Review: Meadowlark Audio Swift Speaker

Category: Speakers

Living in a remote area of Utah, an audio wasteland, I purchased the Swifts unheard, based on reviews and user comments. I know this can be dangerous. I have been a musician and audiophile since the 60's and have been around the block a few times. I have a vast collection of vinyl and like mostly soft rock, alt country, jazz, blues and of course, older vinyl. I value transparency, soundstage, truth of timber and musicality. The speaker must be involving and truthful. The Swifts replace Von Schwiekert
4.5's, which are stored, and are used in a very small room due to the downsizing trend and a new house. I needed a speaker that could be used close to the back wall and these work well indeed. Almost broken in, the Swifts sound much larger than their size and image well. They are not too sensitive to placement but are revealing to small adjustments and any upstream changes in the system which attest to their quality. They are very balanced and don't do anything really wrong. Sure, I could nitpick but at the price, these aren't designed to do everything. The bottom octave isn't there, some inner detail is missing but everything is so convincing that it doesn't bother me on most recorded material. It does 95% of what the big boys do at a fraction of the cost and with the lights out, sometimes I swear it's the VR 4.5's. For a small room, this is probably all the speaker anyone needs. I could afford much more but I just can't justify it when the Swifts give me so much pleasure. Do yourself a favor and audition them in the right environment and see how much more your willing to spend for a trivial amount of improvement. My bet is you'll take these babys home.

Associated gear
ARC LS2B11/VT130, Theta digital, VPI analog.