swan 5.2 vs rocket 550

[augerpro]

I've narrowed down my choice of speakers to one of these two. Anyone here know how they compare in sound quality? I hear alot about the swans here but not alot about the Rockets. they will be doing mostly HT but how do they compare musically? How about at high volumes?

I'm leaning toward a Denon 3806 to push them. Thanks for any advice!

 

[DOJ]

I don't own 550's or have heard them . I have listen to many Rocket line speakers and they sound great with music and can be driven to loud levels .

I listen to a wide range of music on my 850 sigs , And just never get tired of how great they sound. The denon will handle the demand with ease

 

[Duffman-OOHYEAH]

I'm going to 2nd my man DOJ's opinion. I own the 550s and they handle music very well and HT is unbelievable. Everyone that has ever watched a movie or listened to music at my place comments on how detailed they are and how they're hearing things that they have never heard before. Also the following phares have been uttered during movies/videos .... "HOLY $HIT", "IT SOUNDS LIKE THAT PLANE JUST LANDED IN THE NEXT ROOM", "DID AN ELEPHANT JUST RUN THROUGH THE ROOM" and finally "DAMN, I DIDN'T KNOW THAT THE BLUE MAN GROUP MADE HOUSE CALLS". So to sum up they throw an emormous soundstage with imaging to match. They have brought quite a few tears to my eyes since I've owned them.

JR

 

[ssabripo]

I'll be the odd one here

both are excellent, but for my personal tastes, the Swan 6.1s (which are NOT the same drivers as the x.2's...similar but not quite) sounded better with slightly better imaging and depth perception than the Rocket 750s, so I went with them. The Swans are brighter while the Rockets are warmer.....some people prefer them one way and viceversa. But both are excellent.

I Prefered the 6.1's to the 6.2's myself, so go figure. Keep in mind the 5.2s will be significantly Bigger in size! here is a pic of the 6.1 vs 750s, and here is the 6.2s vs 6.1s, so that outta tell you how the 5.2s stack up with the 550;s

 

[Duffman-OOHYEAH]

It's nice to see someone with experience with both companys mentioned. Those 6.1s look menacing, I think an audition is in order in the near future.

As to the 550s keep in mind that they have quite a bit more treble energy then the 750s and also have been described as more forward. So order both and send back the loser.

JR

 

[augerpro]

So one person says the 550s are warmer and another that they have more trebel energy (as in brighter?) Oooh my head is starting to hurt again Seriously though thanks everyone for the replies.

The swan 6.2s and rocket 750s are just too far out of my budget. The old and new swans don't look like they would sound alike at all. The drivers are totally different. Anyone what the new drivers are made of?

Keep the replies coming!!

 

[augerpro]

I should mention that I do get fatigued with speakers that are too bright. however i have never cared for "warm" speakers either, they sound muddy to me. But then again i've never listened to speakers in this price range, so take that for what it's worth...

 

[trisbo]

I've been living with the 550's for about a month now, while waiting for the center and surrounds which are on backorder from av123. So, lots of 2 channel listening so far, I can report that these are wonderful for the price. I would describe them as warm sounding with solid soundstaging for a small tower. I would not describe the treble as bright, but easy to listen to. These are not fatigueing at all. I have an older Denon (av3020) which is 80wpc driving the 550's and it is more than strong enough to drive them to ear splitting levels in my large room (20x20x9). I have'nt heard the Swans so can't comment on them. Good luck!

 

[Duffman-OOHYEAH]

Sorry for the confusion. The 550s are on the warm side as I believe the whole Rocket line is intended to posses this trait. As for brightness or treble energy, I was comparing the 550 to the 750. The 750s are known for being laid back and lack a strong highend (treble). So in comparison the 550s are a bit brighter then the 750s but not compared to other speakers. You'll love either speaker, it's a win win but if you're looking for a non fatiguing one, it's tough to beat the Rocket line. Hope that helped. If you happen to live near SE Pa you're welcome to stop in for an audition. FYI if you don't mind buying used gear you can pickup 750s for around 7-800$.

