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i have had the Totem Mod One Sig in my system for about seven years. I have enjoyed them and continue to like listening to them. However I constantly wonder about moving on to something with a bit more bass response. A few important points: 1. my room is small 12x12. I am able to sit about 7 feet away while still leaving adequate room from the rear wall for the Totems to image and stage which they do very well. I have carefully set up the system including Real Traps in the front corners and first reflection points. 2. I am using an Ayre AX7e integrated amp and will continue to use it for now. May consider a different amp at some point but not now. 3. Also have Ayre CX7eMP and use it a good bit, still like the way it sounds. 4. Also have a Thorens TD125, Jelco 750d, Ortofon Quintet Bronze, Aqvox phpno stage. 5. Listen to broad range of rock and jazz about 90% of the time. Occasional small ensemble classical. I LOVE clarity, detail, imaging and soundstaging. Would not want to give up what I have in these areas. 6. I suppose my goal for the upgrade would be to keep all of those qualities (or even improve them?) while adding some bass and a bit of dynamics. 7. based on reviews but no listening yet, I am considering Proac Response D18 or D2, Devore Gibbon 88, one of the Spendor Classic series (which one?) . Opinions?
Follow Ups:
Very interesting thread. I have been using Totem Hawks for almost 15 years now. Originally it came down to them and the Model 1 sigs and I went with the Hawks for their greater bass and dynamics, thinking the two were similar in tone and soundstaging.
I ran them with a Quad 606 for 8 or 9 years then switched to a Rogue Audio tube amp. In my opinion, they sound considerably better with tubes.
I have also reached the point were I am considering upgrading. My room is slightly larger than yours at 14 X 16 feet.
I have been listening to other speakers in showrooms over the years. IMO, the weak point in the Hawks (and probably the Model ones) is the tweeter---listening to speakers using new exotic tweeters has shown me that the Hawks upper end response is a little rough in comparison. On the other hand, the Scanspeak Relavator used for the midbass is a great driver still used in many megabuck loadspeakers.
I have not heard the new line of upper end Totems yet. But the tweeters do not appear to be a big upgrade--most of the big deal around them is the new midbass driver. Kind of wanting something with a RAAL ribbon in it. Will probably be another 5 years till I decide on an upgrade, I don't like changing good equipment very often.
In the meantime, will just have to keep enjoying the Hawks. Maybe a new arm or cartridge.
Going back over your post since 2007, when you got said Totem Model One Sigs, I see that a few guts had in fact mentioned how they felt they sounded better with tube amps:
http://www.audioasylum.com/cgi/t.mpl?f=tubes&m=192354
Man, all I can add is this, I'm using a Woodham Audio Kalpyso by CR Developments, which is an EL84 based integrated that's rated at 15 w/pc driving my speakers/room which is 12' wide x 21' deep with a 10' ceiling, and not only does it drive said space, it drives my entire home, and can be easily heard from the rear bedroom with ease, as can it be heard on the first level of the apartment building in which my family resides, to the point where my neighbors on the lower level, have always said we play some wonderful music, and even the mail man has mentioned to me, that said neighbors have told him I've a nice sounding system, yet my point is by them being rated at 86/87dB into 4 Ohms means nothing if a tube amp is properly built, you'll be quite surprises with the overall sonics of what they've to offer, once again........., SS is just that, but with tubes which was the way I first heard them as far back as 1993 in a doctors friends home paired with a Quicksilver Full Function Preamp and Audioprism Debut MK II ( EL34 ) rated at 35 w/pc into his basement setting where the room was all of 20' wide x 30' deep and playing once again with ease, was all it took to keep them in the back of my mind for over 21 years, and having replaced ProAc Tablettes ( MK IIs/ 50 Sigs/ Reference 8 Sigs ) and Response One SCs and Devore Gibbon 3s with them, I only wish I had gone this route yards ago.
All this to say what ( Oscar )?, I love them regardless of what new technologies bring in regards to driver material? In the end, it's about the sound of music, is it not?. And lets not forget, something's were in fact voiced around digital sources, while others simply allow the best of analogue/vinyl to be heard in all its glory, read between the lines, you'd regret letting these go merely for the sake of change/differences in sonics while pursuing better bass, as all audio components regardless of cost are compromises, it's about which trade off each us can then live with?, and lastly, speaker placement is everything, I use the Sumiko Master Set method for speaker placement and they're positioned at 29 1/2" from rear wall to front of the baffle and exactly 8' 4" apart, and once again in my room/space/system the bass is as purposeful as I'd ever want and then some.
