Possibly, but my old pair work well fronted by my daughter’s Rega P1 and Brio.
1 Like
I’ve had similar issues with overblown bass in a 4.5 x 3.5 room. After an expensive mistake last year, I’ve been living quite happily with some Denon/Mission speakers that cost me a fiver 
and then added a REL sub.
Last weekend I tried the Russell K 50s, Acoustic Energy 500s and Neat SX3s. The Neat presentation wasn’t for me - or maybe it was just too much of a change after hearing the other two, and the Russell K’s came back for a home demo. I eventually found the sound a little lean. Plugging in the sub gave a fuller sound but i concluded they weren’t for me, so then brought the AE500s home. Placed 25cm from the longer wall, their bass and overall sound are just right and I’m now eagerly awaiting my own pair.
My amp is an SN2. My last speakers were 3x the price of the AE’s and after 2 months I decided I couldn’t live with the bass anymore. With the AE500s I truly feel I’ve cracked the issue.
The number of speakers I’ve demoed in the last few years is ridiculous, as is me thinking I know what your ears like, but based on my experience I’d absolutely recommend trying the above trio.
2 Likes
Interesting Catcat, thanks for sharing your experiences. I’ve just looked up the AE500. Seems an interesting speaker indeed.
I would at the KEF R3 (new) or a used pair of Focal Electra 1008 BE.
1 Like
Stephen, I suggest you try foam bungs in the bottom bass port to tame the bass. Apparently Neat supply them, perhaps give them a call direct? I have sx2s in a very small room on the end of a supernait 2 and there is a lot of bass but I find it controlled, you might be unfortunate with the floor construction or other such room interaction.
2 Likes
The Link Majik 109 is a good option too
Can work closer to walls and looks great to my eyes.
1 Like
Great idea from @robert_h above. This has got to be worth a try, perhaps with rolled up balls of old socks in the first instance. Seriously.
1 Like
I am assuming the £1,000 to£ 1500 budget is to include stands? If so what about KEF LS50 or the comment about Linn Majik seems a good one.
If you go second hand you could step up quite significantly. I run Harbeth P3 ESR and am very pleased with them.
2 Likes
I have the ATC SCM 11 with NAP200 and am frankly shocked how good they are. They replaced NSATs.
They, like NAIM speakers, play music like few others. Most speakers never get the timing right so you lose the boogie factor.
The bass is fantastic and is strong down to about 40hz in room. Since they are sealed and not ported the bass shouldn’t over power the room.
They are a must home audition IMO.
2 Likes
All you need is the Superior Brilliant Loudspeaker
1 Like
Hi Robert_h,
your suggestion about bungs inserted into the ports certainly seems like a cheap idea worth trying. This has also got me thinking about even trying some granite chopping boards as well?
I’m about to go visit my dealer today to see if they can steer me in the right direction about my current unruly bass concerns. Might even get to listen to some speakers if I’m lucky enough…
On another note: I have disconnected all of my network switches and have my network player in wireless mode just to go back to basics whilst I sort out my bass issue.
Thanks to everyone’s suggestions so far, it has certainly given me some food for thought.
Hi Stephen , definitely try the ATC SCM11 they’re excellent and would be my first choice if I downsized. Don’t worry about your Nait XS having enough power , it will be fine , some friends have some SCM 7 on a Unitilite and it’s an excellent combination.
I spoke to Richard Newman from ATC at the Acoustica show about suitable ATC’s for a Uniti Atom ( parents) and he said no problem but mentioned the 11 was slightly easier to drive than the 7 . My parents ended up with the on wall HTS 7 and the Atom drives them with ease .
My speaker journey has been Neat Motive 2 , PMC ( GB1i, Twenty23) and ATC ( SCM19 , 40 Active ) .
2 Likes
Hi Stephen,
From personal experience I can recommend Spendor 3/5 or Harbeth P3 ESr speakers on good stands. They both run very well with modest Naim amps such as Nait 2 or larger in a room size like yours without excessive bass.
They both turn up regularly on the second-hand market and can be sold with little or no loss if you do not like them.
David
2 Likes
This would be my approach and I did this with my SX3 and motive 2s. The socks work very well as a trial and Bob at Neat can send out bungs for a small charge if you don’t have any.
The bungs tamed my motive 2s on a wooden floor. They became more agile but obviously the bass was a lot less. Great for that room.
Now on a solid floor, there was no need for bungs in my SX3s. I am now using Kudos 606 and fortunately this house is detached so no neighbour issues.
Try the socks!
Sorry, I hadn’t spotted your response before posting.
1 Like
Hi all,
I have just come back from my dealer with some GAIA III isolation feet to try out. I have fitted them - needless to say, made no improvements, or maybe so small they’re just not worth bothering with. I’m starting to think that it’s going to have to be a change of speaker is what’s really needed. These Motive SX2 just simply have too much bass for my system. It’s not controlled enough, there is also a mid-bass hump that is hard to eliminate no matter what I do.
I have also inserted an ankle sock in each port which has made a little but not enough improvement in addition to the GAIA isolation feet. I suppose my next move now is the granite chopping boards in addition to the other two make shift.
The mid-range has come out more, so some improvement in that respect.
1 Like
Two sets of silly feet £400. One pair of socks £5. One pair of SBLs £700.
2 Likes
In that case I really think you ought to demo a pair of Proac Tablette 10s
1 Like
Yup. I feel this is not going to be an easy one. I’m taking the feet back today. They didn’t work. The thing is, it’s not the vertical downward bass that seems to be the problem. It’s the bass travelling horizontally that’s the problem. Yes, the speakers are wired in-phase and correctly.
Have you tried a different position in the room if that’s possible? Bungs or socks would seem an obvious start
2 Likes
Hi Stephen I embarked on a similar exercise at the end of last year. A while ago I swapped out my SX1’s in the main system for PMC Twenty5 23’s, the SX1’s were moved to the living room for AV duties and occasional listening as it is a family room.
I started off by thinking I wanted to replace the SX1’ with a set of stand mounts, although I have no nearby neighbour issues. I auditioned Proac Tablette, DB1 and DB2, Harbeth P3esr, Spendor A1 and PMC Twenty5 21’s. They were all fine speakers and could have lived with any of them. I thought I was going with the PMC’s but then started to think about the larger footprint they require, I went to my dealer had another long listen to the PMC’s and came away with a pair of Spendor A4’s, which currently I have on home trial. The bass response is completely different. I would recommend a listen to any of the stand mount speakers I have listed, happy hunting.
1 Like