The Audio Insider Experience

[cmb5286]

I'm looking to buy some floorstanding speakers and the Swan Divas really caught my eye. My question is: How is audio insider in terms of customer service? They also advertise http://www.ozhometheater.com as another reseller of the Swans. I'm just kinda leery from internet-only distributors. Is this deal too good to be true?

 

[rnatalli]

I've never done business with Audio Insider, but those that have seemed quite happy. Never heard of ozhometheater.

 

[silversurfer]

From reading the forums, it seems most have been happy with the Audio Insider.

The one thing that I read that stands out in my mind is they charge your credit card before items are shipped, even if they are backordered. That is something I would check on.

 

[emorphien]

I've never heard bad things about Audio Insider either. As far as I know OZ home theater is in some way affiliated with them.

A couple years back I had correspondence with the owner of OZ home theater and he seems like a good guy so I don't think I'd be concerned about giving them my business (and I'd love to hear some Swans gear).

 

[jamie2112]

There is a pair of Swan divas on Washington DC craigslist brand new for $650

 

[cmb5286]

Thanks for the quick responses guys!!

I went and auditioned some speakers a few days ago. I picked the Paradigm Studio 60s and 100s and the Monitor Audio RS6s. I thought the Paradigms were a bit too bright to my liking. However, I loved the RS6s and were maybe looking at the RS8s. Do you guys know how the Divas may compare?

 

[mazersteven]

I have never had a bad experience dealing with Jon Lane from Audio Insider. He has been very helpful whenever I have had a question or situation needing his assistance.


http://theaudioinsider.com/forum/profile.php?mode=viewprofile&u=3&sid=9dbf12904183c37895e4720e59b72556


From what I know the guys from OZ once were affiliated with AV123 and went into business themselves.

 

[silversurfer]

From what I know the guys from OZ once were affiliated with AV123 and went into business themselves.

That is pretty interesting, OZ used to sell AV123 speakers and now sell Swan?

 

[speakerman39]

I have never had a bad experience dealing with Jon Lane from Audio Insider. He has been very helpful whenever I have had a question or situation needing his assistance.


http://theaudioinsider.com/forum/profile.php?mode=viewprofile&u=3&sid=9dbf12904183c37895e4720e59b72556


From what I know the guys from OZ once were affiliated with AV123 and went into business themselves.

Although I have never owned any of Audio Insider products, I can easily say w/o a doubt that John Lane is one very nice and knowledgeable guy. I have considered buying some gear from him, but decided to go a different route instead. However, I am convinced that John would have offered excellent customer service. As such, I would never be afraid to but anything from him. I agree here with mazer.

Cheers,

Phil

 

[ivseenbetter]

I have bought some swans and I did buy them from Audio Insider. John Lane was outstanding in working with me. The items shipped quickly and were in perfect condition...they were packed to survive anything! If you are worried about the service you will get from the audio insider then you are worrying about nothing. It will be a smooth experience.

The only hiccup I had was that the shipping calculator on the website was jacked up and it quoted me a ridiculous price. One call to John and he fixed it.

Unfortunately I can't tell you how the RS8s compare to the Swans...I am very happy with my Swans though.

 

[gwilks98]

What model swans are you looking at?

(FYI, i'm also from StL. What part are you from?)

 

[armaraas]

I believe The Audio Insider is a pretty good place to deal with. I've exchanged emails with Jon Lane as well, and actually just sent him another one, thinking about ordering a set of Diva 5.2's. He's fairly active on message boards and seems pretty easy to get a hold of for questions. I wouldn't be concerned about ordering anything through them at all.

 

[cmb5286]

gwilks98, I actually am from Belleville, but I'm moving downtown in a month. I'm looking at the 5.2s or 6.2s. I'm still debating those or the MA RS8s or RS6s. I'm on the fence for the both of those.

 

[Adam]

Ahhh, Belleville. Brings back memories. I used to go there about once a year in high school for competitions. I'm originally from central Illinois, around Peoria.

 

[gwilks98]

gwilks98, I actually am from Belleville, but I'm moving downtown in a month. I'm looking at the 5.2s or 6.2s. I'm still debating those or the MA RS8s or RS6s. I'm on the fence for the both of those.

I thought long and hard about the 6.2s before ordering a pair of Rocket RS850s from AV123.com. AV123 used to be a distributer of Swan products, and the two companies speak highly of each others brands. Tweak City Audio is going to review the Swans and compare them to a similar model on the AV123 line (the RS760s). Take a look over there if you're interested in seeing what they think about the two. (There will probably be a bunch of other speakers in the lineup as well for the same price class.)

 

[cmb5286]

I thought long and hard about the 6.2s before ordering a pair of Rocket RS850s from AV123.com. AV123 used to be a distributer of Swan products, and the two companies speak highly of each others brands. Tweak City Audio is going to review the Swans and compare them to a similar model on the AV123 line (the RS760s). Take a look over there if you're interested in seeing what they think about the two. (There will probably be a bunch of other speakers in the lineup as well for the same price class.)

How do you like the 850s? In terms of sound, how are they? Bright or warm and mellow?

 

[gwilks98]

I don't have my 850s yet (not until July/August), but I did listen to some in person before ordering.

Note, they were not fully broken in yet. The best way I could describe them was sharp. They typically didn't color the sound from what I could tell (except for a slight boost in midbass), but they were very exact when called upon.

They need to be paired with a sub if you want to do HT correctly. Watching depth charges or horses racing just isn't the same without the "below 30hz" attitude a good sub can bring.

The only other way I could explain what I heard was the comparison I did between digital coax and digital optical cables. Digital coax to me sounded warm and the intricate sounds flowed together. The digital optical cable sounded much more detailed and defined on the micro sound scale.

I have a suspicion this will be the difference you'd see between the swans and the rockets if you were able to compare the two. They both should sound fantastic, but it may come down to your preference in what sounds better.