The D1.1seC is in-house.  Here are two test shots intending to show the quality of the finish – this speaker sample has a 100% gloss over the Khaya Crotch veneer, which is also referred to as African “Rosewood” Mahogany.  Obviously, snapshots won’t do this superb finish justice as this is the finest look we’ve ever seen in a Swan product.  These are quite remarkable in person.

One of the perks of working on new models is approving a fun new speaker.  We’ve just unboxed a pair of brand new Swan D1.1 mini-monitors in Khaya Crotch (African “Rosewood” Mahogany) and have some snapshots to share.  They measure 11-1/2″ tall, 7-3/4″ wide, and 8-1/2″ deep.  I hope you enjoy them as much as we are.

Compact but powerful: The new Swan D1.1se.

The D1.1se is also the perfect compliment to the D2.1se.

High-output drivers for a surprisingly authoritative sound.

Finished in Khaya Crotch, European Birdseye Maple, or Gloss Piano Black.

The D1.1se is designed by and built just for The Audio Insider.

The D1.1se includes a removable black knit grille.

It’s not often that a self-powered monitor of this quality costs less than the great majority of unpowered premium monitors. The SwanMkIII is one of this rare breed, and users are discovering that great sound, unexpected value, and user convenience can go hand in hand.

Jason Parker loves his M200MkIII and enthused about them at the AVS forum recently. His capsule review appears here as well:

“I just got my Swan M200MkIII. In short? They KICK A**!

“Plug them in, connect them together, and with the supplied cable hook up your iPhone/iPod, and YOWSA! These suckers are clean, and LOUD! They are so loud that the limitations of the recordings via the iPhone can cause quick ear fatigue, so be careful out there. I moved them into the living room next to my MacPro where all my music has been ripped Apple Lossless. I can quickly move the mini-plug back and forth between the M200MkIIIs and an Arcam 300 feeding my tremendous Swan 6.2s. And?

“Yeah. Swan and Jon know what they are doing. I have two favorite songs I jump right to when auditioning. Song one, is the Talking Head’s “Slippery People”. Song two is Brubeck’s “Blue Rondo A La Turk”. First up the M200MkIIIs. I’ve listened to my Arcam/Swan6.2 combo for a long time now. Press play (from my iPhone remote application — that is SO COOL!) and… I was at home immediately. If I had been led into the room blindfolded, I wouldn’t have been able to tell the difference at first blush. To me that’s impressive! What great songs! So I switched to the Arcam combo. Now, to be fair, the Arcam/6.2 combo wins. It wins at every point. But, it IS a contest, a good one at that. Anyone thinking between the 6.2 and 6.1, even though I haven’t heard the 6.1, I would just say trust Jon and Swan. The 6.2 is an amazing speaker. Especially when paired with a top quality amp like an Arcam. That’s my $0.02.

“Comparing the M200MkIII, the Arcam/6.2 wins in every category, crystal clear, nuanced highs, smooth deep and satisfying bass, and a “you are there” immersive soundstage. But the thing is — the M200MkIIIs are only a half step, maybe only a big toe, behind in every case. Given that they are in a much smaller enclosure, with its own amp (that is not a $1500 Arcam) they are outstanding. The M200MkIIIs are clean and even with no coloration, just like the 6.2. They simply trounce a pair of Energy C-100s I have upstairs (which I consider a pretty good speaker for the money BTW). Now one big reason I could tell the difference between the M200MkIII and the 6.2s was the soundstage. But I can’t attribute that entirely to the smaller speakers. See my 6.2s are set quite wide, about 14 feet. Which brings me to my only knock on the M200MkIII package, the speaker connect cable. The cable itself is a high quality 4-pin cable. But it is only 6.5 feet in length. I couldn’t move the M200MkIIIs 14 feet wide for an even comparison, and I wasn’t going to haul the big 6.2s closer together in my room. Further, at 6.5 feet, even in a small office, you might find it hard to place the speakers with the cable out of the way. I’m already looking for a longer cable (Jon, any suggestions?). I mentioned fatigue earlier. I want to reassure you. First, I was using an iPod. Second, I was trying to see how loud they can go… which is VERY LOUD! When played at reasonable volumes in rooms like a good sized living room, or an office, the M200MkIII play astoundingly nice. For an active set of speakers you can just hook up the iPod or computer to, I can’t recommend them enough. If I was going to college, this and an iPod/laptop is what I’d want to bring to blow everyone else on the floor away. Look no further.

