Neat Motive 3 vs Petite SX SECOND THOUGHTS

[Ambrose]

 

[Frank Harvey]

I can't see the post, but going by the title, Petite SX.

If you post up what details you're looking for, I'll give it some more thought

 

[stevebrock]

I can't see the post, but going by the title, Petite SX.

If you post up what details you're looking for, I'll give it some more thought

If you look at Ambrose's kit then you will see he has the Motive 3 already - maybe he is asking for comparisons!

 

[Frank Harvey]

Maybe, but we don't know do we? He might be asking which work better in a small room, which are louder, or which have the deepest bass - we don't know! I'm only guessing he's talking about pure sound quality

 

[drummerman]

Predictive answering ... like it.

regards

 

[Frank Harvey]

Seems to be a necessity round here...

 

[Ambrose]

Lost in space.......... Damn sure I saw post had been made ok... oh well here goes again.

Well I was initially talking to dealer about some RCA cables on ebay and was instantly put off these (Chord Chorus). However I have been wondering about how the Petite SX sound and particularly if more full bodied than Motives and better with Rock / Heavy music. I made some other posts about getting a second pair of speakers for this. However the dealer had tempted me with a deal on Petites so went for quick listen in lunch hour (well 2!).

Playing with Nait XS, new CD5si and in a much bigger room as small room in use. However just wanted to get flavour. Did a few tracks with Motives which sounded very decent and room filling still, richer and bit more omph and lower register than my current setup I reckon.

Then onto SX with a few tracks again and sounds a little different, perhaps less bouncy but really draws you into the music. Not sure what it is about them yet but most definately better resolution and fast speakers. Picked up lovely electric guitar and more prominant male vocals from very brief listen.

So the offer of trade in Motive 3s for their spare Rosenut SX (bi wired) which they truefully said they wanted to get rid of for £350 is a stunning offer.

I will collect speakers for home demo next Tuesday and really hoping they work as well with my Nait 5i-2 & Rega Dac. Not sure I will be able to get an offer like this again.

I have not been able to find comparisions between Motive 3 and Petite SX so wondered if anyone could comment. Be good to hear from you Frank and know you are not a big fan of Motives but be interested on your take between the 2.

Can't wait for Tuesday to come round!!!!

Ambrose

 

[stevebrock]

lucky you!!!

Im in the maeket for speakers aain with a pendin house move........Neat Motives aain on my shorlist! I loved them, maybe I can own them aain with a new lounge!

 

[Ambrose]

lucky you!!!

Im in the maeket for speakers aain with a pendin house move........Neat Motives aain on my shorlist! I loved them, maybe I can own them aain with a new lounge!

There might be some oak motive 3s available soon although I have been offered £440 as trade in which would take some beating.

The Motive 3s are stunning speakers and the Petite's will need to do the business in my setup before they make way.

 

[stevebrock]

Ambrose,

if you remember I did in actual fact buy some Motive 3, they just did not work at home but I am moving to a bigger lounge!

Where are you I would be interested?

 

[Frank Harvey]

David (not Frank)

While the Motives sound fine, I'm more of a fan of speakers with larger drive units. I like to have scale and headroom, which is something I find lacking in small loudspeakers (satellite speakers aside). I think the Motives would be more acceptable if they didn't need so much space, which is odd for such small speakers.

I find the Petite and Elite far more to my liking than the Motive models. They're much more insightful with mid and treble, sounding more open and less restricted, and the bass has better scale and authority, as well as depth. They can play much louder too without you worrying whether they'll handle an upcoming passage of music, where the Motives might have you cautiously hovering over the volume control.

 

[cse]

I have the Neat Petit SX speakers in a small room withRoksan Caspian amp and Marantz Pearl Lite SACD player. I chose them over Motives (and others). They are much better, very insightful, good depth and immediate sounding. Not bright at all, but with good trebble and bass.

 

[Ambrose]

Ambrose,

if you remember I did in actual fact buy some Motive 3, they just did not work at home but I am moving to a bigger lounge!

Where are you I would be interested?

Hi Steve

I live in Colchester. I do remember you were gutted they were too bass heavy at home. They certainly can fill a room very well. I have 30cm from rear wall and lucky where I can setup in my lounge. The downside having a 3yr old boy who touches everything, I have to bring out stands and speakers in evening to play them!

Would be happy to consider if the SX worked out.

Cheers

Ambrose

 

[Ambrose]

David (not Frank)

While the Motives sound fine, I'm more of a fan of speakers with larger drive units. I like to have scale and headroom, which is something I find lacking in small loudspeakers (satellite speakers aside). I think the Motives would be more acceptable if they didn't need so much space, which is odd for such small speakers.

I find the Petite and Elite far more to my liking than the Motive models. They're much more insightful with mid and treble, sounding more open and less restricted, and the bass has better scale and authority, as well as depth. They can play much louder too without you worrying whether they'll handle an upcoming passage of music, where the Motives might have you cautiously hovering over the volume control.

