Super Uniti and Totem Hawk

It would help to know the rest of your system. Speaker cables come immediately to mind. Are you using NACA5? Are you playing your Hawks loud? Does the clipping occur at moderate volume?

I had Totem Sttafs for years in several Naim systems. Sttafs (88 dB, 8 ohm, 20-100 W) versus Hawks (88 dB, 6 ohm, 30-120 W). So those are the paper specs on the Totems. In reality, I found the Sttafs to be power hungry speakers, and Totems in general have that reputation.  A 50 W Brio-R amp couldn't drive the Sttafs at all. A 50 W Nait 5 was marginal. A 60 W Nait XS was adequate, but it wasn't until I went to the SN2 (80 W like your SU) that I felt the amp gathered some command of the Sttafs. I never experienced clipping with the Sttafs + Nait XS or SN2 using NACA5. I was listening in a smaller 4x4.5-m room, and generally listened at volumes of 75-85 dB, typically about 10 o'clock on the dial.

Point being, a speaker's stated specs are a guideline, not an absolute. I'd speculate the SU ought to adequately drive the Hawks at "reasonable" volumes.  The Hawks should work in a room of your size, but if you're listening loud, more power than the SU might be required to really command the Totems.

Although the SU includes a streamer, this is not a streaming issue, so you might get a wider response by putting it in HiFi Corner. Never heard Hawks myself, but understand that they do like a lot of power, so maybe the SU isn’t enough. Does the SU get hot when driven hard, and what speaker cable are you using?

I am using Chord Odyssey 2 cable and clipping only occurs when playing loud.  The amo i snot getting too hot but the Hi Fi Dealer is bringing a NAP 250 DR to test but not sure I see the benefit as the intent was to simply upgrade my speakers.  Interested in cable ideas !

George, I've moved this thread into the Hifi Corner.  

thanks

George:

I run Hawks driven by a 250DR, fronted by a NAC 252/NDX and, as my neighbors will attest, I like to run them loud (10:30/11 on the dial) and have never experienced clipping .. That was not the case when I was using a NAP 200, I felt the Hawks needed much more that the 200 could provide.

As @JOERAND above mentions, Totems do like a lot of power .. the more the better.

I am using Tellurium Q Black speaker wires ..

Giomak posted:

I am using Chord Odyssey 2 cable and clipping only occurs when playing loud.  The amo i snot getting too hot but the Hi Fi Dealer is bringing a NAP 250 DR to test but not sure I see the benefit as the intent was to simply upgrade my speakers.  Interested in cable ideas !

If you only wanted new speakers, I would suggest that you consider different speakers. The Superuniti has quite a bit of power, so there are plenty to choose from that it will be able to drive well.

If you are planning to make other changes to your system over time, you could consider keeping the Hawks if you like them with the 250, which should drive them well. The Superuniti then becomes the weak link in the chain, and you would see a big improvement if you changed it. Trading it in for a 272 would be a good option, and maybe not so expensive if you can find a good used one.

Chord Odyssey should be fine, as long the length is not too short, with decent plugs soldered on. If your dealer is bringing a 250, I would ask him if he can also bring a demo set of NACA5 cable to compare.