Remember make sure to check out the FULL REVIEWS for both of these speakers AE500 ua-cam.com/video/eIQHbyoevw0/v-deo.html Neat Motive SX3 ua-cam.com/video/bc3qmTH6jUY/v-deo.html
This is a very interesting comparison, Terry, as both have as similar overall balance, but differ in other ways. To me the AE500's carbon drivers have a subtle bite to them, evenly distibuted throughout their range. Their bass has a bit more bite as well. They also stayed noticably cleaner on the Noah track. The Motive SX3's are more enveloping, and draw you into the details, wich are presented in an even, very relaxed way. It strikes me that many of the speakers in this group so far, have a smaller, less impactful presentation than the Cabasse Antiguas from the last test, if subtly better balanced. 🤔 Great job. Your reviews of these gave me a great idea what to expect fron the demo.
Thanks for these incredibly useful comparisons Terry, and for the great choice of music. I listen to a lot of classical (on my original LS50s) and I find it really tests a speaker in terms of tone, dynamics and extreme transients. In this case it sounds as if there is something special and airy about the top end of the Neats, but the AE500s have more scale and warmth.
OK, this one is an easy one. The AE 500 is the clear winner for me, better tone, better treble and overall presentation even that the Neat is not to far behind. Keep the comparisons coming, this is great!
The Neat Acoustics win. At least for the first song. Through the AE's, the vocals were almost a little hashy. The Neats seemed more resolving, leading to more natural vocals, if a somewhat less bloomy presentation.
Definitely prefer the Neat over Acoustic Energy. The AE’s sounded very small. Truth be told neither would get my money out of the list so far. Keep up the good work.
Thanks again Terry, appreciate the work you do here. I'd be worried about making a purchasing decision based on a video like this, but side by side comparisons in such circumstances can provide a little insight. I'm assuming it would be better if I were somehow running youtubes output through my stereo, but in reality the majority of us are going to be hearing through some system attached to a PC. I'm assuming that volumes have been matched? Obviously, unless the volumes are matched its pointless as it doesn't matter who you are you will always find the louder one better (all of us are subject to the same bias). Appreciate the variety of music you have selected too, it seems suited to showing various strengths or weakness! If were a beauty competition, then the AE's have won already! There also seems to a be a little more bass weight and transient response from them, though I'd prefer to hear on my proper set up to tell for sure. The AE sound is more 'forward', the Neat's sounded like it had a much deeper soundstage to me, but again I'm on some naff PC studio monitors which are great for hearing every squeak, but not so good on musical presentation, so I'm assuming this would translate to a difference in my home system too. I strongly suspect many will prefer the more immediate sound of the AE's, and maybe I would too, but I'm a sucker for a deep laid back soundstage, so I' would need to listen more! Thanks again for the vid, really good work sir!
I volume matched the best I can in post production but that is not an exact science - I think the best source for my videos is modern smart phone into good headphones rather than from a computer but I appreciate people will use what they have. You say naff pc speakers but you have picked up one main difference there for sure and I am very happy about that :)
I have a pair of Neat Iota's, so I was always gonna lean towards the SX3's. Some really great choices of music to demonstrate these speakers, a couple of which I've added to my own library! I know nothing about classical music, but I really enjoyed that last piece you played. Nice one Terry!
The Neat really has an open sound especially on vocals. A 'light touch' indeed (good description by the reviewer). The AE only has a bit more bass, other than that the Neat Motive is better in every other way for me. Impressive. Terry if your standmounts shootout is still ongoing, some suggestions are the Russel K Red 50 - Instead of bracing the cabinet they design a cabinet to flex with the music. And also ProAc have their new Tablette 10, which can work well close to a rear wall. Both these are around the 1100 pound price range.
hi Terry i must say that while the Neats have bass they lack the punch. Also do i detect a bit of sibilance in that tweeter?- also i kinda prefer the more focused centred sound of the AEs-- Neats is wide yes, but too wide for my taste.
