Speakers: Naim versus Neat

Thanks for the help. I listen to mostly acoustic jazz and classical (but that is not all). Tonality is at the top of my list in terms of speaker requirements. My current speakers sound ok with this acoustic intrumental music, but when I play many other types of music (rock, hip hop,indie, etc.) they seem to lack bottom end oomph. They sound too pretty. they are acoustic energy Aesprits. Sorry, but these are the last remnances of my old system. Everything else has been upgraded, and I am looking to match speakers with: CD5i, Planar 25, Benz Micro Ace, Nait5, Stageline. Power supplies to follow, but speakers got to go sooooooooooooon. From what I have been told the nait will drive the Harbeths fine. Any objections?

A nice pair of Neats would suit your sistem nicely. Find yourself a dealer and home dem some Neats soooooon!


Regards


NB

Has anyone compared MFS's with MF5's? If they have, where are they best positioned?

Richard

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Also, I use the MFS's and one of their greatest strengths is a complete freedom from 'boxy' colouration - something that is incredibly common in so many (apparently high quality) loudspeakers - esp the Allae.
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I would agree that the Neats greatest strength is the ability to just melt into the music. They just paint a picture of the music in front of you. You just seem to forget that you are listening to a loudspeaker, which is something that the Naim speakers just can't do.

I would admit that Naim have created some of the best loudspeakers available but Neat have produce some of the best music you can hear.


Regards


NB

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Originally posted by Richard P:
Has anyone compared MFS's with MF5's? If they have, where are they best positioned?

Richard

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It seems, from my limited understanding, that the MFS and the MF5 contain the same speakers in the same configuration and that the only difference is that one is a stand-mount and the other is a floor-stander.

Like Richard, I would be interested to hear from anyone who has directly compared these two.

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Originally posted by alexgerrard:
Jack

The bass with the MF5 is slightly different - slightly fuller, slightly less 'standmounty'. IMHO, of course.

Both are very, very good speakers indeed.

ag

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how about Wilson Benesch ACT and Discovery models? How are they rated against Neat Utimatums?

WHO'S AFRAID OF THE BIG BAD HARBETHS?

Graham,

Neat MF5's are perfect replacements for your SBL's. They are about £5k in this country and I don't know what they retail for in the USA.

Regards


NB

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Originally posted by NAIMGAIM:
Y'all been wondering where Naimgaim's been on this thread huh?

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No, not really

Has anyone heard the Ultimatums with the Dynavector electronics?

My understanding is that the L300/HX1.2 combo driving the Ultimatums is very impressive. I imagine biamping the Ultimatums, which they're designed for, with 2 x HX1.2s must be truly mind boggling. Surely someone has experienced this. Anyone?

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Originally posted by Tuan:
how about Wilson Benesch ACT and Discovery models? How are they rated against Neat Utimatums?

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I've owned a pair of MF7's for about 4 months, and I listened to the Discoveries and ACT's for a couple hours. It is hard to make any meaningful comparison because I listen to the WB's at the dealer using Naim gear (CDX2/XPS2/250/282/HiCap), and the Neat's at home using Exposure amps and Linn front end (Expo 21/13/16's, LP12/Ikemi). But here goes anyway .

I found the Discoveries to be very fast, open and clear sounding. Vocals seem real, as if the singer was standing right in front of you singing into the microphone. But I found this presentation a bit too forward, like sitting in the front row of a play and having to deal spray coming from the actors' mouths. Vocals were almost hyper-real. Bass was fast and fairly articulate, if not particularly deep. I was looking to improve on my Offrande's, and found the Discovery's speed and clarity enticing, but they lacked the musicality of the Offrandes.

The ACT's are a much more refined speaker than the Discoveries. Unlike the Discoveries, they didn't come across as hyper-real to me. I can't think of anything wrong with ACT's other than after listening to them for an hour I started to lose interest in the music. This might have been due to fatigue, or feeling a bit uneasy hogging the demo room at the dealer. I was sufficiently impress to want a home demo, and if I still liked them after a few days I was willing to buy them. A home demo proved problematic. Then came the Neat's.

