Transcript
SPEAKERS1:400-f500
SYSTEMAUDIO1130 en T
he relativelysmall Danish speaker specialist,System Audio, is a well-established operation which was founded in 1984. It made one previous appearance in Hi-Fi Choice when British cable specialistThe Chord Company brought in the company'stiny 905, which quickly gained a Recommended flag in HFC 148, although unfortunately the distribution arrangements eventually came to an end. Nowa rather larger seleetion of SystemAudio speakersis becoming available in the UK,courtesy of speaker stand specialistAtacama Audio. And they're not all standmounts either. The 1130, the subjeet of this review,is just one of five floorstanders in the line-up, which includes some of the most
Stereo images are exceptionally well formed, and the sound is refreshingly free from unpleasant
they'1Inever get knocked over, l guess it's fair enough. A slim front view might be what the public wants, but, unless you mount a bass driver in a side panel, it does restrietthe size of the main drivers.The 1130's minimalist front view provides room for two main drivers with just 70mm cones in 11Omm cutdown frames, and these operate d'Appolito-style above and below the 19mm tweeter. Twin terminals permit bi-wiring or bi-amping, while twin ports give those little main drivers an extra helping hand in the bass. Despite its compact dimensions, the in-room, far-field trace shows the 1130 should give optimum results when placed clear of room boundaries. The frequency balance is very good overall, if slightly uneven, and characterised by a rather pronounced presence suckout centred on 2kHz.
elegantly slim examplesthis reviewer has ever seen. The 1130 is the slimmest, smallest and leastexpensive of the floorstanders,with a box that's just 13cm wide - only fractionally wider than a CD jewel case.That faet alone will, l suspeet,count far more with buyersthan the observation that f499 is a pretty substantial price tag for a vinyl-clad box. It is at least a decent quality woodprint, and the detailing is nicely handled too, with a proper plinth to improve the stability.We haven't quoted the weight, becausethe review sampies arrivedwith a substantialamount
SOVND
of SoundBytesmass-Ioading alreadyfitted in the separate lower chamber intended for such a purpose. Sincethis is strongly recommended in the manufacturer's
o The System Audio box is just 13mm
literature,and certainly ensures
wide: about the size of a CD jewel case!
B:
oth
System
Audio's
lightweight
II cm bassjmid drivers work into
their own reflex-Ioaded and;both
are,precisely
relativelynarrow
ports give a high-
(1-2 per cent) 2nd-order
impedance
minim"m
load trace.
The latter shows
seen
on the a 35
degree shift in phase angle through
the
impedance
a 100-300Hz
emphasis.
the 11305
The mid and
2
RELATIVELOUDNESS
€JMAXIMUM LOUDNESS
region (see above) but there is a 'sting'
fri~ AUDIBLE DISTORTION
at 16kHz that may or may not be a
of 3.7 Ohms
doddle to drive, despite suggestions
source of irritation. Certainly, if this sort of peak were at 10kHz and; not 16kHzthen the 1130would sound obvi-
to the contrary.
ously brighter. The 88.6dB sensitivity is
Specification
dose enough to System Audio' s 89dB
.
Sensitivity
specification while peaks of 105dBA
.
Average Impedance
Ohms..Other
minima
the 1130 is not a
The bass, meanwhile, the most extended should
indeed
though not
of the group,
sound
appropri-
shouldbe possible.
Q
m!Im8 ~
00000)
00000)
~
00000) 1:499.95 )
~ Super-slim, super-smooth,
and a very
involving experience, but not ideal if you like your bass deep and loud.
. THREEYEARGUARANTEE i:8:!Atacama Audio,Winston Avenue, (rolt, Leicester LE9 3GQ Ii: (01455) 283251
between
an
IIID
abilities within each group.
to 5.4
(250Hz) suggest
their Prodigy loud, but for most normal purposes it deserveswarm PMe Recommendation.
so we split our test
through the crossover
particularly
back in the UK, not just because the company makes some finesounding loudspeakers, but also because they offer a real alternative to the mainstream in style and presentation. The 1130 is not the ideal solution for those who like
into two or more price
1 EASEOFDRIVE
lower treble look very well integrated,
region where
also drops
technical
It'sgood to see System Audio
in our test and
bands. This bargraph data provides instant visual indication of relative
distortion.l'd
dose to rear walls to avoid aggravating
null and
candidates
thanks to its dominant
also advise against mounting
driver
product
the most expensive, ately 'colourful'
Q resonance at 61Hz which matches
the 3.4kHz crossover
here will be differences
the cheapest
1130is not as easy to drive as it looks.
the equally
sharp
T
o Lowimpedance minimamean the
CONCLUSION
~
QUALITY
Although the 1130 is quite obviously no bass excavator,it has very real strengths elsewhere enough to pick up a 'best-of-thedav' ranking from the listening panel. The bass may lack the weight and loudness capability of
endosure aligned. The
m
'boxiness'.
larger rivals,and does show a slight tendency to thump and 'hang on', but it makes up for these limitations with decent drive and timing, and excellent bassthrough-mid coherence. Stereo images are exceptionally well formed and focused, and the sound is refreshingly free from unpleasant 'boxiness'. It's very even-handed and polite - perhaps a little too polite at times, as the presence band is slightly pinched and hooded. In other respects the midband is impressively free from colorations, while the top end is clean and well judged, if a little detached.
BASS EXTENSION
~
'~1lI!IMCE
ED
PMi . BassExlension(-6dB) November1998
.
~ :~ ",