Hi David

Does sound like there's much more to offer from the SX and agree so far about more open and less restricted. I only opened up Motive once and then still not any where near as loud as I'd dare and that was sufficient in my space. I think the 3s actually go louder than the 2s.

Can you comment how the Nait 5i-2 would pair with the SX? I know a common pairing of uniti and SX so I am guessing should not be a problem?

All the best

Ambrose

 

[Ambrose]

I have the Neat Petit SX speakers in a small room withRoksan Caspian amp and Marantz Pearl Lite SACD player. I chose them over Motives (and others). They are much better, very insightful, good depth and immediate sounding. Not bright at all, but with good trebble and bass.

Hi cse

Thanks my room is about 17ft square with reduction for stairs so fingers crossed. I'll let you know how I get on. Immediate sounding

Ambrose

 

[Frank Harvey]

Hi David

Can you comment how the Nait 5i-2 would pair with the SX? I know a common pairing of uniti and SX so I am guessing should not be a problem?

All the best

Ambrose

Whilst I have no doubt the Petites would give you more if you had a Nait XS or better, you'll still benefit from the Petite's improvements over the Motives in various areas.

 

[Ambrose]

Hi David

Can you comment how the Nait 5i-2 would pair with the SX? I know a common pairing of uniti and SX so I am guessing should not be a problem?

All the best

Ambrose

Whilst I have no doubt the Petites would give you more if you had a Nait XS or better, you'll still benefit from the Petite's improvements over the Motives in various areas.

:cheers:

Thanks great stuff. Music to my ears 8)

 

[Ambrose]

I have a pair of SX in my car ready for some demo goodness tonight!:bounce:

 

[Ambrose]

Hooked up the Petite’s last night and had a couple of hours to play and test out.

Speakers are similar size to Motive’s but wider / flatter and bigger woofer, but surprisingly seemed lighter. Need careful handling as no covers which is a pain for me setting up / packing away each time.

Initial impressions were lower level listening were not as impressive as Motive’s, however, the motives are extremely good at low volumes due to their punchy and very dynamic sound signature.

Started to play with setting up on stands with / without risers or bluetac and with different digital interconnects and was feeling a little flat in comparison to Motive’s. The soundstage and levels of details clearly superior and more layers in music with better scale. Whereas the Motive’s are a bit more one dimensional (not what I originally thought) the Petite’s present a rock solid soundstage with greater separation. Reminds me a little of the soundstage when I demoed the Linn Silver interconnect, very tangible and in control.

Took a while to get stand/speaker setup right and don’t know if it took some time to adjust to new speakers or gear to warm up from cold or seemed more like when I changed from using risers to very small blobs of bluetac, but by the end of the evening things started to really sound sublime and the foot tapping started again testing lots of tracks to see if anything new jumped out.

So far I would suggest the Petites are lively (as opposed to bouncy Motive’s), super fast with spot on timing, much more resolving than Motive’s and I think a little fuller with greater scale. The Motive’s are punchier and more dynamic with the Nait 5i I am using and although I suspect an XS would deliver more the Nait 5i seems perfectly up to the job which is good news!!!

The Motive’s probably sound more exciting and don’t seem that much less lightweight sounding overall than Petite’s. The Petite’s are really drawing me into the music however.

Be interesting to see how I evaluate after next few days.

Ambrose

 

[crusaderlord]

Very interested in this thread.

I have always wondered how much the Petite SX would add to my Motives but in all honesty never really felt the need to change my speakers given they sound so good. The mark up is sufficient for me need a pretty high improvement to warrant changing.

I tried some £1500 Proac standmounts to compare to my Neat Motives a couple of years ago but whilst they were also really good they didnt really improve on the Motive 3s much if at all. I still think the Motives are amazing value speakers 4 years on - although have to say when i bought them new they were £750 - speakers have generally increased in price a lot over the last few years it seems.

 

[Ambrose]

Very interested in this thread.

I have always wondered how much the Petite SX would add to my Motives but in all honesty never really felt the need to change my speakers given they sound so good. The mark up is sufficient for me need a pretty high improvement to warrant changing.

I tried some £1500 Proac standmounts to compare to my Neat Motives a couple of years ago but whilst they were also really good they didnt really improve on the Motive 3s much if at all. I still think the Motives are amazing value speakers 4 years on - although have to say when i bought them new they were £750 - speakers have generally increased in price a lot over the last few years it seems.

Hi Crusaderlord,

I am happy with the Motive's and agree they are brilliant, but just happened to be in the lucky position for a very modest £350 upgrade to the SX as dealer has a spare demo pair in Rosenut and supposedly less preferentially in bi-wired manufacture as opposed to single. Links been replaced with speaker cable.

