I had an opportunity to do an extended home dem of a pair of Mystiques, a two-way floorstander from Neat Acoustics. The Mystiques are a nicely finished, grille-less totem pole about a metre tall. Elegant and unassuming are how I'd describe them.
Normally I don't bother demming speakers at home because, well, most suck -- and the few that don't tend to spur on my upgraditis. But I've heard good things about Neat and that they get on well with Naim amps... so, curiosity got the better of me.
For those that don't know, I used the following equipment:
* Rega p9, RB900, van den Hul-rebuilt Karma on custom-built one-tier wood stand
* CD2 on Mana Power Supply Table on a custom-built one-tier wood stand
* 102 (on a Mana SoundFrame), naspc, Hi-Cap, 250 all in custom-built five-tier wood stand
What a fun speaker! That's really the best word to describe them -- you put on a record or CD and just have fun. (Oh yeah, that's why I spend $$$ on hi-fi.) Sure, I've heard speakers with deeper and more tuneful bass (Linn Isobariks), cleaner midrange (Quad '57s), a more detailed or 'tinkly' top end (Royd Sorcerers), better timing (Naim SBL), and more thwack (Tannoy 1200s), but very few speakers in this price range have such a solid and well-balanced mix of strengths.
I'd certainly put them firmly in the flat earth end of the flat earth/round earth continuum, but the Mystiques tend be a little more biased toward musical "flow" than they are to musical "groove." I don't mean imply that the Mystiques are boring - far from it -- only that you're more aware of the music's direction than its temporal structure. I strive to get the best balance between flow and groove, so music is portrayed without overly emphasizing flow (making it sound seemless but lifeless) or overly emphasizing groove (making it sound like a drum machine -- exciting but metronomic). The Mystiques do groove but they are just one step toward the flow end of that very fine line.
For the soundstage freaks, I should note that they do recreate some depth, width and height. Nothing over the top or unnatural -- and no disembodied floating heads -- but you get a bit of that soundstage stuff. (Guess I just lost 10 FEPs for being able to hear it, and another 10 for describing it.)
Definitely worth a listen.
Joe
Posted on: 24 November 2000 by Nigel Cavendish
I heard them in the dealers about a year ago, not with a view to buy they were just there on the end of a nait 3r, and would agree with Joe that they are fun, and stylish too.
My only reservation is that they have a small rear port which would not suit all rooms - otherwise a lovely little speaker.
cheers
Nigel
Posted on: 24 November 2000 by jimlevitt
Neat makes a couple of more expensive speakers than the Mystique that are quite a bit better: the stand-mount Petite and the floorstanding Elite. Both are quite tuneful and fun. As is the norm for ported speakers, neither really worked in my hellhole of a room, but in the regular universe they're excellent speakers.
Posted on: 25 November 2000 by Ken Lyon
I've been happily using a pair of the Neat Elite,similar in configuration to the Mystiques but with the EMIT radial ribbon tweeter.
In response to Joe's catergorisation of the Mystique tipping toward "flow" rather than bump and grind jammin', I've discovered that both Neats just get better as the quality and authority of the amplification improves. In my instance, I started with a smallish integrated(Roksan Caspian)and was quite happy with a minor reservation over a somewhat polite, reserved presentation.Biamping and more recently an major amplifier upgrade(ROK S1.5) transformed the Neats into loudspeakers capable of massive bite and slam that compliments their intimate expressiveness,coherence and superbly open presentation.
BTW- For a qualifier,I also very much appreciate the Royd range and formerly an 8 year owner the the Royd developed Rega Ela.
Posted on: 25 November 2000 by Joe Petrik
quote:
In response to Joe's catergorisation of the Mystique tipping toward "flow" rather than bump and grind jammin'...
I should qualify my observation about their flowing more than their grooving as not being a criticism of the Mystiques. I think flow and groove are equally important but it's rare to get both in a moderately priced speaker -- most of the time you get neither in a moderately priced speaker.
In the flow-groove continuum (all clearly within the flat earth end of things), the Mystiques tended to flow more than groove. For certain types of music -- for lack of a better example, Pachebel's Canon or Brahms' Lullaby -- this is clearly a benefit. You don't busta move to this kind of music, but you are aware of the flow. For other types of music, though -- again, for lack of a better example, AC/DC's "You shook me all night long" -- flow is relatively unimportant to understanding the song. Here, you want bump 'n' grind jammin' of the big Tannoys.
