Review: Neat Motive 2 Floorstanding Speakers - It's All About That Bass

I've had the pleasure of owning a pair of lovely Neat Motive 2 floorstanders for a year now, and I do think they deserve a review of their own - even though I know there are plenty of opinions about them around the web. This review is not going to be one of them biblical in-depth ones, rather I will give you a general feeling of Motive 2s.

At height less than 80 cm these speakers are in my opinion what you could call as compact floorstanders. They sit on top of spikes mounted in the black base "plinth". The spikes elevates the speaker giving its downfiring reflex port room to breath. The bottom reflex port also makes the Motive 2s somewhat suitable for near-wall placement and their small size might give a room for finding the best spot for them. The things is that Neat's Motive 1 and 2 speakers are tilted a bit backwards giving them a look very unorthodox. I suppose this helps to deliver the sound closer to ear vertically. In my opinion this makes the Motive 2s interesting, modern and very charming in general.

Neat Motive 2

My Motive 2s have the Black Ash finish and they look really nice. The "grills" are attached with magnets so there is not even leftover holes when the grills are off. Naturally I do recommend taking the grills off as I believe they are not there to improve the sound.

The first thing I noticed when I first plugged the Motive 2s to my system, consisting of KECES DA-131mk2 DAC, Abrahamsen V3.0 preamplifier and Dayens Ampino Monoblocks driving them at 50W (8 Ohms), was the impressive and sophisticated and fast bass that goes surprisingly deep - it was evident that the Motive 2s are all about PRaT and making you tap your feet and that sweet bass is the main driving force. They make you forget about things that keep you from enjoying music - yes they are musical and and not a bit clinical or boring in any sense. That said, for me coming from a pair of KEF LS50s, the treble can sound a tad bright at first but my ears got used to it in a week. Even with the nice bass and slightly bright but involving treble the mid-range is not forgotten - it follows along just fine giving credible and punchy body to the details and music. I have a feeling that these speakers appreciate an amplifier capable of delivering current rather than tons of watts.

Neat Motive 2

The Motive 2s can and will dig up and present with ease any dynamics, spatial room-filling information and nuances that the recording may have, especially with movies and games. That said they sound quite decent even with some poorer recordings. Any genre is a good genre for the little Neats as they shine happily on anything I throw at them be it solo piano, electronic house music, aggressive rock or full scale orchestra. Somehow the warm sound of LP-records sound especially enjoyable but not a bit boring or stuffy.

There are newer version of Neat's Motive line out there such as the SE and the SX. I have not heard neither of these but if they have managed to improve the sound even further I recommend you to have a serious listen. The Motive 2 is an energetic and elegant compact floorstander suitable for all kinds of music. Even the other (and more beautiful) resident of the household likes them and not only for the looks. Very, very good. Seriously!