[Kraco]

These speakers (M200) are awesome! But I confess I'm a newbie and I've never heard really high end computer speakers before. I'm not even sure if there is such a thing?

I already have a nice home setup, but I needed a good setup for when I'm at my computer desk, which is where I'm at most of the time. I've read several reviews and comments on the Swans and they always get high marks so I had to try them. I have 30 days to make up my mind but I can already tell you I'll be keeping them because they sound fantastic.

Others have stated the Swans didn't have good base, I have to disagree. The base is beautiful and sounds great even at high volume. You won't get that earth shaking vibration that you get with a SW but they still have lots of base. In fact, I keep the base control at 1 O'clock and it's plenty. I like the sound of a SW when watching video's but for music I don't really care for it. But if that's what you like then you would have to add a SW.

Construction is rock solid and beautiful. The grain and color in the walnut wood sides is just gorgeous. These are big speakers, they look more like book shelf speakers then computer speakers. So be sure you have the room before you get these. They come in a nice draw-string type bag but there white, had they been black I guess you could have used them for a dust cover when not in use. Not sure, but I might try it.

The first thing I listen to was some classical stuff by Dvorak, Gershwin, Mahler and Beethoven. The sound just blew me away, I couldn't believe I was getting this type of sound from a computer setup. Then I tried some oldies and even some country. All of it sounded great and I was hearing things that I never heard with my last two setups.

I couldn't be happier, if I had to pick something I didn't like about them, I guess it would be I wish they had put an on/off switch on the front instead of the back. I like to turn them off when not in use and I don't like having to reach behind the speaker to do so. But other then that I love them and I'm very impressed with them, so far.

Bottom line, if you have the room for a receiver and full size speakers then by all means go that way. But if your looking for plug and play speakers that will sound as good as some bigger setups, then give these a try. You won't be disappointed!

R.T.

 

[saturnine]

Glad to see another M200 owner around here

They truly are good speakers, especially given the <$200 price. I also find the bass to be good, but they do lack extension in the extremely low frequency and have a bit of a midbass hump to make up for it. The highs and mids are why I keep these around, and the awesome soundstage doesn't hurt.

 

[monkuboy]

Congratulations on your M200's! I regret not purchasing them from Newegg when I was looking for speakers. Instead I bought the T120's, which were about the same price but were a 2.1 system, with each satellite having a full range speaker. They looked gorgeous and sounded good, but not as good as the Videologic Sciroccos I have. After that I decided to just stick with what I had because I convinced myself that the M200's were too large for my desk setup. Nevertheless, I've remained curious about them and had forgotten about it until I read your post just now.. so, congrats but argh, why'd you have to remind me!!

 

[Kathy1]

I had the chance to hear these speakers at a friends house tonight and I fell in love with them. Not only do they look nice but they sound great! I'll be getting a set of my own real soon.

Kathy

 

[Vertigo-1]

I'm still loving mine. In fact, I've decided to treat them a little more seriously and actually plan on building a full speaker system around them instead of keeping them tied up in a nearfield environment with just a soundcard as the source. Build some stands, probably get a Rega Planet 2000 for the source, add some good interconnects and swap the M200's power cable...these really aren't "computer" speakers at all, and are firmly in the bookshelf class IMO, as they readily respond to better cables and sources. It'd be pretty hard I think to beat their simplicity combined with their warm and musical sound if you're looking to put together a decent speaker system.

 

[scm207]

I picked up my pair when they first came out and I've never regreted it. My musical tastes don't demand any more bass than what is required for classic rock, but I believe you must use a good subwoofer to hear the M-200's at their best. Crossing to a subwoofer at either 60Hz or 80Hz frees up the drivers from trying to reproduce those bottom two octaves. The result is the upper bass and lower midrange response are a little less congested and a little more resolved.

