advertisement


Any fans of Totem Speakers?

I listened to a pair of Arros with an Arcam integrated once and thought that was a great combo. I’d love to have a pair as a backup or to pull out for fun here and there. They’re small enough that you could hide them pretty easily when not in use. They’re cool looking too!
 
Lots of love for the Arros, mine included. I think it’s partly that they are just so surprising - delightfully so; the contrast between slender form and big sound. So now I’ll venture a criticism; hopefully constructive. Their potential deserves a much better base than the supplied mdf plinth a with adhesive squares. Something securable with woodscrews at least, or receptacles (what are those things called) for spikes or other bolted footings. Better still, an outrigger base such as with the discontinued Spendor 5se, for extra stability for an otherwise tippy column.

I realize Totem has to work to a price point, but still. I’d be happy to pay for something suitable as an option. I’m assuming (without quite knowing) the footprint is too small for the Totem Claws to be effective.

If someone can refer us to a good after market solution, they’d be providing a service to humankind.
 
I’m assuming (without quite knowing) the footprint is too small for the Totem Claws to be effective.

They do actually work as long as they are mass loaded.
totem_arro_mainweb.jpg
 
They do actually work as long as they are mass loaded.
QUOTE]

Thanks for that x21. I do have mine mass loaded. The Arros are presently stuck with Blu-Tak directly to my limestone fireplace plinth. Not sure the Claws are likely to improve on that particular set up, but could be useful if I rotate them into my den. Unfortunately, every unsticking of the cabinet from adhesives risks tearing off some of the veneer on the bottom. Happened to mine before I got them - that blemish was disclosed before closing the purchase.
 
Thanks for that x21. I do have mine mass loaded. The Arros are presently stuck with Blu-Tak directly to my limestone fireplace plinth. Not sure the Claws are likely to improve on that particular set up, but could be useful if I rotate them into my den. Unfortunately, every unsticking of the cabinet from adhesives risks tearing off some of the veneer on the bottom. Happened to mine before I got them - that blemish was disclosed before closing the purchase.

Take a small metal wire and roll it in between the adhesive. This should pop it off. Interesting fact is this is also usable for super glue.
 
Your comments on those specific Totem speakers are exactly what I heard as well.
I was just about to buy some Forest in fact but a friend of mine brought me these speakers as per below with some SB drivers and they beat the Forest in every aspects :


Gervais; I cannot quite make out the name - is that speaker brand ‘Barbeau’ or ‘Parbeau’? Haven’t heard of them - perhaps a Quebecois boutique brand?

As to the Forests, based on several in-store auditions, I concluded they would need quite a bit of space to work well.

 
I've been using a pair of Totem Mani-2s in my system for around 25 years, and still like them a lot…
...

I haven’t heard the Mani-2s, but heard great things about them. Would love to audition, but expect they’d be too much for any space/equipment I have. Some years back, I read an extensive amateur review/shoot out putting the Mani’s up against some serious competition- larger more, expensive. I think the writer had a fairly high-end Naim set-up. He did careful reporting, but felt the Mani beat all comers, and gave pretty cogent reasons.
 
I listened to a pair of Arros with an Arcam integrated once and thought that was a great combo. I’d love to have a pair as a backup or to pull out for fun here and there. They’re small enough that you could hide them pretty easily when not in use. They’re cool looking too!

My second system pairs the recently acquired Arros with a nicely aged Arcam FMJ CD23 (with the old ring DAC) and the FMJ A38. Very nice. If the Arcam seems a little polite to some, it tames a slight tendency to wildness in the Arros… As noted by Jezzer, the Densen Beat 100 should be a great candidate. Had one for a time, never heard with Totem though.
 
I picked up a set of Mites last night, and I'm giving them a listen now. They're notably smaller than my Ergo IX, so I'm surprised how much bass they put out. I might actually say too much bass, as they are a bit boomy. I've got them sitting on top the other speakers, rather deep into the corners. That works well with the Ergo IX, which is designed to be near the wall and are a sealed box (no port). I'll have to try them in another room, where I can pull them out further from the wall.

