Can Neat Iotas really be that good?
Posted by: alanbass1 on 12 March 2017
Not so long ago I posted that I was looking for a speaker that would give be more depth and 'realism' on things like kick drum. The challenge being my listening room is 12' wide by 8' deep. After going for a demo of several speakers I decided to upgrade my front end first. Now my N272 and 555 DR have settled in the system sounds so good and I find myself getting lost just listening to music. Putting on John Martyn's Glorious Fool, Leonard Cohen's Live in London, Karajan's rendition of Beethoven's nine symphonies and sitting with my daughter listening to Draconian's Sovran everything sounded so good. Yes that depth of thud is still not there on kick drum but the low region is full and well defined, the speakers disappear (not too difficult given their diminutive size) and music fills the room. The soundstage is expansive, layered and cohesive and the timbre of voices and instruments sound, well, right.
I will be looking to upgrade my speakers in the summer as I'm sure my system can give more but I need to be careful not to lose what is so enjoyable about the Iotas. Is it just a case that my room is such that speakers seen as low in the pecking order of hi fi works where the more esoterica can struggle, or are the Iotas that good and able to hit its price point as it does not have the same engineering challenges that larger box designs present the designer?
I simply don't understand how Neat have got such a big, full(ish), room-filling sound out of such small boxes with the Iota Alphas which essentially sit on the floor. Brilliant. Baffling. Bonkers. 
BTW, Neat have now developed a proper base (that is base and not bass) arrangement with some metal struts that replace the large conical spikes. This has had a significant positive impact apparently. I have heard both arrangements a year apart at the Bristol show. If I were in the market for some compact speakers that simply sing with Naim sources and amplification, I know where I would go. They do demand some reasonably beefy power amplification though, NAP200 or better I would say to get the best out of them.
I quite enjoyed the iotas when I listened to them, albeit on the end of a Statement system which might not be so typical 
The noticeable thing to me was the smoothness of the high-ends and effective imaging, albeit a little set back.. I did find the bass notes relatively soft and spongy however with a lack of clarity as you got lower... certainly quite noticeable when comparing with a large quality stand mount... but for a genereal speaker perhaps on a second system with lesser electronics where you can play a lot with positioning to best tighten the bass I thought they could be rather good.
Simon
Simon-in-Suffolk posted:I quite enjoyed the iotas when I listened to them, albeit on the end of a Statement system which might not be so typical
The noticeable thing to me was the smoothness of the high-ends and effective imaging, albeit a little set back.. I did find the bass notes relatively soft and spongy however with a lack of clarity as you got lower... certainly quite noticeable when comparing with a large quality stand mount... but for a genereal speaker perhaps on a second system with lesser electronics where you can play a lot with positioning to best tighten the bass I thought they could be rather good.
Simon
exactly Simon, I'm looking for more solidity and definition in the lower region whilst retaining the sweet nature of the Iotas treble which works in my very small room ��.