Okay, let me take a breath and catch up with my thoughts, it's just that I'm taken on what I'm hearing, and merely wanted to stress my joy/concern with you, before you change directions without fully knowing just what you have, okay timeout.
Cheers,
O_oh
My long-time readers often roll their eyes, when I repeatedly refer back to the original Totem Model 1. Though I had seen ads and read about the Model 1, I didn’t actually see it in person, until the March 1993 Stereophile show in San Francisco.
When I got to hear the Model 1, it was one of the first and few speakers, which, despite or because of its sonics, translated the music well. Three albums really set the Model 1 apart from other speakers I had auditioned. The first was Led Zeppelin’s Zoso . The Model 1 really made me feel as though I were back in college, sitting in front of UC Santa Cruz’s redwood trees, hearing the sweet sounds emanate from the dorms.
The second album was Dream Theater’s Awake . Yeah, it was like a scaled-down model train set. But girl, the songs on Awake came alive.
The third album was The Police’s Synchronicity . Here, the Model 1 proved that PRAT is not about BASS or speed. Rather, getting PRAT right begins and ends with getting the snap and pop of the snare drum right.
Here’s my take. If a person has the Model 1, and, because of room or stands, absolutely positively needs a speaker of the same size, then get the 20th anniversary The One. These periodically show up on the used market. It only came in “root brown,” so you don’t have to worry about color choice.
Yes, I did have the AudioPrism Debut II and Conrad Johnson MV-55 driving the Model 1 Signature. The M1S had more than enough resolution, to tell me that the Debut II was more open, with less of a sonic personality. The MV-55 was “chewier.” So if you listen predominantly to electric guitar, and do not like clean tones, you’d love the MV-55.
Over the years, my audio friends and I threw dozens of preamps and amps, of all technologies, at the M1S. The M1S isn’t all that biased. What matters most (and this applies to ALL systems) is that you use the highest-quality sources you can find.
Although I, as a reviewer, have expensive speaker cables, no, the Totems do not *need* them. I’ve seen several friends get a bi-wire set of Kimber 4TC, and be done with it. Yes, you should have seen how upset some audiophiles got, when I stuck the car-priced Nordost Odin on The One. But you know what? This experiment showed that The One had enough resolution, to tell us just how fast and clean the Odin was. Yes, you can be perfectly happy with an affordable but good speaker cable. And if that's not good enough for you, be my guest, go for the car-priced cables. The Totems will keep up with and love those $$$$ cables.
But here’s something I’ve always struggled to write and convey. Because the Totem M1S, The One, and Element Fire are not voiced to appeal to Stereotypical Audiophiles, you could, in a pinch, start off with a mass market A/V receiver. And these Totems, by not heaping further sonic insult, won’t sound half bad with a receiver. That buys you time. You can then skip the intermediate steps, and go directly to your dream, big-ticket, high-priced amplification spread.
Hi Lummy,
Very valid points on all counts, as it was while reading your post here, as well as your blog several years ago, that caused me to rethink about said time in 1993, where I had initially became impressed with the original Model 1s, but in 2010 as I set here thinking about getting a pair for myself that I found on Audiogon listed at $700/pr, and having just purchased the Devore Gibbon 3s in November 2009, and having just purchased another one of your old favorites in the ProAc Response One SCs in 2010, I merely sat there thinking,,how on earth can I afford Sound Anchors 3 Post Monitors Stands for three different pairs of Mini-Monitors, and told the owner of said Totems to just cancel his trip to my home, and keep the $100 deposited I had on them.
To my surprise upon getting these last November, I was shocked to see that they had in fact fit the Sound Anchors better then the Gibbon 3s, and had I known, or better yet pursued them at that time, I'd have avoided the funds spent on both Response One SCs, as well as the Gibbon 3s, as I now feel that I've found what has been " my sound " all alone.
