Bigman80
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Post by Bigman80 on Sept 10, 2018 21:37:12 GMT
Now in it’s fourth incarnation, the Petite has been around almost 30 years. The tweeter has seen the biggest change although other developments have been implemented over the years. Whilst I haven’t (yet) had the SX I have had plenty of the others including the Gravitas subs. Truly musical little mites that sound way bigger and go much louder than you’d expect. I heard them in Neat’s shop almost a year before they were catapulted to fame by Malcolm Steward’s wonderful review. They have since found their way into many homes and hearts. The designer, Bob Surgeoner is a genuine guy who loves music and has put his passion to work. NEAT still have a recording Studio on their premises and you will not find a more genuine manufacturer anywhere. If you’ve ne er heard a pair you should really try to seek them out. They just have a vivacity and verve that is hard to resist.     |
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Post by Deleted on Sept 10, 2018 21:42:26 GMT
Nice one, Andrew.
I remember you calling the Petite the Jack Russell of loudspeakers.
S.
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Bigman80
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Post by Bigman80 on Sept 10, 2018 21:44:02 GMT
Nice one, Andrew. I remember you calling the Petite the Jack Russell of loudspeakers. S. That really suits them. I don’t recall saying it so thanksmfir the reminder! |
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Post by Deleted on Sept 10, 2018 21:46:27 GMT
Yeah, it was years ago.
What speaker suites a Westie?
S.
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Bigman80
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Post by Bigman80 on Sept 12, 2018 14:03:27 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Feb 19, 2019 0:13:44 GMT
Now in it’s fourth incarnation, the Petite has been around almost 30 years. The tweeter has seen the biggest change although other developments have been implemented over the years. Whilst I haven’t (yet) had the SX I have had plenty of the others including the Gravitas subs. Truly musical little mites that sound way bigger and go much louder than you’d expect. I heard them in Neat’s shop almost a year before they were catapulted to fame by Malcolm Steward’s wonderful review. They have since found their way into many homes and hearts. The designer, Bob Surgeoner is a genuine guy who loves music and has put his passion to work. NEAT still have a recording Studio on their premises and you will not find a more genuine manufacturer anywhere. If you’ve ne er heard a pair you should really try to seek them out. They just have a vivacity and verve that is hard to resist. Nearly 30 years... F#ck that makes me feel old! I was there at the beginning as I rented half the basement of the original NEAT shop in North Rd from Bob at the time for my then business "Music Electronics".. I gave 'em advice on crossover design when they were just starting off and was one of the listening panel for new mods on them with Bob, Derek and "Twed"... plus often Derek's brother Trevor... nostalgia's not what it used to be eh... |
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Bigman80
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AA Founding Member & Bigbottle Audio Creator
Posts: 16,063
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Post by Bigman80 on Feb 19, 2019 5:31:16 GMT
Now in it’s fourth incarnation, the Petite has been around almost 30 years. The tweeter has seen the biggest change although other developments have been implemented over the years. Whilst I haven’t (yet) had the SX I have had plenty of the others including the Gravitas subs. Truly musical little mites that sound way bigger and go much louder than you’d expect. I heard them in Neat’s shop almost a year before they were catapulted to fame by Malcolm Steward’s wonderful review. They have since found their way into many homes and hearts. The designer, Bob Surgeoner is a genuine guy who loves music and has put his passion to work. NEAT still have a recording Studio on their premises and you will not find a more genuine manufacturer anywhere. If you’ve ne er heard a pair you should really try to seek them out. They just have a vivacity and verve that is hard to resist. Nearly 30 years... F#ck that makes me feel old! I was there at the beginning as I rented half the basement of the original NEAT shop in North Rd from Bob at the time for my then business "Music Electronics".. I gave 'em advice on crossover design when they were just starting off and was one of the listening panel for new mods on them with Bob, Derek and "Twed"... plus often Derek's brother Trevor... nostalgia's not what it used to be eh... That has to be my favourite ever shop. They did get some interesting gear, but it was the atmosphere that made it for me. Sadly, I doubt we will ever see it’s like again. I never knew about your connections though. I still remember that child-like excitement I felt making my way to that shop. That’s nostalgia alright. |
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Post by dsjr on Feb 19, 2019 9:35:26 GMT
I HATED these feckers. Tinsel and spit and who gives a flying fig about *measurements* - spit........... The last Neats I heard were the little black things with ribbon tweeters and it was exactly the same, polyprop warm toned upper bass and mids with tinsel perched on top.
Sorry to spoil the fun. Of course there should be sparkle, but not when it's detached from the rest of it as these could be. Kudos were doing this as well, but the tinsel has gone up in frequency with the Titan models, which are seriously 'odd' in my book.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 19, 2019 9:45:21 GMT
I HATED these feckers. Tinsel and spit and who gives a flying fig about *measurements* - spit........... The last Neats I heard were the little black things with ribbon tweeters and it was exactly the same, polyprop warm toned upper bass and mids with tinsel perched on top. Sorry to spoil the fun. Of course there should be sparkle, but not when it's detached from the rest of it as these could be. Kudos were doing this as well, but the tinsel has gone up in frequency with the Titan models, which are seriously 'odd' in my book. I've auditioned various Neat speakers over the years and have consistently failed to understand what all the fuss was about. |
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Post by dsjr on Feb 19, 2019 9:54:31 GMT
If you have a softer toned vinyl system (old style LP12) then maybe the extra sparkle helps liven things up a bit. But it's my view we've moved on from those days now and even the current LP12 'turntable systems' have some life to them they often lacked thirty five years ago. Mind you, Rega still sell loads of their slushy fat toned MM cartridges via often blinkered dealers, so I don't know.