“I can’t wait for this years work X-mas party. I’m going to cause some major raucous!

Cheers!
-jason”

Are you looking for great Fall deals?  Have you had your eye on one of Swan’s handsome Diva products?  Do you need one more piece to complete your Diva home theater?  Have you been waiting for the “sale” that never comes? (The Audio Insider’s everyday online prices are real discounts and don’t change often.)

Your time has come.  As Swan’s authorized online Diva dealer, we’ve planned a Swan Diva Fall 2009 promotion on two fronts.

The first front is right here on The Audio Insider.  Through October, or while supplies last, Diva owners save almost 20% off our already discounted online prices!  Simply log in, buy, and we’ll do the rest.  Nearly 20% off is a one-time deal on stocks we’ve brought in this Summer just for this special.

The second opportunity allows you extraordinary savings on select Diva models at the OZ Home Theater eBay store*, where it’s possible you could save even more.  Visit the OZ Home Theater eBay store and choose from new, open-box, B-stock, and repair items with prices you’ll never see again.  We don’t set OZ prices so check with them for stock and available deals.

Chose from the original Diva 2.1 stand monitor in both genuine Palisander Rosewood and economy Faux Black Cherry, the classic Diva 6.1, also in both finishes, the matching Diva C3 center channel – one of our most popular models – or the high-output Diva R3 effects speaker.  Have you seen the R3 up close?  It’s a very powerful onwall effects speaker, weighs almost 30 pounds, each, and if you act now, you may be able to pick up a pair at or below our cost!

There’s more:  Upgraded Diva X.2 models are included!  Select from the Diva 4.2, 5.2, 6.2, or the matching 4.2c and 5.2c center channel models, plus the 4.2r and 5.2r surround/effects speakers.

Again, we don’t play price games and these deals are once-only.  We’ve stocked special Diva values for this event and once it’s over, its over.  We’ve planned this sale to time out when we launch new Dana and Acculine models this Fall, so right now is the time to save, and save big, on Diva.

Remember, Diva is the original.  Our look has been copied but we’ve never been duplicated – dollar for dollar, Diva has higher acoustical horsepower than anything we’re aware of.  Get an original, ultra-high value Diva speaker or a complete Diva system, while our supplies, for much less than we’ve ever offered them for before.

This is a one-time offer.  Freight not included.  Sales are final.  Limited supplies of some models.  *OZ Home Theater is independent and may have different terms, conditions, or products.

TAI has added three pieces of the excellent K&K gear to our inventory, a triode-converted amplifier, a tube headphone amp / control front end, and a tube phono stage.  K&K tube components use current sources (CS) and regulation, which flatten tube curves, slash distortion, and increase drive.  Of all available single-stage amplification, triodes are already lowest in distortion but supporting them with the CS drops this already low level through the floor.  The sound is powerful, dynamic, and decidedly un-tubelike.  A nice addition for the work we’ve been doing lately on a half dozen new speaker models, and more than resolving enough to reveal what they’re doing during design.  (The main The Audio Insider site is here, where we feature Swan, Dana, and other brands.)

The K&K ST70-based amplifier converted to ~15w triode output.

The K&K amplifier starts life as a common Dyna ST-70, the ubiquitous 35w/ch EL34 amp from the Sixties (be sure to read K&K’s take on this design).  Ours kept only a pair of mint condition output transformers – designed by David Hafler, expertly wound on grain-oriented steel, and very good, as it turns out – which were rebuilt with Teflon-and-silver wire leads, new powder-coated end bells, and stainless hardware.

New chassis, rebuild output transformers, and new power transformer.

A new 300ma high-current PA060 power transformer from Ned at Triode Electronics supplies current.  A new nickel-plated chassis houses the parts.  The real star of the show is the K&K differential input stage and driver, a very modern circuit using special Lundahl amorphous input transformers (I opted to use K&K’s top Premium series for all three new components, and all use the upgraded amorphous Lundahl transformers.)

The K&K Premium input / driver board with tube CS and Lundahl amorphous transformers.

I also converted the K&K ST70 from the amp’s original EL34 pentodes to 6B4 triodes.  Since the EL34 runs at over 400v in the original design, a few modifications were needed to adapt the circuit to the 6B4’s, which want a B+ rail of 250v.  I retained the original tube rectification, plugged in a new Mullard GZ33 rectifier, and I also converted the power supply, using the voltage drop of individual inductors per channel (there are four altogether) to get the Sovtek output tubes down to 350v.  While still 100v high, the Sovteks are actually closer to the WE 300b than the classic 6B4 and run fine at the higher B+.  Quiescent current is set through the CS to 50ma per tube, which through a CLC filter makes even the big power transformer run warm.

