Royd Minstrels v Neat Mystique 2

[Karma Train]

Hi there,

Just posting on the off chance that someone on this wonderful facility has had experience of both the speakers mentioned.

I'm currently running a nice pair of standard Minstrels with a Primare A20 integrated and a Primare D20 cdp. I love the sound the Minstrels make, bouncy, engaging etc but I've always thought that a speaker upgrade might drag a bit more out of the amp which cost stupid money when it was new. As I say, I really enjoy the sound the Minstrels make and I guess I should adopt an 'if it aint broke' attitude but if I have one criticism of the little Royds it's the common one that the tweeters can be a little too 'shouty' at times.

I've got the chance of a nice pair of Neat Mystique 2s and everything I've read suggests that they are of the same character as the Minstrels but a tad more refined which would suit me down to the ground. I'm slightly worried about the rear facing port on them as they would have to be quite close to a wall but other than that they sound like they might be a significant upgrade.

Do any of you kind people out there have any words of wisdom you could share please? Thanks for your time.

Charlie.

[dantheman91]

My Biggest Mistake was selling these little jems. i would keep them if i was you.

[Karma Train]

That's the way I'm leaning at the mo being honest, better the devil you know and all that, they just seem to work with every genre out there, 'shouty' tweeter or not. Heard wonderful things about the Mystiques though and I really like the idea of a somewhat 'refined' Minstrel. Flippin' hi-fi, drives you bonkers dunnit? :)

[istari_knight]

Keep the Minstrels without a doubt! I did exactly the same thing about 2 years ago, was running Arcam dv27>A22>Minstrels & read how the Neats were similar but more refined IMO they are complete rubbish I hated them from the second I wired them up & sold them within the week.

I repeat: keep the Minstrels :D

[Karma Train]

I repeat: keep the Minstrels :D

That made me literally :lol: all over the place, thank you so much for your words of wisdom, if I can't take advice from someone who's been there, done it and mopped up spilled Jack Daniel's with the tee-shirt then I'm a complete pillock. Thanks again.

Minstrels 2-0 Neat Mystiques....this could end up being a drubbing.

[realysm42]

I know neither of the speakers in question, but if you've got the option to demo the others, take it; I'm not rubbishing what other people are saying here, their experiences are as valid as the next person's but they're also just that:

their experiences, in their home, on their system.

Of course if a demo's not an option then I'd follow consensus too!

[Karma Train]

Of course if a demo's not an option then I'd follow consensus too!

I can demo the speakers in the seller's house but not in my own and as we all know, things that sound wonderful one place can often sound exactly the opposite somewhere else. The guy that had some Minstrels, read about the Mystiques, experienced exactly the same thought process as the one I'm going through now, bought the Mystiques and hated them, well, his opinion is as good as it's going to get I reckon unless of course he's got cloth ears :D

[istari_knight]

The guy that had some Minstrels, read about the Mystiques, experienced exactly the same thought process as the one I'm going through now, bought the Mystiques and hated them, well, his opinion is as good as it's going to get I reckon unless of course he's got cloth ears :D

Some might say... :rofl:

If you love the minstrels but are looking to improve I can only suggest climing up the Royd range - Think Merlin/Sorcerer etc... but even then the minstrels have a certain 'gene se qua'

[Martinh]

I always fancied a pair of Minstrels myself. Might try and find a pair.

[YNWaN]

All the Neat speakers I have ever heard have, in my opinion, had a surfeit of treble energy. But I have to say, I never cared for Minstrels either (though I did like other Royd speakers).

[chelsea]

I'd take the mystiques any day.

[brian2957]

My Biggest Mistake was selling these little jems. i would keep them if i was you.

+1 here . I sold mine a couple of years ago and have been trying to replace them again . Hold on to them .

[TBL]

I've had and enjoyed both. Which is best would be very room dependent and personal choice. However they are both cheap as chips. The neats are also VERY easy to sell. So why not buy them and if they don't do it for you, just sell them on. A nice cheap way to get a home demo and you wont need to rely on others "opinions"

[icehockeyboy]

Odd coincidence this, only yesterday I was googling info and reviews on the Neat Mystique 2's, and all of the reviews I came across praised them to the hilt, one guy sating they were the best speakers below 12 k! A slight exaggeration perhaps though!

