Has anyone heard System Audio Mantra Speakers?

Interesting thread and I've had my SA Mantra 50 since 2013 and only after moving to a house with 2-storey ceiling in 2017, did I have the need for the B&W ASW610XP  subwoofer.  This will probably be my last speaker in series of great speakers starting with B&W DM7 back in 1979; DCM Time Windows in 1981; ProAc Tablette/Velodyne in 1997 and Meadowlark Shearwaters in 2005.

Nice.  I think that the Explorer Masters were the top of the line for System Audio at the time.

I realize this thread is a bit old. I own SA Explorer Masters. They are about  15 years old. They still sound great. They do everything great. Only took a $40k speaker to replace them. My son already has dibs on them.

@james37  Nothing like variety James. That's why I have so many different Components/Speakers. Both those should be a completely different presentation to the SA's. Personally don't mind Spendors but not a fan of Harbeth's that I've heard.

Enjoy.

Sounds Good, initforthemusic.  I have never heard the Mantra 70s.

A little while ago, my local dealer had a used pair of Aura 60s; they sold them pretty quick. I think that the Aura's had a little nicer crossover than the the Mantra's; they looked the same.

Funny thing, I am now considering something more 'old school' to alternate with the Mantra 50s.  Probably a pair of Spendors or Harbeths.
I listened to the Spendor Classic 2/3 and SP200 (now the Classic 200).  The Classic 2/3s were very nice, the SP200s were spectacular (but way out of my price range, not to mention I would probably need a bigger room and more power).  

@james37  While in our 2nd Lockdown in Melbourne in August I managed to purchase the last pair of SA Mantra 70's at an incredible bargain. You couldn't buy the components for the price I paid!

After around 100 hours these sound quite nice. Different to the Ranger Masters with an Airier presentation, but not the lightning fast presentation of the RM's.

Just recently purchased the SA Pandion 30's at a runout price in a beautiful high gloss Walnut finish. I've now put around 150 hours on these. They are just sublime and up there with the best I've heard at any price. All the System Audio Speakers I've heard while different share incredible Musicality. The designer Olie Witthoft is one of the few who really gets it!

This is a follow-up to my earlier post about the System Audio Mantra 50s.

Not really much to change my opinion on them. 

They are open, articulate, and musical.  With a tight, punchy bass.

They work well with just about all types of music; but with their combination of speed and dynamics they come off best with high-energy jazz/ rock/fusion. 

Hey initforthemusic220, I remember now that I listened to a pair of Rangers one time and liking them.  Also, my local dealer has had a pair of Pandion 30s and a pair of Pandion 5s but I don’t think they ever had the Pandion 50s.  I recently read a very favorable English-language review of the Pandion 30 (the vast majority of System Audio speaker reviews out there are not in English).

@james37  I recently posted about the SA Ranger Masters. They are a pretty big jump up from the Mantra 50's. Amazing Speakers for the $$$. Makes me wonder how good the SA Pandion 50's are?

I recently bought a pair of System Audio Mantra 50s. I think that mine may still breaking in, but I will offer some observations.

I do not have a wide experience with different equipment (I do not change mine very often). My previous speakers (which I still have) are B&W Matrix 802 S3s. I also owned Acoustat 2+2s for years. I do visit hi-fi dealers every now and then for a listen.

The most distinctive characteristic of the Mantra 50s is that they are fast speakers. They have a speed and delicacy which brings to mind planar speakers.

Their tall slender build mimics a vertical a line source to some extent. Imaging is very good. This type of build should also reduce floor and ceiling interactions.

I would say that they are pretty neutral: neither forward nor laid back; maybe slightly warm. They seem to more forgiving of less than perfect source material than the other speakers I have owned.

As far as bass, mine measure pretty flat to about 40Hz in my relatively small 11’x13’ room. The bass may be a little lacking in weight and scale compared to my B&Ws. It does seem to have plenty of punch, though. I also bought a subwoofer (JL Audio) to supplement the bass; I cross it over at about 45Hz.

They are said to be not very picky about amps. They seem to work fine with my Audio Research 100.2 solid-state amp.

I (and my fiancée) find the speakers very attractive.

As mentioned in other posts, there are only a handful of System Audio dealers in the USA (I bought mine at Wilson Audio in Metairie, LA). I think that they are much better known in Europe (there are a good many listings of used, mostly older SA speakers for sale in Europe on the various websites; only occasional USA listings).

I think that the System Audio Mantra series speakers have recently been discontinued. It looks like they will be succeeded by the Legend series. There are also the less expensive Saxo series and the more expensive Pandion series.

Honestly when you are looking at speakers the size of 5 and 10 you are not going to get deep bass. Generally speaking smaller speakers don't have low bass.

For the size and money of the 50 you can find something with more bass. Will it be as good or better is a question only you can answer.

If you go with a bookself I would not hesitate going with system audio. They do compare well with bigger and higher priced names. If I was getting bigger speakers I would ask my self if I need more bass in a speaker that cost that much.
IMO.

Thanks for all the help. Darkstar1, were your comments about the problems with the bass exclusive to the Mantra 10's or across the entire line? I was wondering if the Mantra 50's would provide enough bass. While not a bass heavy listener, I would like to have a full sound consistent with the recordings. I guess one could always supplement the speakers with a subwoofer?

I live in New Orleans and have owned their entry level SA505 (discounted). I currently own the Mantra 10s which are the lowest in own Mantra line (a large bookself)

Good Qualities: Overall very balanced speaker. Very smooth a tad bit of warmth and "bloom". Still not far away from natural. Very natural. Excels at jazz, small to medium scale acoustic music and piano. Overall musical speaker. Most things sound good.

Weakness: Bass. The bass these speakers do produce is enjoyable and realistic but they don't go low. If you a bass head these are not for you. More about resolution paired with musicality.

The inability to do low bass is not a killer but on some tracks of bass heavy music the bass does not stack up well. but its the minority of songs in my collect. The speakers do intergrade the bass they do have well with most music.

Obvious with out the bass you lose impact on recordings and maybe classical and large scales work are not what the could be with more bass.

They other weakness is that some electronic music or heavy distortion or filters can sound bad. Its really a crap shoot because it handles some music with that well and other it just does not do well. It might actually just be a the recording quality as opposed to the speaker.

Overall I am very happy and have thought about moving up the line. While not huge on bass if I start looking at 5-6k I want it.

I have not heard the 50s but just heard there Ranger Series 6k paired with expensive Audio Research tube amplification. I really like the speakers. I need to hear more and personnel don't thing Audio Research is a good performance/cost ratio. I would have liked to hear them with something like Ayre electronics or something more resolving with the Ranges to see how they do. Also I would like to turn it up more to see if I would be satisfied with the bass output.

Heard System Audio with NAD, Audio Research and Exposure.

I run mine with a VPI Scout and Dynavector 10X5. Very happy.

I heard several models at Wilson Audio in Metarie, LA and was very favorably impressed. I heard the small floorstanders with a Rogue Cronus Magnum and thought it was really good sound. I would compare them to Dynaudio.