M20WQUOTE
Pros
- Full range micro driver *limited coherence issue*
- Tight and punchy sub
- Bright and aggressive sound signature (when setup properly)
- Similar presentation as the Aego M (when satellites level to ear) but not as sibilant.
Cons
- Lousy in line volume controller. Channel imbalance at low volume when attenuated using the in line pod. Throw this away and connect the line out directly to the subwoofer. Make sure that your source is not running at full volume! We will not replace imbalanced volume pod, it is a poor implementation and it should not be used in the first place.
- Microdriver is rather directional and looses a lot of high frequency if setup below ear level. Complaints with highs not being good enough in Chinese forum is mainly due to improper setup. The speakers should have been angled like the Aego M (which fills up the whole room) but for some reasons they are designed to be leveled and cubicle.
- Musical sub but low SPL. More than adequate for desktop use.
Recommended for:
Listeners who are sensitive to driver coherence. Those who enjoys a bright/cold/in the face/aggressive sound signature. It is akin to Grado line headphones in terms for tonal balance. Also suits people with limited desk space. You still need to elevate/angle the driver towards your ear or it will sound odd. Subwoofer goes up till 180 hz therefore a lot of upper bass (directional) are still being reproduced by the subwoofer. For seamless result, you should place the subwoofer right below the satellites, in the middle, or keep it on the table.
M50WQUOTE
Pros
- Lush and musical tonal balance. Maybe little too lush for some. Very similar to Senn 650's sound signature.
- Wide sound stage and great depth.
- Very tight and punchy bass. More than adequate when used as a desktop speaker
- Easily fills a mid sized room with authority
Cons
- Very huge satellites, require some positioning to ensure the speaker does not sound veil
Recommended for:
If you want to play it safe and buy a speaker without auditioning it, this is the one to get. It is a lush sounding and musical speaker. Once you get used to it, it will be hard to go back to any dry sounding speakers. However, it does sound a little veil for those who are used to articulate and bright sounding signature. It's most prominent when you move on from M50W to the X4. However, we are talking about two completely different sound signature and price point here. M50W and M100 has rather similar sound signature however M100 delivers better frequency coverage and bass by itself without the sub. If you cut off the M50W's sub, the M50W satellites cannot compete the M100 and M200 in anyway. M200 has a more neutral presentation, but some people call it boring.
D1080-IVQUOTE
Pros
- Delivers the most bass from a 2.0 system without a subwoofer (besides the X series)
- Flat port not particularly sensitive to distance from wall to delivery heart thumping bass
- Adequate power delivery to fill up a mid/large size room
- Matching ST2 speaker stand available
Cons
- Colored mid range. Similar to a tube amp-ed sound signature. (love it or hate it)
- Ugly without the front grill being removed
- While the speaker delivers great SPL and easily fills up the room, cabinet can be heard and is not as transparent as M200 and T200B (Actually T200B sounds a little analytically and flat so you can still somewhat hear the cabinet. T200B sounds like Wilson Sophia but with less highs and less bass...it's actually not as DEAD sounding as the Sophia)
Recommended for:
Don't really know. A lot of people seem to love this speaker but it's not my kind of sound. The mid range is kinda colored and since I am a BBC guy it's not my favorite speaker. In fact, I'd thought this is one of the worst selling speakers but I ended up being wrong and this get sold out before anything else. Even my old friend PCWORK seem to love this speaker more than the rest. Maybe after listening to a bunch of different sounding speaker people get attached to some mid range coloration. In terms of tonal balance, it is not neutral, for sure. However, in terms of completeness in frequency, it is very decent since you won't really find any frequency being missing. M200MKii and MKiii can feel a little lean. The T200B is incredibly lean but significantly airy, detailed, and articulate for those who like that kind of sound signature.
If you are using the speaker nearfield and do not want to spend a whole lot. M200MKii is the one you want. If you want a speaker that will do everything from Jazz to pop, pop to audiophile, audiophile to R&B, then only the M10, M20W, and M50W are suitable for you. Except if you decide to go H4 + H6 or maybe even the M20/M60 5.1
One thing I don't understand is why not many people talk about the D1010-IV. It is a more suitable speaker for desktop use than D1080-IV. Granted, the D1010-IV has the same bright tweeters as the M10 and may sound a little too bright for some, the form factor and sound signature is made so that you can use the speaker nearfield and still have the fun factor.
The good thing is that, you will NEVER find a BOOMY, FARTY, subwoofer or 2.1 setup from HiVi/Swan. Even the M10 delivers incredibly tight and punchy sub for a sheer 4"+ "subwoofer".
D1080-IV DEMO ALERTQUOTE
We will move our D1080-IV, and M20W to Heavy Arm to allow end users to demo them. You should be able to try them starting this SATURDAY. However, at this point D1080-IV is sold out. M20W may still be available. Basically going forward, you will be able to demo at Heavy Arm:
M10
M20W
M50W
D1080-IV
Maybe next week we will move the D1010-IV there as well
This post has been edited by CyntrixTech: Dec 19 2012, 03:17 AM