System One S15B spinorama measurements (CTA-2034)

[Ageve]

Here are measurements of the System One S15B bookshelf speaker.

The MSRP is ~136 USD / pair (1498 SEK), but it's currently on Black Friday sale, for 898 SEK (~81 USD).

System One is a Swedish brand producing inexpensive speakers.

A few quotes from the manufacturer, and the online stores selling them:


The promise that comes with the delivery of your System One product is always good sound, quality and a price that makes our competitors in the same price range really mad.
...
System One S15B is a pair of really affordable bookshelf speakers that destroys nearly everything in it's price range.
...
We have deliberately aimed for quality over quantity in the price range, and that's why the drivers have a quality that's hard to beat compared to our competition.
...
On the back, you will find screw terminals, that ask for a better speaker cable.
...
System One is ready to launch a bomb on the market!

The Swedish brand System One have further developed their popular and bestselling HCS speaker series. With technical solutions developed by listening in Sweden, combined with cost-effective manufacturing in Asia, with fewer intermediaries, they have once again launched a bomb on the market. The new models give you something extraordinary, at a very affordable and modest price.
...
The new budget reference



My measurements are quasi-anechoic, with near-field port+woofer, corrected for baffle edge diffraction, combined with gated 5ms measurements at 1m distance.

When i started measuring, I thought there was something wrong with my setup. I verified it with another speaker, and everything was working fine. I then measured pair matching, and the second speaker turned out to be even worse…

It was pretty obvious that the tweeter polarity was wrong on both speakers. Here's a comparison before/after fixing it:

They were brand new, in an unopened box.

Maybe I should have continued measuring without fixing it, since potential customers most likely won't know what's wrong, or how to fix it.

I decided to do the spin and the other measurements after fixing it though. The "best" measuring speaker was used for the spin.


Here's the result:

Resonances at ~800-1500 Hz and ~6 kHz, the tweeter level is higher than the woofer, and directivity errors.

Early reflections:

Estimated in-room response:

Shallow slope = bright sound.

On-axis response:

Horizontal directivity:

0-90 deg, for comparison with Stereophile measurements:

0-90 deg:

Vertical directivity:

0-90 deg:

Near-field:

The port is tuned at a quite low frequency, and it's actually not doing much. There was no port noise during any of the sweeps since there's almost no air coming out of it.

Woofer response is good up to ~800 Hz, and then it's ruined by a huge cabinet resonance at ~900 Hz*. The woofer resonance at 6-7 kHz is just ~8 dB below the average level, and it's probably what's causing the on-axis dip.

The tweeter has a huge resonance/peak at 1.5 kHz. Other than that, the response is quite even.

* Woofer response at ~900 Hz is the same with the port closed:

Distortion:

The response was very uneven (distortion measurement at 30 cm), and it was hard to get the levels right. Probably a bit too low overall.

The sound before fixing the tweeter polarity was absolutely horrible. Very muddy and "boxy". The first sound I heard from this speaker was a Windows notification on the playback PC, and that was enough to hear that something was off.

After the fix, it was like night and day. Unfortunately it was more like a misty or rainy day than a sunny one.

The bass output is too low, causing it to sound thin and Bright. The ~900 Hz resonance and the tweeter peak are both very audible, causing a shrill and resonant sound on female vocals and instruments.

Are there any positives? Well, the horizontal directivity is ok up to ~4 kHz, but that's about it.


If you wonder how it's possible for the woofer to have such a loud resonance at 6-7 kHz, here's the answer:

That's the crossover. A single cap for the tweeter. The cables from the speaker terminal go straight to the woofer:

So, did System One "release a bomb on the market"?

Well, maybe they did?

 

[Matias]

IMO it is better to wait and save more money and buy something better than this.

 

[Ageve]

Thanks @pierre for adding the speaker to spinorama.org:

Measurements for speaker System One S-15B

www.spinorama.org

I did a new quasi-anechoic measurement with the EQ applied (in my living room with the heating pump running in the background...):

It made a huge difference, and now it actually sounds ok considering how inexpensive it is. It just goes to show how important the on-axis frequency response is, and how accurate the EQ generated by spin data is.

I was so surprised that I started to mod the speaker, just to see if it's possible to fix some of it's issues.

This is really a bodge job, and just a test.

The port was tuned to ~47 Hz - way too low, and it was hardly doing anything. After changing the length to 8 cm instead of 14 cm, it's now tuned to ~60 Hz. The result is a small bass boost at 100-200 Hz, but also way more output below 100 Hz.