What you get from the Neat that is harder to record is the sound stage depth so the vocals are presented a little further back than the Acoustic Energy that sound more direct - in the recording it sounds more like a volume difference but if you pay close attention you have more subtleties in the music with the SX3 compared to the AE500 - I didn't notice anything negative with the SX3 tweeter its very smooth, I would have preferred a little more bite but as I spoke about thats a very fine balance to get right and wont be the same for everyone for sure
When I first seen the AE's I thought they looked classy and more expensive than their price tag suggested. Now I've heard them I feel these little stand mounts punch well above their size and price tag. I prefer them to any of the tested speaker's so far including the Neats. It's not that the Neat's are a bad speaker, but they don't dig as low as the AE's. Very nice sound for stand mounts 😁
I will never stop being amazed by the skill Terry demonstrates in his calibrations, and recording genius. Neat Acoustics sx3 soundstage is quite impressive for a stand speaker. So far all the speakers in this shootout are well worth their list price. Thanks Terry.
Was the comparison gain matched? I just wanna know the process behind this comparison so i know how to take it. I find the neat harsher in every song thru my Shure IEM.
Great comparison Terry, the selection of the tracks and the recording made it actually possible for me to comment on those two types of speakers and usually i don't do that. What i really think about those speakers with an audition through the recording sample and my monitor headphones, Oh well... the AE sound that you are more in front of the scene (forward presentation), female vocals sound natural and detailed, male vocals lack a little bit of gravity as the edges of the lower notes within the voice blur with the rest of lower frequencies of the music, the high frequencies feel a little bit emphasized to complete the forward character of the speaker. On the other hand the Neats felt more laid back, so the female voices are less in your face and more integrated in the rest of the music., male voices are clearer, there is definitely more sound depth from the Neats. The classical piece sounded simply better on the Neats (if classical is your genre, the Neats is clearly for you). They are both well implemented speakers, one's nature is forward and one's is laid back and in the end it is a matter of taste, listening position & room acoustics. Laid back speakers tend to be easier in placement and have less chances to fatigue you in longer sessions. That was only my opinion, glad to see in the comments what you think guys! I am now curious to audition them in a store, i really liked them...
. . . sounds good af ! AE's on 1st two tracks. Bass is lower in fs when SX plays . . . every piece played, showed a certain tightening, a resolving, depth and 'feeling' when the AE's spun it up . . . their bass was more musical.
4k Is available it just depends on the device - I can get full 4k 2160p on my phone as well now, that was a recent update that enabled it but as high as you can get will have to do :) Cheers Ian
Seems like there's a tiny bit more detail on the AE500s. Compare the first few seconds of How Does it Feel for both speakers. The best way I can describe it would be to compare the sound to a cup of coffee. The AE500s have a little more sugar in the taste, while the SX3s have a little more cream. A commenter below said something about difference in sound dispersion. If you pay attention to the opening seconds of You Ought to Know, the SX3s seem to have an "airyness" to them, while Alana's voice sounds solid on the AE500s. Makes me think there's better clarity on the trebles.
Hello. up to 100 Hz is stronger than AE 500, but Neat is more interesting in the lower and central middle! And it also seemed to me that the sound was a little more honourable and more pronounced ! In general, Neat won everywhere! Only the latest video is better with the AE 500! The orchestra is more interesting on AE! THANKS FOR THE REVIEW.
Something wrong with vocal on AE. But rest frequences is better than Neat for me. Neat is more comfortable soud overall, but AE has raecher sound and probably changing Amp would help. Tank you for work by making this video!
I gave the AE,s a couple of hours with various amps in early 2020 and the have the same sound signature here. Cosy,, very easy to live with sounding sort of. Again,, thanks Terry for you relentless work and all your time,, Cheers,, 🍻😎👍
I own the AE520 (2020) floor standers, so far I am satisfied, however, once I significantly upgraded my headphones I realised again I would have to spend much, much more for speakers to hear more from what is solely perceivable through headphones.
Listening to Noah, through my speakers. The AE500 sounds better, the mid-treble sounds much better in this room, in this recording. Thanks for this service.