It is a bit different in presentation (but still Neat Speakers) and I really love the sound of the Motive's so will come back with some more feedback and hopefully be of some help. David has been kind enough to post back about both speakers but not really been able to find anything on Google.

I think the Petite's could be quite special speakers.

Do you feel the Motive's lack in any area or would like improvement somewhere?

Ambrose

 

[Ambrose]

Hooked up the Petite’s last night and had a couple of hours to play and test out.

Speakers are similar size to Motive’s but wider / flatter and bigger woofer, but surprisingly seemed lighter. Need careful handling as no covers which is a pain for me setting up / packing away each time.

Initial impressions were lower level listening were not as impressive as Motive’s, however, the motives are extremely good at low volumes due to their punchy and very dynamic sound signature.

Started to play with setting up on stands with / without risers or bluetac and with different digital interconnects and was feeling a little flat in comparison to Motive’s. The soundstage and levels of details clearly superior and more layers in music with better scale. Whereas the Motive’s are a bit more one dimensional (not what I originally thought) the Petite’s present a rock solid soundstage with greater separation. Reminds me a little of the soundstage when I demoed the Linn Silver interconnect, very tangible and in control.

Took a while to get stand/speaker setup right and don’t know if it took some time to adjust to new speakers or gear to warm up from cold or seemed more like when I changed from using risers to very small blobs of bluetac, but by the end of the evening things started to really sound sublime and the foot tapping started again testing lots of tracks to see if anything new jumped out.

So far I would suggest the Petites are lively (as opposed to bouncy Motive’s), super fast with spot on timing, much more resolving than Motive’s and I think a little fuller with greater scale. The Motive’s are punchier and more dynamic with the Nait 5i I am using and although I suspect an XS would deliver more the Nait 5i seems perfectly up to the job which is good news!!!

The Motive’s probably sound more exciting and don’t seem that much less lightweight sounding overall than Petite’s. The Petite’s are really drawing me into the music however.

Be interesting to see how I evaluate after next few days.

Ambrose

Hmm Petite SX speakers… starting to have doubts L

Although clearly better speakers in resolution, speed, scale and soundstage and with a slightly fuller sound I can’t help feeling it is not balanced in my setup like with the Motive’s. Few thoughts:

Not as good at low volumes (quite important to me)

Although lively sounding and fairly punchy, the Motive’s are still better, perhaps in part that the AMP is able to get more out of Motives than Petite’s? Even at Shop the Motive’s (played through Nait XS and new CD5si were not as dynamically bouncy, give you as much change in volume between quieter / louder parts of music and hence not as punchy / exciting to my ears as the Motive’s. I guess the Petites a more balanced speaker and being very able speakers would suit a much higher end rig?

Am finding a little harder on the ear listening, whereas the Motives I can listen all day to anything and enjoy at some level. I guess because the Petites are a lot more insightful / revealing and Nait 5i might not be the best match long term.

I have been doing some listening just to Petite’s last 3 nights trying to adjust to them and thought at end of last night I would swap back Motive’s and it just worked better / sounded more emotionally involving.

Will listen some more but think they might disturb a very well balanced system. My second thought after listening to Motive’s again was that these are wonderful and still detailed speakers and maybe match me[/b] better than the Petite’s? When listening to The Who “behind blue eyes” it just stirs my emotions and the vocals encompass you. I think this may have helped quash the tweak / upgradeitis and to enjoy the music.

Hmmm, think I have made up my mind but will have to make sure as possibly won’t have such an opportunity to own Petite’s as I have now again. A shame if so as wanted to be like the Motive’s + extra but are in fact a little different.

Might be another story if the rest of electronics were significantly upgraded but that’s only likely over a longer period of time.

Opinions welcomed.

 

[plastic penguin]

Hi Ambrose

I've experienced the simllar thing with my set-up. I've heard other speakers which are technically better than the RS6, but, as I've pointed out before, there just seems to be something missing from the presentation. Not sure whether it's a balance thing or something more subtle. This is the main reason I'm so reluctant to tamper with my current kit.

I'd say if there's a scintilla of doubt, see them out.

 

[Ambrose]

Hi Ambrose

I've experienced the simllar thing with my set-up. I've heard other speakers which are technically better than the RS6, but, as I've pointed out before, there just seems to be something missing from the presentation. Not sure whether it's a balance thing or something more subtle. This is the main reason I'm so reluctant to tamper with my current kit.

I'd say if there's a scintilla of doubt, see them out.

Thanks PP I need some sound advice! Very poetic too

At least if I pass up the Petites it will make me appreciate much more what I have and worry less about making changes.

 

[cse]

When I listened to the Petit's I found them to be much more emotive/alive than the Motive's. This was with a Roksan amp and Densen CD player. The Motive's, however, I found to be better than the PMC DB1's and ATC7's. I was moving on from BW CDM1SE's, which were pretty good, but lacked depth of scale and clarity, but had excellent bass and bottom end.