Meadowlark Swift?
Posted by: Tim Williams on 22 August 2002
Hello my North American chums - Has anyone heard the new Meadowlark speakers - I think they're called the Swift(?) - Small, tapering floorstanders constructed from solid ash and with a transmission line design - and....they seem rather inexpensive!
What's the story?
What's the story?
Posted on: 23 August 2002 by Tim Williams
Hmmmm...No takers eh?
Posted on: 23 August 2002 by Keith Mattox
I've like the few Meadowlarks that I've heard, but they're not widely distributed.
The Swift looks like a real beauty; I'm very intrigued. There aren't that many dealers (only four in NorCal), so it may be a while before I get a chance to hear them.
Forum member Peter Litwack is listed as a dealer. Perhaps he can chime in.
Cheers
Keith.
The Swift looks like a real beauty; I'm very intrigued. There aren't that many dealers (only four in NorCal), so it may be a while before I get a chance to hear them.
Forum member Peter Litwack is listed as a dealer. Perhaps he can chime in.
Cheers
Keith.
Posted on: 23 August 2002 by Mike Sae
If it sounds anything like it looks, it'll be a winner.
Posted on: 23 August 2002 by John L
I use the Meadowlark Kestrels in my system and have been happy with them.
John Litwin
John Litwin
Posted on: 23 August 2002 by garyi
Well they mught be a good speaker manufacturer, but there web guy and promo speak is cak.
Posted on: 23 August 2002 by Harris V
I visited the dealer in Oakland a while back and the Kestrels were playing in the background so I didn't get a good enough listen to make any judgement.
One thing I can say is that the build quality is superb. The US hifi press also has many good things to say about them - mostly that they're a bargain.
One thing I can say is that the build quality is superb. The US hifi press also has many good things to say about them - mostly that they're a bargain.
Posted on: 25 August 2002 by Peter Litwack
Yes, I am a Meadowlark dealer, but I haven't heard the new Swift yet. All the Meadowlarks I've had experience with work very well with Naim kit. The Swift's looks don't appeal to me very much, especially the nose and two wings on the bottom, but they may look better in person. However, based on Meadowlark's track record, I would venture to guess that they will perform far better than most of their competition at the sub $1K price point. Pat McGinty is a very down-to-earth guy, and I like his no-nonsense approach. If I can persuade him to send me an evaluation pair, I'll give them a workout and report back. They might prove to be a good alternative to the Intro 2s, which I like very much.
Posted on: 19 September 2002 by Justin
last weekend I spend about 45 minutes with the swifts at a dealer located in PA, USA. Here are my impressions:
In terms of build quality and "what you get", it almost seems impossible that Meadowlark can do it for only $1000. They are VERY well built and substantial for the money. The cabinets are solid ash, fantastically finished and generally very well put together. It "looks" like a $2000 pair of speakers.
I listened to them on the end of a Simaudio integrated and a Simaudio cd player. It's my understanding that these represent about $4000 worth of electronics, for whatever that is worth. But, I have no personal experience with this gear and can't comment on how it sounds in isolation.
To my ears, the swifts did not deviate in any "meaningful" way from the Kestrels (hotrods or otherwise), which is to say that to my ears, the speaker has a sort of "plastic-y" sound to it, particularly in the bass. Bass was present, but it never seemed to shake that sort of colouration. I'm willing to concede that it sounded fast enough, but to my mind it's somewhat emotionally detached, which has been my experience with all of the Meadowlark loudspeakers I've heard.
More importantly, though, it's sucked out in the midrange (as are the kestrels). Honestly, I've heard from several people that the meadowlark line is supposed to bring a lot of the midrange magic of the Spica TC-50's into a contemporary speaker. But the swifts (and to a lesser extent, the kestrels) suffer from two disabilities. First, the mid-lower midrange is recessed (where most voices are found). This renders vocals less full than they ought to be. It pushes them back too far from the listener and shrinks them laterally. Piano notes are too thin here as well. For instance, on Ahmad Jamal's "Stolen Moments" (from his awsome "the Awakening" album) I felt like I'm missing important information. Tonally, they were just too thin there. I think this is indicative of the speakers inability to be "intimate" with the listener.
The second problem is a fairly clear resonance in the lower midrange which occurs right after the dip in the midrange response discussed above. For instance, when Jacintha dips down into a lower register, she gets WAY too full. All of a sudden, the whole fronts of the cabinets get all CHESTY and things start to break up, as if the cabinet is moving rather than the driver (which, of course, is what cabinet resonance is all about). I had this problem with Jacintha, Diana Krall, and particularly (PARTICULARLY) with Trisha Barber.
Ultimalely, I've determined that Meadowlark is a slightly less refined (but quicker) verion of Theil loudspeakers, none of which I particularly like either. I think it's a loudspeaker company that "has its shit together", but which hasn't built a loudspeaker yet that interests me emotionally.
Judd
In terms of build quality and "what you get", it almost seems impossible that Meadowlark can do it for only $1000. They are VERY well built and substantial for the money. The cabinets are solid ash, fantastically finished and generally very well put together. It "looks" like a $2000 pair of speakers.
I listened to them on the end of a Simaudio integrated and a Simaudio cd player. It's my understanding that these represent about $4000 worth of electronics, for whatever that is worth. But, I have no personal experience with this gear and can't comment on how it sounds in isolation.
To my ears, the swifts did not deviate in any "meaningful" way from the Kestrels (hotrods or otherwise), which is to say that to my ears, the speaker has a sort of "plastic-y" sound to it, particularly in the bass. Bass was present, but it never seemed to shake that sort of colouration. I'm willing to concede that it sounded fast enough, but to my mind it's somewhat emotionally detached, which has been my experience with all of the Meadowlark loudspeakers I've heard.
More importantly, though, it's sucked out in the midrange (as are the kestrels). Honestly, I've heard from several people that the meadowlark line is supposed to bring a lot of the midrange magic of the Spica TC-50's into a contemporary speaker. But the swifts (and to a lesser extent, the kestrels) suffer from two disabilities. First, the mid-lower midrange is recessed (where most voices are found). This renders vocals less full than they ought to be. It pushes them back too far from the listener and shrinks them laterally. Piano notes are too thin here as well. For instance, on Ahmad Jamal's "Stolen Moments" (from his awsome "the Awakening" album) I felt like I'm missing important information. Tonally, they were just too thin there. I think this is indicative of the speakers inability to be "intimate" with the listener.
The second problem is a fairly clear resonance in the lower midrange which occurs right after the dip in the midrange response discussed above. For instance, when Jacintha dips down into a lower register, she gets WAY too full. All of a sudden, the whole fronts of the cabinets get all CHESTY and things start to break up, as if the cabinet is moving rather than the driver (which, of course, is what cabinet resonance is all about). I had this problem with Jacintha, Diana Krall, and particularly (PARTICULARLY) with Trisha Barber.
Ultimalely, I've determined that Meadowlark is a slightly less refined (but quicker) verion of Theil loudspeakers, none of which I particularly like either. I think it's a loudspeaker company that "has its shit together", but which hasn't built a loudspeaker yet that interests me emotionally.
Judd
Posted on: 19 September 2002 by Mike Sae
Nice write up, Judd. I've been waiting for one of "us" to give 'em a go.