Totem speakers (& Rega audio)

Posted by: Alco on 14 December 2002

Hi y'all,

Yesterday I had a day off, and I had the lucky coincidence that there was some Rega & Totem HiFi-show going on in my area. Because I heard many raving words about Totem speakers, I thought I'd give it a try. In a (very) small store, with an even smaller (about the size of my bedroom!) demo-room, they were demonstrating Totem loudspeakers on Rega equipment.

Now, to make a long story (a little) short(er)...
It was fu..ing amazing!

Lucky for me I was the first and only visitor in the morning, so I could relax and listen to some music that I took along.
On my request the little Totem Mite's were set up, on top of some beautiful Pardinton stands.

The Rega system consisted of a Rega Cursa 2000 pre-amp, and two Rega Maja (or Exon) power-amps.

Well,.... I'm almost afraid to tell ya guys, but to be honest... Imho, this Totem/Rega system sure sounded a lot better than my Nait-2/CDX/Kans system!
The Totems were fast as lighting, a lovely open and natural midband, a clear, detailed treble without ever getting harsh, a tight bottom-end, and most surprising, considering the small enclosure, voices sounded with enough body.

Even though I had never been in that shop before, the dealer asked me if I wanted to try the little Totem's at home. (even though it was his only pair in the shop, and also without paying a dime first!)
So,... one hour later I sat in my own living room, setting up the Totem's on those Beautiful Pardington stands.
Unfortunately,... it didn't sound as good as the Rega/Totem system at the dealer.

Could it be my Nait-2, having problems driving the (87db) Totem's ?
I found the Totem Mite lacking in speed and dynamics at home and also treble seems a little less clear and missing some sparkle compared to the Rega system.
So,... I took 'em back, and in the store they were hooked up again to the Rega system, now fronted by the P3 & P25 (with Elys MM) TT's.
Damn, This was pretty frustrating.... The little Mite's were making music again!

So, well... I just wanted to share this experience with y'all...

Greetings,
Alco

Posted on: 14 December 2002 by AussiePete

Hi Alco,
I was just wondering whether room accoustics,cabling or equipment racks have much to do with it.
Regards,
Pete

Posted on: 14 December 2002 by herm

Hi Alco,

clearly you're in for another major sistem overhaul. I mean, how long have you had this pair of Kans (Kannies)?

Didn't they have any Totem floorstanders, like the Staff or the Hawk? They look kind of neat. (Check out Vuk's december 2000 "Speaker Confessions" if you will.)

Herman

Posted on: 14 December 2002 by Alco

quote:
Didn't they have any Totem floorstanders, like the Staff or the Hawk

Hi Herm,
They had the Totem Forrest (Great!), the Totem Staff (kinda like a floorstanding Mite) and the Totem Arrow. I only had time to listen to the Forrest, which sounded absolutely amazing!

quote:
clearly you're in for another major system overhaul. I mean, how long have you had this pair of Kans

I have my Kan's for about 9 months now. I settled for Kans (again) because they seem to be one of the few speakers, that don't cause to much trouble. (like to much/uncontrolled bass)
They are however meant as a temporary(!) solution. Don't get me wrong, I love many things about Kan's but they are not 100% my cup o' tea.

quote:
I was just wondering whether room accoustics,cabling or equipment racks have much to do with it.

Hi Pete,
Well, room acoustics could have something to do with it! My room seems to deliver some unwanted bass-lift. The equipment rack used in the store was nothing special. (kinda Soundstyle metal/glass thingy) My Nait-2 & CDX is placed on a Sound-Organisation 2-tier table.

I talked with the dealer about my system. He knew and liked Naim. He thought it would work out fine with Totem and it would be quite a dynamic duo.
Well, in fact it was just the opposite thing!
Dynamics were missing,

I guess it's just about 50/50% room acoustics and lack of power from my Nait-2.

Greetings,
Alco

Posted on: 14 December 2002 by herm

You changed my sistem into system!

Posted on: 14 December 2002 by Alco

quote:
crook
You changed my sistem into system!

yep, I did, didn't I

regards,
Alco

Posted on: 14 December 2002 by onlythat

NAIT 2, meself. The NAIT 2 is probably wonderful and is a strong little bugger, but the Totems, in my experience, need power. Like a NAIT 3 or 5. The ones I heard sounded fabulous with a NAIT 3 and a CD 3.5. These were Model Ones as I recall-- always a favorite of mine.

Posted on: 14 December 2002 by Tuan

quote:
Originally posted by Alco:
[QUOTE]... and lack of power from my Nait-2.

Alco

You got it right. It is the lack of power. Why dont you bring the Nait to the shop and hook it up???

