Finish options are black, white and a 'smoked' oak veneer. A matching black stand is available for €300/pr with VAT. As before, sales are factory direct to cut out the hungry middlemen of dealers and distributors and their margins.

 As I concluded three years ago, "sometimes really good things come in unassuming packages. This is one of those. Mate these boxes to a Clones Audio 25iRH remote-controlled gain clone integrated and stick to a consistent theme and approach, of three good things that go together well. Pick a Wyred4Sound mINT to add an onboard DAC plus headfi; or a Goldmund Job INT. Either way, you'd have yourself a high-value simple system that won't make apologies on quality sound. In times of economic hardship for many, such honest value discoveries are far more gratifying than stumbling upon yet another trophy proposition for the one-percenters."

That the S400 was an it speaker I learnt from a regular reader who'd snagged a pair of the limited edition. In fact it was he who let slip that Mads would send me a pair of the standard version well before I learnt from the pony's mouth. Before you kick me under the table, I deliberately leaked two pony hints to show how contrary to preconceptions, it is possible to launch a successful hifi company around just one product if that happens to be exactly what enough people want. If it's already the very best you know how to make for a given price, why confuse the issue?

Given that Buchardt Audio are still here three years later and ship from enviably stacked pallets, we can safely assume that their €1'300/pr S300 MkII was precisely what lots of people wanted; and that at now €2'000/pr, Mads and Kasper had figured out a way to make an even better product in a very similar form factor and size to appeal to the very same audience after a just minor job promotion. It doesn't replace the S300 MkII which remains available. It's perhaps best viewed as the hot-rod version – same general chassis though a bit lighter, bigger engine and costlier tyres.

Mads about you?