The System Audio Legend 40.2 Silverback is customisable to taste
Contents
System Audio provides different profiles to program the speaker’s digital signal processor. These are what System Audio calls ‘RAM Tweaks’ and you can download them from System Audio’s website. This option is separate from Room EQ, which adjusts the frequency profile to the acoustics of your living room.
For this review, we mainly listened with “RT250 – More analytical sound”. This is a personal preference. After upgrading with a USB stick, the room correction measurement was performed again.
The differences are subtle between the different ‘tweaks’. System Audio is holding back in tweaking the curves and that is to be commended. The RT250 curve gives just a bit more punch and clarity, while the standard RT200x has a bit more flow, but sounds a bit more reserved especially in the start and end of notes. The difference is clearly audible with Hania Rani’s “Buka” from the “Live from Studio S2” EP.
Yet another advantage of active speakers with a digital signal processor before the amplifier: the characteristic can be adjusted.
Without noticeable effort
Despite their friendly-sounding character, these System Audio speakers are powerhouses. The amplifiers inside digest the most complex signals without any effort.
The Huelgas ensemble shows that the control results in a clean reproduction with calmness in the sound, but not with a completely silent background. All the details and nuances in the voices are nevertheless easily audible.
In the Academy of St Martins in the Fields track, the basses and celli are prominent, the solid bass foundation of the 40.2 speakers is evident here. The bass is not very tight, but it does have definition. What stands out is that the mid and highs in the violins are silky smooth. It is somewhat diffuse in focus in the stereo image, while at the same time the solo violin and viola sound distinct and transparent. The representation of the piece is not unpleasant, but the music also does not get that tidal movement that transports you into a higher realm. If anything, it sounds a little sweet, for lack of a better word to describe what is heard, but is certainly not fluffy or muffled.
Scale is not a problem for the System Audio Legend 40.2 Silverback either. The Budapest Festival Orchestra in Mahler 3 plays big and grand. Little ambience from the hall is heard, the focus is on the orchestra, but it is striking how easily the quiet passages can be heard without having to turn the volume knob wide open. It gives the impression that the dynamics are squeezed together a bit, making the very quiet passages sound relatively louder.
Thank you for your time, I really appreciate it. I was under the impression that the reduced sound quality was due to these being active speakers with built-in power supplies not reacting well with the Audes power conditioner. I now understand there is no connection between the two in general but only for the specific psu in the Silverback (unless it has to do with the Primare?)
Hoi Martijn,
Bedankt voor je review, heel duidelijk. Wat betreft jouw opmerking hieronder, dit review is begrijp ik, toch MET de Audes gedaan. Terwijl zonder de 40.2 dus beter klinkt ? Waar en wat hoor je (niet?) precies en geldt dit ook voor andere actives in jouw ervaring (beter zonder conditioner)?
Quote (Audes ST-900 review)
June 3, 2024 at 6:09 pm #202362 REPLY
Martijn (redacteur)
Participant
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“Niet alle apparaten met een switch mode power supply aan boord gaan goed. De System Audio Legend 40A actieve speakers, die ik net gereviewed heb, gaan bijvoorbeeld niet goed samen met de Audes.”
As stated on the second page of the review, the Audes was not used with these speakers.
Thanks, but my curiosity and question really is about what you heard with and without the power conditioner in combination with actives and if this can be generalised if known yet?
You cannot generalise if a hifi component will respond well, so it is always trial and error.
When I review, I always compare with and without.
The Primare amplifier responded well.
I did not make notes about how it sounded, but if my memory serves me correctly the overall character of the sound became unpleasant. Like the sounds did get hard edges. It was just not pleasant to listen to.