You know, I had an opportunity to, but didn't. Shame on me. The shop in Ann Arbor where I heard the Swifts has a pair of demo hot-rod Kestrels that have some very tiny scratches near their bottoms, so they're selling them for what I'm sure is a great price, but even so, they're more than I can afford right now. If I was still shopping in that price bracket, I probably would have asked to compare them. Or at least I think I would have. My S.O. and I were on our way home to Indy after a weekend in Michigan, and between her waiting (admittedly patiently) while I listened to the Swifts, and the fact that our cat was waiting in the car and not happy about it, maybe I wouldn't have after all
The first Meadowlark dealer I went to (in Champaign) didn't have the Swift yet, and the only other model they had was the hot-rod Shearwater, which is *WAY* out of my price range, so I didn't even ask to hear them. We spent our time listening to some Dynaudio Audience 62s instead.
FWIW, the Champaign dealer said the Meadowlark factory told him the Kestrel (stock or hot-rodded) will no longer be a standard production model. They'll make a pair for you special order, but apparently they're expecting the Swift to cannibalize the Kestrel's market share. In fact, the Ann Arbor dealer told me he didn't know how Meadowlark was going to be able to continue selling the Kestrel with the Swift out there now. I'll tell you, they had everything I'm looking for in a speaker. The only reason I'm considering something else is if I can find something as, or nearly as good for around $700US, whether that's one of the Axiom towers or the Mission 782 (which I'm still trying to find someplace so I can hear them), I'd call it quits right now and just save my pennies for a few months.
Craig
PS If you (or anyone) is interested, you can find the hot-rod Kestrel demos on Audiogon.com, or PM me and I'll pass along names/numbers.
