I live in a small 18th century cottage with a living room which measures approximately 8m x 3.25m. There are some reference points which are immovable, notably the fireplace, and there is only one rational position for the TV and indeed the sofa. I am using a Uniti Star and need a pair of small floorstanding loudspeakers which might work reasonably well. The Neat Iota Alpha is the right height and the drivers are mounted on an inclined surface which seems like a good idea. Has anyone used Iota Alpha speakers with a Uniti Star, and how did it work out ? All other suggestions welcome.
Not that setup, no. But I have a pair of Iotas hooked up to my UnitiQute1 and couldn’t be happier - to the point that I’m looking at full-size Iota Xplorers for my main system without ever having heard them. I think they’re that good and a great match for Naim gear.
With those kind of constraints, if they are a good fit physically for your room - see if a dealer will let you demo them - that way you can know for sure.
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Thanks Maury. I suspect that the only real solution is to demo the speakers in my room. It may be a tall order to ask a dealer to loan a pair. Nevertheless, your comment is encouraging
Those Iota Alphas are monsters! What you need are some Shahinian Larcs 
Hi @wordsmith i am using the Neat Iota Alphas with a Nova and it is a great combination. Part of the reason I chose them was to be able to play them in a lounge setting, so not dedicated listening from a central chair etc. You are right that the angle of the upper woofer and the tweeter should help you regarding your room (it has with mine). They produce a lovely sound, musical with decent bass and a pleasant light tweeter. But they can also rock.
SBL! SBL! SBL! Everyone: SBL! SBL!
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I had Nova / Alphas, good fun but not the last word on detail. I eventually moved them on and now have ATC SCM 11’s which I much refer…
The room plays a big part so I would engage a dealer and my dealer certainly lets me have speakers on extended home demo.
Gary
I owned a pair many years ago. How I now regret letting them. go.
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I had an idea that Shahinian speakers needed more amplification than the Uniti Star can provide. Was I wrong ? Also, moving the speakers 2’ from the back wall does substantially increase the size of the footprint. I once installed a pair of Arcs for a customer and I was very impressed.
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I had a pair with my Star and found them really good. I only changed them because my wife didn’t like the look of them and called them R2D2!!!
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Most Shahinian speakers do like a fairly powerful amp, yes. Larcs are tiny, and not so demanding. I use mine with an Atom which seems to drive them well. I mention them because they are probably the smallest floorstanding speaker ever made, so might fit the bill if you are looking for something that gets out of the way and just plays music.
If you get them placed right, they are rather incredible loudspeakers.
The sound stage comes out of nowhere, its much larger than those small looking speakers, its really a strange phenomen.
Large room like described is maybe too much for them.
Somehow I need to try a pair in my room. Current price is c.£3000 and buying on the strength of a dealer demo would be folly. It is many years since I installed a pair of Arcs for a customer. I spent a long time experimenting with position, but the final result was impressive. The customer’s wife moaned about their resemblance to a pedal bin. I know enough to avoid participation in such disputes.
Have you auditioned the Larcs, and if so, what were your impressions? £3000 or thereabouts seems little steep.
I use Larcs with an Atom in my living room, where I wanted speakers that were not too fussy about positioning and just played music without imposing themselves. They are also easy to drive, and replaced a pair of N-Sats which didn’t pair as well with the Atom.
They do seem to have gone up in price rather a lot, like so many things. I bought mine second hand a couple of years ago for a lot less than £3k.
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