Also, the highs are very smooth, which is nice but does gloss over some of the excitement in the track.

Overall a warm and "nice" sounding speaker, especially for the low cost. I could see it working well in a bedroom system, where you don't necessarily want the music "in your face". I may try them in place of the Royd Sintra in my bedroom, although they would need to be quite close to the wall there.

FYI, I'm currently driving them with my Avondale NCC300 monos, which do a wonderful job feeding every speaker I've tried (including the cheap as chips Minimus 7).
 
@Mike Hanson . Yes I used Mites in a bedroom system where they are fabulous. They aren't normally boomy - you don't have them in an ideal location. On decent stands with spikes does the trick - a bit away from the wall. They like a meaty amp
 
Any experience out there with the Totem Wind? Many years ago, I walked by one of the listening rooms at a local retailer, and heard the most astonishing beguiling music issuing from the room, pulling me in like a velvet rope.

At the time, I’d never seen or heard a speaker that large, or heard music that full range, that dynamic, rich on such a scale, but still clean and clear, without break-up or distortion, or inchoate rumble. A taste of Wilson Sophias came much later, to put the size of the Winds back into proper scale. Of course, it turns out the Winds are not really that large in the wider scheme of things.

Would they sound as good to me today, after hearing Grahams and Harbeths and Stirlings and Neats? Don’t know; I don’t really have the space for them, and my big small town no longer has a Totem stockist. Not the sort of thing I’d have shipped on spec…

Anyone else have time with Totem Wind?
 
Any experience out there with the Totem Wind? Many years ago, I walked by one of the listening rooms at a local retailer, and heard the most astonishing beguiling music issuing from the room, pulling me in like a velvet rope.

At the time, I’d never seen or heard a speaker that large, or heard music that full range, that dynamic, rich on such a scale, but still clean and clear, without break-up or distortion, or inchoate rumble. A taste of Wilson Sophias came much later, to put the size of the Winds back into proper scale. Of course, it turns out the Winds are not really that large in the wider scheme of things.

Would they sound as good to me today, after hearing Grahams and Harbeths and Stirlings and Neats? Don’t know; I don’t really have the space for them, and my big small town no longer has a Totem stockist. Not the sort of thing I’d have shipped on spec…

Anyone else have time with Totem Wind?
Here are my PERSONAL findings on these, just my guts feeling, not a perfect scientific analysis :

Wilson Sophia : Very good for large classical bands with a lot of various instruments and passages from very quiet to very loud music. I listened to these quite often as a friend of mine had a pair of these driven by an Audio Research pre/amp and it was breathtaking IMO.

Graham and Harbeth : Both very good on acoustic jazz and folk with a near perfect tone with small orchestra with 5 musicians or less. Didn’t do any long terms listenings on Stirling and Neat so can’t comment.

Totem Wind : Gave it a listen in a private demo at the dealer and they really seemed to me to be a very good jack of all trades dealing pretty well with all kinds of music. Very pleasant to listen to, dynamic and many other good qualities but maybe not 100% right on tone as let’s say a mid size monitor from Harbeth.
 
@Penderos your experience with the Totem Wind was similar to mine at a Hifi show walking into a room that had several pairs of speakers around the room (it was a dealer or distributor demonstrating several brands) and the sound had a huge soundstage. I was absolutely shocked when I was told that the music was coming from diminutive Boenicke W8SE. I was smitten with Boenicke there and then

if only I could hear Boenicke, Kudos and Totem in the same demo ……… they are my three favourite speaker brands and sounds
 
@Mike Hanson . Yes I used Mites in a bedroom system where they are fabulous. They aren't normally boomy - you don't have them in an ideal location. On decent stands with spikes does the trick - a bit away from the wall. They like a meaty amp
I decided to try them in my bedroom.

The front end is the same: a SqueezeBox Touch sending an S/PDIF signal via a coax cable to a little FX-Audio DAC-X6MKII, which is doing DAC and pre-amp duties.

