Neat Iota Alpha

ChrisIRL

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Neat Iota Alpha, I can’t get my head around these speakers, nor can I demo them.

All reviews and forum talk is very positive but any performance measurements I’ve seen are not too hot. Bass distortion measures high, balance between tweeters is poor, bass response is far from what is claimed.

Hyped up reviews due to novelty factor or an indication that measurements aren’t all that important?
 
They are good questions! I've seen the distortion measurements which are poor but not so unusual for a smallish enclosure. As far as I know, Neat have never majored on measurements, preferring a listening approach.

I heard them before they had been named, a few Bristol shows ago, and they sounded delightful. Quite a feat in a horrible hotel bedroom! I'm sure they will repay careful setting up, and not played at rock concert levels. But if you want more accurate sound, you may find KEF, ATC and others more to your taste.
 

ChrisIRL

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I’ve been through all the usual contenders and found most excellent for different reasons, Q acoustics, ATC, PMC, JMR, Rega, Dynaudio, Sonus Faber, Kef LS50 ( wired and wireless). I’ve enjoyed them all a lot and have rarely moved due to any major issues with sound quality. But none have made me compelled to stay either!

Same did go for electronics, I’ve tried and owned plenty but recently have I found an amp I knew fairly quickly I won’t ever part with, a Naim Nait 5i-2. I’ve moved on from other Naim products without a second thought but this 5i-2 has me completely hooked like none before. It’s like the highlight reel of every other amp I’ve had rolled into one! Love it!

Now to find a speaker with the same hook and that’ll compliment the Nait. Neat were never on my radar, don’t know why but I’ve heard good things about their synergy with Naim. The twenty.21s I’m using with the Nait come very close but I think a touch more magic could be achieved. Maybe *unknw*
 
I pretty much enjoyed my 21's with a nait xs and now the superuniti has brought even more to the party...but have always been a bit curious about some neat speakers..the motive sx2 being the most interesting for me but I can't really have a floor standing speaker....the iota alpha really do like they could fill that middle ground..I'd love to hear a pair.
 
"I’ve been through all the usual contenders and found most excellent for different reasons, Q acoustics, ATC, PMC, JMR, Rega, Dynaudio, Sonus Faber, Kef LS50 ( wired and wireless). I’ve enjoyed them all a lot and have rarely moved due to any major issues with sound quality. But none have made me compelled to stay either!

Same did go for electronics, I’ve tried and owned plenty but recently have I found an amp I knew fairly quickly I won’t ever part with, a Naim Nait 5i-2. I’ve moved on from other Naim products without a second thought but this 5i-2 has me completely hooked like none before. It’s like the highlight reel of every other amp I’ve had rolled into one! Love it!

Now to find a speaker with the same hook and that’ll compliment the Nait. Neat were never on my radar, don’t know why but I’ve heard good things about their synergy with Naim. The twenty.21s I’m using with the Nait come very close but I think a touch more magic could be achieved. Maybe"

If no speaker has made you compelled to stay, perhaps (this is only a wild guess) that Naim might not be the amp for you?
 
D

Deleted member 116933

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I think if you want the best the out of Naim really you should be auditioning some of there own speakers whether older or newer to see what is supposed to sound like and then if they don't fit your budget find the speaker that best fits that sound. I recently (2 years ago) went through a whole host of speakers to pair with my Uniti 2 (not a million miles away from the nait) I tried PMC, Neat and so on, all the usual suspects. My advice would be to move away from those usual suspects and start looking at Guru (they use Naim to develop their speakers), Amphion, Revel Concerta/Performera series, maybe JBL and Naim themselves. As you can see I settled on Revel's as nothing at the price came close to there weight, energy, detail and soundstage. There smaller siblings won a "best speaker award" here I believe. I think within those brands is where you will start to find your forever friends. But that's my opinion
 

ChrisIRL

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plastic penguin said:
"I’ve been through all the usual contenders and found most excellent for different reasons, Q acoustics, ATC, PMC, JMR, Rega, Dynaudio, Sonus Faber, Kef LS50 ( wired and wireless). I’ve enjoyed them all a lot and have rarely moved due to any major issues with sound quality. But none have made me compelled to stay either!

Same did go for electronics, I’ve tried and owned plenty but recently have I found an amp I knew fairly quickly I won’t ever part with, a Naim Nait 5i-2. I’ve moved on from other Naim products without a second thought but this 5i-2 has me completely hooked like none before. It’s like the highlight reel of every other amp I’ve had rolled into one! Love it!

Now to find a speaker with the same hook and that’ll compliment the Nait. Neat were never on my radar, don’t know why but I’ve heard good things about their synergy with Naim. The twenty.21s I’m using with the Nait come very close but I think a touch more magic could be achieved. Maybe"

If no speaker has made you compelled to stay, perhaps (this is only a wild guess) that Naim might not be the amp for you?

I should elaborate, I’ve never used the 5i-2 with the other speakers listed, just the PMC twenty.21s. It’s entirely possible what I’m liking about the 5i-2 is just down to its synergy with the 21s. I have read very positive things about Neat with Naim too however.
 

insider9

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I've used Naim 5i-2 with 3 different pairs of speakers.

It does translate many of its qualities well but will sound distinctly different in other areas particularly timbre.

With warm speakers it can really deliver timbre to the point it's nearly over the top :) you will notice some female vocals sounding somewhat nasal, when sax is playing you will hear a lot of reed sound and with cymbals you will definitely tell Zildjian from a Paiste.

On a more neutral/bright speaker it can sound shrill and aggressive particularly in treble. But when well matched it will have an nice open and extremely musical sound that will surprise with great and precise image.

If you can find a pair of speakers (once again try EPOS) to work with it at it's modest 50Wpc it's an insane value for money amp for what it does. It would do well with fast, speakers that image well, are not shrill in treble and don't need lots of power to control bass.
 

Pedro

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I owned the Neat SX2 (still do, actually), and I thought they were very nice. Then one day I went to listen to the SCM11s and I was blown away, especially by the midrange.

@ Mark: Neat and Naim are an excellent match. The SX2s have a small footprint and they're only around 75cm tall and tilted backwards, like PMCs. I think Neat develops their speakers using Naim electronics. They're very entertaining speakers, but I'd rather have kit with a flat frequency response. Have a home demo if you can, they can fit in a small living room! :)
 
Thanks Pedro.i'll keep the sx2's in mind....but atm I'm still very much enjoying the superuniti with the 21's...even though they can't dig quite as deep as floorstanding speakers they make up for it with their excellent speed and timing . it's a really fun setup.
 

ChrisIRL

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Thanks for the suggestions and apologies for not responding to each post in turn, hectic life at the moment.

I would like to venture off the beaten path but generally I’m forced to buy blind. Very difficult then to find much info on more unusual choices.

Guru Juniors did catch my eye, just not sure why the non white finish commands a £300 premium?!? Epos could be worth a risk, not too expensive 2nd hand. The Revels are above budget unfortunately.

What I like about the 5i-2 is it seems to give a bit of live performance energy even to relaxed studio albums. I read that Neat also strive for this real live music characteristic which is why I’m interested. What I’d like: Punchy stand out drums with good snare snap, crisp realistic highs, reasonably detailed mids, clear forward vocals. Bass, not a big full bass fan, prefer light and tuneful. Above anything then lots of speed without getting muddled.
 
I would have mentioned the Guru juniors in my earlier post, but they've been unavailable in the UK for some time. I emailed the importers early this year and they said delivery would start again, but afaik this hasn't happened.

I see someone suggested Naim's own speakers. They are a real Marmite product, which I've never liked. You may though!
 

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