I have acoustic energy AE520 . But in this comparison I have to admit the SX3 is my favourite with a brighter mid and treble. However in own room at home with the AE520 i am amazed every time I push play how well they perform even compared to my former speakers the Heco Celan Revolution 9. My room was probably too small ( 20m2) for these big speakers to perform at their best
@@vildebill2000 I have a 20m2 room, 4,5x4,5 meters, a square unfortunately. Could you tell me the shape of your room and if you are OK with the 520 even in a small room like mine? I actually have AE500 but willing to upgrade.
@@RiseFall123 My room is appr 3.8x5.8m . The 520 was very nice but I sold them. I bought active edifier s3000pro as a complement for the TV. But the sound really surprised me and my gf. After two weeks of blind tests and switching back and forth I had to admit. The much cheaper and smaller Edifiers sound (standing on speakerstands) was more appealing to us in this room. The bass was almost deeper than the AE and the treble more clear. The AE 520 have a much better midrange ofc, but needs a powerful amplifier to drive all 6 elements.
Polk Legend L200 loudspeaker, but perhaps they are opposed in terms of sound quality: Bowers & Wilkins 705 Signature Standmount Speakers and this with Hegel H390 Integrated Amplifier...
The SX3 have more space and air between vocal passages and instrument placement. The AE500 have excellent tecture to both male and female vocals and in 2 of the tracks, a slightly more rounded and full bodied presentation. The SX3 have greater speed and agility in all frequency ranges and are the more engaging and lively/exciting speaker. The quality of a speaker us directly correlated to how well the crossover has been engineered. The brands that invest in expensive components always produce speakers with a wider sounstage and more balanced frequency response. Neat are renowned for utilising high vaue and well built crossovers and extremely wide soundstaging speakerse. British owned speakers that mass produce in China like Kef and Wharfedale, now feature shockingly inexpensice crossovers.
@@PursuitPerfectSystem haha, ofc not, i found them realy great in my small room, they are quick, dynamic and sound awesome with my system, even at low level volumes! And they r bassy!!! And the bass is tight!
@@schizza1980 only if they are tune or if the timber is like these one... neat is clearly more natural here... neat vs atc i wonder also i wonder if any of these can compete with magnepan lrs or kingsound princess 2 e-stats or a well made speaker with dome midrange.. pleace add two polk audio reserve r350 to the mix.. awesome config and drivers.. you wont have best but stilll.. with subs...
Just using this, both I like more than your version of the KEF LS 50 and the Buchardt. For me the Neat is the best so far, even if I dislike the looks. Thanks for this, I will go an listen to some of these in person as soon as it’s possible again.
Nitpickers miss the forest for the trees. The supreme test of any loudspeaker is how effectively it coveys the lifeblood of a musical performance. Speaking of the AE500 with respect to the Alanis Morissette track, does it ever. Its cohesive delivery smokes the Neat Acoustics, no small feat. We would not necessarily have found the SX3 lacking had we not heard this. It is most unfortunate for the latter that the AE500 came along, in the same way we must offer our sympathies to anyone who picked up a saxophone once John Coltrane entered the scene. It’s not any one thing that makes Coltrane the musician he is, it’s everything. So it is with the AE500. Paired with a hot integrated as it is here, this is a David that will slay many Goliaths as well.
It is not clear to me that both speakers were played at equal volumes. The AE sounds louder to me but it may just have a more forward balance. Overall, I prefer the Neat. It is more neutral and coherent than the AE. The highs on the Neat are airy without being over the top like they are on the AE at times. Voices are also a bit shouty on the AE; they sound more natural on the Neat. I could see how the AE could become fatiguing over time. The AE has more of a "west coast" sound and the Neat more of an "east coast" sound, if you can pardon my applying American terms to British loudspeakers. I prefer the latter.
this is so frustrating for me, i hear a clear difference on my system, these to are very different sounding. but not in frequency response. i can not explain it. something about how they disperse the sound out in the room? or maybe some cabinet reflection or resonance. these are also things you need to be there to tell which you like the best.
