It has been some considerable time since I last blogged about anything from the consistently brilliant Neat Acoustics stable, so what more perfect excuse could there be than a brand-new arrival, all the way from Barnard Castle?

Design Philosophy

Neat will tell you that every loudspeaker begins and ends with listening. It has been this way since 1989, when their very first design, the Petite, established a reputation for delivering a surprisingly large, natural sound from a compact enclosure.

That same philosophy continues to guide them today. Measurements will always inform the process, of course, but the final judgement is always made by ear.

Each design is crafted, tuned and refined until it reveals the full character, emotion and space within real music. The aim is simple: for the loudspeaker to disappear, leaving only the music.

A Quiet Presence

Yet while Neat loudspeakers disappear sonically, they remain as objects of quiet presence in the room. Proportions, materials and finishes are considered with the same care as the sound, so that each loudspeaker feels as good to live with as it does to listen to.

And that brings us rather neatly — no pun intended, although I’m leaving it there anyway — to the brand-new Momentum JS.

Precision And Authority

With all that in mind, we present to you the Neat Momentum JS, a compact standmount loudspeaker offering those elusive qualities of focus, agility and refinement.

At the heart of the Momentum JS is Neat’s superb AMT, or Air Motion Transformer, tweeter, delivering remarkable detail, openness and delicacy. The bass-mid driver and very cleverly decoupled sub-baffle help to minimise cabinet resonance and preserve tonal integrity across the frequency range.

Bass duties are handled by Neat’s hallmark isobaric bass loading, used to improve low-end frequency response without increasing cabinet size. The result is a loudspeaker that adds impressive precision and authority without becoming physically enormous, which is always rather useful if you happen to live in something resembling a normal house.

• Dimensions: H 37 x W 22 x D 27cm
• Frequency Response: 25Hz - 45kHz (AIRR, -6dB)
• Impedance: 8 Ohms nominal; 5 Ohms minimum
• Recommended Amplifier Power: 25 - 200 watts

A Reference System

We have now had our demonstration pair for about a month and they have already had a lot of use, so they are nicely run in.

For the purposes of this little article, I have been playing them on one of our reference systems, consisting of an Arcam Radia CD5 compact disc player and Radia A25+ amplifier. These were cabled up with my favourite Chord Company Epic X Aray RCA leads and their matching Epic X loudspeaker cable.

Speaker stand duties were supplied by the very lovely Solidsteel SA5 stands. Completing the set-up was a vintage retro Target TT2 system rack, straight out of the 1980s and doing a rather nice job too. I had forgotten how good these things were!

The Best Album Of 2010

For the purposes of this little blog demonstration session, music duties were supplied by many and varied bands and artists, including, but not limited to, George Harrison and the rather great All Things Must Pass, Scritti Politti, Van Morrison, Messiaen’s Turangalîla-Symphonie on Naxos, Eels, and a bit of “Summer Madness” by Kool & The Gang.

Look it up. It’s amazing!

My attention was grabbed the most, though, by a copy of July Flame by Laura Veirs.

This is Laura Veirs’ seventh album, which Colin Meloy of The Decemberists called “the best album of 2010”. It explores the emotion of mid-summer, which feels rather appropriate at the moment. Drenched in wood smoke, sunlight, pollinators, pastoral dales, fireworks and warm nights, her lyrics explore the dichotomy between one’s desire for permanence and security, and the realisation that such things rarely exist.

Nowhere on the album is this inherent tension more crystallised than on the title track.

Composed mostly in the barn behind her house in Portland, Oregon, July Flame is a relatively stripped-down but insanely trippy folk record, highlighting Veirs’ masterful finger-picking guitar and confident vocals.

The album breaks from some of Veirs’ previous full-band efforts, although many of the same players make appearances, including long-time collaborators Karl Blau and Steve Moore. String arrangements feature more heavily here than on some of her other albums; the brilliant improviser Eyvind Kang plays viola on many songs, and legendary arranger Stephen Barber composed hauntingly beautiful string quartet arrangements for three of the tracks.

There are always strange little things buzzing around in the background on this album, which I just adore, and which the Neat Momentum JS portrayed with a wonderfully detailed, open and three-dimensional quality. They really do draw you into the music in that slightly dangerous “just one more track” sort of way.

Pitch Perfect And Super Smooth

I think the combination of deep, pitch-perfectly controlled bass allied to that super-smooth AMT tweeter was nothing less than a religious experience.

Yes, I know that sounds a little dramatic, but sometimes these things happen.

The Neat Momentum JS could quite possibly be my favourite loudspeakers in the shop at the moment, and that is regardless of price. They really are that good.

What struck me most was how complete they sounded. There was no sense of a small loudspeaker trying to pretend to be something much larger, no forced bass, no artificial sparkle, and no sense of the presentation being stretched beyond what the design could naturally do. Instead, they simply sounded balanced, confident and hugely musical.

The bass was tight, tuneful and surprisingly weighty, the midrange was open and expressive, and the treble had that lovely sense of air and texture without ever becoming hard or shouty. They managed to be revealing without being ruthless, detailed without being clinical, and fun without becoming messy.

That is not an easy trick to pull off.

Important Info

The build quality, fit and finish are exemplary too. Beautiful cabinet work, lovely grain, and a sense that a great deal of care has gone into every part of the design.

Around the back, you will find chunky 4mm binding posts/banana sockets, along with a rear-mounted bass port. There are no grilles, and there probably never will be, but this is simply because they sound better that way and Neat are known for not wishing to compromise sound quality.

Personally, I think they look better without grilles anyway.

The Momentum JS is available in Satin White and five rather lush wood options: Natural Oak, American Walnut, Black Oak, and, for a little extra money, Gloss Ebony Flame and Gloss Ruby Flame.

A Conclusion To End With

So, to the summing-up bit that always rather predictably comes along at the end of these blog things.

The Neat Momentum JS is hand-built in England, fine-tuned by musicians, shaped by decades of experience and, I strongly suspect, sure to give years of musical enjoyment.

This is a loudspeaker that manages to feel both beautifully engineered and wonderfully human. It has all the speed, focus and detail you would hope for from a compact high-end standmount, but with a generous, natural musicality that makes you want to keep listening long after you probably should have gone and done something more sensible.

Pop along to our Cheltenham store to see and hear them for yourself.

I bet you like them.

Just so you know, this month’s blog was assisted by…