Thinking of buyin the Swans M200MKII

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itachi183

Limp Gawd
Joined
Sep 13, 2008
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Hey, I looked at most of the desktop like speakers, and swans seems to be best for size/quality for the money, but I have a couple questions before I get em (they won't be in stock till mid august anyway)

I'm pretty much an audio noob, so sorry if some of these questions are dumb.

I mostly listen to metal music power,folk.melodic,regular etc, would these speakers be good for that? I love my current speakers but they have some issues with volume unleveled and going in/out and also I've been kinda looking for a better pair.

here's the specs of my current speakers:
http://www.klipsch.com/na-en/products/promedia-ultra-2-0-specifications/

and the swans:
http://www.swanspeaker.com/products/products.aspx?cid=5&sid=0&pid=24&cmenu=spec

I think the Klipsch has a 2.5" woofer, since the Swans have a 5" woofer would that mean the swans are able to produce more bass? One thing I loved about the Klipsch is the bass it produced.

I currently use onboard Realtek ALC889A audio, would I benefit greatly if I upgraded to a -100$ sound card?

In the manual for the Swans, they said "using high quality cables would increase the quality of music" or something like that. What type of high quality cables should I use?

Lastly, if I do upgrade to the Swans do you think they'd be a lot better then my current pair? I've never really owned any expensive speakers or so before, so I've yet to know what and how to tell if the quality's better. I'm a bit skeptical but I believe if I do get them I'll be able to notice it. I atleast can tell the difference between 128kbs and 320kbs mp3 files.
 
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These are much better than the Swans and probably cost less (no tax or delivery charge):

http://tweakcityaudio.com/index.php...&product_id=24&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=1

Will a sound card sound better? Do you have a lot of hiss or scratchy sounds coming out of the speakers? That will definitely go down if you get sound card.

Sound quality depends on a lot of factors, although placement is key. If the speakers are sitting next to your monitors a few inches from you, the sound won't be good regarldless of the price.
 
itachi183 said:
I mostly listen to metal music power,folk.melodic,regular etc, would these speakers be good for that? Probably.

I think the Klipsch has a 2.5" woofer, since the Swans have a 5" woofer would that mean the swans are able to produce more bass? Yes.

I currently use onboard Realtek ALC889A audio, would I benefit greatly if I upgraded to a -100$ sound card? You'll benefit somewhat but try out the onboard first.

In the manual for the Swans, they said "using high quality cables would increase the quality of music" or something like that. What type of high quality cables should I use? I wouldn't worry about cables unless they are really long.

Lastly, if I do upgrade to the Swans do you think they'd be a lot better then my current pair? Yes.

I've never really owned any expensive speakers or so before, so I've yet to know what and how to tell if the quality's better. I'm a bit skeptical but I believe if I do get them I'll be able to notice it. I atleast can tell the difference between 128kbs and 320kbs mp3 files.It should be a noticeable difference..
Click to expand...

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Thanks!

I got another quick question. I was reading a review on Audio engine A5's and the person said you should keep the speakers at least 1 foot away from the wall or the sound would become muddy and distorted. For any of the owners with the Swans can you place it right up against the wall and stuff, does it matter at all? Because as I said I have limited space and the speakers probably will be right up against the wall, I guess I could always buy a cheap pair of stands though.
 
Yes, it matters. Like the A5's they have rear firing ports.. you certainly don't want them against a wall.
 
If the Audioengine 5s are in your budget, consider the KRK Rokit 5s as they have front firing ports so you can have them against a wall with no worries. I have the A5s and love them, but have heard very good things about the Rokits as well.
 
I would opt for the MKIII's if you can bump your budget. I have the MKII's and love them but a buddy bought the MKIII's and they are a definite upgrade.
 
The MKIII are out of my budget ATM, TAI usually has sales though, would be fortunate if they had a discount on them next month.

About the rear firing port: How far away would I need to have the back of speakers away from wall? Would 1 foot be enough or half a foot? I could adjust my desk for this, I would just have to pull it out from the back of the wall.

I also read this funny trick of rubber banding coffe straws together and sticking em in the rear fireing port hole to lessen the amount of air pressure coming out so you can have them closer to the wall lol


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http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/608683-REG/Genelec_6010APM_6010A_Active_Loudspeaker_Black.html
I found these after looking around, WAY out of my budget but they are small! perfect for desktop use. Out of curiousity, how do these compare to the Swans? These are substantially more money, but it may just because it's packed into a smaller box.
 
1 foot away from the wall should be good enough. You'll need to play around with the setup a bit to find your sweet spot though.
 
m200mkiis, like all powered2.0 desktop speakers in your price range, have overpowering trebble that even a maxed out graphic equalizer can't tame.

There's simply no way of getting around the fact that you need large speakers to produce bass. So either you 1.) make room for some gigantic floorstanding speakers 2.) plop some huge ass 8" woofers on your desk and use an equalizer to attenuate the extra trebble or 3.) use a subwoofer.

And if you're going to use a subwoofer, make sure your speakers have a sub out. Otherwise you'l have to max out your sub/speaker's amplifier and use your sound card/ preamp to adjust volume and that sucks for a bunch of reasons.
 
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