Posted on: 14 December 2002 by Manu

Totems need a lot of power to sing.
IMHO Totem and Naim don't work together.

Emmanuel

All opinions are my own, and reflect those of the organisation i work for, even if not stipulated.

Posted on: 15 December 2002 by shanghai lily

I don't know whether or not it's a lack of power that is the problem, but it seems likely.

IMHO the Totem-Naim combination has a lot of potential.

My sistem consists of cd3.5/92/flatcap/90 firing through a pair of Arros, and I am very pleased with the combination. Obviously, there are a nearly endless array of upgrades left for me to consider, that will make it sound even better, but for the time being I'm happy with what the sistem does to all the music that I'm spending my hard-earned dosh on.

Nic

Posted on: 15 December 2002 by Mike Hanson

Yes, Totem makes some nice speakers. The Mite is a great little bookshelf speaker, and cheap too! I almost bought the Forest myself, but I finally decided that it had bass bloat/control problems. Of course, that could have been the supporting electronics.

BTW, the Arro is terrible. It's one of the most harsh, brash speakers that you'll ever hear (although it is exceedingly fast).

I've also heard the Wind with the Naim gear, and it had a great sense of slam and speed. It also looks very cool!!!

BTW, those Totem Beaks are sometimes useful. They help with my Royd Merlins, but don't do a thing for my Albions.

-=> Mike Hanson <=-

Posted on: 15 December 2002 by MrI

..with Kimber interconnects make a very fine combination with excellent synergy. A local dealer uses this mixture and I can say that the sound is excellent. So I took home the Model Ones and Arros which sounded much too bright on my Naim gear. The owner of Totem said he could cure it with some custom interconnects, as he knew about the limitations of the Totem-Naim combination. The bass on the higher end models can be a bit too emphatic as well, but I remember even vuk liked the stand mount Tabu.

Posted on: 16 December 2002 by Mike Hanson

IanM said...

quote:
I wouldn't describe my Arro's as harsh or brash at all.

I've heard them three times now. The first time I thought they were pretty good, but the next two times they really disappointed me. I believe they were partnered with Rega equipment each time. Perhaps it was the power in each place.

Overall I was surprised, as none of the rest of Totem's speakers had the same character.

-=> Mike Hanson <=-

Posted on: 17 December 2002 by king

quote:
Originally posted by Manu:
Totems need a lot of power to sing.
IMHO Totem and Naim don't work together.

I have to disagree, I have tried Mite with my 72/140 and I like them. But budget didn't allow that purchase then.

I believe some Totem speakers use Dynaudio drivers. Dynaudio speakers work very well with Naim (IMHO).
Of course the drivers are just one of the contributing factors, among other things.......

King

Posted on: 17 December 2002 by Andrew Randle

It's all down to synergy. The Rega/Totem combination make for one of the best sistem matches in the industry. Even a Planet/Brio/Mite combination raises many eyebrows.

The Arro loudspeakers are a superb floorstander and has sounded extremely musical, involving and with high levels of presence.

Andrew

Andrew Randle
Linn Binn Sinner

Posted on: 17 December 2002 by Gunnar Jansson

Naim with Totems.
I´ve heard quite a few naim setups with different totem speakers. (As the dealer is very fond of them)
Never been a hit for me. Don´t like the combo.
Doesen´t seem to get the right synergy with Naim.

But! With a Meridian cd and pre and a beefy parasound power and pair of Totem Tabu´s is probably the best non Naim system I´ve heard to date. In that setup the Tabu´s were truly musical, simply superb.

My belief is that Totems are very powerhungry and if you want to drive them properly then minimum power amp is a 250. That goes for at least model one and higher up. The mite might do with a lower spec. amp though.
Gunnar

[This message was edited by GUNNAR JANSSON on TUESDAY 17 December 2002 at 13:15.]

Posted on: 17 December 2002 by plynnplynn

quote:
I spent ages listening to the Totems, with a Rega front end, at this years Heathrow show and IMO this was the best sound there.

Ian
I almost agree. I also was very impressed with the Totems. I posted the following after the show in September.

I have no doubt about which demo was the most impressive for me - from a musicality perspective. Penaudio Charisma speakers (140X240X285mm) plus 'woofer'.
http://www.penaudio.fi
Most people probably didn't go in to see it. The room was virtually bare of equipment and what was there sat on stands which were inches off the floor. But these speakers are impressive. £5500 with silver internal cabling - much less with copper ~£3700.

The next most impressive imho was Totem (Dreamcatcher £385). As indicated above this the cheapest Totem is a wonderfully expressive small room speaker.

Terry