System Audio (SA) is a company that has
been manufacturing loudspeakers for a few decades. The company was founded in
1984 by a musician Ole Witth0ft, who is currently SA’s leader of product
research and development. As System Audio points out on its website, Ole, as a
musician, knew what live music should sound like and after listening to a
number of products available, took it into his own hands to build his own
loudspeakers - SA being the direct result. SA is a Scandinavian loudspeaker
company; based out of Roskilde, Denmark, which it announces on the cover of its
product line brochure - simply stating, “cool scandinavian loudspeakers”.
Though Scandinavian, SA is not exclusive to the Scandinavian market, in fact;
it distributes its products virtually worldwide, including places such as
Singapore, the Ukraine, Greece, Europe, the United States and yes, even to us,
up here in Canada. Despite its widespread distribution, I hadn’t made
acquaintance with SA until this past September, when I was fortunate to come
across its products at the Toronto Audio Video and Entertainment Show (TAVES).
At TAVES, Kimbercan, the Canadian distributor for SA, featured a number of SA
products and demonstrated their sonic prowess and aesthetic appeal. Don Rhule
at Kimbercan was very accommodating in supplying us with a pair of SA Aura 1
bookshelf speakers for this review. In addition, Kimbercan graciously provided
some Kimber Kable products (PBJ and Hero RCA interconnects, as well as 8PR and
8TC speaker cables) to accompany the Aura 1’s on their maiden voyage in my
listening room.
System
Audio Aura 1 Bookshelf Loudspeaker
SA’s philosophy is one of simplicity and
the use of ‘meaningful ideas that work in the real world’. What this means is
that over time SA has built up a set of ideas, which it has found to work well
in creating loudspeakers. This set of simple, yet proven ideas is what SA uses
to create its loudspeakers, in all its design varieties, something the company
refers to as “system design”. Within this system design philosophy, SA holds
that there are three essential qualities of a successful loudspeaker -
musicality, integration and quality.
To SA, musicality manifests itself in
sound, which the company feels is the most essential thing in a loudspeaker.
High quality sound, to SA, is connected with speed. To foster speed, the
membranes in SA drivers are extremely light and designed for fast and accurate
response. Smaller rather than larger diaphragms are the choice, mated to motor
structures that allow relatively greater pistonic motion - moving more air. SA
also uses natural materials for the driver membranes such as paper, wood
fibers, or textile. This approach, is what SA feels brings greater control,
precision and dynamics and the best possible sound.
By integration, SA implies the ability of a
loudspeaker to “function in the real world”. Choosing smaller drivers results
in corresponding gains in dispersion and therefore, greater flexibility with
room placement. All SA loudspeakers are acoustically optimized for in-room use,
including near walls. In terms of styling, SA offers a number of finishes
combined with simple stylistic lines, allowing them to easily integrate with
living space decor.
The third essential SA loudspeaker quality
is just that...“quality”. To ensure quality, SA involves its employees in the
end-to-end production process, from assembly to testing and packaging. Each
loudspeaker is subjected to no less than 14 quality tests and is backed by a
two year manufacturer warranty but it doesn’t stop there, SA claims its
loudspeakers are actually built to meet their technical specifications for
12-15 years.
There
are a total of seven different series in the SA loudspeaker line-up, namely:
Reference, Mantra, Aura, Saxo, XP, On-wall and the Aktive Subwoofer series
Design Features
There are a total of seven different series
in the SA loudspeaker line-up, namely: Reference, Mantra, Aura, Saxo, XP,
On-wall and the Aktive Subwoofer series. The Aura 1 is the smallest member in
the SA Aura series and one of their most recent additions. Speaking about
small, the Aura 1 is just 27.5 cm high, 13.5 cm wide and 21.9 cm deep; and is
one of the smallest SA speakers ever. Though small in size, this little critter
weighs in at a very respectable 4.5 kg, which says something about its
construction. In fact, the Aura 1 is constructed of 18 mm MDF and has an
integrated cabinet base that is 25 mm or just about 1 inch thick. This rather
unique base controls vibration, while serving to house twin front bass ports
and a rear set of shrouded gold-plated binding posts. On the bottom are four
tiny but effective dampening feet - no blue-tack required here.
The
Aura 1 is a two-way bass-reflex design with a stated frequency range of 52 -
35,000 Hz (+/- 3 dB), 8 ohm nominal impendence and 80 watt power handling
The Aura 1 is a two-way bass-reflex design
with a stated frequency range of 52 - 35,000 Hz (+/- 3 dB), 8 ohm nominal
impendence and 80 watt power handling. The tweeter used is a 1 inch textile
soft dome matched to a 4.5 inch long-throw mid/bass driver. Don’t be deceived
by its size, the Aura 1 with its low sensitivity of 84 dB/1w/1m, calls for an
amplifier with some guts - a minimum of 50 watts is recommended.
SA caters to decor by providing the Aura 1
in three finishes: black ash, ebony and white satin. I saw the ebony finish at
TAVES and found it quite striking - the review set came in white satin, making
a fresh, clean and contemporary statement. At least a couple visitors to my
home complemented its looks. I was impressed by the impeccable build and finish
quality. The little face of the Aura 1 was quite endearing, having just enough
space for the bantam woofer and soft dome tweeter with its waveguide. Not that
it was delicate looking but cute, just the same.