I then installed a 12dB/octave crossover I had lying around. There are no resistors on it (tweeter level is still too high) and the crossover frequency is probably too high as well.

This is the result (without EQ):

3-4 dB more output at 60-80 Hz, much smoother frequency response, and no woofer cancellation at 6 kHz.

Near-field:

The huge tweeter peak is gone, and the woofer is no longer out of control > 5 kHz.

The overall woofer response is still uneven, but it’s measured at just 5-8 mm distance, next to the phase plug (to get an accurate quasi-anechoic response). It’s probably only accurate up to ~800 Hz though.

The far-field response is much smoother than before, so I guess the woofer isn’t as bad as it looks.

Before mod:

Distortion:

Before mod:

And finally a new quasi-anechoic measurement with Graphic EQ in Foobar 2000:

 

[Ageve]

A few pictures inside the speaker (before modding):

And the crossover I used.

I'll add some more damping material today, to see if it makes a difference.

 

[Ageve]

These are probably the last measurements of this speaker.

I replaced the damping material and added a horizontal bracing:

Port, before/after:

Much smoother, and the port resonance is reduced by ~4 dB.

Woofer before/after:

The 900-1000 Hz resonance is gone.

Lower distortion:

The new near-field response:

5 cm from woofer:

Horizontal directivity 0-90 deg:

Port with all mods, compared to speaker 2 (out-of-the-box):

Woofer compared to speaker 2 (out-of-the-box):

And finally the quasi-anechoic response with all mods vs speaker 2 (out-of-the-box):

I don't think there's much more that can be done. The tweeter level is probably too high to compensate with the crossover.

With EQ in Foobar 2000, the sound quality difference is huge.

On Anniversary Song by Eva Cassidy, I was surprised to hear the piano playing in front of the speaker. There is a soundstage!

It went from one of the worst speakers I have heard to a nice sounding budget speaker.

Without EQ it's way too bright though, and I wouldn't recommend it to anyone. It extremely bad out of the box.

 

[Maiky76]

Here are measurements of the System One S15B bookshelf speaker.

The MSRP is ~136 USD / pair (1498 SEK), but it's currently on Black Friday sale, for 898 SEK (~81 USD).

System One is a Swedish brand producing inexpensive speakers.


View attachment 409140


A few quotes from the manufacturer, and the online stores selling them:


The promise that comes with the delivery of your System One product is always good sound, quality and a price that makes our competitors in the same price range really mad.
...
System One S15B is a pair of really affordable bookshelf speakers that destroys nearly everything in it's price range.
...
We have deliberately aimed for quality over quantity in the price range, and that's why the drivers have a quality that's hard to beat compared to our competition.
...
On the back, you will find screw terminals, that ask for a better speaker cable.
...
System One is ready to launch a bomb on the market!

The Swedish brand System One have further developed their popular and bestselling HCS speaker series. With technical solutions developed by listening in Sweden, combined with cost-effective manufacturing in Asia, with fewer intermediaries, they have once again launched a bomb on the market. The new models give you something extraordinary, at a very affordable and modest price.
...
The new budget reference



My measurements are quasi-anechoic, with near-field port+woofer, corrected for baffle edge diffraction, combined with gated 5ms measurements at 1m distance.

When i started measuring, I thought there was something wrong with my setup. I verified it with another speaker, and everything was working fine. I then measured pair matching, and the second speaker turned out to be even worse…

View attachment 409141


It was pretty obvious that the tweeter polarity was wrong on both speakers. Here's a comparison before/after fixing it:

View attachment 409142


They were brand new, in an unopened box.

Maybe I should have continued measuring without fixing it, since potential customers most likely won't know what's wrong, or how to fix it.

I decided to do the spin and the other measurements after fixing it though. The "best" measuring speaker was used for the spin.


Here's the result:

Resonances at ~800-1500 Hz and ~6 kHz, the tweeter level is higher than the woofer, and directivity errors.

View attachment 409143


Early reflections:

View attachment 409144


Estimated in-room response:

Shallow slope = bright sound.

View attachment 409145


On-axis response:

View attachment 409146


Horizontal directivity:

View attachment 409147


0-90 deg, for comparison with Stereophile measurements:

View attachment 409148


0-90 deg:
View attachment 409149


Vertical directivity:

View attachment 409150


0-90 deg:
View attachment 409151

View attachment 409152

Near-field:

The port is tuned at a quite low frequency, and it's actually not doing much. There was no port noise during any of the sweeps since there's almost no air coming out of it.

