cgolf
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Post by cgolf on Apr 24, 2010 10:04:26 GMT -5
Well I finally had a chance to sort of listen to these speakers last night. In all fairness, my right ear is stopped up so I'm not hearing 100% at this time!! ;D Also, I'm hooking up lots of new equipment and haven't finished tweeking everything yet. I have new UPA-1s (from a XPA-2) and an Onkyo SR876 (from an Onkyo RC180). I've level set the speakers & distances, etc. but haven't run Audyssey yet. I'll do that later and compare settings. I went from 3 Emotiva 6.3s for my LCR and now have Swans as my LR and the 6.3 for a center. I'll eventually swap out the 6.3 center for a Swan center. So having said all of that here are my first thoughts. These speakers are gigantically tall. Even without the floor spikes the tweeters are a tad above my ears when I'm in my listening chair. s280.photobucket.com/albums/kk167/cgolf2008/SWANS%204-24-10/They sound great and they are gorgeous speakers. The bass is tight and strong, the mids are fantastic and the highs are crisp. Lots of fine tuning left to do but so far I am very impressed with these speakers. The clarity of all of this equipment running together is outstanding. This is nothing against the Emo 6.3s, but at least to me in this room, these speakers are in another league than the 6.3s. Had no idea what I was missing!! ;D |
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iceman66
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Post by iceman66 on Apr 24, 2010 10:50:34 GMT -5
Keep us updated as you dial them in, I would be very interested to hear a more in depth review, as they have been on my radar since I purchased a pair of Swan D2.1se's a couple months ago.
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Post by indyscammer on Apr 24, 2010 14:41:54 GMT -5
I have been eyeballing the DIVAs as well. What made you pick the 6.2 versus the 6.1?
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cgolf
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Post by cgolf on Apr 24, 2010 15:27:20 GMT -5
I really wanted the 6.1s but everyone was out of stock until mid to late May. Jon at the Audio Insider said the 6.2s were an improved and larger version of the 6.1s so I went ahead and bought them. I talked to him about swapping them back when the 6.1 s came back thinking that I would just ship them back. No way!!! Even if the 6.1s are better sounding, the 6.2s are way too huge to ship back. They are monsters!!! ;D I still want a pair of the 6.1s and will get them when they are back in stock. I'll just put one set in the game room and the other set in the media room. So far, I love the sound and think what a bargain these were....  |
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Post by busen19 on Apr 25, 2010 6:21:53 GMT -5
great info, thanks for the review! How large is your room, and have you listened to them in just 2 chan.? How is the bass output?
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Post by testerdennis on Apr 25, 2010 7:36:34 GMT -5
Has anyone compared these with the Emo 8.3's
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cgolf
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Post by cgolf on Apr 26, 2010 5:40:32 GMT -5
Just a quick update this morning. My right ear has opened up so I can know hear out of both sides of my head!! ;D I listened to these off and on all day yesterday. Sometimes with them set full range, no sub and sometimes set with sub, crossed at 60. This was always in stereo through an Oppo BR 83 player with the Onkyo 876 doing any processing. My room is ~23x13x12 so it's fairly large. I'm about 11.5' away from the speakers. I just really do like the way these sound, especially for the price!! ;D The bass is solid and tight. The mids are very crisp and detailed. The soundstage is spread out nicely and overall, the more you pump into these speakers, the better they perform. My wife was in the game room right outside the media room so I really couldn't play them as loud as I wanted to. But they sounded great with everything I could give them. I'm very pleased so far and will continue feeding them different types of music, different settings and SPL levels. My only complaint (and it's not really a complaint) is that they are very big speakers. I guess I didn't pay that much attention when I ordered them. I probably would have gone with the 5.2s which are just a little smaller. But this isn't really an issue. It just means that if I did not like them, it would cost a small fortune to send them back..... I like them so much that I ordered a matching center yesterday!! ;D Here's a few pics.... s280.photobucket.com/albums/kk167/cgolf2008/SWANS%204-24-10/ |
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Post by houston1 on Apr 26, 2010 6:02:14 GMT -5
Golf, grats on your new speakers  How do the speakers sound running them without a sub; i.e., how is their bass extension? And, do you feel comfortable running these alone for 2-channel audio? |
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Post by monkumonku on Apr 26, 2010 9:56:17 GMT -5
Wow, those are BIG speakers. But NICE!! Congrats on your purchase! So which center did you order?
