The Official Totem Acoustics Speakers Thread

[BigAl87]

Ok so here it is, I would like to thank John for letting me know that the Smaller Element monitor that Totem was working on that I annouced a few posts up was presented at CES.

Here's a shot that was taken by Stereophile.



Coverage of the show by Stereophile an notice that this Samller monitor uses a soft dome tweeter vs the Metal dome found on the rest of the line:
http://www.stereophile.com/content/t...nding-elements

This link was provided to me by John
http://www.avguide.com/blog/ces-2012...n%20CES%202012

[Johnny Vinyl]

Not that I can afford them, but I want to really hear these babies. The soft dome tweeter along with Totem's new Torrent driver sounds like it may be a winner. I heard the Element Fire, and while I thought it put out great bass and was very detailed, I also felt (for my ears) that it was a bit too forward.

Thanks Olivier!

[BigAl87]

Originally Posted by John72953

Not that I can afford them, but I want to really hear these babies. The soft dome tweeter along with Totem's new Torrent driver sounds like it may be a winner. I heard the Element Fire, and while I thought it put out great bass and was very detailed, I also felt (for my ears) that it was a bit too forward.

Thanks Olivier!

John I just want to say that I did not hear this foward sound and this also truly depends on X-Over and on Amp. There are some soft dome that can be ear piercing and some metal dome that can be mellow. As smooth as metal dome can become none of them can be as forgiving as a soft dome with higher Total Harmonic Distortion Amps. I had some super smooth Energy speakers that were using some Metal dome tweeters. I think the metal dome tweeters are also more sensitive to cabinet resonnace so it's important to have to reduce them as much as possible and the beaks do that. I should add that the Elements at SSI were driven by 2x600watts Classe Monoblocks.

I believe you love the Forest. One fact remains i prefer the Forgiveness of the Soft dome as it gives more options on the choice of amps, seriously there some extremely fun musical amps and a lot of them tubes that may generate just enough distortion to make metal dome sound aweful.

All that being said I think it all comes down to pairing things the way you enjoy your sound and I know you love tubes.


I also realize that the soft dome looks rather similar to the 0.75 inch tweeter found on the Arro which BTW produces some sweet highs with superb resolution.

[adept777]

Hi guys, and HELLO BigAl87

What do you guys think of the Mite TC Center Channel? Will that be a good CC for me to upgrade from my current Energy CC10? Thank you!!!

And I am aware of timber matching so I will obviously get matching LR if I do end up buying this, it is just that I saw a great deal for this and did not want to buy it till I hear from some of you folks. A guy locally is willing to sell me his new, open box item for $345. What do you all think>>>??

[callas01]

Originally Posted by adept777

Hi guys, and HELLO BigAl87

What do you guys think of the Mite TC Center Channel? Will that be a good CC for me to upgrade from my current Energy CC10? Thank you!!!

And I am aware of timber matching so I will obviously get matching LR if I do end up buying this, it is just that I saw a great deal for this and did not want to buy it till I hear from some of you folks. A guy locally is willing to sell me his new, open box item for $345. What do you all think>>>??

What speakers are you going to match with it? The Mite's, Mite T's, or the Sttafs?

John used to have the Mite T-C for use in HT, Im sure he could give you the best experience with them.

[adept777]

Originally Posted by callas01

What speakers are you going to match with it? The Mite's, Mite T's, or the Sttafs?

John used to have the Mite T-C for use in HT, Im sure he could give you the best experience with them.

Hi there! I was thinking about getting the Sttafs, what do you recommend??

[BigAl87]

Originally Posted by adept777

Hi there! I was thinking about getting the Sttafs, what do you recommend??

. I had Energy speakers and recentenly bought some CB-20 and compared, I mean for what they are the Energy offer great performance but don't get the dept of the Totems.

No comparaison in terms of resolution vs the Energy CC-10 and also you will realize Totem does not beam at all comparing the Enrgy to it you would realize the energy sounds a bit like you are talking in a cone it's hard to imagine like that but totem is absolutely great with vocals and will reproduce human voice with great accuracy and so is most high speakers

Adept the Sttaf will be a perfect match to the Mite T-C even the Mites in HT Apps would be absolutely great but The Sttaf is certainly best for 2 channel they do feel more musical than the Mites.
What would you be driving the speakers with?

