Price Paid:  $0.00 from nyk sound

Summary:
Bought a pair around last Chrismas. At first listening I thought ' crap', but they needed a few days to break in and now I am really satisfied.
Detailed, open, good bass. I'm sure these can compete to a major bunch of higher priced models and even blow away some of them.
For a few years my set-up was with a pair of Audiostatics Es-100 in front, B&W center and Norh at the back.
The ideal was to use my Denon avc-11sr solely as a 7.1 system with the Swans and the audiostatics with a pair of Shanlings monoblocks and Shanling tube-sacd.
However hearing the Swans on the Shanling system makes me thinking of selling the audiostatics all the way.
Normally nothing can compete in clarity and open sound to the audiostatics, but they need space.
These swans are the best buy to date.
Previous used : Pioneers, JBL L40, Audiostatic ES-100, Norh 6.0

Strengths:
Overall bass, open, clear, solid made.

Weaknesses:
Finish is not full wood

Dseanm

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
3 Months to 1 year

Visitors rate this review
4.33 of 5, 3.00 votes

Price Paid:  $1749.00 from Online

Summary:
The review is for Swan Diva 6.1 Full range, tower speakers. Colombo-Sri Lanka, California-USA.
Excellent performer for the price paid, I actually paid a little over 2K including tax when they first came out. Prices dropped Bummer! But I have no regrets, they are worth every penny. I have a owned many speaker brands I dont wanna mention, many 6 times the price of the Diva 6.1's and with very minor differences, even the most crucial listener would be able to live with. Compared to those prices Vs the sound quality Swan Diva 6.1's really shine. There is a catch the 5.1 speaker system is not aligned. If the 5.1 is set up, you hear the towers outstand all the other speakers. I only used it for Audio purpose and I am very happy with them. Unlike most expensive audiophile speakers they dont consume power. 120 watts per Channel is good 200 watts per channel is plenty. They are 8 Ohms speakers.
The Swans are very sensitive to components they show the difference very fast and clear. If you run a system with good Components and cables no worries. The First thing you will notice in these speakers are the "FIDELITY" all other speakers will sound like they are under a Blanket. Very natural sound, extremely detailed, revealing, 3D imaging is breath taking, Mids are very emotional, strings and vocals are as real as its ever gonna get (approved by over 20 listners), superb low end bass, upper bass can be better, but its perfect for me. I am not a bass head. It has a very strong mids, apart from the bass you can actually feel the tingle from the mids. It could be be a 3D effect but if you close your eyes, strings and vocals get right in your face at exact stage points. You can feel the space between the main singer and the co-singers. There is an absorbsion like feeling between notes, I know its mainly because of my system but none of my other speakers gave me this experience so its obvious the speakers play an important roll. I heard so much detail in vastness in vocals and the low end bass that I never thought existed. For every system it is very important you have good set of components, cables, good room to match the accoustics and placement. Before investing money learn what real Audiophiling is all about, some people abuse a good hobby. Everyone have thier own taste in sound. I prefer warm neutral sound. When you compare this speaker its not the money factor you should be concerned about if there is a better speaker at the price. I have tried Ribbons, eletrostats, large heavy speakers top name brands, not that they were bad but when I heard the Swan's I felt like why did I not find them earlier, overall value is much better on these. There may be better speakers but to my system and settings the Swan Diva 6.1's are a great set of speakers.

Strengths:
Highs are very neutral
Mids are very reavealing
Good upper bass
Great low end bass
Overall sound stage, high definition 3D imaging, fast accurate and extremely detailed.
Beautiful appearance, piano gloss finish with gold trim, very rich looking.

Weaknesses:
None.
I have heard better speakers but price is not at a reachable level. Plus those speaker need very powerful amps.
For a Decent sound in your living room I highly recommend the Swan Diva 6.1's.

Similar Products Used:
B&W
Energy
PSB
Sonus Faber
JM labs
Wilson
Martin Logan
Dahlquist
Alon
Spica
Carver ALS IV MKII
Meadow lark
Celeston

ssabripo

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
Less than 1 month

Visitors rate this review
3.50 of 5, 12.00 votes

Price Paid:  $899.00 from www.theaudioinsider.

