Well.....Big post:
Two-ish hours testing out four sets of speakers - the ex-demo PMC twenty5.21i, ProAc Tablette 10, the Neat Petite Classics and.....one extra pair. I declined to listen to a couple of sets of floorstanders.
The PMCs had minor aesthetic damage that was *just* about within the limits that would bother me. They sounded great - very full, weren't too fussy about placement (I was walking about to try to replicate the way we have to listen at home), and seemed especially capable with vocals (as evidence by Norah Jones' "She's 22"). Very solid grip of lower-end frequencies too.
The ProAcs were the surprise package I wanted to hear and they couldn't have been more visually appealing than the "functional" PMCs if they'd tried. They were a fun listen but relatively struggled with lower frequencies. Not in a massive way, but an audible way nonetheless. I had Cowboys by Portishead from their Roseland NYC session playing, and the deep cello strokes didn't carry enough weight and impact.
The Neat's took the spunkiness of the ProAcs and took it up a few notches. I don't know what the words are but they just sounded great and it belies their size - they are really not very deep in dimension terms but whilst there was perhaps *some* bass degradation relative to the PMCs, the fun element outstripped that slight downside. Standout track in comparison to the others was Rearviewmirror by Pearl Jam which just ratchets up the fun factor throughout and it was a proper smile-fest. Handled it brilliantly.
And the final pair? Well my Gumtree sale of the LS50 Metas fell through so I thought it was logical to listen to them through my amp in a "proper" listening room - I'd brought them with me to part-exchange anyway.
They instantly sounded significantly better than at home, which was to be expected and I can only assume is the prime benefit of being in a soft-furnished, carpeted living-room compared to a sound reflecting box of hard surfaces at home. It was transformative and once I remembered to take out the port bungs, they were very close to the PMCs and ProAcs. I think comparing the three, my order would be PMC > KEF > ProAc, just because the ProAc's skinny bass really stood out once I removed the KEF bungs.
Compared to the Neat's? The Neat's top the list and probably by a reasonable distance - they're just fun all over and the amp seemed totally at home with them. But I had a quandary - a big learning was that I love the Neat's, I want them and will get some at some point. But the difference between how the KEFs sound in an optimal vs. sub-optimal room was the main takeaway. If I had sold the KEFs on Gumtree I have no doubt that I'd be listening to the Neat's right now, and I'd be wondering why they didn't sound as good at home.
Being able to "audition" my own speakers in a proper space showed me that they're actually really rather good.; very good actually. They sound good at home, but significantly better in the right space. I ultimately concluded that it doesn't make sense at this stage to throw another ~£1,300 at an upgrade whose characteristics won't be fully realised at home. So I have set the KEFs back up at home and will pause chasing that particular unicorn / dragon for a bit.
I can afford the upgrade, but making the purchase and knowing I'd immediately dilute its impact just doesn't make sense to me. What WILL make a difference is headphones, so I'm pausing on speakers and switching attention elsewhere!
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