As an Avr I would recommend the AVR360 from Arcam for max performance with Totem Speakers but Anthem would also be great but musically speaking the Arcam would above and beyond expectations.

I am not telling yo that you should get one but Totem does recommend Arcam and Naim products a lot with their speakers. Of course other great IA work well with them but for HT I think Arcam is a no brainer. You don't have to do this now since all those speakers are 8 ohms load except for the center.

this AVR retails at 1600$, you can slash a good 250$ so 1350$, 750$ cheaper than my AVR. I would consider some Yamaha Avantage but Yamah like anthem their performance are diminished whe driving all 7 channels.

http://totemacoustic.com/en/surround/sttaf-mite/

[BigAl87]

Just remembered you have an Onkyo with Outlaw Amp that works I want to say, you should not expect the Sttaf to have as much air displacement as the CF-70 but more depth and resolution and a better dynamic range.

[Johnny Vinyl]

The Sttafs work seemlessly with Mites as surround and the Mite-T Centre, which is also the recommended pairing. I think for a mostly Movie setup this is a very attractive pairing. However, if I had to do it over, I would pair the Sttafs with Rainmakers for both surround and Centre use. This is because music is more important to me and tend to watch more concerts than I do movies, plus there is SACD.

[BigAl87]

Originally Posted by Johnny Vinyl

The Sttafs work seemlessly with Mites as surround and the Mite-T Centre, which is also the recommended pairing. I think for a mostly Movie setup this is a very attractive pairing. However, if I had to do it over, I would pair the Sttafs with Rainmakers for both surround and Centre use. This is because music is more important to me and tend to watch more concerts than I do movies, plus there is SACD.

John I agree Totem can almost match timber across in multi channel applications, I am impressed with the Rainmaker matching well with he Forest it's quite a seamless transition to be honest. I still intend to buy the recommended center M1SC just for maximum performance.

[BigAl87]

For those who don't know, Totem released the new Thunder 2 Sub

http://totemacoustic.com/en/hi-fi/su...hunder-ii-sub/

[Johnny Vinyl]

Originally Posted by BigAl87

For those who don't know, Totem released the new Thunder 2 Sub

http://totemacoustic.com/en/hi-fi/su...hunder-ii-sub/

I've listened to the Storm or the Thunder (can't remember which one) and they sounded pretty good. Mind you I'm no expert when it comes to subs, so I have no idea how well these stack up to others.

Have you had an extended audition with them Olivier?

[BigAl87]

Originally Posted by Johnny Vinyl

I've listened to the Storm or the Thunder (can't remember which one) and they sounded pretty good. Mind you I'm no expert when it comes to subs, so I have no idea how well these stack up to others.

Have you had an extended audition with them Olivier?

I did experience with the Thunder I and the Storm, both are exceptional performer and it's honestly hard to find better for their size but I think it's possible to find better for the price, if space is an issue and you wish to have tremendous performance those subs are the way to go I believe. The Storm is extremely impressive at filling a rather large room has impressive impact that I have yet to see from another 8 inch, dual Storm in HT setup is really nice, some may argue theey don't go low enmough but Totem does have some conservative specs.

Now if you ask me beween the Thunder I and the Sub 12 from Paradigm in the same price range I'd go for the Digm but honestly it's impressive how close this 10 stands next to it. The 2 passive radiotors truly help a lot for maximum output. I will have to see how he Thunder II performs now.

[Johnny Vinyl]

Originally Posted by BigAl87

I did experience with the Thunder I and the Storm, both are exceptional performer and it's honestly hard to find better for their size but I think it's possible to find better for the price, if space is an issue and you wish to have tremendous performance those subs are the way to go I believe. The Storm is extremely impressive at filling a rather large room has impressive impact that I have yet to see from another 8 inch, dual Storm in HT setup is really nice, some may argue theey don't go low enmough but Totem does have some conservative specs.

Now if you ask me beween the Thunder I and the Sub 12 from Paradigm in the same price range I'd go for the Digm but honestly it's impressive how close this 10 stands next to it. The 2 passive radiotors truly help a lot for maximum output. I will have to see how he Thunder II performs now.