Joe
Posted on: 25 November 2000 by Arun Mehan
Come on Joe, I thought we both agreed that you would upgrade your electronics (at least an 82) first and then get some speakers.
Geesh man, you leave Canada and this is what you start doing?
At least get the XX-1L cartridge and prefix for your P9 first!
Posted on: 25 November 2000 by Arun Mehan
Dear Bob, I was just trying to emphasize that Joe get a new cartridge before he starts buying or even auditioning new speakers. Personal advice really.
I'm sure there are many good cartridges, but I'm not an analogue man so I really wouldn't know. I just heard Vuk's P9 and was amazed to hear no snap, crackle, pop, etc. It didn't sound like an LP player it all! It destroyed his CDX which still upsets me 
I'm digital all the way and not willing to change.
Posted on: 27 November 2000 by Tony L
quote:
After playing with the Neat Mystiques for close to two weeks now, I put my own speakers (Royd Sorcerers) back in to do a quick comparison.
Joe, try and hear the Neat Petites, I suspect they are faster and more agile, plus they have the better ribbon tweeter (which is really good). I have only heard them once, but I was very, very impressed - they are one of very few speakers at any price that I could actually live with. They gave the impression of being able to do the Kan timing thing. I would be interested to know how they compared with the Royd (which I still have not heard).
Tony.
Posted on: 27 November 2000 by Joe Petrik
Omer,
quote:
Are these the Mystique II ?? They are supposed to be better than the I's.
They are Mystique Mk1s retrofitted with new 'n' improved widgets. My understanding is that with the retrofits, they are indistinguishable from stock Mk2s.
Tony,
quote:
...try and hear the Neat Petites, I suspect they are faster and more agile, plus they have the better ribbon tweeter (which is really good).
I've heard the same thing -- that the Petites are timing demons of the line. Are they more expensive than the Mystiques? On Neat's Web site, the Petites look like Mystiques with their bottoms cut off, although smaller doesn't necessarily mean cheaper -- except at Radio Shack.
quote:
I would be interested to know how they compared with the Royd (which I still have not heard).
My Sorcerers are faster, more agile and tuneful than the Mystiques but my new room doesn't suit them very well. Instead of providing their usual surprisingly full sound, the Sorcerers are definitely bass light and treble heavy in my room.* In contrast, the Mystiques are tonally richer so they suit the acoustics much better. On strickly musical terms, I prefer the Sorcerers, but sonically I prefer the Mystiques.
Incidentally, this is why every speaker review -- whether glowing or damning -- should be taken with a grain of salt. Speakers interact with rooms, so what works brilliantly in one room may be dismal in another. My Sorcerers worked great in Winnipeg (once I sorted out the stands and fiddled with set up) but in Kentucky they sound thin and forward.
Joe
* The frequency response of the Sorcerers in my new room is really bizarre. I have little bass in the fart zone (60 to 120 Hz) but a ton around 31.56 Hz. Good ol' boy rock 'n' roll sounds thin and wimpy, but drum 'n' bass rattles my sternum.
Posted on: 27 November 2000 by Tony L
quote:
I've heard the same thing -- that the Petites are timing demons of the line. Are they more expensive than the Mystiques?
Dunno. They are about 700 quid here, which is about 100 quid more than your Royds. They are reflex loaded which should mean that they are the work of the devil, though the one time I heard them they sounded great.
What's with the current trend for reflex ports on speakers? Walking around the recent hi-fi shows, I can tell within a matter of seconds from entering a room which speakers have ports, as the bass always sounds like total crap. I have always far prefered infinite baffle speakers.
Tony.
Posted on: 27 November 2000 by Arun Mehan
Ports allow speakers to provide lower bass, not necessarily better bass, without having to increase cabinet size. It is not an easy thing to get right though. A lot of beginner audiophiles want their speakers to hit those 30 Hz test tones without having huge speakers cluttering up their living spaces and costing them a fortune. Most people don't realize the power and woofer size required to hear and feel those low tones.
