Neat Iota Alphas, I had them running with an Atom and they are still serving me well as I upgrade. I did move to Neat Motive SX1’s but subsequently moved back to the Alpha’s as I my much preferred the sound. Very discrete speakers but they deliver with a superb sound throughout the spectrum. Obviously like all speakers they are room dependant so get a home demo,
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I suppose you have heard speakers at dealers since the streamer is not in use. If you have heard speakers intthe room I would look at a too much dampened room as a likely explanation for borring speakers.
Claus
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ProAc DT8’s
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We listened to a few of the ones on your list plus Sonus Faber Illumina 3. All very different sounding so it would probably depend entirely on your taste and room.
Splendor were definitely a bit boomy we also discounted A7 for same reason (plus they were very much “point sources”, the music didn’t hang free of speakers).
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ProAc D20 floor standers should work quite nice with the Atom.
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Speakers all sound so very different, even well above your budget, meaning that it is very personal as to what suits you and your taste in how music sounds - and in that regard you are already doing the right thing auditioning. Aside from that I suggest considering secondhand or at least ex-demo to maximise buying power of your limited budget.
Beyond that all I can do is offer the fact that to me transmission line bass sound better than anything else I have heard, so I would suggest hearing PMCs - and the higher up the ladder the better. Other transmission lines manufacturers include Kerr Acoustics and Castle are other current transmission line manufacturers, though I haven’t heard any of theirs so no idea what they are like other than the opinion of reviewers.
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Thanks all. Re second hand, are there any good sites to search other than the usual eBay etc? Thanks
I would look up Naim Hi-Fi stores in you area and look at their web sites. I believe you will find listing of new and used gear at most stores.
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Try all hifi shops within travelling distance - they don’t have to stock the Atom as you can always take it with you. No hifi shop worth its salt would bat an eyelid (but do pre-arrange demos). I regard the entirety of the UK mainland as travelling distance - for which I have to first take a ferry. Last time I bought speakers I took my amp, source, and speakers (to give a reference point) and travelled to the South Coast, Humberside and Tyne & Wear in a single road trip, auditioning 5 different speakers, one at a a private house and the others dealers, all secondhand or ex-demo.
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Did the A2 boom as badly as the A4? I’m thinking of getting both on a home demo in a room similar in size to yours.
I’ve used to own a Uniti Atom with Neat Motive SX2’s a couple of years back. I still have good memories about this combination; provided me with hours of fun!
More important: the SX2 are a ported design with the port firing downwards, this makes them very easy to place in your room …
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A home demo of Spendors will show how they work in your room. They seemed revealing speakers with A7 best of bunch and good all rounders but we found the bass just a bit loose and the imaging/projection wasn’t to our liking as much as other speakers we listened to. Your room/ears might disagree!
Because of the bass weight and the rear ported design we were also a bit worried about positioning.
This is the main thing with the Spendor A-series. They need careful placement or they can sound boomy or out of focus. At least about 40-50cm from walls and toed-in about 15deg will give best results.
When properly positioned they won’t sound boomy at all!
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Hi Ant,
I’ve got a Naim xs2 driving Neat Motive sx2s. Naim and Neat really do have symbiosis to my ears. Whatever I play they perform brilliantly. They fall into your budget with enough left over for some Naim cables.
They’re easy to set up, not a fussy speaker, play anything and everything and are relatively unobtrusive.
Do add them to your list.
Thanks, I demod the sx2 and alphas and actually preferred the iotas to my ears. Shame as visually prefer the sx2 and the mrs said the iota looked like a bin!
Last night I picked up a set of A4 spenders from my local dealer for a week long home trial. I liked their clarity but want to see how the bass is in my room. I’m setting up after work today so I’ll report back on how it goes! Thanks all, really appreciate the advice
They should not boom at all if placed correctly. They need space and the A4 might be already too big for a 15m2 room.
Im about to demo some A4s in a similar sized space and I desperately want o like them because they sound spectacular at the dealer….
@antonyi what did you demo the speakers range with, Atom or other gear? That can often have a massive impact on overall experience. I often demo speakers on non Naim gear and feel underwhelmed, the I hear them with Naim and experience is very different. Totem Acoustics are worth listening, so are Elac, Dynaudio. I know you said F/S but LS50 Meta is a great option. Meta will be added to rest of KEF range, might be worth waiting for that, rumour is LS50 F/S is also on the cards.
Hi, I demo’d with the atom. I’ve only listened to a handful of tracks so far but love it so far… more than in the demo room! I listened to the ls50 meta, and whilst they were impressive, I was after that fuller floor standing sound.