In tried to focus on a certain 2 second only segment starting 4:23 respectively 7:04, "Haaa I know her"(?) and compared it with direct playback from Qobuz. SX3 sounds closer to original but same time rather polite while AE500 features an annoying "trough manhole" or "from well shaft" kind of colouration, yet sounds a little more lifely. Both fall short of plenty of details (smacking lips, salivation, intake of breath). IMHO price-adjusted quality gap between speakers and headphones has widened over recent years which is quite disappointing. I really don't know how much more to spend to find speakers capable of beating upper mid class headphones.
what your doing there is not really the comparison you think you are because there are far more variables at play but I am sure it was interesting. To close the variable gap a bit you would need to use the tracks playing from UA-cam not from Qobuz
@@PursuitPerfectSystem Certainly, yes. I very much appreciate your work and it's really helpful. Compression, room acoustics, sound transmission through air, microphones, ADC and much more are factors which alter what is finally perceivable when listening to any demo clips. But wouldn't you agree it's harder to get satisfaction from speakers *in general* once getting used to or "attuned" to decent headphone playback? I mean, if you can afford to spend let's say £2,000 for headphones but you know it would cost you maybe £18,000 to get comparable quality when it comes to micro dynamics from speakers - at least to me that's disappointing.
Difference is so big and so consistant throughout : this hard work is like an Atomic bomb on the heads of skeptical people. What could the Motive could bring out that the Acoustic Energy couldn't ? Some very shy decay here and there ? OK then You take the Acoustic Energy under your arm & celebrate. Ghost people : we left some Motive for you on the floor. Take your free gift please.
Hifi is the playback of recordings - do you think you can hear differences in the recordings you listen to, I am sure you do and can - how is this any different??. If you want to know how the speakers will sound in your room them yes you need to listen to them in your room because of acoustics not the speakers - however you can hear differences in how the speakers present sound in my room setup with this hifi system in this video to try and help support a spoken review I have already published
Remember make sure to check out the FULL REVIEWS for both of these speakers AE500 ua-cam.com/video/eIQHbyoevw0/v-deo.html Neat Motive SX3 ua-cam.com/video/bc3qmTH6jUY/v-deo.html
This is a very interesting comparison, Terry, as both have as similar overall balance, but differ in other ways.
To me the AE500's carbon drivers have a subtle bite to them, evenly distibuted throughout their range. Their bass has a bit more bite as well. They also stayed noticably cleaner on the Noah track.
The Motive SX3's are more enveloping, and draw you into the details, wich are presented in an even, very relaxed way.
It strikes me that many of the speakers in this group so far, have a smaller, less impactful presentation than the Cabasse Antiguas from the last test, if subtly better balanced. 🤔
Great job. Your reviews of these gave me a great idea what to expect fron the demo.
I was waiting for this for a good while. Many thanks.
Thanks for these incredibly useful comparisons Terry, and for the great choice of music. I listen to a lot of classical (on my original LS50s) and I find it really tests a speaker in terms of tone, dynamics and extreme transients. In this case it sounds as if there is something special and airy about the top end of the Neats, but the AE500s have more scale and warmth.
OK, this one is an easy one. The AE 500 is the clear winner for me, better tone, better treble and overall presentation even that the Neat is not to far behind.
Keep the comparisons coming, this is great!
Great Terry as ever I can imagine the tedious process behind the scene of patching up the clips and recording is great too.
The Neat Acoustics win. At least for the first song. Through the AE's, the vocals were almost a little hashy. The Neats seemed more resolving, leading to more natural vocals, if a somewhat less bloomy presentation.
Definitely prefer the Neat over Acoustic Energy. The AE’s sounded very small. Truth be told neither would get my money out of the list so far. Keep up the good work.
AE500 win for me . It has fuller depths, warmer sounds and more dynamic .I like it better in every way . Thanks.
🤝 I have AE1 Active
Thanks again Terry, appreciate the work you do here.