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Post by savvypaul on Feb 19, 2019 10:21:21 GMT
If you have a softer toned vinyl system (old style LP12) then maybe the extra sparkle helps liven things up a bit. But it's my view we've moved on from those days now and even the current LP12 'turntable systems' have some life to them they often lacked thirty five years ago. Mind you, Rega still sell loads of their slushy fat toned MM cartridges via often blinkered dealers, so I don't know. Had a pair of Motive 3 (I think) at one of my bake-offs. Quite spirited and outgoing, sounded a lot bigger than they looked. Put a smile on your face. I think they enjoyed being biamped. Wouldn't want to live with them but I'd have a snog round the back of the garages on the way home from the pub. A touch of boom and tizz but they were far more endearing than a pair of Harbeth P3ESR, on the day. |
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Post by Deleted on Feb 19, 2019 12:53:59 GMT
Nearly 30 years... F#ck that makes me feel old! I was there at the beginning as I rented half the basement of the original NEAT shop in North Rd from Bob at the time for my then business "Music Electronics".. I gave 'em advice on crossover design when they were just starting off and was one of the listening panel for new mods on them with Bob, Derek and "Twed"... plus often Derek's brother Trevor... nostalgia's not what it used to be eh... That has to be my favourite ever shop. They did get some interesting gear, but it was the atmosphere that made it for me. Sadly, I doubt we will ever see it’s like again. I never knew about your connections though. I still remember that child-like excitement I felt making my way to that shop. That’s nostalgia alright. Yeah I had some good times there. Maybe we met... I don't know... if you recall a 6'4" biker/hippy type with dreadlocks that was me  |
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Post by Deleted on Feb 19, 2019 13:01:19 GMT
I HATED these feckers. Tinsel and spit and who gives a flying fig about *measurements* - spit........... The last Neats I heard were the little black things with ribbon tweeters and it was exactly the same, polyprop warm toned upper bass and mids with tinsel perched on top. Sorry to spoil the fun. Of course there should be sparkle, but not when it's detached from the rest of it as these could be. Kudos were doing this as well, but the tinsel has gone up in frequency with the Titan models, which are seriously 'odd' in my book. I've auditioned various Neat speakers over the years and have consistently failed to understand what all the fuss was about. Absolutely not how I recall the Petite!! I regarded them as a good speaker, certainly not in any way boom and tizz, but just not quite up to some of the market leaders at the time. I much preferred the AE1 for example. I'm afraid the Kudos models I've heard at any length I did find far too bright but I've not heard any of the top of the range models... |
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Post by pauld on Feb 19, 2019 13:35:49 GMT
Have to agree with Dave again on this one (shock horror), the Neat speakers were terrible to my ears. Not surprised you liked though, Andrew as you were a fan of Naim speakers, which are even more yuk!
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Post by dsjr on Feb 19, 2019 14:12:37 GMT
Have to agree with Dave again on this one (shock horror), the Neat speakers were terrible to my ears. Not surprised you liked though, Andrew as you were a fan of Naim speakers, which are even more yuk! One Naim speaker which eventually surprised me (towards the end of its life) was the SBL of all things... In its early days it was horrible, lean bass, slightly coloured mids and that awful ScanSqueak tweet should be been strangled at birth (it 'whistles' at 9kHz and it's easily measurable) - same in most speakers using it as it adds a kind of chrome plating or 'grit' to string tone - ugh!
Twenty years ago now (that long?) I worked in my final dealer which happened to be Linn/Naim/Rega biased. I was rather surprised to hear how much better the SBL with revised bass units was and the actual fact with these was that they sounded really rather nice away from a Naim system. The heavy Arcam FMJ power amp was a goodie here and so was the Meridian 555 and 557 I remember. 'Olive' Naim was ok, but to get any 'depth' of image, you needed an 82 or 52 to do it. For *this* sitting room of ours, the thought has actually crossed my mind - EEK!!!
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Post by pauld on Feb 19, 2019 15:18:44 GMT
Never heard a Naim speaker I liked, other than maybe the stand-mount's, N-Sat which could sound just about acceptable.
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Post by dsjr on Feb 19, 2019 17:32:08 GMT
I've used N-Sats at work - gawd they're beautifully made but terrible sounding - sorry...
Westie may like the Arivas though. Some bass and an eager-puppy communication. I should have liked to hear more from them... i never cared for Intro's and Credo's, the bass was all over the place and in a delayed action kind of way too (b-----oooOOOMMM). The scanspeak whizzer on the credo's and whateveritwas on the Intro didn't help the illusion either, yet the Scan was tolerable in later SBL's - hmmm...
