Swans T200A Active Speaker System

Tag : Knit Products


Another Chinese entry, the Swans T200A is part of a wide range ofproducts made under the Swans name by Chinese driver manufacturerHi-Vi Research. The company’s products range from exotic,cost no object ribbon designs to very affordable multimediaproducts. The T200A resides high up in their multimedia line and isbilled as a “true professional active monitor”.

If the T200A is aimed at the professional/studio market it suredoesn’t look it. In contrast to the non-descript lookingblack boxes one often finds in studio environments, the T200A is arather bold looking speaker. It features a triangular front bafflefaced with a silver coloured aluminum plate. Two more triangularsections finished in shiny black piano lacquer slope back from thebaffle and then stop about a third of the way into thespeaker’s 27 cm depth. The rear section of the speakerconsists of a more traditionally shaped box which is ported atrear. Another unusual touch is that the piano lacquer front sectionof the speaker protrudes almost an inch in width and height fromthe traditional box at rear, creating a sizeable lip.
In terms of features and amenities, however, the T200A certainlydoes lean more towards the professional studio monitor than thebargain multimedia speaker. First and foremost there is a 40 wattamp in each speaker, as opposed to putting the electronics in onespeaker of a powered pair. As such each speaker has its own levelcontrol and inputs, in this case both RCA and balanced XLR inputsare provided. On the rear of each speaker you’ll also find apower switch, AC power input plug, a large aluminum heat sink, anda bright blue power indicator (which is bright enough to cast ablue glow on the wall behind the speaker even from several feelaway). There is also a matching blue power LED on the front baffleof each speaker which shines with equal intensity. It can be hiddenwith the supplied grille covers for those who find the high-techlook a little much.
Not surprisingly the speaker makes use of drivers from Hi-Vi, inthis case a 1 inch “natural fibre knit neodymium iron boronmagnetic ball style tweeter” and a 5 inch magnesium alloylong throw mid/woofer. With its gold coloured, parabolic metallicsurface and no dustcap or phase plug, the mid/woofer is quiteunusual and stylish looking.
Swan Song
Because they arrived first I ended up listening to the Swans forthe longest period of time, using them at work over a period ofseveral weeks. I set them up on a large desk, about 18″ fromthe rear wall and three feet from my head. While not in theheavyweight class of the Genelecs , the Swans acquitted themselves very nicely. Listening via Itunesthrough my Powerbook, both with the without the Echo Indigo , the T200A did not suffer from the heavy colourations whichplagued the Edifiers . While a little on the bright side and voiced to be a bit thinsounding overall, the speaker was otherwise relatively neutral anddid a decent job in the midrange.

Befitting a studio monitor the T200A was very revealing, with lotsof treble detail. On rougher sounding source material this detailcould occasionally become too much of a good thing, but the highfrequency extremes of the speaker can be somewhat tamed by usingthe grille covers (I did most of my listening with the grillesoff). The speaker’s revealing nature was very useful inhearing the difference between the Powerbook’s headphoneoutput and the Echo Audio Indigo sound card, which smoothed the topend considerably. The difference between MP3s and AIFFs was alsoaudible, the T200A, for instance, sounding smoother and moreinvolving playing the uncompressed AIFFs of OrchestraBaobab’s Specialist in All Styles rather than the 256 Kbs MP3s I had ripped from the disc.
Lately I’ve been enjoying Sarah Harmer’s latest album ( All of our Names ), as well as her first full length release ( You Were Here ). Both records sounded particularly good on the Swans, her unique,sweet sounding voice very honestly and directly conveyed by thespeakers. In comparison to the top flight Genelecs , the T200As were not the last word in midrange transparency, andsticklers will say they lacked a little bit of body on vocals, butthey could certainly sound involving enough to draw my attentionaway from work.
I picked up the latest Tortoise album ( It’s All Around You ) during the review period, and was treated to more of the bassheavy, rhythmically complex instrumental tracks they’vebecome famous for. Despite bass response down to only 60 Hz, and asomewhat lightweight balance as a result, the Swans got the rhythmright and had me reaching for the volume control on tracks like“Salt the Skies”. With forty watts aside, twisting thevolume knob up gave good results, the speakers able to handleplenty of juice before audible strain set in. Listening in thenearfield at just three feet away I could get more than enoughvolume when I wanted it, clean punchy midbass, and plenty of oomphoverall. They don’t have the authority of the Genelecs, butfew small speakers do, and of course there’s always thepossibility of adding a sub, especially at the price.
Imaging and soundstaging were decent, with good size and nice widespread on Phillip Glass’ score for Kundun , which sounded very good on this system. They imaged a littlebetter with the grilles on, but sounded a bit more detailed andlively with them off; a tradeoff individual users will have todecide on for themselves. At modest to moderate volume levels theSwans featured good separation of instruments and musical lineswith things only getting congested at volume levels which demandedtoo much of them. Dynamic contrasts were well conveyed, but notwith the stark relief of speakers in the class of the Genelecs.Again, a good sub would help in this department, but getting a goodone will likely at least double the cost of the system. It alsoassumes you’ll have room for one under your desk.
Shortcomings aside, the Swans T200A packs an enormous amount ofperformance into an attractive and sonically impressive package.There are certainly many better sounding powered monitors outthere, but for $400 US the Swans really distinguish themselves.They certainly embarrass most low end “multimedia”speaker systems for only slightly more money. If you like the waythey look and have enough desk space for a larger than averagecomputer speaker, the T200A may well be your best choice south of$500 US.