[Vedder323]

Anyone have any reviews, comments, or opinions on these speakers? Are they a step up from the usual Klipsh or Logitech mainstream speakers?

 

[D-EJ915]

They reviewed them in MaximumPC this month and gave them a 7 because "bass response is lacking".

I'd get them and try to hotwire a sub to them.

 

[cannedheat]

I purchased the M200s in February and have been very pleased with the build quality, accurate sound, and style. Yes, if you depend upon wall-shaking bass - a subwoofer is required. For classical, pop, jazz - the M200s are very good. I added a cheap Yamaha sub when listening to other genres and movies, but I still prefer the M200s alone.

 

[Vedder323]

Quote:

Originally Posted by D-EJ915 They reviewed them in MaximumPC this month and gave them a 7 because "bass response is lacking". I'd get them and try to hotwire a sub to them.

Well, IMHO MaxPC doesnt know there ***** from a hole in the ground. Besides, bass is NOT a huge issue for me as I found the Klipsh promedias to be far too bassy.

Not only that... what did they use the swans for? Games???

 

[es2mac]

The review at 3dsoundsurge looks nice.
the m200's are finally restocked at newegg too...

too bad I couldn't wait for it and went for some bookshelf speakers.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Vedder323 Anyone have any reviews, comments, or opinions on these speakers? Are they a step up from the usual Klipsh or Logitech mainstream speakers?

 

[Multi]

I JUST got a used pair of M200s about 2 days ago. They sound good, however there's a definite (to my ears) "veil" over the sound and I can't get it to sound forward as I'd like them to sound. The bass is there, just not as defined as I'd like it to be (but hey, with no sub you can't really expect it to be). I'm slightly disappointed in the purchase (even tho I got them for $100), and find my headphone setup a lot more satisfying and only use the speakers when I have a visitor or I need to go somewhere without headphone hair.

 

[boskeroo]

I recently bought a pair of these from New Egg for about $196 after shipping and taxes.
My perspective may be a little different in that about 8 years ago, I actually looked into bringing a similar product to market. We figured the 3886 opamp, good shielded 5" midwoofer, and tweeter, and there might be a market for an "audiophile" portable amplified speaker for multimedia, travel, etc. The prototypes with vifa 5" and tweeter sounded surprisingly good. The problem was that as long as we kept production in the US, the manufacturer's cost was going to be close to $300. The cabinet cost was unbelievably high most any option we looked at and there was always a tradeoff between weight and sound quality. Oddly, the cheapest part turned out to be the amp, and that was the part of the design that involved the fewest sonic compromises.
Now, there's a small "gainclone" subculture around chip amps, so we weren't the only ones who thought the chipamps sounded really good. In any case, we concluded that any "audiophile" product built in the US would have to retail for a minimum of $500 which was simply too high to get the volume of sales that would have worked.

At $175, the SWANS is a pretty amazing value given the level of finish, quality of the parts etc. I think it's on a par with pretty much any 2 way, 300/pair speaker out there sound wize and that's before you figure in the fact that it's amplified. 5" 2 ways at this price level always involve compromises. I'd say they give up some clarity, detail, and dynamics in favor of smooth frequency response. No 5" 2 way has a lot of bass. What they do manage to do is make acoustic music sound like music, something which few multimedia 2:1 systems seem to manage. If you want to hear harmonies, touch, etc., you can hear those things in the Swans. If your criteria for speakers is can they play loud and low, you're better off with something else.