New-old-stock Mullard GZ34 rectifier.

Heavy-duty Sovtek 6B4 output triodes.

Russian ex-military dual triode signal tubes, one per channel.

Input stage adjustable Current Sources (CS).

While the amp is customized, The K&K phono stage is closer to its original circuit, having been modified only in the power supply.  There I installed two pieces of vintage NOS iron, the first being a potted ITC power transformer, and the second being a potted UTC choke to filter the B+ supply.  The supply is thus L-C, which offers the best passive regulation.  With such a large input L, the power supply’s turn-on time constant (K&K use a relay to energize the active circuit when the PS is up to speed) has moved up to about 30 seconds.  A NOS Sylvania 6C4 does the rectification.

The K&K Premium Phono Preamplifier.

One phono channel showing Russian dual triode, CS, and on the PCB behind them, adjustable MC input loading and Lundahl amorphous step-up transformer location. 

Phono preamp back panel.  Adjustable MC loading and optional balanced outputs.

Phono preamp’s custom power supply, finished in a vintage-look green hammertone.

The final piece is the K&K Differential Line Stage board, left stock but populated with PIO output caps bypassed with Teflon-and-foil caps, and joining signal switching, attenuation, and system power from a modified new Quicksilver chassis (thanks to Mike Sanders.)  I use this amplifier to drive dynamic headphones like the Sennheiser 600, which serve as one of my references. The power supply for this component uses a NOS Chicago Standard power transformer fed by a potted isolation transformer, and the back-panel switched outlet I plug the phono preamplifier into is fed by another isolation transformer.

 K&K line preamp / headphone amp built on Quicksilver preamp chassis.  Solid copper ground planes and subchassis, dual K&K shunt attenuators, and point-to-point OFHC copper and solid silver wiring throughout.

The use of a very highly modified ST70 as one of our test amps for speaker development was a calculated move – more on the just what can be done when both the electronics and speakers are bona-fide ultra-resolution when we reveal the new Dana models later in 2009.  Watch this space for a series of three articles on the new Danas…and how they sound driven by the K&K superstars.

While typically a 15w amplifier would be doubted in such a setting, especially when development moves beyond 2-way monitors, the K&K strategy paid off.  This amplifier can energize a large room through 88dB speakers, and in the nearfield we’ve even gotten near physical levels out of the ~85dB Swan D2.1se.  The advantage such an amplifier has is near-instantaneous overload recovery, something big consumer amps lack.

 One of the system’s eight Lundahl amorphous-core transformers.

The use of current sources and Lundahl amorphous transformers has revolutionized this very basic amplifier and turned it into a reference tool that sounds just as wide band and powerful as any good 50w transistor amp I’ve used over the past 25 years.  This assortment of equipment has removed the veils of conventional transistor amps and yet has the sheer speed, extension, micro- and macro-dynamics that not only belie that power comes from a moderately-sized tube amplifier, but turns on its head any doubts about transformer-coupled tube amplifiers.

The Lundahl amorphous core transformers used throughout are a revelation.  This is ultra-fi resolution and a deeply engaging, spacious, vivid sounding amplifier, as are all the K&K pieces.  The sound is tremendously detailed and “wideband”, yet organic and faithful to the recordings.  For a little less risk of transistor artificiality, I prefer tube rectification where possible, and while the push-pull circuit’s lack of 2nd order harmonic distortion removes the usual tube sound, the complete lack of grain says that this isn’t solid state we’re listening to.  The system actually sounds “faster” than that, owing to that grain-free presentation and such rapid recovery from big passages.  The system is challenging, to be sure, as it is quite ruthless to recordings, but it’s this quality that makes it such a valuable tool, at least until more power is called for.

Thanks are due to Kevin Carter at K&K.  This year we’re turning out a number of what I think will be seen as affordable reference-class speaker designs and we couldn’t have done it without Kevin and K&K.

The Audio Insider just negotiated our first shipment of the exciting new Swan M200MkIII (yes, that’s Mark 3, as in the 3rd generation of this venerable studio monitor.)  We’ll be stocking these premium self-powered speakers the first of September and will allocate our first deliveries from a reservation list.  Preliminary pricing for this MSRP $599 speaker is only $399 exclusively from The Audio Insider, but will rise to $479 sometime before 2010.

