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Above its extra bass serving the SX1 was mostly neutral. Where the tweeter kicks in whilst the upper mid/woofer stays busy a while longer I detected a small emphasis which had female vocals step out of the mix a bit more than their male counterparts. On Smog’s "Dress sexy for my funeral", the cymbals and guitar sparkled a bit more than strictly neutral. But since both drivers kept it clean, one quickly gets used to it. If the SX1 meanders a bit off the straight ‘n’ narrow on tonal balance, this might be the price to pay for minimalist filters. Throw more parts at the task and I’m sure these drivers could be forced to satisfy even the biggest measurement freak. But speakers—forgive the truism—are a collection of compromises. Surgeoner seems to have bought into these small tonal drifts to not sacrifice one of the speaker’s greatest strengths – the dynamic fluidity and transparency whereby it tracks microdynamic inflections of both singers and instrumentalists.


Across an SPL corridor from very quiet to quite elevated room levels, the Neat applies wonderful expressivity to serve up each reading’s nuances on a silver platter. Where other boxes can seem damped to death or overcompensate, the little Neat vibrates with energy and willing enthusiasm. Personally this compromise makes perfect sense. It’s shocking how fast one acclimates to a system’s tonal personality. The real deal at least for me is expressiveness which over the long haul determines whether music turns me on or sees me turn to the telly instead.

Obviously a box this size won’t cater to disco fever. Cone surface imposes limits. But for normal use it goes plenty loud given sufficient amplification. Efficiency is somewhat lower than standard. If you want to crack the whip, go for a powerful amp (or actually, another box). Whilst on amplification, Neat’s German distributor Bernd Hömke of Input Audio mentioned that historically Neat often team with Naim. So I quickly borrowed a Naim Nait XS from my friend Helmut—gracias!—to check whether this pairing would alter my assessment. Hmm. Clearly both products aimed in the same direction. Addition by reinforcement. Even with a more entry-level Naim integrated the qualities of liveliness, PRaT and emphatic delivery operated at a stout level. The minor treble reticence of the Naim took away some of the Neat’s ability at brilliance but on the other hand catered to lesser productions without causing hasty exits. The bass wasn’t as articulate or defined as with my pre/power combo but plenty clean enough to let the speaker’s bass strengths to the fore. No complaints from me.

On soundstaging too Naim and Neat seemed brothers from the same mother. The Motives aren’t bred for the nearfield. In my Burmester B10 review I meditated on the various goals a designer can pursue on this subject. One either opens a window on the—nearly always faux—venue; or brings the performers into one’s own room. The SX1 is more about the second ideal. The drivers are without waveguides (though the tweeter is surrounded by foam to control lateral dispersion); the baffle is so narrow that high up into the mids radiation remains quasi omni; and the slightly upfiring tweeter ought to energize the room a bit more than a straight shooter.