BTW, the DAC+Pre is powered by a big linear wall-wart supply. This unit was originally in my son's room, and one of his pet rats chewed the cord of its original SMPS wall-wart. Therefore, I've never done a comparison to see whether it sounds better because of it. :rolleyes:

The power amp was an old Naim NAP110 shoebox, which I had upgraded to use Avondale's NAP110PS and NCC200 amp modules. It's compact, which is why I was using it there. However, it has always produced a small bit of hum and hiss, probably due to the transformer (it also did that as a bog standard NAP110). I notice it only when walking directly in front of the system, which is all sitting atop my dresser/wardrobe. I figured it would be nice to have something completely quiet, so while changing the speakers, I changed the amp.

I swapped in a NCC200 stereo amp that I built as an experiment, using two MeanWell SMPS power supplies stacked up to produce ±50VDC. These are regulated supplies, and very quiet. The audio out is very detailed and controlled, although I find this SMPS doesn't support big bass transients and weight as well as my other amps using linear supplies. Given I don't usually play this system in anger, and the Mite seemed to be a bit boomy in the bass, I felt like it might be a good match.

The prior upgraded NAP110 has a purpose-built RCA-to-DIN cable, so I had to pick a regular RCA cable appropriate to go between the DAC+Pre and new power amp. I decided on one with silver-plated wiring, which some say results in brittle high frequencies, but I've never found this to be a problem. I had noticed the Mites had a "soft" upper range, so perhaps they would benefit from a bit more sparkle in that territory.

The speakers had been the Royd Sintra 2, which I really like. It has a very fast, detailed presentation, but I had noticed the bass balance was a bit low in this system. Again, the Mite seemed like an promising alternative, even though it weighs approximately half as much as the Sintra 2.

Instead of spikes, I've got the Mites on mouse pads (basically neoprene sheets). I also have some Totem Beaks, which I've popped on top. :D

After all is said and done, this new configuration sounded really good at higher volumes. I turned it down to "bedroom" levels, then took a break to reset my ears. Reviewing it just now, I think it sounds like the perfect balance for where it is.

I'm always intrigued at the concept of system synergy. It's a fun challenge finding the right combination of components to make a system shine in a particular location.

And the Mites are really good speakers! :)
 
Last edited:
Having the system in place for a day now, I can report that the bass is exactly as hoped, and high frequencies are still rather soft to my ear. I couldn't live with this as my main system, but it's suitable for the bedroom.

While I was at it, I decided to make up some quasi bi-wire cables for it. My amp has one set of binding posts, but the Mites have two. I used a couple of chunks of Monoprice 4-conductor 12AWG cable, pairing conductors on the amp end, versus terminating them singly for the speakers. I've been hearing bad things about banana plugs lately, so I used some surplus spade connectors (moderately priced Connex rhodium plated copper at the amp, and cheap Nakamichi spades at the speakers). Given they're only a meter long, it's almost certainly overkill, but it's fun to tinker. :D

My general preference for speaker connectors is the Neutrik speakON, but I work with what I have. ;)
 
The Arros are presently stuck with Blu-Tak directly to my limestone fireplace plinth. Not sure the Claws are likely to improve on that particular set up, but could be useful if I rotate them into my den. Unfortunately, every unsticking of the cabinet from adhesives risks tearing off some of the veneer on the bottom. Happened to mine before I got them - that blemish was disclosed before closing the purchase.
That is a great idea. I've done the same between none spiked narrow floorstanders and bare flooring.

The trick with Blu-Tac is to twist the speaker which causes the adhesive to shear.
 
I like my Totem The Ones, currently A/B'ing them with some big Boenicke SLS's and they're close on most genres.
Another trick with the blue tack problem is to slice them off slowly with dental floss. I use the stronger UHU Patafix pro to stick small speakers down and the floss method works fine with that.
 
I like my Totem The Ones, currently A/B'ing them with some big Boenicke SLS's and they're close on most genres.
Another trick with the blue tack problem is to slice them off slowly with dental floss. I use the stronger UHU Patafix pro to stick small speakers down and the floss method works fine with that.
Wow ! I knew the Totem Ones were good but never thought they were that good !
 


advertisement


Back
Top