I'd be worried about making a purchasing decision based on a video like this, but side by side comparisons in such circumstances can provide a little insight. I'm assuming it would be better if I were somehow running youtubes output through my stereo, but in reality the majority of us are going to be hearing through some system attached to a PC.
I'm assuming that volumes have been matched? Obviously, unless the volumes are matched its pointless as it doesn't matter who you are you will always find the louder one better (all of us are subject to the same bias).
Appreciate the variety of music you have selected too, it seems suited to showing various strengths or weakness!
If were a beauty competition, then the AE's have won already! There also seems to a be a little more bass weight and transient response from them, though I'd prefer to hear on my proper set up to tell for sure. The AE sound is more 'forward', the Neat's sounded like it had a much deeper soundstage to me, but again I'm on some naff PC studio monitors which are great for hearing every squeak, but not so good on musical presentation, so I'm assuming this would translate to a difference in my home system too.
I strongly suspect many will prefer the more immediate sound of the AE's, and maybe I would too, but I'm a sucker for a deep laid back soundstage, so I' would need to listen more!
Thanks again for the vid, really good work sir!
I volume matched the best I can in post production but that is not an exact science - I think the best source for my videos is modern smart phone into good headphones rather than from a computer but I appreciate people will use what they have. You say naff pc speakers but you have picked up one main difference there for sure and I am very happy about that :)
Can I have Acoustic Energy AE500 vs ATC SCM11 SOUND COMPARISON?
I have a pair of Neat Iota's, so I was always gonna lean towards the SX3's. Some really great choices of music to demonstrate these speakers, a couple of which I've added to my own library! I know nothing about classical music, but I really enjoyed that last piece you played. Nice one Terry!
The Neat really has an open sound especially on vocals. A 'light touch' indeed (good description by the reviewer). The AE only has a bit more bass, other than that the Neat Motive is better in every other way for me. Impressive.
Terry if your standmounts shootout is still ongoing, some suggestions are the Russel K Red 50 - Instead of bracing the cabinet they design a cabinet to flex with the music. And also ProAc have their new Tablette 10, which can work well close to a rear wall. Both these are around the 1100 pound price range.
hi Terry i must say that while the Neats have bass they lack the punch. Also do i detect a bit of sibilance in that tweeter?- also i kinda prefer the more focused centred sound of the AEs-- Neats is wide yes, but too wide for my taste.
What you get from the Neat that is harder to record is the sound stage depth so the vocals are presented a little further back than the Acoustic Energy that sound more direct - in the recording it sounds more like a volume difference but if you pay close attention you have more subtleties in the music with the SX3 compared to the AE500 - I didn't notice anything negative with the SX3 tweeter its very smooth, I would have preferred a little more bite but as I spoke about thats a very fine balance to get right and wont be the same for everyone for sure
When I first seen the AE's I thought they looked classy and more expensive than their price tag suggested. Now I've heard them I feel these little stand mounts punch well above their size and price tag. I prefer them to any of the tested speaker's so far including the Neats. It's not that the Neat's are a bad speaker, but they don't dig as low as the AE's. Very nice sound for stand mounts 😁
I will never stop being amazed by the skill Terry demonstrates in his calibrations, and recording genius.
Neat Acoustics sx3 soundstage is quite impressive for a stand speaker. So far all the speakers in this shootout are well worth their list price. Thanks Terry.
Thanks David
AE wins by a smidge. Thanks a lot for all this detailed comparisons.
Was the comparison gain matched? I just wanna know the process behind this comparison so i know how to take it. I find the neat harsher in every song thru my Shure IEM.
Great comparison Terry, the selection of the tracks and the recording made it actually possible for me to comment on those two types of speakers and usually i don't do that.