In hindsight, memories are there for a reason, and it shows that while a friend and I've continued to day to have talked about what we both heard back in '93, with baited breath and so much passion, has finally found its way into my life, and has made me feel complete in only ways I felt that only my wife had, but in the back of my mind, I too know my journey ends with a pair of said 20th Anniversary Editions in the new year............., stay turned.
And Lummy, it just goes to prove a very very very important point, regardless of ones cultural differences, there are times where we can either hear the Beauty of some components, while some might not?, yet in the end, it should be first and foremost about how one weighs Musicality on a whole, while some can hear similar beauty or purity, others seek more of a sound, which to my mind/heart has very little to do with being emotionally moved to tears, but the actual playback performances as rendered so accurately by these dated speakers, which time has long forgotten, much in the same manner as Quad ESL 57s or any variant of the LS 3/5As where something's might've been missing at the very low end reproduction wise, but they had/have such a human element to them it's scary to look at which directions speakers have gone, in regards to mere sound versus purity of notes.
I for one wish to thank you for reminding me of how much I had/have enjoyed these speakers since way back then, and even more so how that they've found a permanent place in my heart.
Great call/ears on this one.
Regards,
O_o scar
I’m not exactly sure if, during that March 1993 Stereophile show, Totem’s Model 1 was available in cherry. When Totem did come out with that cherry, it was a light “Aboriginal” shade. It was far prettier than the veneer Totem now use.
And wouldn’t you know it, in the April 1993 Stereophile was an enchanting review of the Model 1.
Alas, at that time, I was still in college. When the mid-90s rolled around, Totem started adding features which would culminate in the “Signature” version. I kept coming back to the M1S. But audiophiles kept saying, for the price, get a bigger speaker.
Because I have lived with Totem’s M1S, The One, and Element Ember, I am constantly receiving e-mails about how they compare to each other, and to the competitors’ similar-sized models.
I can’t make decisions for anyone else. As an audiophile, I feel an obligation to share my experiences, so that others may learn from them. As a reviewer, it is my responsibility to arm my readers with enough information, so that they can make better decisions. I cover such facets as burn-in, ergonomics, aesthetics, heat, noise, bi-wiring, associated gear, and history. A reader can inventory her own tastes, budget, and timeline, read my reviews, and go, “Nope, Product X won’t work for me.” Which means I’ve done my job.
Or, same audiophile can say, “Hmmm, from Lummy has written, I think this product might work, and is at least worth checking out.”
And yes, many of my readers have no interest whatsoever in the products I review. They are in it, because they want me to chronicle popular music. They want me to reveal where I was, who were around, what I was doing, and how I felt, when I used to listen to this music. At least twice a month, someone will e-mail, saying that s/he can’t go out to the Bay Area or Hawaii. Thus, these people want to live vicariously through me. So, the more photos and anecdotes I put up, the happier my readers are.
As an avid fan/owner of the original Totem Acoustics Model Ones, I've to say that in my case, the only worthwhile upgrade in my mind is the One 20th Anniversay Edition, as Lummy has mentioned, yet I'd have to go out on a limb here and say the best I've heard them to date has always be when they've been driven with tube Integrated's or amps, as far as cabling, I came across a very synergistic match with them as used with CRL Bronze Series cables, as the purity of the copper in their speaker cables seems to have added more weight to the midband as well as fleshed out a more responsive texture in said area if you will, while the hybrid IC has added more insight into the delicate, yet nimble top end in a manner to which I've found soft dome tweeters to gloss over in regards to their abilities to stop and start on a dime.
Some might consider metal dome tweeters as bright/harsh, yet to my mind it done correctly to begin with ( as Totem has done since day zero ), it's very obvious that many more modern designs are actually means of trying to build upon the craze for higher resolution, yet at the expense of texture/tonality/purity of notes.
In my system/home, there's more then enough low end impact as the volume hits 10 o'clock setting, so much so, I feel I'd never need more, and have to ask myself at times, just how others hear/perceive bass?, I mean if one is accustomed to listening to say a live jazz trio or an acoustic event, have tgey ever seriously paid attention to how the bass notes actually seen to roll around the very bottom of the floor/setting?, and aren't as pronounced as some would've us believe, to my mind bass between say 40 - 55Hz, being that I'm a jazz lover and never listen to head banger type music am more then content with purity as opposed to boom boom or rumbling fake bass lines any day of the week.
