to realize that this sub could be the real deal.

I initially thought that there would be no way for this sub to deliver explosive bass, just too small and skinny. It’s also lightweight and most subwoofers I have had here have been beasts in the “heavy” department. Could this sub actually perform being so small and light? It’s not ported, so this sub is sealed.

The features are plentiful here:

1. Can be tuned with mastertunings just like with Buchardt powered speakers.
2. Can be Adjusted as flat so your preamp controls the crossover, or you can set it on the sub
3. Has built in room correction and with the Buchardt app can be auto set up in the room
4. Very easy to place within a room and blend.
5. It is not overpowering nor weak, it seems to just put out the bass when needed, without effort or much notice to itself.
6. It’s affordable at $1299 for a dedicated subwoofer for two channel music.
7. Uses a coax input from your integrated or preamp (for example, many integrated amps have a subwoofer out via a coax jack) so just plug and play.
8. This sub can also be used wirelessly and connect to Buchardt powered speakers via WISA.
9. This sub houses a class D amp that puts out up to 1200 watts to the sub 10. Crazy!

“Combined with a state-of-the-art power supply, this stage delivers up to 1200W into the woofers voice coil, which is only possible due sophisticated DSP processing assuring all parts are always running at their maximum performance.”

So after reading the manual I decided to give this sub a try with my Triangle Magellan 40th Duettos which are absolutely world class two way bookshelf speakers. They have taken my #1 fave spot for bookshelf speakers for looks, design and sound. They have great bass as is and a sub is not needed with them but of course a sub can bring forth the lower frequencies the speakers can not. The Duettos are rated down near 40hz but this sub is rated down as low as 20hz.

When I placed it in the system I started in an unusual spot but I place subs here to test their power and impact and it usually gives them a challenge. I placed it right between the two front speakers, this is where I started and being a sealed sub helps in this regard. The sub was placed in the middle away from all walls and corners. After setting the crossover to 100hz to allow for a bit more bass through (for blending) I was amazed at the sound coming out. I heard the extra bass which was tight but not so tight that it sounded like a big lean bass. Rather it was tight, controlled, solid and at times, depending on the music, explosive and even vibrating the room a bit.

Nothing loose, flabby or off kilter with the Sub 10, even when it is away from all walls.

It’s funny but many high end companies try so hard to get the bass uber tight and tuneful from their speakers and subs. When this is done though, it is almost as if the subs and speakers sound weak or lean. Some sacrifice body and foundation for detailed but when it comes to bass I feel we need some fatness, just a little bit to flesh out the mids and voices. We need some as without it, we get this lean threadbare sound that is not very enjoyable or musical. There are quite a few speakers out there like this, and yes, I even heard this from subwoofers in the past. 

Music needs some warmth in those mids to touch the heart and the Sub 10 was doing this without effort or without sounding as if the bass was coming from the subwoofer. It was organic and melded with the speakers instantly. This was without room correction, without corner placement and without any tunings. This was right out of the box, one cable from the preamp to the sub and volume set at around 11am. Perfect blend the very 1st time. Hmmm, I was intrigued so messed around with placement more.

I moved the Sub 1 to the corners and yet again, blended without issues. I was not needing to constantly get up and adjust settings, it was just smooth rich bass being injected into the music with an invisible way of blending in, easy peasy. I placed it behind my stereo cabinet after clearing out a space for it. Now it was hidden 100% and no one could see it. It was as if there was no sub there in the system yet I heard it and felt the impact and it all sounded as if it was coming right from the speakers naturally and organically.

This can be placed under a couch, chair or table as well. Throw out the rules for traditional sub placement here as I found it to be amazing no matter where I placed it. This was just using it out of the box without room correction.

This sub is SO SO MUSICAL and INVISIBLE!

Testing with the Buchardt A700 LE’s. 

With the new A700 LE speakers (which have plenty of bass on their own) the sub 10 did a tremendous job of blending yet again and without headaches of placement. The A700 LE are powered speakers and really do not need a sub in most rooms but if in a larger room I suspect that the Sub 10 would add more heft to the foundation. In my 13X18 space it was really doing a fantastic job with both the A700 and the Triangle Duettos, blending seamlessly with either speaker.

