From Buchardt to Sasandu
Paulo Miguel Faustino moved from the Buchardt S400 MKII to the SB Acoustics Sasandu. His impressions after 100 hours: soundstage, imaging, vocals and bass.
In other people's words
Reviews
We are biased. Obviously. So here is what people who actually paid us have to say.
Owner accounts
Written by people who bought the speakers, published as they wrote them.
Rinjani Be, in Lamborghini Orange
An IEM maker and head-fi specialist who had never found a loudspeaker he liked, and what happened when he heard the Rinjani.
Published reviews
Thirty-five of them are below, grouped by what was reviewed: the kits, the SB Acoustics and Satori drive units, the SB Audience pro range, and designs other builders drew for themselves.
Every quote is reproduced exactly as it was written, and every one links to the page it came from — so you can read the whole review and make your own mind up.
Built a set yourself?
If you have built a pair and want to write them up, send it over. We will publish it as written, credited to you, and link back to wherever else you posted it. See customer projects for what other people have done.
Published reviews — kits and finished speakers
Nine write-ups of SB Acoustics kits, from magazines, reviewers and owners. Every quote is reproduced as written and links to the page it came from.
“The other aspect of both models that I found most pleasing and atypical, was their distortion or lack thereof.”
audioXpress — Oliver A. Masciarotte on the Rinjani & Ara kits · read the original
audioXpress — Oliver A. Masciarotte on the Rinjani & Ara kits · read the original
“Any worries that the Ara kit would sound anything less than a finished commercial product were quickly put to rest after my initial listening sessions.”
Eric’s Hi-Fi Blog — Eric Teh on the Ara Be · read the original
Eric’s Hi-Fi Blog — Eric Teh on the Ara Be · read the original
“The first thing that hits you is the resolution and openness of the presentation.”
audioFi.net — Shaikh S., April 2022 on the Ara Be · read the original
audioFi.net — Shaikh S., April 2022 on the Ara Be · read the original
“I am a user of SB Acoustics Bromo kit.”
HiFiVision — sachu888 on the Bromo · read the original
HiFiVision — sachu888 on the Bromo · read the original
“For starters, the Rinjani BE’s drivers are, to put it frankly… simply superb.”
SoundStage! Australia on the Rinjani BE · read the original
SoundStage! Australia on the Rinjani BE · read the original
“When it comes to bookshelf speakers, this Ara Be is one strong contender to be on my 2022 Best Speakers list.”
El Hefe HiFi Reviews on the Ara Be · read the original
El Hefe HiFi Reviews on the Ara Be · read the original
“The high-gloss black finish and speaker cabinets are very well done and if I did not check out SB Acoustics’ website, I would have naturally assumed they were made in Denmark.”
AV2Day — Lam Seng Fatt, April 2022 on the Ara Be · read the original
AV2Day — Lam Seng Fatt, April 2022 on the Ara Be · read the original
“These speakers are fantastic — the result has nothing in common with a self-build kit. They’re holographic, and as a former Fostex single-driver owner, the midrange gives me shivers.”
T-Forum HiFi — bru.b, translated from Italian on the Satorique 3, a third-party Satori kit · read the original
T-Forum HiFi — bru.b, translated from Italian on the Satorique 3, a third-party Satori kit · read the original
“The Ara is a very pleasing and easy going speaker, that combines a smooth tone with a detailed sound.”
Eric’s Hi-Fi Blog — Eric Teh on the Ara · read the original
Eric’s Hi-Fi Blog — Eric Teh on the Ara · read the original
“So I went to have a listen to the ARA. After about 20 minutes of auditioning, I bought it.”
Audiophile Press on the Ara · read the original
Audiophile Press on the Ara · read the original
“I was coming from a pair of KEF R3s (non Meta) and these really felt like an upgrade.”
Reddit r/audiophile — u/the_jends on the Rinjani BE · read the original
Reddit r/audiophile — u/the_jends on the Rinjani BE · read the original
Published reviews — SB Acoustics and Satori drivers
Measurement suites and listening reports on the individual drive units, including the ones our kits are built from.
“Based on the measurements and listening results, I consider the TW29TXN-B one of the best available tweeters today regardless of price.”
HiFiCompass on the Satori TW29TXN-B · read the original
HiFiCompass on the Satori TW29TXN-B · read the original
“Based on the measurements and listening results, I consider the MW16TX-4 one of the best available 6″ midwoofers today regardless of price.”
HiFiCompass on the Satori MW16TX-4 · read the original
HiFiCompass on the Satori MW16TX-4 · read the original
“Overall, I liked the MT19CP-8 for its rich timbre, overall transparency and expressiveness of sound.”
HiFiCompass on the Satori MT19CP-8 coaxial · read the original
HiFiCompass on the Satori MT19CP-8 coaxial · read the original
“This is called a studio monitor, but is equally suited for domestic use providing a potent bass for the size, an even balanced voicing and exceptional transparency from the magnificent Satori drivers.”
Troels Gravesen on the Satori MW19P-8 · read the original
Troels Gravesen on the Satori MW19P-8 · read the original
“The midrange distortion numbers on this speaker are incredible.”
Erin’s Audio Corner on the SB Acoustics SB17CAC35-4 · read the original
Erin’s Audio Corner on the SB Acoustics SB17CAC35-4 · read the original
“I would rate the harmonic distortion of the TW29BNWG-4 as “very low”, one of the lowest I have ever seen in tweeters. Excellent!”
HiFiCompass on the Satori TW29BNWG-4 · read the original
HiFiCompass on the Satori TW29BNWG-4 · read the original
“The MW19TX-4 is a unique speaker that combines low frequency potential, linear frequency response and low harmonic distortion across the entire range.”
