I have simular doubt, B&W705S2 or HarbertP3 or KEF R300… with Atom. But room is about 25m2.
You might want to throw Audio Physic Classic Compacts on that list. I have the first generation and they are wonderful - totally disappear and say to use close to the wall and not to fussy about the ‘sweet spot.’. My local Naim dealer (Hawthorne) are big proponents of the Audio Physic line. Plus the glass finish is a treat.
I will add these to the list of potentials:
PMC DB1i / Gold
Proac Tablette 10’s
Audio Physic Classic Compacts
KEF R300
1 Like
I read P3s are great for vocal and classical music. How about music that kids listen to these days?
The Neat Iotas are good but you will be lacking a little in the lower end. Good if space is an issue.
I am running my Atom with Guru Juniors and it is a fantastic combination. When I auditioned the Gurus with the Neats it was obvious within the first 5 seconds that there was no contest.
I’m not sure where you live as the Juniors are hard to find in the UK and the production issues after their debut at the Bristol Hifi Show (2013 I think) where they had rave reviews has not helped their dispersion in the hifi world. A price jump from £800 to £1200 has not helped either. They are front ported and very easy to place. And they look so cool.
So if you can seek out some Guru Juniors give them a listen. I don’t think you will disappointed.
Neil
I have the P3’s on mine. No intentions of swapping them any time soon. I’m more than happy.
I wouldn’t say the Atom has difficulty in driving them at all. They fill my room easily and I rarely push the volume above 50.
You aint going to get spine shattering bass but if you have a smallish room then that’s a blessing.
I would not go for the Harbeths , they need a lot of current to perform at their best. I have them and they are stunning speakers 
with powerful amps. I have seen people use them on this forum with Atoms , but my experience of them with a SN3 was plain vanilla .
Probably the Neats would be the majority advice, though if it were me I would also add KEF, PMC DB1 or ProAc Tablettes. You have to budget for stands and cable so possibly the small Neat floorstander would be a choice
Anyway you have a fine bit of kit and I hope it gives years of pleasure
There’s a member in another thread having the Atom with the 705s2 and seemingly very satisfied with the pairing (he does use sub though):
I have the twenty5.22 in a room a lot bigger than the OP’s small room and think they might be a bit too big for a small room. Maybe look at the 21 instead or perhaps a Spendor A2. The Spendor A2 is a floor stander of course but very compact and still smaller than a pair of twenty5.22’s by the time you put them on their stands. In fact I think even the PMC twenty5.23 floor stander is physically smaller than the 22’s on a pair of stands.
I’m currently running in an ex-demo Atom with Iotas. Very pleased with the result, but the speakers were chosen partly because I could wall mount them which is the only option in my small study. Several people on here have that system and are very satisfied – I can see why. If you’ve space for knee-high floor standers, there’s also the Iota Alphas.
Amongst the others, I have experience of the ATCs and the Fact 3s. ATC speakers are extremely revealing and my concern is that they could highlight the limitations of the Atom rather than its strengths. The Atom also has a somewhat “lean” sound, which appeals to me as it brings clarity, but small ATCs might emphasise this, so auditioning would be mandatory. Fact 3s are brilliant speakers to my ears (not everyone agrees) but outclass an Atom, IMHO. I ran a pair for several years on the end of 272/XPSDR/250DR and this is the level I personally would be looking at to drive them. They’re also on the “dryish” side, tonally and I suspect you’d soon be on the upgrade merry-go-round with them.
I first heard an Atom at a local audio show where they were playing into Dynaudio Emit M20s and they sang together. Many people thought this was one of the standout rooms in the show (which went all the way up to a Statement-based system) so they might be worth putting these on your list.
Roger
Thanks for the insights on the Fact.3.
Here’s a member loving the Atom with the LS50’s:
@Dan.S I’m still curious what your experience with them was. Perhaps a different sound or musical preference? I listen to almost everything that’s not fully electronic, so need all-rounders. Do you perhaps audition with a very specific genre?
With your available budget and a need for stand mount speakers, you should be looking at the Neat ministras rather than the iotas.
1 Like
I had the Atom last year and used it with an older pair of Proac Tablette 50 Signatures to wonderful effect. At the time I then bought a pair of Proac Tablette 10 Signatures and hated them. They had a lovely explicit and detailed mid-band and treble but absolutely no bass. They sounded so light and anaemic it was hard to accept the sound balance. The Tab 10’s (sealed box) are a completely different design to the earlier (ported) Tablettes. Anyway the 10’s were just awful. I revert back to my older pair of Tablette 50’s.
If buying new or ex dem I’d be looking at the Proac DB1’s
Most of the ones recommended so far, I could listen to before buying. For the GURUs, have you tried the Q10? Besides the Neat, how does the Q10 or Juniors compare with other speakers you have listened to?
Hi
I heard the Q10s on the end of the original SuperUniti (some event organised by TomTom from whom I bought the Juniors later). The Q10s offer more than the Juniors as you might expect (it’s in the name). All depends on the size of your room really as the Q10s will fill a big room in spite of their size.
The Juniors replaced my Neat Motive 2s and there was no competition really. The Jrs were just better across the board. They just hold everything together. I have some Spendor S3/5R2s in the office on the end of a Nait2 (a Nait2 used to power the Jrs) which are very ‘articulate’ but a tiny bit bass shy (they are great in the office), the Jrs do bass very well.
If you can get the Gurus (Jr or Q10) home on a buy and send back if not happy then they are really worth a go in my opinion. But hey, it’s all Marmite, what I like you may not. Do the reading, it is out there if you look.
I just know that I don’t need to look for speakers again.
Neil
2 Likes
I have a first version Unitiqute with Ls50’s in my office and they sound lovely. But they didn’t so much in the living room as I had to place them close to the wall. In the office, they are wall mounted and near field, and one of them is mounted to a support post in the middle of the room so plenty of space behind it. Used Herbie’s grungebuster material wherever they meet the mounts (inexpensive Pinnacle brand). They can get quite boomy if used next to a wall on stands.
We run a Unitiqute with the Guru QM10’s in a summer cottage- nice combo. The Guru’s are a border design and do really well on a bookshelf if space is an issue.
1 Like
I run my Atom with Elac Uni-Fi stand mounts. I find the combination to be excellent.
I did not shop around a lot. The Uni-Fi was on sale and my plan was to use them as a reference speaker to audition more expensive speakers. Now that I have them I really don’t see a need to upgrade. Speakers are coherent, non fatiguing and have excellent clarity and bass.
FYI. I live in an apartment and limit most of my listening volume to 65 db with an occasional excursion to 75 db.
1 Like
This topic was automatically closed 60 days after the last reply. New replies are no longer allowed.