Hello all.
I recently bit the bullet and replaced the front three speakers in my music/HT set-up. I had PSB Century 800 towers (20 years old) and a PSB 200C center channel (14 years old). They had done me well over the years and I absolutely loved them (MUCH more than I like the new PSB line-up).
When I started out, I had my heart and ears set on Paradigm Studio 60's but my budget would only accomodate the used market. So, with the help of an audiophile friend, I started researching other brands while I waited for a good condition set of Studio 60's. I actually had my hands on a pair of Jamo C607's but they were damaged in shipping (aesthetic issues only). Great small towers that I would have gone with in a heartbeat but, UPS decided to send them back to the original seller to settle the claim (which screwed both the seller and me).
Next up was research into Axiom...particularly the M60's. I started reading a bunch of reviews that were balanced equally between very good and mediocre. I also noticed that several people were comparing the M80's (way above my price range) against the Swan Diva 6.1's. In virtually every case (including many on the Axiom forums), the reviewers prefered the Swan's in almost all respects. So, I started researching the 6.1's and scoured the net looking for negative reviews...I found none. The one big problem...the 6.1's are $1,159 and the C3 is $419 which was more than I wanted to spend and they are very difficult to find used. As luck would have it, I came across a site that noted the 6.1's and matching Center Channel had been on sale the month before (6.1's were $725 and the C3 was $249). I crossed my fingers and sent some e-mails to the on-line retailer. He agreed to give them to me at that price and I purchased them the next day.
Today is Friday and I'm planning my trip to the UPS store on the other side of the border tomorrow. Shipping to Canada would have been prohibitive and I've ordered many items to the same UPS store and never had an issue. It's a 1 hour drive and 10 minutes at Customs.
Oh...the shipping weight for each 6.1 is 95lbs! Thank goodness for my audiophile friend!
Edited by KeithfromCanada - 11/20/09 at 12:59pm
I recently bit the bullet and replaced the front three speakers in my music/HT set-up. I had PSB Century 800 towers (20 years old) and a PSB 200C center channel (14 years old). They had done me well over the years and I absolutely loved them (MUCH more than I like the new PSB line-up).
When I started out, I had my heart and ears set on Paradigm Studio 60's but my budget would only accomodate the used market. So, with the help of an audiophile friend, I started researching other brands while I waited for a good condition set of Studio 60's. I actually had my hands on a pair of Jamo C607's but they were damaged in shipping (aesthetic issues only). Great small towers that I would have gone with in a heartbeat but, UPS decided to send them back to the original seller to settle the claim (which screwed both the seller and me).
Next up was research into Axiom...particularly the M60's. I started reading a bunch of reviews that were balanced equally between very good and mediocre. I also noticed that several people were comparing the M80's (way above my price range) against the Swan Diva 6.1's. In virtually every case (including many on the Axiom forums), the reviewers prefered the Swan's in almost all respects. So, I started researching the 6.1's and scoured the net looking for negative reviews...I found none. The one big problem...the 6.1's are $1,159 and the C3 is $419 which was more than I wanted to spend and they are very difficult to find used. As luck would have it, I came across a site that noted the 6.1's and matching Center Channel had been on sale the month before (6.1's were $725 and the C3 was $249). I crossed my fingers and sent some e-mails to the on-line retailer. He agreed to give them to me at that price and I purchased them the next day.
Today is Friday and I'm planning my trip to the UPS store on the other side of the border tomorrow. Shipping to Canada would have been prohibitive and I've ordered many items to the same UPS store and never had an issue. It's a 1 hour drive and 10 minutes at Customs.
Oh...the shipping weight for each 6.1 is 95lbs! Thank goodness for my audiophile friend!
Edited by KeithfromCanada - 11/20/09 at 12:59pm