[Karma Train]

I just wanted to thank you all for your kind contributions to this thread, very generous of you.

I think, for the time being I'll hang on to the Minstrels simply because they just....work. The Devil you know and all that.

My listening room is really rather small with a tendency to 'boom' and they are afflicted by none of that, if there's bass there the Minstrels will find it and play it tightly and accurately which is of prime importance to me.

One of my main problems is that I'm a floor dweller, I never got the hang of sitting on a sofa to listen to music, I'm a beanbag on the deck kind of person therefore tweeter height is kind of important as well, the Minstrels being proper 'diddy' height-wise means that the tweeters aren't firing two foot above my head, on the downside though this also means that when the Minsky tweeters are being 'shouty' it can cut right through me.

In my quest for something similar to the Minstrels but a bit more 'polite' I think probably the ideal speakers for me would be a pair of Royd RR1s but of course they are like hen's teeth to find....sigh!

Just as an aside, are there any other baby floorstanders out there that might do a job? I'm aware of Totem Arros, Neat Motive 2s, Neat Mystiques (obviously) and PMC GB1s....have I missed anything?

Thanks again for your time and your assistance.

[brian2957]

I'm using a pair of Rega EL8s which are similar in size and sound but a tad 'politer' than the Minstrels . May be worth considering these or their R3s . I don't know what speaker cable you're using at the moment but maybe worth trying something different in this department. Or have a look at this if you're feeling brave .
http://theartofsound.net/forum/showthread.php?t=15492&highlight=royd
This worked for a pair of Royd A7s .

[Karma Train]

I'm using a pair of Rega EL8s which are similar in size and sound but a tad 'politer' than the Minstrels . May be worth considering these or their R3s . I don't know what speaker cable you're using at the moment but maybe worth trying something different.

Never tried the EL8s but I lived with and enjoyed a pair of Mk2 Elas for a number of years. The funny thing was that when I swapped them out with the Minstrels I became aware of how much more open sounding the Minstrels were, post Minstrels the Elas always seemed to have a 'mid-hump' a kind of nasal quality that I just couldn't get on with so off they jolly well went.

The R3 is good shout though, that side firing bass speaker is similar in design theory to the Mistrels so I think I ought to give them some serious thought, thanks for that.

Regarding speaker wire, what (not too expensive) cable would you recommend for taming a slightly over enthusiastic tweeter?

[brian2957]

Charlie I've edited my last post if you want to have a look . I've been using NVA amplification for a few years now so have been limited in what cable I could use . NVA LS1 or LS3 may be worth considering . or one of the Van Damme cables . I'm sure someone more knowlegable than me in this area will be along to offer some advice.
EDIT : have you experimented with having the side firing ports facing away ( and towards ) each other .
Might also be worth considering these http://www.russandrews.com/product.asp?lookup=1&region=UK&currency=GBP&pf_id=5750&customer_id=PAA0618091212414EDEJDNGRYYKVNJGK

[YNWaN]

Naim IBL's were very petite floor standers. However, they were very like listening to a good three way with the bass driver disconnected - they used to make Kans sound basey :).

I used to joke that if you wanted to know if you would like IBL's you just need to play some music through headphones but place them where your speakers will be!

[Karma Train]

have you experimented with having the side firing ports facing away ( and towards ) each other.

Oh yes, I'm always fiddling about with the position of the Minstrels. I find that ports facing inwards is best by far for me at least, the bass response is a lot more solid that way around I find.

My latest wheeze (which I tried today) was to remove the front spikes and raise the rear ones to their max all of of which makes the speakers much more upright as opposed to leaning back. As I reside on the floor this makes them a bit more 'in yer face' as it were.

The speakers are 6/7' apart, on slate plinths and slightly toed in, loving the results so far apart from the shouty tweeter effect (still wish I could find some RR1s though). ;)

[Karma Train]

I used to joke that if you wanted to know if you would like IBL's you just need to play some music through headphones but place them where your speakers will be!

Won't be looking for a pair of those any time soon then....did make me :lol: though.

[YNWaN]

Well, you may like them - despite what I said, I preffered them to the Minstrels (although quite different).