Two Totem Questions

I don`t think you`ll be able to try Totem speakers at a Naim dealer in Canada.
And Totem and Naim are not considered as a good match here (particularly with a Nait)

Emmanuel

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

Nothing wrong with driving Totems with Naim equipment, although they're harder to drive than some speakers.

The Mites are good with a Nait5 and so are the Arro's (their best speaker below the Forest in my view).

Regards,
Frank.
All opinions are my own and do not reflect the opinion of any organisations I work for, except where this is stated explicitly.

Hej Lars!

I have tried a number of Totem speakers (Arro, Hawk, Forest, Model One) with Nait 5 and 112/150 at HifiArt who is not only a good Naim dealer, but also is the distributor for Totem in Sweden.

I was very impressed with the Totem speakers and found them working pretty good with the Nait as well as the 112/150.

I´m still enjoying my B&W CDM1´s with my Nait5, but I need something floorstanding as I have moved to a bigger place. (Forest, Allae, SBL is on my listening list).

Go to Stockholm and book a session with Kent at HifiArt, 08-661 63 00.

Good luck!

:-) THomas

...Hawks on the end of my Nait 5 as well as on the end of CD5/112/FC2/150 and there was a high-frequency excess that made this speaker hard to live with.

The Arros are fab if small is your thing - note that the Arros and the Sttafs use a lower-spec tweeter than the Hawks and Forrests.

- GregB

Insert Witty Signature Line Here

Lars,

Canada is a big place, like several Europes. If you can narrow down where you are headed I think there might be a better chance of us (Canadaians) letting you know what Naim/Totem dealers are there.

Steve

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Originally posted by NAIMGAIM:
Totems are nice. Should be a sweet match with the Nait5. Vince Bruzzese, CEO of Totem, is a great guy who makes musical & exciting speakers..

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Yes no problems with Totem and Vince is indeed a very nice guy. BUT IMO, there are many speakers working better with Naim. I won`t say it is a sweet match, highs are too harch. It makes the sistem agressive.

Emmanuel

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

I concur with Manu. I was using the Totem Model 1 signatures with a Nait 3: exciting at first but ultimately very tiring due to the harshness. If your visit to Canada includes Montreal, try to listen to speakers made by Revelation. Less expensive than Totems and much much more satisfying in the long term, in my view.

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Originally posted by Manu:
I don`t think you`ll be able to try Totem speakers at a Naim dealer in Canada.

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What Manu is really saying is that He doesn't sell Totem in his store, therefore they are not considered a good match with Naim. As this is not communist China, you are free to choose what pleases your own earholes.

I would say that Totem are excellent loudspeakers overall. I would shy away from the Mani-2 however as it is difficult to drive and takes about 2 years (no kidding) to properly break in.

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Originally posted by undertone:

quote:

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Originally posted by Manu:
I don`t think you`ll be able to try Totem speakers at a Naim dealer in Canada.

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What Manu is really saying is that He doesn't sell Totem in his store, therefore they are not considered a good match with Naim. As this is not communist China, you are free to choose what pleases your own earholes.

I would say that Totem are excellent loudspeakers overall. I would shy away from the Mani-2 however as it is difficult to drive and takes about 2 years (no kidding) to properly break in.

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what a dumb thing to say , Manu will not sell a product that he does not like or that does not work with the gear he sells, which is smart, he has to make it sound good ....what do you do for a living Planetary Citizen? you spent as much time with Naim gear as Manu ? ya that's what I thought...

Thanks for the answers guys!

Stephen,

I am aware that Canada is a very big country. I should have been more specific. If I'm going, Toronto will by my first stop, after that I don't know yet.

Thomas,

I've been at HiFi Art many times. I bought my Nait5 from Kent. I've listened to Model One partnered with 92/90 back in -97 and I thought it sounded very promising. I'm not willing to spend the amount that Model Ones go for. How much is the Arro (in SEK)?

Cheers,

Lars

Lars,

No idea about SEK but Arro's vary in price between £850 and £970 depending on finish in the UK.

If you find a Naim/Totem dealer, you should at least listen to Naim Intros against the Totems, and since you're close to their land you should check out Jamo and Dynaudio. They all do different things.

I agree on one thing with Manu - I find the Forest's treble a little on the strident side, but other than that I don't find any harshness in any of the other speakers. Perhaps it's a room thing.

Regards,
Frank.
All opinions are my own and do not reflect the opinion of any organisations I work for, except where this is stated explicitly.

quote:

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Originally posted by undertone:
What Manu is really saying is that He doesn't sell Totem in his store, therefore they are not considered a good match with Naim. As this is not communist China, you are free to choose what pleases your own earholes.

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You are right except "therefore".
I don't sell them because i consider them not to be a good match with Naim. I am independant enough to be in a position to choose what i sell. And i've chosen to concentate on a few brands working well together. I'm biased, so what, as far as everyone knows it. Most of Noth America Naim dealers have the same approach.

Anyone can have a different opinion.

The other part of my answer is not an opinion, it is a fact: AFAIK no Naim dealer in Canada also sell Totem speakers.

Emmanuel

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

I thought many of their models are quite hard to drive properly, at least Model one and Mani-2, hence not being a very good match with a Nait or 150. I suppose it can sound ok but believe a 250 is really needed for Model one.

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Originally posted by Manu:
I don`t think you`ll be able to try Totem speakers at a Naim dealer in Canada.

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Lars, to my knowledge there is no Naim dealer in Canada that sells Totem. In fact, there are not that many Totem dealers in Canada at all! The Naim dealer in Vancouver did sell Totem a few years ago, but they don't any more. Totem is actually more famous outside of Canada. This has a lot to do with the Canadian mindset of "if it's made here, it can't be any good". They learned that from their British ancestors. There is a bad habit amongst Canadians to "eat their young".

I would consult the Totem website and look at the dealer list for the city(s) you plan to visit. If those dealers have a website, you can send them an email to set up a demo in advance.

Maybe not now, but at one time Naim and Totem could be found together....

London Audio in London Ontario used to sell both Naim and Totem. They no longer sell Naim or Totem, but still deal in Linn and <shudder> MF.

For what it's worth....

regards,

michael

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the Canadian mindset of "if it's made here, it can't be any good"

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Not always the case.
Totem was at one time carried by Montreal's other Naim dealer, Codell Audio. When I was there a couple of years ago getting a replacement power light for my 250, I commented to the owner on the absence of Totem speakers in the shop.He said that he had been selling many more Dynaudio speakers, which are quite similar. Most customers found Dynaudios sonically equivalent to the competing Totems, but the Dynaudios were cheaper because they didn't have the luxurious wood veneers that Totem is famous for. When Totem mentioned that they weren't comfortable with him carrying both their product and such a close competitor, he made the obvious choice.

Cheers,

John Schmidt
"90% of everything is crud" - Theodore Sturgeon

Lars,

Just to update you on Totem in Canada. By the time you get here, there will probably be no Totem dealers in western Canada to look at. I have just been informed by a colleague who is close to the situation that Totem have decided to commit suicide in Western Canada by giving the line to a chain of stores called A&B Sound. They are a low end big-box discounter that trashes everything they touch. It would be the equivalent of Naim giving the line to Dixon's or Comet in the UK. Apparently, all the current independant Totem dealers are throwing the line out. If your timing is really good, you might be able to get the pair you want at cost from an angry ex-dealer on clearance. Nice product, but questionable management style.

Undertone,

Here I agree with you.
Totem in A&B sound is bad news. The hi-end salesmen at the Seymour street store are nice guys, but they don't have the facilites to sell the stuff properly.