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Bigman80
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AA Founding Member & Bigbottle Audio Creator
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Post by Bigman80 on Feb 21, 2019 18:17:34 GMT
I've used N-Sats at work - gawd they're beautifully made but terrible sounding - sorry... Westie may like the Arivas though. Some bass and an eager-puppy communication. I should have liked to hear more from them... i never cared for Intro's and Credo's, the bass was all over the place and in a delayed action kind of way too (b-----oooOOOMMM). The scanspeak whizzer on the credo's and whateveritwas on the Intro didn't help the illusion either, yet the Scan was tolerable in later SBL's - hmmm... Never heard the Arrivas but I have to agree with Intro and Credo. Nothing to offer imo. Did like SBLs but never even seen Nsats. My local dealer doesn’t rate any naim speaker made after JV passed. |
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Post by dsjr on Feb 21, 2019 18:28:09 GMT
I didn't rate ANY Naim speakers AT ALL, until I heard the later SBL. I did hear a very interesting manufacturer dem of the NBL's, going from 135 driven passive (ugh) to 250's active (far better but a bit 'meh') and then a full 135 active set (the best they had back then) which was astonishingly better. Still, what tempered it for me is that for less money, you could have a pair of ATC300A's which were in a different and higher plane of existence in every way, including size  DBL's were wardrobe sized juke boxes in comparison... |
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Post by Deleted on Feb 21, 2019 19:11:20 GMT
There's a chap who lives 10 min away from me. He owns a pair of mark 2 SBL's, in walnut. Interesting speakers. Very upfront sound!
S.
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Post by dsjr on Feb 21, 2019 19:35:58 GMT
There's a chap who lives 10 min away from me. He owns a pair of mark 2 SBL's, in walnut. Interesting speakers. Very upfront sound! S. Use 'em away from Naim (sacrilege to some) and the up-front sound relaxes into something rather more subtle and friendly (the original top FMJ amp and Meridian 557, I suspect a Quad 606 family amp would do easily as well). I liked 'em active too, only the SSSSScan tweeter made its presence felt too much for me and there's far better around these days. |
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Post by pauld on Feb 21, 2019 23:28:56 GMT
That’s a fair point, Dave. I have only ever heard Naim speakers on the back of Naim amps and they always sounded forward and nasty, but so do Focal and others when powered by Naim amps, so makes me think that the issue is probably the amps.
My Focal’s which were designed prior to the Naim/Focal hook up and I’ve head them of a 252/SC/300DR system and it sounded dreadful.
Whereas off my Belles Aria integrated amp they sound quite marvellous.
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Post by pauld on Feb 21, 2019 23:31:47 GMT
That’s a fair point, Dave. I have only ever heard Naim speakers on the back of Naim amps and they always sounded forward and nasty, but so do Focal and others when powered by Naim amps, so makes me think that the issue is probably the amps. My Focal’s which were designed prior to the Naim/Focal hook up and I’ve head them of a 252/SC/300DR system and it sounded dreadful. Whereas off my Belles Aria integrated amp they sound quite marvellous. Oh and the Belles is around 10x less than the Naim amp combo. |
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Bigman80
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Post by Bigman80 on Feb 21, 2019 23:59:40 GMT
That’s a fair point, Dave. I have only ever heard Naim speakers on the back of Naim amps and they always sounded forward and nasty, but so do Focal and others when powered by Naim amps, so makes me think that the issue is probably the amps. My Focal’s which were designed prior to the Naim/Focal hook up and I’ve head them of a 252/SC/300DR system and it sounded dreadful. Whereas off my Belles Aria integrated amp they sound quite marvellous. Oh and the Belles is around 10x less than the Naim amp combo. Looks to be a lovely amp that one. |
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Post by dsjr on Feb 22, 2019 1:37:57 GMT
I've heard both sets of Kanta's now. The first set seemed to 'drone' off one of Naim's streamers (with a display on), but in fairness, the larger one has a bit of vim to it without being fatiguing or relentless. Naim 'dual rail' isn't the same as 'everyone else's' dual rail I gather. Dual rail to me is a positive and negative supply, but without checking, Naim seems to be single ended, just more of them? I'll have to read up again when I'm more awake It's a year or two since I compared current Naim with anything, as recent experience has been system setups for dems I'm nothing to do with. I don't personally find the current stuff unpleasant as such, except when its pushed too hard and it them takes off nastily. The thing is, the potential for drifting off is apparently still there, although when they're 'wrong' you hear it immediately I gather. |
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Post by Deleted on Feb 22, 2019 8:28:10 GMT
Naim 'dual rail' isn't the same as 'everyone else's' dual rail I gather. Dual rail to me is a positive and negative supply, but without checking, Naim seems to be single ended, just more of them? I'll have to read up again when I'm more awake Hey Dave. Having lived in Naim modification land at pfm for over 10 years they all refer to + 0V - supply as split rail. Dual rail to me would suggest two positive rails (or two negative but never come across that). |
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Post by dsjr on Feb 22, 2019 10:25:47 GMT
Ok, thanks. Too late last night to really get my head round it.
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DBL's were wardrobe sized juke boxes in comparison...