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Speaker Asylum General speaker questions for audio and home theater. |
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Speaker Asylum General speaker questions for audio and home theater. |
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About the Totem Sky, an Inmate emailed, "Goddamnit Lummy, make yourself useful. You've got all that experience. You've got all those connections. Get your s--- together, and do more shootouts and comparisons!"
Once again, Totem Acoustic got their start in 1987-88, my junior year. In the senior class was my friend, Patrick. Lo and behold, as I was befriending stray (i.e., they were not in cliques) freshmen girls, Patrick's sister, Sandy [you can learn more about her, by going to Cable Asylum, and checking out Part 3 of the Kimber 4TC series], was one of them. Though we were interested in consumer electronics, we weren't really aware of "high-end audio." The catalogs, literature, magazines, and newspapers seemed to have this bias, against minimonitor loudspeakers. We did not know why, but these publications cited the ProAc Tablette as the poster child of evil, bass-less, rising top, "screaming banshee" minimonitors. So those were the market and culture Totem's birth year was up against.
In the late-90s, my friends and I were still going around in small economy cars. Just like an under-powered home stereo system, these smalls cars seemed to back down, from, for example, going up to Reno/Tahoe, or traversing the Grapevine. Even if you were going up to the Sierras to play in the snow, these small cars forced you to pack lightly. Your girlfriends did leave space, in case they bought stuff on trips. But most of the time, they picked up physically small items, such as trinkets, artisan bath products, footwear, bikinis, and a t-shirt.
Those trips were not about material goods. They were about exploring, the physical activities, sightseeing, getting away from the stress and demands of Bay Area life, the company, trying new cuisines, and meeting friends who lived elsewhere. The girls had so much fun, singing along to Neil Sedaka's "Laughter In The Rain;" Peabo Bryson's "If Ever You're In My Arms Again;" and, uh oh, Sheena Easton's "Sugar Walls." Regarding the latter's subject matter, you just shrugged, held your nose, and realized, "Damn, this Prince-penned song is infectious!" As for new songs from 1999-2000, you and the three girls loved teaming up for BBMak's "Back Here."
"OMG, the short shorts!" gawks Sandy. Oh well, California's climate was warm and dry, so you did not need bulky clothes. That kept with the "small things" theme. And if you were okay with short shorts and skimpy tops, you were okay with the concept of minimonitors.
On the way back from a Carmel/Monterey/Santa Cruz getaway, Sandy stopped off at The Analog Room, in San Jose. The salesman was smoking a cigar, which irked Sandy [none of my friends smokes]. TAR carried the similar in size and price ProAc Response One SC and Totem Model 1 Signature (the Sky's predecessor). The guy said that, overall, he felt the ProAc was the better speaker. But for some customers, the Totem would be preferred.
The ProAc's Michell [Sandy asked why the last "e" was missing, and the guy said that it was not "Michelle," but "Mee-shell"] binding posts were recessed, which made connecting spades tricky. But at least the Michell posts, unlike the Sky's awful stair-step model, did accept spades.
Sandy's head hair started to turn gray. Months later, Sandy and I went to Sound Perfection, in Menlo Park. They had a wall full of Conrad-Johnson and McIntosh gear, surrounded by a phalanx of loudspeakers. Most of their ProAc demos, including the Response One SC, were in dark colors. "Eew," gawked Sandy, "Those are ugly, like my kitchen cabinets. But I wish my hair was still that dark!"
We ended up getting the ProAc Response One SC in the gorgeous bird's eye maple. For a listener in the sweet spot, the sound opens up, and comes into focus, if you toe-in the One SC, with the tweeters to the inside. But this setup, by the same token, means that listeners not in the sweet spot do experience a more warped and squashed soundstage. Note that, unlike current-production, those Sound Anchors stands were in white.
In the late-2000s, we had a second pair of ProAc One SC, this time in standard maple. Here, it was used with the austere and rhythmically static Jeff Rowland Continuum 250, and translucent and resolving Nordost Odin -- a bad match. The One SC really preferred a more organic midrange, and something to tame its, in the wrong setup, "boom & sizzle" tonal balance." Cardas' better speaker cables were good matches for the One SC.
If you like to soak in orchestral works, or kick back and smoke while listening to contemporary Hawaiian music, the ProAc One SC is excellent.
Let's face it; Totem really should bring back their beautiful maple veneer, which was an option for the Model 1 Signature.
The Totem Sky really latches on to XLO's higher-end models, such as the original Reference Type 5. With the musical speed, focused imaging, electric guitar bite and wail, snare drum snap, and kick drum alacrity, the Sky ROCKS, and grips you like few others of this size and price.
If you are the type, who can't sit still, and just has to energetically and emotionally play and sing along to the music, the Sky will put you back with your three girlfriends, rambling down California's bad roads, not a care in the world. "Well," interjects Sandy, "The latter isn't quite true. With these speakers [the Sky], you WILL care about the music. Bring it on, and turn it up!"
The ProAc Response One SC is fuller and looser, in the upper bass. With the Totem Sky, there is no overhang, in the bass. The bass range loses mass and body, but it is detailed, tight, electric, funky (in the best sense of the word), and directional. Though the Sky won't move air, you still, with high quality sources and amplification, will "see" the waves of bass.
BBMak's "Back Here" will have you and the three girls pretending to strum guitars. The one caveat is that, if one of the girls sits or stands in front of one of the speakers, the Sky will not wrap around her. Thus, her body will block the sound coming out of that speaker, and the other three listeners will be left with just the other channel.
Since taking receipt of the Totem Sky, I have observed visitors really getting into the music. And at the same time, so satisfied with the musical experience, they are inspired to go out. Sometimes, that means hiking, swimming, kayaking, and bicycling. Other times, it leads to shopping for household items. It commonly nudges guests to suggest, "What should we get to eat?," and "Let's get boba!"
Uh oh; many of our kids are now in high school. The Totem Sky satisfies musically, which makes you get up, and take the kids on college campus tours. When they ask what crazy things you did in college, mutter, "I dabbled in boring stuff, like high-end audio." Or plead the fifth!
Personally, I have not lived with any iteration of the ProAc Tablette. But if you get the chance to hear the ProAc One SC and Totem Sky in a modest or small-to-mid-sized room, both are excellent, and prove the old publications wrong. If, for some reason, you narrow the choice between the two, I am not going to decide for you. My job is to arm you with information, so you have the freedom, capability, and time to become an educated shopper.
-Lummy The Loch Monster
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Topic - Totem Sky, Part 11 - Luminator 23:14:52 03/28/21 (7)
- Hmmmm, that guy in the Slugs tee shirt, I don't know... - oldmkvi 08:29:19 03/30/21 (3)
- Literally shady! - Luminator 08:50:30 03/30/21 (2)
- Better than Drug Deal! And they last longer... - oldmkvi 09:05:58 03/30/21 (1)
- Indeed! - Luminator 12:32:02 03/30/21 (0)
- Great write up...so? - G Squared 05:59:00 03/30/21 (1)
- "System dependent," "Different but equal," "Personal preference" - Luminator 11:52:49 03/30/21 (0)
- RE: Totem Sky, Part 11 - fantja 00:02:04 03/30/21 (0)
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