|
Review 2 of 2
Price Paid:
$475.00
from Private owner Summary:
This review is actually for the Swans Diva 5.1, which I’ve owned for a year now.
I tend to keep my gear for quite a while, so as not to let this hobby get out of hand. On my journey to find speakers I could be at home with for years, I looked at a handful of speakers that all seemed worthy of consideration. Those included Monitor Audio Silver (briefly), Acoustic Energy Aegis Three, JM Labs Chorus 715, AAD C-Series, and the Swans Diva (5.1 or 6.1). I was more than a little worried about making my purchase (somewhat) blind, as I’d only heard the MA silver (that’s why they went), and the JM Labs (they were very musical to me), but when you’re on a budget, you do a lot of research, and cross your fingers. Well, the Diva 5.1’s came up for sale by a private owner for a very favorable price, and in excellent condition. I’d read many wonderful things about them, so I took the dive.
Since we all know that the support gear is important, I’ll list it know:
Thorens TD290 Mk. II (Analogue)
Sony DVP-NS755V (Digital [CD, SACD, DVD])
Hi-Def cable service
NAD T751 (Pre/Pro/Amp)
Custom Built Vampire Wire CCS Speaker and IC Cable
Custom Built Beldon Coax and Component Video cable
Sony KP51WS510 51” Hi-Def Widescreen monitor
During the following two weeks, I burned them in with a combination of music, movies, and the Stereophile Test Disc (no.3). The first amp I drove the Divas with was the Marantz SR-5200. With this amp, the Divas sounded overall very good, but I didn’t care for the top end, but I’d heard the Marantz could be aggressive up top. Not bad, but, I found it fatiguing after a while. The NAD came up in a similar fashion to the Divas and I snatched IT up as well. WOW! What a difference. The NAD’s slight warmness was a wonderful match with the 5.1’s. Hilary Hahn’s violin (SACD) was detailed (as it was before), but the sound with the NAD was very organic and three-dimensional. Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring was dark, powerful, and had a wonderful pace. Top to bottom integration was smooth and the bottom end is articulate and well defined. The etchiness of the Marantz is now gone, and the Divas are free to sing their song. Remember, the system is only as good as it’s weakest link.
On movies, the Divas make excellent use of all the dynamic headroom from the NAD. I have since picked up a C3 center channel, and a set of R3’s for the rear.
WOW! These will be a pleasure to live with. I’m sure the JM Labs, and the AE Aegis are every bit as good, and still worthy of consideration, but I feel I’ve made a very good decision with the DIVAS. Strengths:
Wide, deep, and three dimensional sound stage.
Handles the dynamic headroom of the NAD without strain, and with a sense of naturalness.
The aluminum/magnesium/ceramic 6" drivers are very fast and articulate. There are two of them. One for mids (in a sealed enclosure), and one for bass (in the larger, ported, bottom chamber) Weaknesses:
Lacking in everything below 30hz. Nothing JM Labs SW27A wasn't able to solve in it's own wonderful way. Similar Products Used:
See above
| 
5 of 5
4 of 5
