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!

Review: Philips Fidelio X2 - Fun, Dynamic and Here to Stay

I have been meaning to do this review for ages and finally I think I found a decent time slot for it.
Fidelio X2 is a new-ish headphone from a long time consumer electronics brand Philips. In my mind Philips has not been a big HiFi player for a very long time but I managed to get a listen at their Fidelio L1 some time ago. That made me wonder - is there a new serious player in the market?

I made leap of faith in to the unknown and bought the Fidelio X2 based on positive reaction the X1 and L2 received earlier. And boy I am glad I did.

The X2 is a large open headphone that at the time of writing resides at the very competitive 300€ class. The velvet pads are indeed comfortable but the clamping force is a bit on the strong side for my big head - although nothing a bit of stretching can not fix I'm sure. The fabric headband is self adjusting AKG-style and nicely soft. In overall the physical being of X2 leaves an excellent and stylish impression and with it's 35 Ohm impedance it should be easy to drive as well.

X2 is plugged to my PC using Foobar2000's WASAPI output, followed by a Belkin's Signature Series USB-cable to my DAC-HP-amplifier, the Burson HA-160D. The Burson might sound like an overkill for such an easy to drive pair of headphones - but I leave nothing to chance. I've had the X2 now for several months and I am pretty convinced that they've had enough listening time to be "broken in".

Listening

Hitting play button on Diana Krall's Stepping Out album ripped in FLAC format gives an instant impression - this is good. The initial impression is the warmth of the playback - the bass is outstanding, and we are talking about an open headphone here. At the same time the piano and drums are as clear and snappy as they need to be - I notice that my foot is tapping. Damn these 'phones are fun! Diana's voice does not pop out too much in-our-face style - "must be because of the recording" I convince myself. The X2 & Burson combination creates very jazz club like atmosphere for this album. A bit smoky and warm - I might need to bring the cubans and malts next time with me.

Moving on to KOOP's Koop Island Blues gives the same impression. This time the vocals come out more as I'm sure they are intended. The bass still stands strong in both quality and quantity. Instrument separation is top notch and there is nicely air in the playback - not maybe AKG 700-series style air but still nicely. Neither the vocals nor drums sound too harsh, overall impression is very balanced but with some juicy extra quality bass. The dynamics both macro and micro really bring the music alive and keeps the foot tapping on Queens Propeth's Song. Here the bass somewhat overwhelms Freddy's voice but the song keeps happily marching forward like a parade.

The X2 feels like opposite of Grado's phones which I've owned several during the years. They are all great and snappy as most of you know. But while being snappy and bright they lack the ultimate bass reproduction which the X2 delivers - making music fun and easy to listen.

Lastly I choose Shpongle's album Nothing Lasts...But Nothing Is Lost. This quality piece of music through the X2 really leaves nothing to desire. The dynamics, absolute resolution and overall balance really fits and tingles senses in a good way.

Philips Fidelio X2 & Burson HA-160D

Conclusion

I've listened the X2 for a while now with every music genre out there and they shine of every one of them be it pop, trance, metal, classical, acoustics, jazz or African folk music. They are easily driven from a modern smartphone but in my opinion the Burson takes them to another level - but I imagine that even cheaper DAC+amp product will be enough. Matters of taste and commitment. For reference I've owned Grado RS1 and use AKG 712 as office 'phones - the X2 tops both of them in the fun factor and in my opinion does not fall behind overall. Matters of taste once more as these three headphones are very different from each other. The X2 is most of all fun and dynamic and I'm sure it offers enough resolution and overall sound quality to impress people both new and old to the world of HiFi sound. I have no intention to part with these any time soon.