JR

 

[Loner]

I'll be the odd one here

both are excellent, but for my personal tastes, the Swan 6.1s (which are NOT the same drivers as the x.2's...similar but not quite) sounded better with slightly better imaging and depth perception than the Rocket 750s, so I went with them. The Swans are brighter while the Rockets are warmer.....some people prefer them one way and viceversa. But both are excellent.

I Prefered the 6.1's to the 6.2's myself, so go figure. Keep in mind the 5.2s will be significantly Bigger in size! here is a pic of the 6.1 vs 750s, and here is the 6.2s vs 6.1s, so that outta tell you how the 5.2s stack up with the 550;s

Can you describe the differences between the 6.1's and 6.2's? Thanks.

 

[augerpro]

Thanks again everyone for the advice. I MAY adjust my budget a bit since the rocket 760 HT package isn't that much. I noticed the 760s have 2 5.25s compared to the 750s 4 6.5s, and they are spaced different. I wonder if this will brighten them a bit. At least compared to the 550s. Anyone heard the new 760s?

Also I can't decide between direct firing or dipole rears. I like the idea of the dipoles, any downsides? Also if I go with the rockets the dipole has a fairly small woofer and a different tweeter then everything else.

Anyone NOT like anything about the rockets?

And come on Swan owners pipe up! ssabipro I like the 5.2s but man I didn't realize how big they were compared to the rockets!

 

[Duffman-OOHYEAH]

Not to push you from this forum but you should head over to the av123forum.com and ask for input. The opinion pool is much larger partaining to the topic also there's a few swan owners there as well (I believe).

As far as dipoles go, if your primary use for your speakers is HT then nothing beats dipoles, if on the other hand multichannel music is your main priority than go with monopole. Also don't worry about the tweeter in the dipoles not matching the mains. Their sound is close enough to the vifa that I doubt you will be unsatisfied.

One last thing, the 750s had 4 5.25" drivers and have been discontinued. The 760s are quite a bit larger and provide much more bass, they basically combined the best qualities of the 550 and 750.


JR

 

[ssabripo]

av123 is the rocket forum....several old swan members still there, but it is very Rocket-ish crowd Not that there is anything wrong with that, given how I love their products.

you can spin your head all day, and you can read all forums, but at the end of the day, you need to listen to them to see which one suits you best! $100 out of pocket to return the one you dont like is not a bad price! order both, compare, listen, and return the one you dont like.

several people have done that over at AVSforum, under speakers subforum. Go search for "swan" and "rockets" (and also "axiom") and you will see several threads on the topic.

 

[craigsub]

Come on, guys. This is simple. All we need to do is to ground plane test the speakers @ 2 meters. Whichever one will play the loudest with under 10% THD is clearly the best speaker.

 

[Duffman-OOHYEAH]

Come on, guys. This is simple. All we need to do is to ground plane test the speakers @ 2 meters. Whichever one will play the loudest with under 10% THD is clearly the best speaker.

LMAO, if that's the case it may be time to buy a earthquake cinenova amp.

Hey by the by Craig didn't you recently get the 760s? If so, how do they sound??

JR

 

[craigsub]

LMAO, if that's the case it may be time to buy a earthquake cinenova amp.

Hey by the by Craig didn't you recently get the 760s? If so, how do they sound??

JR

I have only done some casual listening ... However, they will be going into one of our systems tonight. More on that later ...

 

[jmprader]

Come on, guys. This is simple. All we need to do is to ground plane test the speakers @ 2 meters. Whichever one will play the loudest with under 10% THD is clearly the best speaker.

I have an international passport and a companion woman whose image will exceed your wildest dreams ready to accompany you to your new domicile. Passage is booked on an appropriate freight line allowing live animal transport. Your first year's ice fishing license is included, courtesy of your friends in the moderate climatic zones...

Re-entry will be difficult. Choose wisely.