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cgolf
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Post by cgolf on Apr 26, 2010 21:25:20 GMT -5
Well I've now sold my last ERM 6.3 that I was using as a center and ordered the Swan 5.2C center. Guess I'm now officially committed... ;D Tonight I have been listening to different music, moving the speakers around-toe in, toe out, etc. and trying to get that perfect sound (wonder what that is??   ). These speakers have a very deep bass to them with crystal clear mids but here is something crazy. I keep feeling like something is missing or just not right (maybe it's just the break in period ;D) so here is what I did. These speakers have 2 front ports and are shipped with foam inserts (4 total) which I removed when I unpacked the speakers. I took 2 of the inserts and plugged up the bottom port of each speaker (like you might do a sub to vary the output) and I'm thinking that it made a positive difference. Still lots of deep bass but it seemed to let the mids and highs come out more. I'm done for the night so like I said, I'll check back tomorrow night and see what it sounds like. Maybe this is crazy but it seemed to help. Anyone else ever do this or have a similar situation??? |
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pitbullmike
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Post by pitbullmike on Apr 26, 2010 21:28:46 GMT -5
Dude I need to have a listen  |
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cgolf
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Post by cgolf on Apr 26, 2010 22:27:53 GMT -5
Dude I need to have a listen That can certainly be arranged... ;D |
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pitbullmike
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Post by pitbullmike on Apr 28, 2010 8:27:14 GMT -5
Dude I need to have a listen That can certainly be arranged... ;D Sweet man lets set somethin up BTW where is the center speaker going? In the pic I cant see where it would go |
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cgolf
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Post by cgolf on Apr 28, 2010 8:45:45 GMT -5
OK, so I've had a few more days to listen to these speakers and here are my thoughts. 1. I've run them with a sub, without a sub, full range, crossed at different settings-40, 60, 80 with and without a sub. Other equipment is a pair of UPA-1s (and/or an XPA-2) and an Onkyo SR876 used as a processor. 2. Basically at all of these settings, I honestly couldn't tell that much difference except with the bass. I kept thinking that no matter where I set everything, the bass was almost overpowering. Did I have something screwed up? Was my sub set too high? I had run Audyssey and then manually reset the speaker levels with a meter. 3. I called Jon over at The Audio Insider and he was extremely helpful in discussing what to do, how to set the sub crossovers with the speakers, etc. etc. He didn't really tell me anything I didn't know about the settings but he did explain the "why" of different concepts and that sort of helped me understand what was happening between the sub and speakers-more technical. 4. Bottom line, I reset the high pass and low pass both at 80 (surprise surprise) ;D and moved on. 5. The overall sound in the room is deeper, more solid, bassier, stronger, lower -- not sure what the right words are. It's a different sound than what I had with the ERM 6.3s. My ears are getting used to it and I'm really beginning to enjoy it. It's a more theater sound than before. For example on the opening scene of Casino Royale when the guy gets out of his car and shuts the door. There is a much deeper & tighter "thump" than what I heard with the 6.3s. 6. Anyway, I really like the sound of these speakers. For 2 channel music, there is great separation, a large soundstage and crispiness in the mids and highs. And very powerful tight bass. Not boomy, just strong. 7. Can't really compare to the Axioms that I had a while back but I do know that I like these better and I am very glad that I bought these and not the Axioms. My only problem is that I sold my center ERM 6.3 and found out the matching Swan center I need won't be in stock until mid May!! So I'm currently without a center speaker. Need to find a temporary something cheap just to tide me over..... ;D |
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cgolf
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Post by cgolf on Apr 28, 2010 14:05:27 GMT -5
That can certainly be arranged... ;D Sweet man lets set somethin up BTW where is the center speaker going? In the pic I cant see where it would go Center speaker goes on a shelf that I built above the TV. Can't see it in the pictures. |
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Post by jackfish on Apr 28, 2010 14:24:26 GMT -5
You can just use the attributes of stereophonic sound and temporarily set up a phantom center through your mains. It won't be optimal, but passable, until your center speaker arrives and you won't have to buy a cheap center you will just get rid of.
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cgolf
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Post by cgolf on Apr 28, 2010 21:48:28 GMT -5
Well I thought about running a phantom center but I'm going to pursue some other options.
I've been playing a test disc that I bought a couple of years ago of very high octane 2.0 recordings and I am just blown away by these speakers more and more as my ears get used to them. Very very sweet!!! ;D
Can't wait to get the 6.1s.............
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cgolf
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Post by cgolf on May 2, 2010 20:15:10 GMT -5
These Swans really are diamonds in the rough. ;D Hidden gems. Their tone is awesome, natural, distinct, clear, precise, deep and strong. I really want to try the 6.1s and I have a chance to buy a pair used and the C3 center channel speaker shipped for $1000 but I just can't pull the trigger. What would I do with the 6.2s. Even though I have a 30 day window, I can't send them back because shipping would cost too much. Oh the pain ,oh the agony, oh the decisions? |
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Post by indyscammer on May 3, 2010 19:58:07 GMT -5
Oh just pull the trigger....enquiring minds need to know the difference between them. Well anyway I am interested. ;D Think of it as a public service. $1000 for all three is a really good deal. You could always run the 6.2's as completely overkill rear channels!! |
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cgolf
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Post by cgolf on May 3, 2010 21:55:49 GMT -5
Oh just pull the trigger....enquiring minds need to know the difference between them. Well anyway I am interested. ;D Think of it as a public service. $1000 for all three is a really good deal. You could always run the 6.2's as completely overkill rear channels!! If you only knew how close I was to doing just that...  I guess I could lay the 6.2s on their side end to end on my back wall and have a "rear wall of sound" for the surround... ;D |
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). These speakers have a very deep bass to them with crystal clear mids but here is something crazy. I keep feeling like something is missing or just not right (maybe it's just the break in period ;D) so here is what I did. These speakers have 2 front ports and are shipped with foam inserts (4 total) which I removed when I unpacked the speakers. I took 2 of the inserts and plugged up the bottom port of each speaker (like you might do a sub to vary the output) and I'm thinking that it made a positive difference. Still lots of deep bass but it seemed to let the mids and highs come out more.
