The third in the trio is a mighty 32 cm (16.7 in.) woofer mounted into the sidewall. Due to a black fabric covering there’s not much of it to be seen. It features a sandwich cone made of paper that is both lightweight and rigid. The necessary driving force is provided by a powerful neodymium magnet system the core quality of which, as stated by Burmester’s CTO Stefan Groessler, is a long, linear stroke. When this chassis is set in motion, it needs a solid environment. Burmester has therefore doubled the sidewall thickness, a metal ring gives additional stability. In addition, there are computer-designed enclosure bracings to suppress unwanted resonances. The frequency ranges of the chassis are split up by second order filters.

Diligence wherever you look

On the back of the B38 we have a bi-wiring terminal. In its delivery condition the screw clamps are fitted with the best jumpers we’ve ever held in our hands. No wonder; after all they were taken from Burmester’s top model BC350. The internal wiring shows no run-of-the-mill hardware, either; in the B38 the terminal, crossover and drivers are all connected by high-quality, oxygen-free copper leads. A centre switch on the terminal may be used for a wideband low-cut between 37 and 150 hertz. What is it good for? If the room leads to bass response problems, these can be counteracted by a level reduction. Moreover, the large bass reflex port can be closed with a foam plug. So this makes four setting options altogether to adjust the bass response to the room or your individual taste.

Upon arrival at the listening studio, the B38s were set up with the woofers sort of »looking« at each other. The speaker placement is, of course, facilitated by the plane base on which they can be hauled around effortlessly. Already with minimum angling in, a wonderful and deep stage image appeared in our listening room. The B38 demands a good amplifier, and with the Pass INT-60 a suitable partner was on hand. Also with respect to the source quality, mediocrity is a no-go because transducers of such a high grade will reveal any weakness lickety-split and mercilessly. To make sure that nothing will go wrong here requires the help and advice from competent specialist dealers. Which is why you can’t buy Burmester on every corner, but only from authorised experts.