Has anyone heard the Swan Diva line of Speakers?

You made want to check over on the asylum or harmonicdiscord, seems to be a lot of talk about them there.

Patrick

I just heard a pair at CES, don't remember which ones but my 2 friends any myself thought they sounded pretty poor. Very hi-fi, very in-involving. Stayed in room less than 3 minuets.

Hope that helps,
jay

They are - WERE - excellent speakers for the money. I own a pair of stand-mounted Diva 3.1's. Very nice woodwork, too, looked real classy.

Problem is: AV123.COM can't sell 'em anymore due to potential legal reasons. The use of the top-mounted tweeter must resemble B&W or someone else's designs too much, there's potential legal trouble there. And I think there was also a note about the name "Diva" already used by another manufacturer, and they wanted the speaker line renamed so as not to be confused with their product.

It's too bad, the sound is remarkable on them, and they are easy to drive.

BUT....the GOOD news is that AV123.COM is carrying another line, the Rocket series by Onix. Same (even better, I've heard) woodwork, I think the same source for lower range drivers, but the tweeter is the becoming-legendary Vifa Ring Tweeter, and supposedly sounds very nice as well.

The largest in the series has a crossover design by Dick Pierce, who is very well known and respected in the Audio Engineering circles. It's an intersting design, worth reading about.

Anyways, I'm rambling. The Diva's are great, there are some comparisons on Audio Asylum in the threads, with most talk leaning towards the Rockets being better overall, maybe the Diva's having some preference here or there.

For me, I haven't used my Diva's in a long time, but I just can't seem to bring myself to get rid of them :-)

Best of luck, and good listening.

Todd - chams_uk

Sure have. I have a set.
You can also read about them here:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=1001fc3b5ede2b662184ae532f964cae&threadid=113098

A message board thread that quickly went past 10/20/100 posts to now have over 3,000 posts in 156 pages. People who have Divas really, really love them.

Anthony

I have a friend here in town who has the 6.1's
He is on his second pair as one tweeter on one speaker of his first pair failed.
He was given a new pair free with free shipping.They were under warranty still.
He was told the tweeters and drivers cant be repaired/replaced.
The fit and finish on his second pair is quite inferior to his first pair.
As far as I know,the Diva line is no more and I did see AV123 selling off their last three pair of 6.1's.
Good luck to you that have Diva's...if one fails, what then??

David99,

You can buy the tweeter at Audioexpress as well as the metal cone woofers - they are HiVi units.

Dave

Yes, these speakers are manufactured by Hi-Vi.
I recently heard the Swans 2.2 at the CES show in Las Vegas and every rep, manufacturer or technician in the business I spoke to at Swan's booth, agreed that they were the best sound they have ever heard even though there were no back walls or sound proofing materials.
The Swans 2.2 won EVERY CES AWARD in the high-end audio and engineering categories, they were nominated "The Best In The Show".
I have to agree with the bunch, my previous favorites were my dad's Montana's but the Swans sound much more intense and realistic, you could listen to Eagles singer breathing very precisely.
Of course! Each speaker is loaded with the best components in existence: 16 midrange ribbons, 32 ribbon tweeters and four 8" woofers; they are 6'10"" tall x 3 feet wide x 13" deep and weigh just 200 kilos a piece! (In the box)
They are a wall (or should I say 2 walls!) of engineering with a HUGE SWEET SPOT and the most exquisite sound you can listen to for just $68,000 a pair!
Hi-Vi is one of the largest manufacturers of hi end components for speakers IN THE WORLD and most top of the line European speakers (specially German and English) and some of our best Legacy's, Martin Logan's, etc. use their components.
So.... do not believe when somebody tells you that Swans or their economy but still excellent Diva lines are not good speakers, these speakers are just NOT OVERPRICED!

Check this web site for the CES awards. All of the cream of the cream were there and this company got the award as the best sound and engineering. http://www.techtv.com/news/ces2003/story/0,24195,3413910,00.html

Swans (and the original Diva by Swans) are available once again at our store at Audiogon: The Audio Insider, or www.theaudioinsider.com

I currently own a pair of Swan Diva 5.1s. I have been an audiophile for over 30 years and I feel you can't go wrong purchasing the 5.1s based on the sound and price. I am using a Sonic Frontiers Line 1, a Llano 100S pure class A amplifier,a Marantz SA-14, and a Clearaudio turntable. I recently sold Apogee Stages after more than 12 years with them and have had the pleasure of using the Swans in my main listening room. They were previously purchased for a small system upstairs. I really had not paid much attention to their sound I have had them about 15 months) since I was listening to the Apogee Stages. Once I took the grills off the speakers they really came alive and sound very good. The bass is outstanding for a small pair of floorstanders (IMO). I am currently looking for replacements for my Stages and can honestly say I am not in a hurry as the Swan Diva's sound great. Hope that helps.