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In Reply to: RE: thoughts on upgrading my Totem M1S posted by el34eh@yahoo.com on August 27, 2014 at 10:09:57
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.
Follow Ups:
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.
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