Seeking feedback on Swan, Paradigm and Triangle

Cellorover, your response was generous and tactful, two qualities I confess mine was lacking. One thousand apologies. Swans is a completly different company now and their products have changed a lot. They import and use in their own designs high quality HiVi drivers from China of all places. That didnt seem to bother companies like Cliffhanger, Totem and Coincedent, they all use HiVi drivers in some of their designs. I have only heard the M1s and they have stood up very well in comparison with some better known and more expensive speakers. They are small but like my Totem 1s are capable of (relatively) high output and are dynamic in moderate size rooms. Mine is about 16x16. The ribbon tweeters are very nice. The Paradigms mentioned go deeper but cant match the Swans in ultimate clarity and detail (IMO). The M1s also have a very natural balance, although I use them with a sub. They are not very efficient at 85-86db but are an easy 8ohm load and dont seem to take too much juice. I have only used them with SS power so cant say how they take to tubes. This is only my opinion from my own experience. I purchased mine used "for a song" to use as backup while trying others and still havent found anything to really settle down with. The Paradigms are good speakers and I have also heard the Meadowlark Kestrals and they are a very good value also. Hope you find what your looking for, and again I regret coming off like a prick.

No problem. This is what it is all about. Having fun and sending some jabs and challenges. I'm tempted to grab up a pair of Swans just for the reason you said -- affordable and good. But I want to save a few dollars to do something with my CD. I am still undecided there. For now, I am leaning towards the Kestral and as I move ahead they will probably end up in my daughter's system. Space is tight so these seem like a good solution without compromising sound. But I still want to spend some time with the Josephs before I make a final decision. I am partial to monitors. Keep the feedback and info coming.

I just bought a pair of Swans M1 and got them in this afternoon.

That's one hell of a stiff suspension these little woofers have! I have Prodigy's "The Fat of the Land" taking care of the break in. I understand from several sources (including the manual) that they take about 100 hrs. They're also taking all the power my Proton AA-1150 power amp is throwing out!

As for musicality, I can't say yet. My JMlab Tantal 509 are sooo musical.....but I didn't like the way they sounded right out of the box. I can already say, however, that the Swans are much more detailed and three dimensional. They're also letting me know more of my Proton's SS sound, especially since I have to raise the power to get them moving properly. That Prodigy CD is going to accelerate the break in process...

Let's see how it goes. I've NEVER seen any speaker with such a build quality/price ratio. Cabinet construction, massive binding posts, separate crossover boards damped and mounted at 90 degrees, internal bracing, real wood veneer, ribbon tweeter and shielded kevlar woofer with dual magnets, leather front...simply unreal!

Psychicanimal, yours must be getting broken in by now, what do you think? Expect them to improve a little more after much use. By the way at first glance I thought it said Psycocriminal, sorry cant shake it.

I performed the forced break-in procedure outlined in the manual: to put the speakers in front of each other and hook them out of phase ( in mono, if possible ). Well, no mono--but the Prodigy cut I picked is giving them little woofers one hell of a workout!

A total of 13 hrs in three days with Prodigy: Fat of the Land did loosen the suspension and the tweeter...

The speaker is truly outstanding, though extremely inefficient. Even before completing the break-in I couldn't get up from the couch! Detailed yet musical, smooth and fast, with a very stable stereo image. It truly conveys the performance.

What more could I ask?