What i really think about those speakers with an audition through the recording sample and my monitor headphones, Oh well... the AE sound that you are more in front of the scene (forward presentation), female vocals sound natural and detailed, male vocals lack a little bit of gravity as the edges of the lower notes within the voice blur with the rest of lower frequencies of the music, the high frequencies feel a little bit emphasized to complete the forward character of the speaker. On the other hand the Neats felt more laid back, so the female voices are less in your face and more integrated in the rest of the music., male voices are clearer, there is definitely more sound depth from the Neats. The classical piece sounded simply better on the Neats (if classical is your genre, the Neats is clearly for you). They are both well implemented speakers, one's nature is forward and one's is laid back and in the end it is a matter of taste, listening position & room acoustics. Laid back speakers tend to be easier in placement and have less chances to fatigue you in longer sessions. That was only my opinion, glad to see in the comments what you think guys!
I am now curious to audition them in a store, i really liked them...
. . . sounds good af ! AE's on 1st two tracks. Bass is lower in fs when SX plays . . . every piece played, showed a certain tightening, a resolving, depth and 'feeling' when the AE's spun it up . . . their bass was more musical.
Acoustic energy more bright and a little less music body.
Are these two at the same price level?
Hi Terry - the note says to put it into 4k for best quality - but 4K isn't available according to YT. Still good comparison though!
4k Is available it just depends on the device - I can get full 4k 2160p on my phone as well now, that was a recent update that enabled it but as high as you can get will have to do :) Cheers Ian
@@PursuitPerfectSystem 4k is showing today - but not yesterday - maybe took time to convert and become available? All good though.
@@ianpdavis all my videos are in 4k not thatnyou can tell with the early ones they all look terrible haha
Seems like there's a tiny bit more detail on the AE500s. Compare the first few seconds of How Does it Feel for both speakers. The best way I can describe it would be to compare the sound to a cup of coffee. The AE500s have a little more sugar in the taste, while the SX3s have a little more cream. A commenter below said something about difference in sound dispersion. If you pay attention to the opening seconds of You Ought to Know, the SX3s seem to have an "airyness" to them, while Alana's voice sounds solid on the AE500s. Makes me think there's better clarity on the trebles.
Hello. up to 100 Hz is stronger than AE 500, but Neat is more interesting in the lower and central middle! And it also seemed to me that the sound was a little more honourable and more pronounced ! In general, Neat won everywhere! Only the latest video is better with the AE 500! The orchestra is more interesting on AE!
THANKS FOR THE REVIEW.
I'm going by the video to say the neats sound flat compared to the ae. The ae soundstage sounds amazing. Really impressive
wow neat sx have very good timber and tonality
Something wrong with vocal on AE. But rest frequences is better than Neat for me. Neat is more comfortable soud overall, but AE has raecher sound and probably changing Amp would help. Tank you for work by making this video!
Vocals are the best side of AE 500...especialy female!
I gave the AE,s a couple of hours with various amps in early 2020 and the have the same sound signature here.
Cosy,, very easy to live with sounding sort of.
Again,, thanks Terry for you relentless work and all your time,, Cheers,, 🍻😎👍
I own the AE520 (2020) floor standers, so far I am satisfied, however, once I significantly upgraded my headphones I realised again I would have to spend much, much more for speakers to hear more from what is solely perceivable through headphones.
They both perform well for small budget standmounts.
Listening to Noah, through my speakers. The AE500 sounds better, the mid-treble sounds much better in this room, in this recording. Thanks for this service.
I have acoustic energy AE520 . But in this comparison I have to admit the SX3 is my favourite with a brighter mid and treble. However in own room at home with the AE520 i am amazed every time I push play how well they perform even compared to my former speakers the Heco Celan Revolution 9. My room was probably too small ( 20m2) for these big speakers to perform at their best
AE520 in 20m2?
@@RiseFall123 yes?
@@vildebill2000 I have a 20m2 room, 4,5x4,5 meters, a square unfortunately. Could you tell me the shape of your room and if you are OK with the 520 even in a small room like mine? I actually have AE500 but willing to upgrade.
