[Kirosia]

What's the neutral setting? 7 or 12 o'clock?

 

[eclipes]

I leave both dials at 12oclock and volume at 9oclock. The rest is controlled through my dac/amp.
 
Quote:

What's the neutral setting? 7 or 12 o'clock?

 

 

[Kirosia]

Do you know if that's the neutral setting though? I originally had it at 12 o'clock for awhile, but I felt the vocals were being smoothed over too much. So I put both dials at 7 o'clock, and it sounded closer to my headphones (K701). This came at the expensive of bass and treble presence of course, so I'm not sure which is proper. These are my first set of good speakers.

 

[eclipes]

yeah i believe 12oclock is the most neutral setting on it in my opinion.
 
Quote:

Do you know if that's the neutral setting though? I originally had it at 12 o'clock for awhile, but I felt the vocals were being smoothed over too much. So I put both dials at 7 o'clock, and it sounded closer to my headphones (K701). This came at the expensive of bass and treble presence of course, so I'm not sure which is proper. These are my first set of good speakers.

 

 

[Audio18]

There's no real "neutral" setting because there is actually no way to turn the entire equalizer circuit off.  However, the manual does state it is 12o'clock.

 

[Kirosia]

There's a manual? I just read the PDF from the supplier website, didn't see anything regarding the dials. Maybe I still have the packaged documents that came with the speakers lying around...

 

[Audio18]

Yes, mine came with a manual and I actually e-mailed them myself to verify, because the manual was poorly translated from Chinese.  But, you should still use the settings that sound best to you, there is no right way.  For example, when I change DACs, one bass setting is too strong for another DAC and the opposite is true as well.  This makes the Swans incredibly flexible.

 

[eclipes]

yes that was what i meant haha, neutral setting considered by Swans manual. But im getting good results at 12oclock and controlling the rest with my DAC.
 
Quote:

There's no real "neutral" setting because there is actually no way to turn the entire equalizer circuit off.  However, the manual does state it is 12o'clock.

 

 

[Kirosia]

I just got an e-mail reply, and the Swan guys say the same thing. I think I'll  keep the dials at 7 o'clock, though I've been switching back and forth all day to see which I prefer. 
 
12 o'clock = More pronounced bass and overly smooth treble increased perceived "musicality". (Grado like)
7 o'clock = More realistic, akin to a live performance where the listener is a few rows away from the stage, bit too polite. (Sennheiser like)

 

[Philimon]

This thread looked to be the best source for answering my query regarding the dial positions on the M200 when using google search. So, I'd like to add my experience for others too.
 
I find min/7 o'clock position to be most neutral to these ears and closest to my references and preferences (see profile).