Woofer response is good up to ~800 Hz, and then it's ruined by a huge cabinet resonance at ~900 Hz*. The woofer resonance at 6-7 kHz is just ~8 dB below the average level, and it's probably what's causing the on-axis dip.

The tweeter has a huge resonance/peak at 1.5 kHz. Other than that, the response is quite even.

View attachment 409153


* Woofer response at ~900 Hz is the same with the port closed:

View attachment 409154


Distortion:

The response was very uneven (distortion measurement at 30 cm), and it was hard to get the levels right. Probably a bit too low overall.

View attachment 409155


View attachment 409156



The sound before fixing the tweeter polarity was absolutely horrible. Very muddy and "boxy". The first sound I heard from this speaker was a Windows notification on the playback PC, and that was enough to hear that something was off.

After the fix, it was like night and day. Unfortunately it was more like a misty or rainy day than a sunny one.

The bass output is too low, causing it to sound thin and Bright. The ~900 Hz resonance and the tweeter peak are both very audible, causing a shrill and resonant sound on female vocals and instruments.

Are there any positives? Well, the horizontal directivity is ok up to ~4 kHz, but that's about it.


If you wonder how it's possible for the woofer to have such a loud resonance at 6-7 kHz, here's the answer:

View attachment 409157


That's the crossover. A single cap for the tweeter. The cables from the speaker terminal go straight to the woofer:

View attachment 409158



So, did System One "release a bomb on the market"?

Well, maybe they did?

View attachment 409159

Great effort!


Here is my take on the EQ.
Please report your findings, positive or negative!

For the score rational your journey starts here
Explanation for the sub score
The following EQs are “anechoic” EQs to get the speaker right before room integration.
If you able to implement these EQs you must add EQ at LF for room integration, that is usually not optional… see hints there.


The raw data with corrected ER and PIR:

Score no EQ: 0.9
With Sub: 4.3


Spinorama with no EQ:

• Poor

EQ design:

I have generated two EQs. The APO config files are attached.

• The first one, labelled, LW is targeted at making the LW flat
• The second, labelled Score, starts with the first one and adds the score as an optimization variable.
• The EQs are designed in the context of regular stereo use i.e. domestic environment, no warranty is provided for a near field use in a studio environment although the LW might be better suited for this purpose.
• Not sure how the fine EQs would translate with a different unit... but the outcome is pretty good on paper!

Score EQ LW: 5.1
with sub: 7.7

Score EQ Score: 5.3
with sub: 7.8

System One S15B APO EQ LW 96000Hz
December102024-133637

Preamp: -3.00 dB

Filter 1: HPQ PK Fc 64.7 Hz Gain 0.00 dB Q 1.34
Filter 2: ON PK Fc 144.6 Hz Gain -1.86 dB Q 2.09
Filter 3: ON PK Fc 665.2 Hz Gain -2.45 dB Q 4.73
Filter 4: ON PK Fc 989.8 Hz Gain -3.72 dB Q 4.56
Filter 5: ON PK Fc 1621.5 Hz Gain -5.58 dB Q 1.70
Filter 6: ON PK Fc 6015.0 Hz Gain 3.26 dB Q 5.00
Filter 7: ON PK Fc 11731.6 Hz Gain -4.98 dB Q 0.32

System One S15B APO EQ Score 96000Hz
December102024-133638

Preamp: -2.80 dB

Filter 1: ON HPQ Fc 64.0 Hz Gain 0.00 dB Q 1.31
Filter 2: ON PK Fc 143.4 Hz Gain -1.90 dB Q 2.01
Filter 3: ON PK Fc 653.9 Hz Gain -2.18 dB Q 4.53
Filter 4: ON PK Fc 979.5 Hz Gain -4.08 dB Q 3.82
Filter 5: ON PK Fc 1583.5 Hz Gain -5.23 dB Q 1.69
Filter 6: ON PK Fc 6035.8 Hz Gain 2.46 dB Q 4.97
Filter 7: ON PK Fc 12252.3 Hz Gain -5.82 dB Q 0.25

Spinorama EQ LW

Spinorama EQ Score

Zoom PIR-LW-ON

Regression - Tonal

Radar no EQ vs EQ score
Large improvements?