@@RiseFall123 My room is appr 3.8x5.8m . The 520 was very nice but I sold them. I bought active edifier s3000pro as a complement for the TV. But the sound really surprised me and my gf. After two weeks of blind tests and switching back and forth I had to admit. The much cheaper and smaller Edifiers sound (standing on speakerstands) was more appealing to us in this room. The bass was almost deeper than the AE and the treble more clear. The AE 520 have a much better midrange ofc, but needs a powerful amplifier to drive all 6 elements.
@@vildebill2000 Thank you very much for your detailed answer.
Polk Legend L200 loudspeaker, but perhaps they are opposed in terms of sound quality: Bowers & Wilkins 705 Signature Standmount Speakers and this with Hegel H390 Integrated Amplifier...
I don’t think the L200 are available in the uk and not sure the price would fit into this category of comparison but maybe I am wrong
The SX3 have more space and air between vocal passages and instrument placement. The AE500 have excellent tecture to both male and female vocals and in 2 of the tracks, a slightly more rounded and full bodied presentation. The SX3 have greater speed and agility in all frequency ranges and are the more engaging and lively/exciting speaker. The quality of a speaker us directly correlated to how well the crossover has been engineered. The brands that invest in expensive components always produce speakers with a wider sounstage and more balanced frequency response. Neat are renowned for utilising high vaue and well built crossovers and extremely wide soundstaging speakerse. British owned speakers that mass produce in China like Kef and Wharfedale, now feature shockingly inexpensice crossovers.
how is the cambridge cxa81 with this speaker
Witch its better:)?
i own AE509 so for me AE sounds much familiar, but those Neats sounds really nice.
sell them
dont advise that haha :)
@@PursuitPerfectSystem haha, ofc not, i found them realy great in my small room, they are quick, dynamic and sound awesome with my system, even at low level volumes! And they r bassy!!! And the bass is tight!
@@schizza1980 only if they are tune or if the timber is like these one... neat is clearly more natural here... neat vs atc i wonder
also i wonder if any of these can compete with magnepan lrs or kingsound princess 2 e-stats
or a well made speaker with dome midrange..
pleace add two polk audio reserve r350 to the mix.. awesome config and drivers..
you wont have best but stilll.. with subs...
Neats are quicker, nice video!
Preferred the AE500.
Just using this, both I like more than your version of the KEF LS 50 and the Buchardt.
For me the Neat is the best so far, even if I dislike the looks.
Thanks for this, I will go an listen to some of these in person as soon as it’s possible again.
If you can listen to them all :)
I have the Neats in Natural Oak & they’re much nicer looking than the black version.
Nitpickers miss the forest for the trees. The supreme test of any loudspeaker is how effectively it coveys the lifeblood of a musical performance. Speaking of the AE500 with respect to the Alanis Morissette track, does it ever. Its cohesive delivery smokes the Neat Acoustics, no small feat. We would not necessarily have found the SX3 lacking had we not heard this. It is most unfortunate for the latter that the AE500 came along, in the same way we must offer our sympathies to anyone who picked up a saxophone once John Coltrane entered the scene. It’s not any one thing that makes Coltrane the musician he is, it’s everything. So it is with the AE500. Paired with a hot integrated as it is here, this is a David that will slay many Goliaths as well.
The AE500 wins. Neat sounds someways wrong, timing problems, woofer and tweeter play separated.
Close but Neat for me. A bit less hifi and a bit more music/flow.
Even through this recording the Neat's drew me into the music more that the AE's. Quite surprisingly so.
It is not clear to me that both speakers were played at equal volumes. The AE sounds louder to me but it may just have a more forward balance. Overall, I prefer the Neat. It is more neutral and coherent than the AE. The highs on the Neat are airy without being over the top like they are on the AE at times. Voices are also a bit shouty on the AE; they sound more natural on the Neat. I could see how the AE could become fatiguing over time. The AE has more of a "west coast" sound and the Neat more of an "east coast" sound, if you can pardon my applying American terms to British loudspeakers. I prefer the latter.
When I listen to new speakers, I listen to classical orchestral music. That will sort out the good speakers from the bad ones 🙂
For me, too close to call….like the ae500’s design better.