I then loaded up the room correction via the Buchardt app, using the Zen mic and let the app tune it all to my specific room with the A700 LE’s. The Sub hooks up wirelessly with the A700’s and is seen in the app. With the Buchardt powered speakers the room correction works very well and by the end, after just a couple of minutes, the sub was even more well blended with the A700 LE speakers. Worked like a charm, and again without headaches or issues.

This sub tunes itself when using it with Buchardt wireless speakers. How cool is that?

Here is what Buchardt says about the new Sub 10:

“For many who follow us, this has been a project we have worked on for over 2 years now. We wanted a subwoofer that would be less intrusive in your typical home but, in typical Buchardt fashion, perform well beyond what users expect from its size. The SUB10 features a very powerful long-stroke 10” woofer that has been designed specifically for this exact enclosure and Hypex amplifier. Getting the woofer just right was the main reason for its long development process. This allows us output capabilities way beyond our competition in the compact subwoofer market.

But there’s more! This subwoofer also carries WiSA for wireless use with our active speakers, as well as your standard wired connections for passive systems. It has Bluetooth for app-controlled DSP functions like Room Correction, Manual EQ, variable LLE slider, and more.

The only 16-centimeter / 6.3” slim design is ideal for near-wall placement both on its side, standing up, and even lying on its back if you have special application needs, like placing it under your couch.”

Yep, you can place the Sub 10 under a couch, against a wall, stand it up or on its side, even place it on a stand. The placement options are endless.

Master Tunings

So here is where things go from interesting to “wow”. The Sub 1 is unlike any other sub I have tested as it can be “tuned” to sound how you want it to sound using the tunings available at the Buchardt website. Just download the tuning to a USB stick and insert it in the back of the Sub 1. Press a few buttons and within seconds you have the tuning loaded in. It really takes seconds to do. Below are the tunings you can load into the Sub1:

Theer is MAX SPL for maximum output, DEEP bass for ore DEEP bass and all around stock, which I believe is how this sub ships.

A NEW KIND of Subwoofer. 

Buchardt worked on the Sub 10 for two years. They ended up creating a new kind of subwoofer that can be placed anywhere, is smaller and lighter, looks modern and sleek, is easy to place and blend and can be used with any speaker as well as their own powers wireless line of speakers. When using with Buchardt wireless speakers the Sub 10 becomes wireless as well and then can be tuned to your own room with the room correction. As is, using it with non Buchardt speakers has proven that this subwoofer does the job it claims to do. It seamlessly adds those low frequencies to your system that may be missing and when they are missing, this sub will show you just WHAT you have been missing.

This sub also has the ability to be tuned via USB stick with Buchardts own “Master Tunings” which is another way to easily get the bass you want from this unique box.

The price of $1300 is awesome for what the subwoofer brings. Due to the ease of setup and blending it is one I can easily and highly recommend if you are looking for a small, light but versatile subwoofer that is easy to setup within your system. It will be wired via COAX for those who have traditional speakers and according to Buchardt it can be used between a preamp and power amp if you want to use room correction with non Buchardt speakers. Mads told me this via email…

“If you want to implement room correction for your main speakers, this is actually possible if you use the Sub10 between a preamp, and poweramp, running left and right RCA or XLR out from the preamp to the Sub, and from the sub to your poweramp. – Mads Buchardt” 

So yes indeed the Buchardt Sub 10 is quite the subwoofer and no matter if you run speakers from Buchardt or whoever this is a sub that is easy to blend and offers up many possibilities for placement, and without issues. It’s extremely musical, fluid and brings tight tuneful bass with heart and soul because it really fleshes things out while still being very detailed and tight. It doesn’t sound worse or better than a $6k sun I had in here not so long ago, and it is lighter, smaller and easier to implement.

The Sub 10 is set to ship in September 2024 for $1300 and will be offered in black and white matte finishes. I have the black here and it is sleek, slim and modern in design just as most products from Buchardt are. 

See more info on the Sub 10 HERE