Good to hear that you liked them as I always wondered what people thought of them.

[callas01]

Originally Posted by BigAl87

I did experience with the Thunder I and the Storm, both are exceptional performer and it's honestly hard to find better for their size but I think it's possible to find better for the price, if space is an issue and you wish to have tremendous performance those subs are the way to go I believe. The Storm is extremely impressive at filling a rather large room has impressive impact that I have yet to see from another 8 inch, dual Storm in HT setup is really nice, some may argue theey don't go low enmough but Totem does have some conservative specs.

Now if you ask me beween the Thunder I and the Sub 12 from Paradigm in the same price range I'd go for the Digm but honestly it's impressive how close this 10 stands next to it. The 2 passive radiotors truly help a lot for maximum output. I will have to see how he Thunder II performs now.

the Thunder II goes down to 22 hz, and the Storm to 26 hz, I think both of those are rather good numbers.

[BigAl87]

Originally Posted by callas01

the Thunder II goes down to 22 hz, and the Storm to 26 hz, I think both of those are rather good numbers.

Indeed but some people may argue it's still not low enough but those subs are tight accurate and they sound much much bigger then their size wouls suggest, I find their price tag a bit steep.

[BigAl87]

Totem has revealed the price of their new Element center, It will cost $4500 to own one .

http://totemacoustic.com/en/hi-fi/ce.../element-wood/

[Emmsys]

Hi Folks,

Glad to see a thread dedicated to Totem Acoustic! My current setup is:

Fronts: Sttafs
Center: Mite-T Center
Rears: Mite-Ts
Subwoofer: Totem Acoustic Storm
Display: LG 50PV450
Receiver: Onkyo TX-NR809
Blu-ray/CD player: PS3

(See pics in my album. They were taken before I got the Onkyo so you will see a HK AVR235 in the pics).

I wouldn't call myself an audiophile but I do have sensitive ears. I love Totem Acoustic speakers (form their incredible Element line to the little Mites) because I find I can listen to music for hours without feeling exhausted. The bass is never booming and the highs are not too "treble-y" if that makes sense. I use my setup for blu-ray watching, gaming and listening to music.

For movie-watching and gaming the Mite-Ts and Sttafs make for an amazing combination for me. The voices are perfectly clear, the tiny details in the soundtrack are noticeable but never overpowering and the Storm sub is so smooth (not punchy or booming). There are lots of receivers that are better than my Onkyo but I find it's a great match for my Totems. I had to run the Audyssey room calibration setup a few times to get it to my liking but once that was complete, all was good. The Onkyo seems to have no problems driving the 4ohm Mite-Ts with very minimal heat build-up (infinitely less heat than my trusty HK AVR235).

What I also love about the Totems is that they are not "unidirectional". Even sitting beside the Mite-T rears (with no toe-in) I do not notice a difference in sound. Makes it easy to setup the speakers in a tight room.

For music listening I have to admit I feel like the AVR235 just sounded better to me when setup for "Direct". I typically listen to music on the Onkyo using "Pure Audio" so that only the Sttafs are used but once in a while I'll mess with all-channel stereo, direct and THX Music. Those modes sometimes sound cool but there's something so much more natural when it's 2.0 or 2.1 for me. The Sttafs are absolutely incredible though. It's been mentioned so many times how Totem speakers reproduce voice so well and I will also add guitars (acoustic or electric), drums (all types of symbols) and decent bass. It's like I rediscovered music when I got the Sttafs.

I would still like to have a separate 2.0 setup for music only (once the wife allows me ) which would include Totem Acoustic Winds (mahogany to match my current setup). I have heard the Element Earths and Fire, both of which are incredible in every possible way. But the Winds design still grab me. Vince Bruzzese described the difference between the Elements and the Winds as "the Elements will scratch you."

Anyway, hope everyone is enjoying their Totems as much as I am!

e

[callas01]

Nice setup. I know that Johnny used to have that same/similar seutp with the sttafs and mites. I know Olivier will love to see that someone else in Montreal has a full Totem setup.

Welcomed to the forum.

[Goat1]

I'd love to see some pics.