Neat Iota 2 speakers
The laws of physics underpin this industry in a way that is, for me at least, entirely reassuring. Regardless of how many times a manufacturer sneaks the word ‘quantum’ into a product description, it is fair to say that devices are bound by the restrictions that the rest of the planet adheres to and this means that loudspeakers in particular tend to do what their dimensions suggest they are capable of.
For reasons that probably warrant scientific investigation, these laws do tend to get a bit patchy around Durham. Twelve years ago, Neat Acoustics took prototypes of the original Iota to Bristol and they left an indelible impression. Here was a speaker that was barely larger than some of the home cinema satellites being used in AV systems elsewhere at the show but delivered the sonic goods without the need for a subwoofer to help them along; a relationship with the laws of physics that felt more informal than is usually the case.
Having now completed updating their original trilogy of Petite, Mystique and Elite, Neat has turned their attention back to the Iota armed with the knowledge and data of those programs. The basic design of the speaker remains the same as before; in part down to the drivers used. The Emit ribbon tweeter carried over from the original is larger than a dome device and must be arranged vertically. For volumetric efficiency Neat places the drivers side by side to reduce the overall size of the cabinet, which remains at 2.6 litres.
The main focus of improvement has been on the mid bass unit. Where the original used a polypropylene mid bass, the Iota 2 makes use of the considerable amount of information gleaned from the work on the Classic speakers and has a paper cone- still only 100mm across. This reflects the wider change on the part of Neat over to paper drivers in more of their products. Accompanying the driver change are revisions to the crossover to better implement the material change. Neat crossovers are typically minimalist in their configuration and they place considerable emphasis on the functionality of a small number of high quality components rather than using more ornate and heavy duty arrangements favoured by some notional rivals.
One other crucial aspect of the basic Iota 2 design remains unchanged. The cabinet is rear ported to help the Neat achieve low end extension. Endearingly described by Neat owner and founder Bob Surgeoner as ‘more of a controlled leak’, the port operates at sufficiently low velocity that the Iota 2 can be very close to a wall indeed before it in any way becomes audible. Leak or otherwise, it still helps the Iota 2 deliver a claimed in room response down to 45Hz – more on that in a bit.
Of course, you can tweak the nose of physics but you can’t have everything your own way. The Iota 2 is tiny and the claimed low frequency response is notable. In order to achieve this, something has to give and in the Neat’s case, this is the sensitivity. Neat claims 86dB and this doesn’t feel wholly unrealistic but you will need a reasonable amount of power to make the Iota 2 do its thing. This does mean that excellent devices like Rega’s magnificent Brio Mk7 can feel ever so slightly out of puff with the Neat but you don’t need to go mad to drive them effectively.
In appearance terms, the Iota 2 is the largely the same as before meaning that, Neat badge notwithstanding, it looks like they’ve been shoved on their sides. Neat has taken photos of (and indeed demonstrated) the Iota 2 on a pair of very slender stands which works to their advantage as they can look a little odd on more conventional supports. There are no grilles and the coloured finishes have been dispensed with, so black and white is your lot; both of which are applied in a sheen rather than gloss finish. £1,095 can feel like quite a lot of money for something this small but it’s hard to argue with the quality of build and finish on offer. It might be small but if you pick an Iota 2 up, you will be impressed at its overall sturdiness.
Sound quality
I am willing to wager that the amount of time you spend waving an Iota 2 around and pontificating over its build will be lower than the amount you spend listening to them with the same vague sense of disbelief tempered with absolute joy that the original engendered. For a small dose of perspective, the Neat is never going to be the first choice to underpin the Notting Hill Carnival but there is far more low end on offer than you would reasonably expect from a speaker this size. The low end is reached in a entirely linear and cohesive way from the midrange down, rather than being tacked on right at the end. At no stage does the Iota 2 ever sound lightweight and this positively impacts on the listening experience.
Give the Neat something with a bit of heft like Seasick Steve’s Your Name with its deep rolling bass lick underpinning everything and that bass is… well, it’s a bass guitar and not a six string being ambitious. When it’s joined by a kick drum, there is a force and potency to these elements of the track that ensures your brain accepts the clear disconnect in the feedback from eye and ear and allows you enjoy the performance instead.
And you will enjoy the performance because the Iota 2 has superb tonal realism. The original was hardly poor this regard and the upper frequencies of the newer model are extremely similar but that new mid bass driver is able to avoid some of the very slight perceived colouration as it hands over. It means that when you play Sahara by Songhoy Blues; the combination of Mali desert rock and Iggy Pop you never knew you needed, the man himself is immediately tonally recognisable and placed at the front of a superb guitar pairing in a way that creates a wholly believable listening experience.
This is helped in no small part by the soundstage; in fact, if you listen to the Iota 2 for any length of time, it’s their effortless ability to generate a convincing stereo image, even when presented with Kamasi Washington’s Harmony of Difference. Neat’s official photos all have the tweeters outboard and this does seem to be the approved way of achieving the best results from them. With them so employed, the Iota 2’s performance extends well beyond the tiny cabinets without resulting in any form of gap in the middle.
Of course, impressive as these attributes are, they have to be seen in the context of a speaker that now costs £1,095. Pitch the Neat against a PMC Prodigy 1 at about £150 more and the PMC’s more conventional approach to physics does mean it can generate more low end heft than the Neat can and run at levels where the Neat is starting to sound a little strained. The counter to this of course is that these are comparisons made with both speakers sat on conventional stands. The moment that you move away from these and start using less optimised objects to place them on, there is very little that can match the Iota 2. Thanks to that exceptionally clever port, they will deliver a huge percentage of what they are notionally capable of in ideal circumstances on a shelf supported by a few blobs of Blu-tack. This is truly a speaker that reaches parts that others cannot.
Conclusion
The final piece of enticement is that the Iota 2 does all this while being a Neat. There is an overarching joy to what this speaker does that is more than the sum of its engineering. Let the Iota 2 run at a… healthy level, with Life on the Line by the Stereo MCs and it’s a recipe for involuntary body movement that will have your children looking at you in a wholly suspicious way. It’s technically as proficient here as it anywhere else but, more than that, it effortlessly channels the energy and spirit of the material being played in a way that has you wanting to nudge the volume up and think about what to listen to next. It’s not quite as joyous as the Petite Classic but it runs it very close while working in spaces that the Petite simply won’t.
The Iota 2 isn’t a ‘no brainer’ purchase. If you simply plan to put a pair of standmounts on stands and listen to them in a normal sized rooms, the Neat’s joust with physics will eventually result in it having to concede to larger models. In less optimal situations though, this is one of the most accomplished and entertaining speakers that money can buy. The Iota 2 is a diminutive joy machine that will delight anyone who listens to it.