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Neat Acoustics has finally released its long-awaited Motive SE2 loudspeaker, which was shown in prototype at the Bristol Hi-fi Show in February 2010 and officially launched at the Munich High End Show in May. The SE2 is based on the Motive 2 from the award-winning Motive series that has been in production for five very successful years. Indeed outwardly, there is little to distinguish between the SE2 and the Motive 2. One significant difference is the inclusion of the EMIT planar/ribbon type tweeter (the standard Neat Motive 2 uses an inverted titanium dome tweeter. Bob Surgeoner, the owner and founder of Neat Acoustics, told Australian Hi-Fi Magazine that the version of the EMIT device used in the SE2 is specially built for him, and compliantly mounted to provide isolation from cabinet vibration effects. ‘With its extended frequency response and natural representation of tonal colour, it helps to elevate performance far beyond what one might expect from such a diminutive and domestically acceptable enclosure,’ he said.
Internally, the cabinet includes additional bracing and damping, and is divided into two separate volumes, the uppermost of which houses the tweeter, to isolate it from the back pressure developed by the main bass/midrange driver. This is essential with the SE2 design because of the way in which the tweeter is compliantly mounted on the baffle. It is suspended on four leaf springs, so the space between the edge of the tweeter and the cabinet would allow the rear output from the low frequency driver to pass through if it wasn’t isolated. This lf driver, which has a 134mm diameter coated paper cone, now operates in a smaller internal volume than previously. The downward firing reflex port has been retuned accordingly. According to Surgeoner, this has resulted in tighter bass, with better all-round control, and higher maximum SPLs. The hard-wired crossover has been re-optimised using upgraded components, including differing value polypropylene film capacitors wired in parallel and oxygen-free copper air-cored inductors wound around reinforced glass-fibre formers. ‘The Motive SE is extremely revealing without being overtly analytical, and it paints a huge sonic picture, making it the perfect solution for those seeking a superior musical experience from a compact and stylish package,’ says Harry York of Numbers Audio, which is the sole Australian distributor for Neat Acoustics.
Neat Motive SE2 Specifications
Bass Driver: 134mm coated paper cone with rubber surround
HF Unit: 25mm EMIT planar/ribbon
Enclosure type: Two-way bass reflex, staggered tuning
Impedance: 8Ω nominal (6Ω minimum)
Sensitivity: 86dBSPL/1-watt
Dimensions (HWD): 765×160×200mm
For further information, please contact NEAT at Numbers Audio
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