HiFiCompass on the Satori MW19TX-4 · read the original
HiFiCompass on the Satori MW19TX-4 · read the original
“What I liked: very low harmonic distortion · almost complete absence of current distortion · very high sound resolution and sound attack speed · excellent workmanship.”
HiFiCompass on the Satori AT60NC-4 AMT · read the original
HiFiCompass on the Satori AT60NC-4 AMT · read the original
“The motor assembly comes across as rather high-end and nicely finished.”
JustDIYIt, translated from French on the Satori MW19P-8 · read the original
JustDIYIt, translated from French on the Satori MW19P-8 · read the original
“Due to the low resonance frequency and very flat frequency response both tweeters sound full with good reproduction of the space and the room atmosphere.”
HiFiCompass on the SB Acoustics SB21SDCN & SB21RDCN · read the original
HiFiCompass on the SB Acoustics SB21SDCN & SB21RDCN · read the original
“What immediately appears from the data sheet is an unusual flat frequency response surpassing any other Be dome on the market.”
Troels Gravesen on the Satori TW29BN · read the original
Troels Gravesen on the Satori TW29BN · read the original
“I can safely classify it as one of the best woofers available on the market today, regardless of the price.”
HiFiCompass on the Satori WO24TX-8 · read the original
HiFiCompass on the Satori WO24TX-8 · read the original
“Looking at all the objective TSP and response data I collected for the new SB Satori MR16TX-8, the performance looks good and provides the desirable timbre of a 6.5″ TPCD midrange to the SB Satori line of TPCD transducers.”
audioXpress / Voice Coil — Vance Dickason on the Satori MR16TX-8 · read the original
audioXpress / Voice Coil — Vance Dickason on the Satori MR16TX-8 · read the original
“Overall, I think this is a really good midwoofer (even better used as a midrange).”
Parts Express TechTalk — ErinH on the Satori MW13P-4 · read the original
Parts Express TechTalk — ErinH on the Satori MW13P-4 · read the original
“Over the last several years, Indonesian-based Sinar Baja Electric in partnership with Danesian Audio of Denmark […] have generated an excellent reputation for the high-end home and car audio drivers that have been marketed under the SB Acoustics name.”
audioXpress / Voice Coil — Vance Dickason on the Satori MD60N-6 dome midrange · read the original
audioXpress / Voice Coil — Vance Dickason on the Satori MD60N-6 dome midrange · read the original
Published reviews — SB Audience
The pro-audio side: compression drivers and cone drivers, measured on the bench.
“From the above measurements, the SB Audience 44CD-K 1″ ferrite compression driver displays excellent performance for a cost-effective moderately high power handling package, and very good ferrite motor compression driver build quality.”
audioXpress / Voice Coil — Vance Dickason on the SB Audience Bianco 44CD-K · read the original
audioXpress / Voice Coil — Vance Dickason on the SB Audience Bianco 44CD-K · read the original
“Playing Daft Punk ‘Get Lucky’ outdoors provided extremely detailed and powerful bass. This is an impressive driver.”
Joseph Crowe on the SB Audience Nero-12MWN400D · read the original
Joseph Crowe on the SB Audience Nero-12MWN400D · read the original
“From the above measurements, the SB Audience 44CDN-PK 1″ neo ring magnet compression driver displays excellent performance for a relatively cost-effective moderately high-power handling package, and very good overall build quality typical of all the SB products with which I have worked.”
audioXpress / Voice Coil — Vance Dickason on the SB Audience Rosso 44CDN-PK · read the original
audioXpress / Voice Coil — Vance Dickason on the SB Audience Rosso 44CDN-PK · read the original
“What is there to say about these measurements? Nothing very juicy — no irregularities, no peaks, the levels are very low.”
JustDIYIt, translated from French on the SB Audience Nero 12MWN700D · read the original
JustDIYIt, translated from French on the SB Audience Nero 12MWN700D · read the original
“Let me jump right to my subjective listening impressions and tell you right off the bat that this driver definitely sounds excellent even for hi-fi home applications.”
Joseph Crowe on the SB Audience Rosso 65CDN-T · read the original
Joseph Crowe on the SB Audience Rosso 65CDN-T · read the original
Builds by other people
Not our kits — designs other builders drew themselves around SB drivers, and what they thought of the result.
“In our view these speakers sound effortless and open, with a very expressive, musical midrange.”
diyaudio.pl — pawel_luk1, translated from Polish on the Full Satori three-way · read the original
diyaudio.pl — pawel_luk1, translated from Polish on the Full Satori three-way · read the original
“Once wired correctly the sound is quite precise, very clean and easy to listen to, and all kinds of material sounds natural.”
PTT Audiophile — CrosstakerYu, translated from Chinese on the Satori bookshelf, MW16P-4 + TW29RN-B · read the original
PTT Audiophile — CrosstakerYu, translated from Chinese on the Satori bookshelf, MW16P-4 + TW29RN-B · read the original
“The bass foundation is the defining trait of these speakers — it is strong, emphatic and goes down low.”
diyaudio.pl — pawel_luk1, translated from Polish on the Full Satori three-way mkII · read the original
diyaudio.pl — pawel_luk1, translated from Polish on the Full Satori three-way mkII · read the original
“These sounded fantastic. Smooth, liquid highs; there was something very special about the sound coming from those Satori tweeters.”
Midwest Audio Club — 4thtry, listener on the Bosi 225, InDIYana 2023 winner · read the original
Midwest Audio Club — 4thtry, listener on the Bosi 225, InDIYana 2023 winner · read the original
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