Swan H5 v/s Aktimate Mini+ Mini Review

[aaksheytalwar]

Swan H5 v/s Aktimate Mini+ Mini Review

I owned both speaker systems and tested them with my Asus STX on my Auralex mopads. Neither was burned in. Both brand new. Similar songs on both.

Lows
Aktimate - Tight, thumpy, controlled bass which doesn't bleed into mids
Swan - Punchy, heavy weight bass which removes the need for a separate sub woofer. Slightly thumpy but not as tight and controlled.
Winner - Tie

Highs
Swan could be a bit better, not sure.

Mids/Vocals
Aktimate - Neutral natural, cinema hi fi like vocals. Crisp, clean and clear. Far easier to understand.
Swan - Forward mids but not as easy to understand. However with some eq, they become easier to understand than Aktimate
Winner - Out of the box Aktimate, else tie

Sound stage Width
Hands down winner aktimate. It doesn't even seem as if the sound is coming from the speakers. The soundstage of the Swan isn't as good.

Soundstage Depth
Winner Swan

Separation
Winner - Swan

Clarity and Sharpness
Hands down winner Aktimate. Aktimate competes with several a few times as expensive whereas swan can't even stand a chance in front of aktimate here, but this is somewhat attributed to their bright nature.

Clearness
Aktimate is the hands down winner. Not even a contest.

Listening Sweet Spot
Aktimate is a it better

Features - Tie. Bass control. Treble control etc. but individual volume knobs is not the best idea. Aktimate has more inputs and outputs.

Overall winner
Tie
Both have their plus and minus points. Aktimate has a thinner voice as compared to Swan's thicker voice. Swan is warm and needs eq for similar clarity due to excess warmth. aktimate is neutral to bright yet more lively. Bass and treble are a bit more natural on Swan though while Aktimate is more artificial but nice sounding.
If you like Audioengine sound signature without the muddled and muffled sounds, then Aktimate is better. If you like Swan signature, then get a Swan.
Swan is more musical, albeit slightly, with sweet mids while Aktimate is crisper.

 

[Number1]

The problem with all those terms you use is that they are not defined and essentially renders your "review" meaningless.

I understand things like frequency response, feature set, number of input, but when you start talking about bass bleeding into mids, cinema like hi fi vocals, listening sweet spot etc, you lose me.

Come on,

" Aktimate has a thinner voice as compared to Swan's thicker voice. Swan is warm and needs eq for similar clarity due to excess warmth. aktimate is neutral to bright yet more lively."


a more "lively" speaker.....

What the ell does this mean?????

Obviously you are putting a lot of effort into this but in the end, it's useless for most of us.

 

[ericlp]

More of a better question would be to put in 1000 hours on each set to break in the speakers? Most people just take sets out of the box and go ok, this and that...

 

[Phanuel]

Speaker break in is like cable break in, it doesn't matter.

 

[JAG87]

Speaker break in is like cable break in, it doesn't matter.

Correct, it's bullshit. Take speakers out of box, loop a 20Hz sine wave for 10 minutes to loosen the kevlar in the drivers, and off you go.

Number1, he's already been told that his audiophile mumbo jumbo is meaningless, but it seems that his lack of knowledge is flanked by stubbornness too.

http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2324931

 

[Number1]

Correct, it's bullshit. Take speakers out of box, loop a 20Hz sine wave for 10 minutes to loosen the kevlar in the drivers, and off you go.

Number1, he's already been told that his audiophile mumbo jumbo is meaningless, but it seems that his lack of knowledge is flanked by stubbornness too.

http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2324931

:thumbsup:

LOL, I would like to see or read a description of the physical differences between a "broken in" driver and a brand new one and what it takes to get to the "broken in" state.

I mean, if you applied this logic to the science of tires, a brand new tire would not perform as well as a used one.

LOL

 

[LikeLinus]

:thumbsup:

LOL, I would like to see or read a description of the physical differences between a "broken in" driver and a brand new one and what it takes to get to the "broken in" state.

I mean, if you applied this logic to the science of tires, a brand new tire would not perform as well as a used one.

LOL

http://www.audioholics.com/education/loudspeaker-basics/speaker-break-in-fact-or-fiction


Besides, the guy is an idiot. Talking about "clarity" and "clearness"? Also in another thread he compares a pair of IEM/Headphones to some bookshelf or Monitor speakers. Seriously?