Opinions about Swans Diva speakers?

Check out the AR boards....post for TinHere. He has the 2.1s I believe. I heard the 6.1s this weekend at the show, and they are a lot of bang for the buck imho. The finish looks NICER than the B&Ws...

 

Aren't these the ones carried by AV123? If so I think they (Perpetual Technologies) have the Speaker Correction Only Software for these speakers to go with the P-1A and according to Dan Wright they (with the SOCS) sound as good as the B&W 802.
PF

 

Do they really sound as good as B&Ws??????
NEED MORE INFO

 

They look like some Wharfdales too. Is there a center speaker? Neither the Swan site nor av123 site mention a center speaker.

 

The center is in the works. Tin also has the 5.1s and should be able to offer further advice, especially how they directly compare to the B&Ws. If I could afford it, I'd get a pair and do a direct comparison between the 2.1s and my nOrh 4.0s.

 

Stupid question: where are the "AR boards"?
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AR is audioreview.com. I found the specs on the woofers on the Diva's. http://swanspeaker.com/products/drivers/M/M6A/M6a_2.htm
As you can see, with the 6 inch woofer, there is nearly a 10db spike at 6khz. This is the bane of metal woofers. This can be dealt with in the crossover, and if it is eliminated, they rest of the driver's response looks very good indeed. I wish a professional reviewer would do a review of these speakers with the frequency response published, so we can see if the spike is dealt with. If it is, like I said, the speakers probably sound extremely good, as metal woofs have super high potential to sound very good. Of course, the speaker correction that the Perpetual Tech P1A has for these guys probably takes care of it completely AND takes care of phase and room anomolies. This combo on all likelyhood sounds amazing.

 

Bryan,
Do you have any idea when the center channel will be available?
These speakers look great! I am close to buying an Onkyo 595 (or maybe a 696) and PSB Speakers, but I'd consider trying these if the wait wasn't too long.
David

 

With the 4 ohm resistance and somewhat average efficiency - they may need a more powerful amp.
Agree they have high WAF and bang for the buck

 

I was interested in the 2.1s which are 8 ohm nominal resistance (see here ), so I thought the 595 should be sufficient. Maybe that will be one more thing to push me toward the 696.

 

That chart is not for the Swans Diva but for the Swans M6 which I believe is a totally different speaker, though it is also made by swans...
BTW, have you seen the top of the line 75-100K swans speakers?

 

I do think I remember seeing a link here a while ago to those $75K speakers. They looked VERY impressive and VERY big.

 

It seems Swans might have addressed the problem of metal drivers:
"The detail is all there, as a result of the tweeter being mounted in its own enclosure. Voices are not overly sibilant. Midrange is clear, without chestiness or nasality. Thus, voices are natural. I COULD HEAR NO RINGING IN THE METAL DRIVERS, DUE TO THE POLYMER COATING. Bass is deep, slightly forward, but not boomy. The soundstage is wide, regardless of where I sit. The dispersion is excellent, making these speakers a good choice for family listening. They almost fell into position by themselves, so they are very easy to find a nice location in the room."
That is an excerpt from the Diva 4.1 review at homethaterhifi.com

 

I hope they sound as good as they look, cause they look awesome.

 

Has anyone listened to them?

 

I haven't had any success reaching AV123.com all week by email or by calling the toll free number. I've also read similar stories at Audioreview from people that haven't had any luck contacting them either. I guess I'm back to the PSBs.
David

 

I just forwarded this link to Mark Schifter of PT and see if he cares (or if he's even involved with the Swans) to respond to some of the ?'s. I've exchanged e-mail with him a few times about my PT DAC & he is extremely helpful.
Please understand Mark travels all over the world for business connections hence may not be able to respond as quick as some of us wish he would. Be patient.
PF

 

I have owned the Swans Diva 6.1s for about 6 weeks and they have been excellent. Using them with the Pioneer Elite DV-05 (DVD), Pioneer PD-65 (CD), Perpetual P-01A/ P-3A DAC / SOCS combo. Crossed over to 2 HSU TN1220HO with the Hsu 500W amp at 51 Hz. The 6.1s don't need a sub for most music listening, but absolutely do need a sub for HT and gettting the most punch from the better concert DVD's. In my room (16 X 30 X 15) they reach down to the upper 30's with moderate authority.
After some experimenting and tweeking, I am very happy with them. However, they seem to be amplifier dependent. I was not that happy with them connected to my old Yamaha RX-V2092 receiver. Very slight upper mid / lower high end simblance that was, for me, fatiguing (note, I have heard several speaker systems, including many that people rave about on this forum that I consider unnatural and fatiguing to me.) I switched to a tube amp and WOW, the speakers dissapeared and some of the good concert DVD's like Tony Bennent unplugged, Peter Frampton, Steely Dan, etc. come alive with you absolutely forgetting you are listening to speakers! My ratio of CD music / DVD HT is about 65/35, so I obviously have a bias. I have also heard the Diva 4.1s with a Yamaha Rx-V1000 and a HSU VTF-2 sub for some extended HT listening and think that they may actually be a better choice for a killer lower end. WOW, crisp, fast, nauturally detailed, but not harsh. At the price, both are killer and are rock solid and drop dead gorgeous in the room. Overall, 2 thumbs up.
BTW, my response from Perpetual / Mark Schifter on any questions has been nothing short of excellent

 

Ed:
So you are the lucky one who gets the SOCS for your speakers. According to Dan Wright (in case you don't know, he can make the P-3A sound better) the PT corrected Swans setup sounds identical to the B&W N802 system PT put up for comparison.
Btw what amp(s) are you driving the Swans with?
PF