I think others have done an excellent job of describing the qualities of the Ultimatums, so I'll be brief. Naimgain popped on over from Austin, and set up the MF7's for me. We listened to them for a few hours, and what impressed me most about them was that regardless of what music I threw at them I couldn't find any faults. I know that sounds like a backhanded compliment, but they do a great job of keeping you focused on the music and not the hifi. I couldn't see why I would want to part with them. Even though they were broken in when I got them, they seem to improve from day to day. Usually an upgrade provides an immediate improvement, but over time you acclimate to the improvement and end up want further improvements. This hasn't happened yet with the MF7's. In hifi terms, I think they share the PRAT of Naim speakers, but they have a more robust sound, more alive and less flat and lifeless (are those hifi terms ). I had a pair of active SBL's for about 8 yrs., and in the right room they were wonderful, but in my current house they just disappeared, and not in the good sense.

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I guess I'm such a Neat fanatic because I've NEVER heard ANY other speaker do what the Neats do. They're the only speaker on Earth that are designed with absolute LOVE OF MUSIC. Bob N' Derek aren't engineers, they're Artists

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They have to be one of the best kept secrets in the US. Every Naim dealer should have them in their showrooms. Maybe its NANA that doesnt want them there?

Brian,
What other electronics do your Neat customers use? Any "round earth" stuff?

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Originally posted by NAIMGAIM:
Most clients use Naim or Rega, because that's all I sell

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Until you carry Dynavector, that is!

Sorry Evan. he already does.

Carts. that is.

Oh how I remember those halcyon days when I had Neat speakers

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Originally posted by Ross Blackman:
[QUOTE] Sorry I have only just noticed this thread.
Ross

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Ross-

Please add "Neat" to your "Rega/ARO/DV" computer alarm system immediately.

smiles,
Scott

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Originally posted by Ross Blackman:
the point of which, to be honest, eludes me.

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Ross-

Just taking out a frustration of mine with
the nature of the internet on you - which is unfair and I apologize. I've got the advantage
of having been enriched by your posts for several years and this was an awkward attempt at adding context for other readers. I'll refrain from making peanut gallery comments in
the future.

Sincerely,
Scott

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Originally posted by ged:
Could somebody post a link to a price list for Neat speakers in the UK? or failing that post the prices here.
Gerard

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These are July 2002 retail prices although I believe they are still current.

Petite: £845
Critique: £545
Mystique: £795
Elite: £1,275
Gravitas: £1,245
Centrum: £475
Vito: £2,695

Ulimatum Range
MFS £2,995
MFS Stands £495
MF5 £4,995
MF7 £6,995
MF9 £8,495

What about active though?

The best Naim system is an active one can Neat speakers sit on the end of it?

Smike

I had the pleasure of spending a few hours with Evelyn at "Oranges & Lemons" in London recently, where I went especially to listen to some NEAT speakers. I was totally impressed with the way he allowed me to play and listen as much as I wanted, and was only too happy to talk when I wanted to, or left me alone to listen. Electronics were CDS3/552/500, with NEAT Ultimatums MF9s. I later listened to B&W 802's, then NAIM NBL's. My impressions: The NEATs were very articulate and clear, and had "life", but were a little bright in the mid-band, and somehow lacking real bottom-end "punch". They were however the most 'exciting' of the three sets of speakers. The 802's surprised me by sounding 'muddy'(which is not the way I have heard them before in other settings, with different electronics), whilst the NBL's were somewhere in the middle - perhaps the best compromise in trhose listening conditions. In the end, I was left with the distict impression that what I was listening to was the speaker/room interface, and possibly cable type - the room was a modest size only, with not a great deal of space to play with listener and speaker positioning - although I believe Bob Surgeoner from NEAT had set up his speakers personally for this dem.

Over the years, I have had many different brands of electronics, have built my own speakers (hi James), and listened to almost every high-end brand of speaker. I would unhesitatingly say that the NEATs are good, and a must for a home demonstration.

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I would unhesitatingly say that the NEATs are good,
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They only deserve a "good" then?


Regards


NB

Errrm, don't shout but I traded my elites for allaes about 2 years ago(cdx,72,180).I never have grown to like my allaesbut as my system improved I just kept giving them more! time.Now (cdx2,xps2,282,2xhi-cap2,250 mk2)I want to give the elites another crack of the whip,perhaps even another model it's just that they just sounded right any advice or should I continue spending to try and reach Nirvana.

Mike

Mike,

Your sistem is crying out for a pair of MFS's.


Regards


NB