While some speakers are all about flash and grabbing ones attention short term, it's when we as music lovers begin to understand and appreciate the finer lines between transparency/neutrality and musicality that we should sometime ask ourselves - what sounds more natural?, something's stand the test of time, while others seem to have to offer resolution as a means of making one feel as if they've reached that point of what I often term
The Abso!ute Illusion.
If any given component has the capabilities of speaking to your soul and draws you into the musical venue on a purely emotional level, then what else is needed?.
Purity of note versus one of mere sound, I just can't understand the concept. Call me biased to what I hear as a very musically correct speaker, and I'd raise my hands gladly, but as the old saying goes - something's sound different, but when do we know if it's actually better?, and not just different?. Lateral movements does not a system make.
Enjoy what you've, and find means of voicing it to fit your needs instead of moving onto something that merely sounds different, to which you might regret later..........
Regards,
O_o scar
Very well put, and agreed. I too love jazz and listen to lots of acoustic bass. I also listen to rock music, but not metal, more along the lines of Traffic, Joni Mitchell, Richard Thompson (featuring Danny Thompson's awesome acoustic bass). I am not looking for LOUD bass, but I do want to more easily hear the bass line on certain recordings. I love the Totem M1S in every other regard. Maybe I should consider speaker cable, which is currently Totem Tress bi-wire, bananas on both ends. The bananas on the amp end are not ideal for the Ayre, I am using them but the amp end would be better with spades.
Before you make any cable moves, you need to put the Tress and the rest of your cables onto a proper cable burn-in device, such as the Nordost VIDAR, Hagerman FryKleaner, or audiodharma Cable Cooker.
+1 agreed!
And I too have purchased tubes from him and tubes he's recommended to me. The guy has never missed a beat in his recommendations. so I suggest if you want to stick around, you'd be better off by not picking a fight with the members here. We can all do without your drive by postings.
Agreed 100%. I've bought tubes from Oscar and have had many productive and friendly audio discussions with him. No one here, especially Oscar, needs or wants the obnoxious/ aggressive input from this first time poster.
Thanks for understanding my statements in this regards, as it's heartfelt. As mentioned you'd easily move onto something for the sake of difference, yet still not have what you've at this very moment, weird thing is as my original Totem Model Ones were intended upon my recommendation for an ex-friend as something to which I felt would match the sonics of his Sophia Electric 126S integrated, and vowed that if tgey didn't?, I'd be more then willing to trade him for my once loved and cherished Devore Fidelity Gibbon 3s no questions or difference in funds needed.
Long story short ( yeah right, as if ) he didn't get the same sort of bass response in his system/room that I'm obtaining from them, and in my room..........., what I'm hearing is more then enough, in hindsight they proved a much much better match in my home/sysystem to the point, where I'm the happiest I've been in 32 years of this hobby, so in taking it upon myself to find the best amp for my needs/ears ( EL84 Integrated ) and then matching them with the CRL Bronze LS Cables only fleshed out every little hidden detail which was there to begin with, yet made everything and I mean literally everything seem as if for the first time in my entire life, as if the system as a whole had a " purpose ".
So much so, that the only items I pursue these days are tubes and tunes, because in my mind once we've taken our systems as far as our minds/budgets allow!, what else needs to be done, beside invest in ones music collection, an expensive system is nice to own, yet serves its purpose not without music to hear back through it, and only limiting oneself to the top 30 greatest sounding Audiophile approved 30 CDs or LPs, does not a system make.
Try to at least borrow said Cable Research Labs Bronze or better still Copper Series Cables through the Cable Company, as you owe this one to yourself before deciding to move onwards or laterally without knowing just what these speakers are capable of............., the great thing about it is, you only have to invest in these cables once, if in fact you are capable of hearing what I am?, and what I hear has me off the bandwagon chasing components until something is broken?, otherwise.............., I'm content/happy being in the state of mind/bliss I'm in at this very moment in my life, as there should come a point in all of our life's where we've to ask ourselves - when is good enough, enough!.
