D- rock, you did good with those binos. Best glass in the industry. When you've been in business since 1847 you must be doing something right. All the top name brands are good now a days (zeiss, Swarovski, Leica) it's mostly a matter of personal preference. Swaros are not better than Zeiss as a whole and in the price range there is not a better set of glass than what you purchased.
I have the Conquest HD's in 10X42 and they are awesome. There's so much that goes into the development of the Zeiss glass that 99.9% of the people out there don't know. For example Leica buys all of their lenses for their binos from Zeiss and so do other major players. They just don't have the patented finishing components to them that Zeiss does which ultimately makes Zeiss better.
Regarding the comments about the Swaros being better at gathering light in low light conditions..that's the first I've heard of that.
I would say you did well with your purchase and you do have the highest quality glass available in the price range.