Still with Rachmaninov! The Neats made it for me but a sub would help in my view.
Its all the same music as that is what people asked for :)
Terry, add Canton Chrono SL 536.2 to the competition.
neat wins hand down
SX3 steals the show. Wider scene, controlled bass=better ..
AE500 win for me
I preferred Neat, AE500 does sound too clinical for my taste.
Agreed. Which is quite an impressive result as the Neat SX have been introduced in late 2012 as far as i know. The AE500 are from 2019 only.
this is so frustrating for me, i hear a clear difference on my system, these to are very different sounding. but not in frequency response.
i can not explain it. something about how they disperse the sound out in the room? or maybe some cabinet reflection or resonance.
these are also things you need to be there to tell which you like the best.
win both
In tried to focus on a certain 2 second only segment starting 4:23 respectively 7:04, "Haaa I know her"(?) and compared it with direct playback from Qobuz. SX3 sounds closer to original but same time rather polite while AE500 features an annoying "trough manhole" or "from well shaft" kind of colouration, yet sounds a little more lifely. Both fall short of plenty of details (smacking lips, salivation, intake of breath). IMHO price-adjusted quality gap between speakers and headphones has widened over recent years which is quite disappointing. I really don't know how much more to spend to find speakers capable of beating upper mid class headphones.
what your doing there is not really the comparison you think you are because there are far more variables at play but I am sure it was interesting. To close the variable gap a bit you would need to use the tracks playing from UA-cam not from Qobuz
@@PursuitPerfectSystem Certainly, yes. I very much appreciate your work and it's really helpful. Compression, room acoustics, sound transmission through air, microphones, ADC and much more are factors which alter what is finally perceivable when listening to any demo clips.
But wouldn't you agree it's harder to get satisfaction from speakers *in general* once getting used to or "attuned" to decent headphone playback? I mean, if you can afford to spend let's say £2,000 for headphones but you know it would cost you maybe £18,000 to get comparable quality when it comes to micro dynamics from speakers - at least to me that's disappointing.
Neat. Thanks for this video.
Sx3 bentuk dan suaranya mirip JM Lab chorus
similar in a way but the Neat are better at resolving the music, they get in the way less
Going from Dynaudio Exite X18 to AE500 was a huge difference 👍
Oi! Me iPhone still plays aw-we-oh. Fangks f’eh test trax, may’ee!
Neat is neater.
Motive SX3 is surprisingly good 👍
No comparison in my opinion the acoustic energy kill the neat
Difference is so big and so consistant throughout : this hard work is like an Atomic bomb on the heads of skeptical people.
What could the Motive could bring out that the Acoustic Energy couldn't ?
Some very shy decay here and there ? OK then You take the Acoustic Energy under your arm & celebrate.
Ghost people : we left some Motive for you on the floor. Take your free gift please.
This is getting tougher.
Yes no joke, the general standard is high
Neat acoustics make such desirable speakers!
Neat Acoustics win
Neat
I can detect some sibl=ilance in the Neat Acoustics. The Acoustic Energy I own and cannot say a bad word about them!!!
Der AE 500 hat keine Hochtöner- und Tieftöner-Konsistenz
I can you judge any loundspeakers on a channel like this the only way is to do it in your room,
Hifi is the playback of recordings - do you think you can hear differences in the recordings you listen to, I am sure you do and can - how is this any different??.
If you want to know how the speakers will sound in your room them yes you need to listen to them in your room because of acoustics not the speakers - however you can hear differences in how the speakers present sound in my room setup with this hifi system in this video to try and help support a spoken review I have already published
Obviously my headphones are horse and trap as I can't hear any difference between the two. Feeling old and useless! :-(
It might be the source Paul - where are you watching the video smart phone or web browser?
@@PursuitPerfectSystem smart phone.
@@paulgillard5094 oh wow that should be more than good enough. Sorry about that
@@PursuitPerfectSystem Not your fault Terry. I must be deaf!!
@@paulgillard5094 cold maybe I am feeling a little head bunged up??