Therein lies my sense of logic/rationale - hearing is believing, but in order to hear, one must be open-minded enough to find their own " truths ". ( I know, I know ) but it's true, lest we allow others to dictate what we should be hearing?, when in fact some aren't willing to admit tgey themselves, don't know what to listen for!, whom do we trust?, their ears instead of our own?, I think not!.
Regards,
O_ o scar
...I have extensively and comprehensively reviewed (a) The One and (b) the Element Ember. I have indeed done comparisons to the M1S.Click on my moniker, go to my homepage. Search the tags for "Totem," and the tens of posts will show up.
If you keep everything the same, and then replace the M1S with The One, the treble will open up. This finally unlocks the air and space of the top 1/3 of the soundstage. It also has the effect of giving more breathing room for the mids and (upper) bass. Imaging becomes more discrete. And the bass range isn't as constricted.
The Element Ember is bigger than the M1S/The One, but is in a different league all together. With your Ayre gear, the Ember will shine. If you play, for example, OMD's English Electric , your guests will marvel at the tight, punchy, kick-butt reach in the bass. They will start looking for the mythical built-in subwoofer in the speaker stands.
In a 12x12 room, both The One and Element Ember will succeed. They can be close together, relatively near the wall behind them. They fire straight ahead, no toe-in.
-Lummy The Loch Monster.
Edits: 08/24/14
Very nice blog. I have a couple of dealers nearby (my original dealre no longer carries Totem) so hopefully I can see these soon. Wondering about price on Element Ember?
..on Speaker Asylum, I created a post, listing all of my posts regarding the Totem Element Ember.
The Ember is only available in two colors: Ice white or Dusk black. They show up on the used market, and that's where I'd get a pair. But anyway, users who are used to and like Totem's wood veneers may or may not like the high-gloss "Design" finishes.
12x12 is a small room. By the time you add racks, equipment, furniture, said room becomes even more claustrophobic. Any speaker larger than the Ember will overload a 12x12 room with excess bass.
A 12x12 room doesn't allow for many guests. Well, back in college, our rooms were 12x12, and we packed 'em in during weekend parties. But I digress. The Ember is great for including a few other listeners. The Ember sounds fine from anywhere in the room, so those not in the "sweet spot" will still be able to enjoy the music.
Not sure if you have a video game console hooked up to your Ayre system. But if you do, video game sound comes across as very thrilling, via the Ember. Why? The Ember has the honest speed, accuracy, punch, and spirit, to keep up. So if you play those games where you do dance moves, you'll love the Ember. Just don't get carried away, and start knocking over your system :-)
Thanks for the info. I have small couch and one chair in the room and sometimes have aguest or two. It is mostly just me. Thanks for all of the great info, greatly appreciated.
you are bi-wiring them by connecting the main cables to the highs and the jumpers to the lows or vice versa. Having had the Totem Shaman for many years, instead of using jumper cables, I found that it sounded much better if you connect two separate speaker cable runs to them (see the attached photo).
Perhaps, you should try it to see if you like the sound...
If a thing's worth doing, it's worth doing well
(Proverb)
Most veteran audiophiles are well aware that properly bi-wiring [this can be a discrete shotgun, with separate runs to woofer and tweeter posts; or it can be a specially-designed internal bi-wire model] gets the most out of the speaker.
Incidentally, when I reviewed the MIT Magnum M3.3bw, it was used extensively on Totem's The One.
However, many of my readers and target audience do not have such cables. Thus, whenever I review bi-wireable speakers, I cover the "single wire + jumper" permutations. In the case of the Element Ember and Fire, quite clearly, they perform more accurately when the speaker cable goes first to the woofer posts.
When I reviewed the Arro, Model 1 Signature, Hawk, The One, Forest, and Mani-2 Signature, these non-Element series models all preferred the single-wire going first to the tweeter post.
Did you play around with bi-wire permutations on the Shaman?
but, I didn't like the sound and I also use a single wire config. using the short run of Nordost Valhalla speaker cable as jumpers, the sound however, was much better than the bi-wiring configuration.What I have now is the best of both worlds where I use a pair of Transparent Audio Ultra speakers cables on the low end and MIT CVT MH 770 Twin terminators speaker cables on the top end and vice versa. The sound is very well balanced from top to bottom.
If a thing's worth doing, it's worth doing well
(Proverb)
Edits: 08/25/14
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