 

[NeilPeart]

I completely agree regarding the Swans’ capabilities – though they obviously aren’t the last word in extension (in neither the bass nor the highs) and they are a bit warm (which I prefer to a colder sounding pair of speakers), they are clearly excellent for the price and scale beyond the boundaries of “computer speakers.” One pair is connected to my Music Hall MMF-5 turntable and Onix XCD-88 while the other is connected to my Benchmark DAC1. With both pairs I use Belden 1505F interconnects and I’ve upgraded their speaker cables to Sound King 10AWG (I’ve also replaced the stock power cables with PS Audio Punch cables but only because they were $25 for both). The Swans really do scale well, and the only way I’ll upgrade is when I can find a digital amplifier that synergizes well with a certain pair bookshelf speakers I’ve been admiring from afar. Even then I’ll probably miss the immediately likable charm the Swans imbue on my tunes.

 

[Vertigo-1]

Quote:

Originally Posted by NeilPeart With both pairs I use Belden 1505F interconnects and I’ve upgraded their speaker cables to Sound King 10AWG (I’ve also replaced the stock power cables with PS Audio Punch cables but only because they were $25 for both).

Heeeeeey...that's exactly the power cable I just ordered for my Swans.

Of course, I got it in part because that's probably the cheapest PC available that has a C7 plug to fit the M200s. Just trying to get a C7 to IEC adaptor would cost ~$25 alone. What kind of changes would you say they brought to your M200s?

I thought about changing that single speaker cable that strings the L/R speakers myself too, but wasn't sure if it'd make much of a difference. I did try a 10 AWG run of just generic speaker cable and noticed maybe a slight restriction to the sound if anything. Were there any more noticeable changes for you?

Just today I tried swapping in the Zcable Live V5 interconnect for fun that normally graces my headphone system (the Live V5 alone costs 6 times as much as the M200s

) and the changes were pretty incredible, despite the pairing being somewhat ridiculous. Whereas before the soundstage was firmly locked in between the two speakers, it suddenly bloomed to well beyond the speakers, to the left and right. I started "looking" at instruments "appearing" from areas that weren't even near the speakers. So don't be afraid to pair stuff with the M200s that costs 3-4 times more than them, you may be surprised what you'll end up with.

 

[Tachikoma]

... now I'm starting to wonder whether I should sell the Acoustics Energies Aego 2 for a pair of M200s >_> *I originally planned to buy the swans, but eventually went for the aego 2s instead because swans were/are unavailable in Malaysia, though I could possibly try sourcing a set from Singapore.*

Its not that the aego 2s haven't been impressive though; with a decent source and good power conditioning, the sound produced by that petit (puny more like) subwoofer + satelite system really blew me away XD Unfortunately there are limitations to how far you can push this system; unlike the swans you can't add a better subwoofer to cover the lower frequencies, and the power cord isn't interchangable either.

 

[Kraco]

Quote:

Originally Posted by NeilPeart I completely agree regarding the Swans’ capabilities – though they obviously aren’t the last word in extension (in neither the bass nor the highs) and they are a bit warm (which I prefer to a colder sounding pair of speakers), they are clearly excellent for the price and scale beyond the boundaries of “computer speakers.” One pair is connected to my Music Hall MMF-5 turntable and Onix XCD-88 while the other is connected to my Benchmark DAC1. With both pairs I use Belden 1505F interconnects and I’ve upgraded their speaker cables to Sound King 10AWG (I’ve also replaced the stock power cables with PS Audio Punch cables but only because they were $25 for both). The Swans really do scale well, and the only way I’ll upgrade is when I can find a digital amplifier that synergizes well with a certain pair bookshelf speakers I’ve been admiring from afar. Even then I’ll probably miss the immediately likable charm the Swans imbue on my tunes.

Thanks everyone! Appreciate the input!

NeilPeart, thanks for the info on the Audio Punch cables. Can you tell me where you got them for 25 bucks? Best I found so far is $49. Thanks!

R.T.

 

[NeilPeart]

I bought them from a friend so that won't help you guys too much - I'm still unsure whether I could discern a difference with the upgrade, however.