I really like small standmounts and noticed Neat's latest 'Ministras' with Isobaric loading. Has there been such a small speaker previously with the isobaric principle?
I could be in the market for a: 'last me another 10 years' standmount. I heard a pair of the little Raidho's at a show a couple of years ago and thought them quite stunning, if a little (unsurprisingly) bass light. I think I could live with those forever but they're out of reach, and I do like a bit of weight in the bass sometimes, although it's not a deal-breaker for me. Hence the little Neat's caught my eye with their ribbon tweeter , Isobaric hidden second driver thing going on.
So. (I hate it when people start a sentence with: 'So.')
I popped into the Audiobarn near Harlow in Essex and was made very welcome indeed by Jack, and left to my own devices, with ipad and Tidal in hand for an hour or so. The dem room is indeed a huge space and not at all like my modest living room. The clue is in 'Audiobarn' because it is a barn. So (There he goes again, dammit!) that's a huge space for a twee speaker to fill with any authority. But fill it they did. Some of my chosen tracks left me a little underwhelmed but then others had some real weight - I came away with the impression that the system was very revealing indeed, ruthlessly so, to the extent that you could think negatively about the speakers on some tracks and , 'My god, how does such a small speaker do that?' on others. (DCS Bartok DAC and some £15k American integrated whose name I forget I'm afraid).
Anyway, anyone else heard these littke Neats? And what's your opinion on the best standmount under £2.5k??
I could be in the market for a: 'last me another 10 years' standmount. I heard a pair of the little Raidho's at a show a couple of years ago and thought them quite stunning, if a little (unsurprisingly) bass light. I think I could live with those forever but they're out of reach, and I do like a bit of weight in the bass sometimes, although it's not a deal-breaker for me. Hence the little Neat's caught my eye with their ribbon tweeter , Isobaric hidden second driver thing going on.
So. (I hate it when people start a sentence with: 'So.')
I popped into the Audiobarn near Harlow in Essex and was made very welcome indeed by Jack, and left to my own devices, with ipad and Tidal in hand for an hour or so. The dem room is indeed a huge space and not at all like my modest living room. The clue is in 'Audiobarn' because it is a barn. So (There he goes again, dammit!) that's a huge space for a twee speaker to fill with any authority. But fill it they did. Some of my chosen tracks left me a little underwhelmed but then others had some real weight - I came away with the impression that the system was very revealing indeed, ruthlessly so, to the extent that you could think negatively about the speakers on some tracks and , 'My god, how does such a small speaker do that?' on others. (DCS Bartok DAC and some £15k American integrated whose name I forget I'm afraid).
Anyway, anyone else heard these littke Neats? And what's your opinion on the best standmount under £2.5k??