Summary:
I am just completely blown away by these speakers (they arrived yesterday)... **Packaging** As soon as I got home, I knew this thing was up to a good start, because the 3 boxes arrived on top of a wooden Palette, each box made of really thick carton, and the whole thing wrapped in plastic so it doesn't get wet, etc.... I started to open the center channel box (which was huge for the size of the center channel iitself) and removed all the foam bricks and corners just to realize there was another box inside! :) I took the inner box out, and again, there was plenty of foam bricks and corners, and the foam molds holding the thing in place! I pulled speaker out (it was HEAVY!) but it was wrapped in an anti-scratching white fiber bag. There were two small gloves made of thin material on the top as well, so I used them to handle the speakers and remove the bag. When I pulled it out, my jaw dropped at the finish of this thing....I did the same thing with the mains, which were much bigger, and needless to say, the packaging on them was even more impressive than the center...it took me about 20 min to take each freaggin thing out! **Visuals, Finishing** If you are in the market for a $5000 speaker look at sub$1000 prices, this is the speaker for you! When I took these speakers out, the first thing I stared at was the Lacquer finish (truly it was Grand Piano quality) and the details. The floor studs where heafty, the connectors in the back where [B]HuGE[/B] and solid...they are bi-wire capable and they have a solid plastic cover so that they don't get dinged or anything. I thought I had pretty thick IXOS speaker wires, but when you connect them to these speakers, they look tiny. Once the speakers were setup around my TV, they are just a BEAUTY to look at....truly, I looked at them for about 10 min before I even turned them on, because they were such an impressive and fine looking piece of furniture.... During the last few months, I was able to see several speakers, some at much higher price as well....I saw the B&W 603s, 704s, Nautilus 804s, as well as auditioning the Rockets 750 (in South miami....Thanks Enrique!), the Energy veritas 2.4, and some Paradigm Studios.....In true honesty, I can sit here and tell you that they don't come Close to the finish and look of these Swans! The Nautilus was the only one that I was equally or more impressed by than the swan 6.1s. **Musical Sound** These speakers need about 100 hours to break in, so this is not an accurate assesment, but if they are going to get better with time, I cannot fathom how much better they can sound!!! I started by playing a mozart CD, a Jazz CD, then some MP3s from my iPod, followed by Norah Jones SACD, Pink Floyd, and then my AIXrecords' DVD audio sampler (all of these thru my Denon 3910 player, except the iPod). The musical accuracy was [B]AMAZING![/B]....these speakers produced sounds I have not heard on my CD's. I still have my Infinity IL10's as my surrounds, and they are overshadowed big time by the mains...they are just stunning and so clear. The 3 things that surprised me the most are: very tight yet musically deep bass, crispy highs (perhaps too much for some, but I love them), and just astounding depth and acoustic resonance in the mids and voices. I will let them run for a couple of weeks, before giving my full review, but they are off to a blazing Start! **HomeTheater Sound** I started by testing the levels using THX tests on the incredibles....the center channel had a louder level, but I left it like that for now. I then played LOTR-ROTK battle scene, Shark Tale 2 chasing scene, and Fifth Element Ultimate Edition last fighting scene....one word: WOW! he voices coming off that center channel were life-like, with depth and strenght! They had like a 3D spacial effect on them...wierd to explain....just like in the theaters! The mains did a Superb job in doing the effects and the sounds when needed...but the Center channel here was the one who stole the show. **CONCLUSION** With the exception of B&W 704s, which were very close in sound quality, and the Nautilus 804s which I think did sound a little better, there is no speaker out there that has the combination of Sound, finish, and quality that the Swan 6.1s have, specially at this price range. My colleague and neighbor has a set of B&W 603 S3 paired with a Denon 4803 Rx, and he came over to the house to check them out last nite... he was amazed at them as well, and told me that although it hurts to admit it, these bad boys are the better speakers musically (he didn't stay for the HT tests I did). To all of you considering upgrading your mains (or your center channel) to something $2000 or less, I will tell you to give the Swan Diva 6.1s a test and I will guarantee you that it will be the speaker you end up choosing, specially when you realize they sound better, and are cheaper than a lot of speakers with much higher prices.

Strengths:
Immaculate Finish Audiophile sound Heavy, Robust Packaging PRICE!!!

Weaknesses:
Why did I not find these before!

Similar Products Used:
B&W 703, 603 S3 Axiom M80ti Rockets 750 Energy Veritas 2.4