Neat Petite vs. Royd RR1

Posted by: Mike Sae on 25 October 2001

Hi,

I'm running a: CDX 72/Hi 140 with Rega Ela 2000.

It turns out the new Ela isn't really earning its keep. They're wonderfully fast but the bass seems unbalanced, lagging behind. I think it's the quarter wave loading and/or my boomy room? They also lose their footing at higher volumes.

From what I've read in the archives, both the Neat Petite and Royd RR1 are dogs to drive.
With only a 140, should I just forget about these speakers?

Also, it seems the consensus is that the Neats are "tidier" sounding and the Royds wickedly insensitive and need lots of breathing room.

On Joe Petrik's flow vs. groove scale, I'd say groove is more important to me.

I have to order the speakers sight unseen, as my dealer doesn't stock either. He's accommodating in terms of trading up, so I've no problems with not auditioning first.

Given the above system in a small 9x16ft room, what are the plusses and minuses of the Neat Petite and Royd RR1?

Thanks for your opinions,

Mike S

Posted on: 29 October 2001 by RandallE

quote:
I intent to have a listen to a Nait 5/Stageline and the Densen B100 intergrated this week.

Give us a report on what you find! I, for one, would be very interested in your findings.

Thanks,

------------------
I want to die in my sleep like my Grandfather, not screaming like the passengers in his car.

Posted on: 29 October 2001 by Mike Sae

There's a pair of TC-50 @ www.audioclub.com
going for $595 Canadian.

Posted on: 29 October 2001 by Mike Sae

Thanks all, I'll be flipping a coin soon, as it seems both are equally fab...

Steve B

Seeing as you're a guy who's gone from 250/Briks to Nait1/RR1 it sounds like i've hardly anything to worry about

Hope this downward spiral stops soon,

Mike S

Posted on: 29 October 2001 by Rob Doorack

Thanks for the tip Mike but Cdn$595 is pretty high for a pair of Spicas. The last pair that sold on Ebay went for US$225.

Posted on: 29 October 2001 by Justin

Oh Rob,

The worse mistake I ever made was sell those speakers some six months ago on Ebay. Got $325 for the mint pair. Prior and subsequent to, I have seen them fetch as much as $500 ($50 less than the MOST they ever retailed for in the US) and as little as $200.

I hung on to them for 8 years, and each step of the way they "kept up with" the changes upstream (went way up (and then some ways down) the Naim line with them, and was never unhappy.

Every 6 months or so, I'd lug them from shop to shop in an effort to replace them (this initiated by the "stupid" notion that because I had upgraded everything else in the system twice or thrice or whatever, the Spica's must be the week link--HA!!!) And everytime I put them against something, that new speaker always had SOMETHING better (often many things-much better), but losing the "quad-like" midrange was always too dear a price.

Finaly my wife and I had a little peanut, and for the safety of all involved, I bought sbls (for thier floorstanding qualities) and sold (damn) the Spicas for a cup of coffee. I suspect I will get a used pair soon though.

I may buy two, for the reason Rob states. Lukily i convinced a neibor many years ago to buy a pair, which he no longer uses (but wants to keep for now), so I at least know where one good pair is if I need one).

BTW, I agree with Rob that they can be compared to quads with a straight face. But I also genuinely thought they bettered the quads in many ways as well, particulary in dynamics and spl's. They could go QUITE loud when properly driven without falling apart.

Rob, do you ever pull them out next to the Neats just to get your bearings. I used to do this. Be honest.

Judd

Posted on: 29 October 2001 by Justin

BTW, for anybody interested, The Tc-50 is twice the loudspeaker than the Tc-60 was. The 60 was a major (in my opinion) step backwards. Others may agree.

Judd

Posted on: 29 October 2001 by Steve B

quote:
Seeing as you're a guy who's gone from 250/Briks to Nait1/RR1 it sounds like i've hardly anything to worry about
Hope this downward spiral stops soon,

It's OK, I'm on the way back up again.

Steve B

Posted on: 29 October 2001 by Tuan

The only 2 "gooood" HiFi powerhouses that I know of and have many chances to listen to their products (amplifiers) that can go double power everytime the ohm values decreases by half are Mark Levinson and Bryston. They are the true non- compromised power amplifiers.

Posted on: 30 October 2001 by Rob Doorack

quote:
Rob, do you ever pull them out next to the Neats just to get your bearings.

I haven't listened to the Spicas in perhaps 3 years. I really should get them out of the attic and give them a listen, that's a good idea.

A few years ago Scan - Tech's Jonathan Carr (the auteur behind the Lyra cartridges) shared some ideas for modifying TC-50s with the Analogue Addicts mailing list. He had rebuilt the crossovers of his pair with better parts, changed it to enable biwiring, cut slits in the woofer basket to break up stray currents, and fabricated an entirely new enclosure using constrained layer damping. As I recall he said that the result showed Quads to the exit door.

Lastly, here's a link to an interesting interview with John Bau, the TC-50's designer.

Posted on: 01 November 2001 by Allan Probin

I noticed all the glowing references here to the Spicas and started wondering if these could be 'small-room' giant killers. As luck would have it I found a pair of TC-50s for sale not too far away and decided to go and have a listen. I took my Kan Is along for the comparison.

The system I heard them in was Quad77 CD, primare pre-amp with a big Sumo Power amp. They do have a nice mid-range with an easy relaxed air about them. Very little bass and virtually no weight or drive to the sound. I thought I'd better put the Kans in to see how they compared in the same system. The Kans certainly brought the system to life. More snap! to the drums, more rhythm, more forward sounding, quicker and definitely (I thought) more interesting. I think to be fair to the Spicas they are about on a par with Kans overall performance wise, just depends where your priorities lie.

I decided to pass on the Spicas and explained to the chap selling them why I prefered the Kans. Ahh! he said, then you'll probably like my dad's system - Teac Transport/Pink Triangle DeCapo DAC, DNM Pre/Power and Rhedeko speakers. Did I want to nip round and have a listen ?

Wow ! those Rhedekos are fast. Once you get past that strange 'transistor-radio' quality they have an incredible immediacy about them. Are these the ultimate flat-earth speaker ? I think they are a bit too extreme for me but I can see why they have their following.

Allan

Posted on: 02 November 2001 by moz

This seems to be the only speaker not mentioned & is in the same price bracket(£800ish)-give them a whirl-IMHO better than RR1's

Posted on: 02 November 2001 by Mike Sae

Just picked up issue 13 of Hi-Fi+. On the RR1, Jason writes that their sensitivity is 87db, whereas the specs box says 83(!). Who's right?

moz-

I did a dem of Intro II and agree it's a nice speaker. However, previous experience suggests they'd boom like mad in my room, so they're not contendors in this particular quest.

John-

Thanks for the info. Interestingly, I e-mailed Rob with a similar question last month and didn't get a response. I guess we'll know soon enough which are better, eh?
Oh, to answer your question in the other topic, yes i'm from Vancouver. That makes quite a few of us...