What’s new in the M200MkIII?  Double the power, bi-amplification, all new electronics, deeper bass, and solid milled hardwood side panels.  Not a bad few months work from Swan.  Click on over to the new M200MkIII product page and read all about this new model and drop us an email to reserve yours.  (Preorders also accepted from the product page.)

Don Lindich writes the Sound Advice blog and is a national syndicated writer whose opinions appear on a variety of publications.  Don recently had some kind words for the Swan M200MkII, the current iteration of the long-term M200 line of studio monitors priced inexpensively enough to offer premium desktop sound for the daily computer or other music source.

Don says:

“I was expecting something good, but they exceeded my expectations.  Midrange detail was extraordinary.  I listened to Broon’s Bane from Rush Exit: Stage Left from my iPod and the guitar sounded full, rich and natural, with every pluck of the string rendered gloriously, every resonance finding its way to your ears.

[...]

“…the M200 MKII’s slanted cabinet design does its job to enhance stereo imaging as I experienced a precise, holographic soundstage that seemed like a 1/50th scale version of my Ohm Walsh 5000 speakers, presented in front of me on my desk instead of filling my room.   At close range with the volume set lower due to my proximity to the speakers, they sounded even more natural and effortless than they did when I first fired them up as whole-room speakers.

[...]

“The beauty of the M200 MKII is they work so well in so many ways.  With their excellent sound, built-in power and the common RCA connection you can use them with lots of different components.  I hooked them up to an iPod in a spare bedroom in my home, placed them about 6 feet apart and listened to them from about ten feet away.  They sounded like a pair of fine quality bookshelf speakers hooked up to a clean-sounding receiver.

[...]

“Connect a DVD player or CD player to the RCA inputs and you have a stereo with high-end sound, perfect for an office, a dorm room, bedroom, a garage, anywhere you may want to enjoy good sound.   You could even connect them to the output of a phono preamp and use them with a turntable.  Just be sure to use a long RCA cable and locate the turntable some distance from the speakers.

[...]

“With the M200 MKII’s fine sound quality, even if they didn’t have built-in amplification they would be a bargain at the price.  Given they are essentially an audio system out of the box, the value equation becomes extremely compelling.”

Writing in Enjoy The Music, Clarke Robinson finds the Swan D2.1se an interesting listen.  Excerpts from Clarke’s summary:

The D2.1SEs are quite an achievement. They redefine what is possible for a small-box two-way, delivering beguiling sound at a scale I don’t know that you can touch for anywhere near their asking price.

[...]

This is another one of those speakers (and there aren’t very many of them) that should be making manufacturers of speakers sold through traditional dealer networks very nervous, and for that I heartily applaud Swans’ efforts.

Major PC/IT technology site AnandTech’s Gary Key shares his thoughts about the sound of Swan on the PC desktop. At TAI, we’ve found ways to offer Swan studio monitors at high-end multimedia speaker prices, and Gary finds the economy studio monitor Swan D1080MkII an excellent performing value.

The Swan M10 takes honors as his choice of compact 2.1-channel multimedia speaker system.

Gary also favorably commends the globally-popular Swan M200MkII reference desktop speaker system. Click the headline to travel to AnandTech and read the detailed analysis he provides there.

Excerpts:

I have always been a big Swan fan and someone will have to pry the M200MkII from my cold dead hands before I give them up. The new M12 units probably would have been perfect, but knowing my daughter would not really notice the difference I saved some money and bought the Swan M10 setup for just a few dollars more than the Logitech Z-2300. While the Logitech speakers win the battle of the bass, the Swan’s provide just an incredible clarity with superb mids and highs for the money. The soundstage comes across as being larger than it actually is and instrument separation is excellent.

[...]

The M10 units would have suited me perfectly and I probably should have gone that direction for saving money also. However, being the one to try something different, I decided to look at the Swan D1080MkII series after understanding them to be an inexpensive M200 substitute.

[...]

The high frequency definition and transient response is very good along with smooth and clear highs after the break-in period. The midrange is close to the M200 series and is the greatest strength of this speaker set. I would grade it somewhere between very good to excellent with sharp transients, stable imaging, and a very open but neutral sound stage. The upper bass is very good and provides a seamless transition into the midrange.

Thanks to Gabriel Torres and Hardware Secrets for this very nice capsule review on how to use the new Swan S3W. Gabriel also publishes the massive tech site, ClubdoHardware, based in Brazil.

The S3W is a fabulous miniature 2.0 desktop system for when you just want pinpoint imaging and a really clean sound. We guarantee it!