Integrated amps for lean speakers

I actually lowered the REL crossover setting to about 50 Hz from 80 when I switched to the Xplorers which advertise 30 Hz v. the Paradigms that were at 70Hz.

You might want to rethink that and increase the crossover frequency. Hi-Fi News measurements shows a -6 dB point of 75 Hz on the Neats - link. Try using a test tone to blend the sub(s) and adjust output - link. Make it sound as even as possible as the frequency rises.

I'd prefer to build a system around a more neutral speaker.

@hheedah 

Rel recommends putting sub in the corner and slowly pulling it out to find its best position. It will give you more bass in the corner. But as I said, with the Rel Storm 3 I could not get enough bass and I had it turned to max. But every situation is different. Hopefully you can get the T5 to work for you. Its worth trying and if not maybe another T9 to go with the T5. Keep us posted. And congrats on the new speakers. Break in can be painful at times so I'd wait for the to break in before spending and $$$. Then you will have a proper baseline

Thank you all. I did tweak speaker positioning and will do more this weekend. I've only had the speakers a week and have worked long hrs so far. They have about 80hrs run-in time on them. Stephen at Neat said 200 hrs is their recommendation so more time to go but you've given me great food for thought.

There seems to be a strong sentiment for a better sub, or maybe two. My prior understanding is that adding stronger bass uplifts the mid bass punch and provides better overall sound? Sounds like you agree. I actually lowered the REL crossover setting to about 50 Hz from 80 when I switched to the Xplorers which advertise 30 Hz v. the Paradigms that were at 70Hz. I did lower the volume too with the idea that a lighter bass volume from the sub would support rather than overwhelm the main bass output. My plan is to boost the sub volume and play with positioning this weekend. Also, Stephen at Neat said at a recent show he drove the Xplorers with an Atoll IN300 amp, FYI.

I love the idea of room acoustic treatments, just something I have to see how to achieve. That's a new area for me. I'll look into that and see how to analyse and treat the room. I know all the "cheating" that goes on at audio shows is for a reason :). Thanks all.

@erik_squires @hilde45 

As I said earlier, the T5  sub is not big enough. I have a room the same size  which my floorstanders & a Rel Storm 3 with a little more power and 10 in. woofer  would not output enough bass. The T5 has 125 watts with an 8 Inch  woofer which is not enough power nor air movement for  the room. . The best purchase I made was 2 Rel S5 clones w/ 12" and 550 watts. Sounds great now

Find speakers you like, then the amp to drive them.

Agree with @erik_squires 

Without a clear portrait of your room acoustics, I have no idea what to recommend gear-wise. The room is 50% of the resulting sound.

I don’t think you need a new integrated, you need better room/sub integration. Here are some possible causes:

• You may have too much reflection in your room at mid-high frequencies. Get absorber/diffusor panels.
• You aren’t taking full advantage of your subwoofer. Either the crossover frequency is too low and/or you won’t turn it up because of muddy bass. Get bass traps.
• Speaker location.  Small 2-ways like this need to be 1 1/2' or less from the rear wall.

However if you insist on wanting a new amp, Luxman is the brand I recommend here.

Those speakers have a 6.5 inch bass/midrange driver which means the speaker is not designed to do bass. Freq response is 33hz to 22khz. Instead of a new integrated you need a bigger  subwoofer which will then give you the backbone to support the music. Or play with the settings on your sub by raising both volume and crossover point. But my great suspicion is that the T5 is not got enough to cover the large room you now have

MY TAKE: In general, Brit speakers with Brit amps..

Your NEAT speakers with NAIM upstream components are arguably a best of breed synergy match. I have auditioned the pairing both at dealers and audio fest shows.

The challenge is which NAIM model(s) addresses the tension with your budget as you select a suitable spec amp model with the necessary “grunt” to perform in your generous sized room.

The philosophy is clear. An affordable speaker with decent amplification (and source) makes more sense than an expensive speaker with a cheap amp and source.

Amplifier power ratings

Another word on power: though it’s less of an issue now compared with the days of valve amplification, if your speakers are demanding to drive you’ll need a suitably muscular amplifier to support them.

Don’t look only at the headline power figure - see what happens when the impedance drops to four ohms. If the number nearly doubles, then your amplifier has good current delivery and will be capable of driving more demanding speakers.

ALTERNATE CHOICES:

In an A-B bakeoff at the dealer with your exact NEAT speakers, CYRUS amps were also real contenders and no pretenders. However … admittedly the room dimensions and ceiling height were smaller.

Tube amps …. Nope …. Stick with solid state especially with your room dimensions and speakers at a modest 88db efficiency .

Depending on the impedance curve of the speaker (which I can't find a graph of) a tube amp may not be the best choice as it could potentially boost the midbass but also exacerbate the treble issue.

If you haven't already, you'll probably want to experiment with positioning quite a bit (toe-in / out, distance from sidewalls, tweeter inside / outside) before you consider switching out electronics. Maybe even give equalization a try if possible.