Speaker Asylum: REVIEW: Totem Acoustics Rainmaker Speakers by hairydog

Model:	Rainmaker
Category:	Speakers
Suggested Retail Price:	$950
Description:	Monitor
Manufacturer URL:	Totem Acoustics
Manufacturer URL:	Totem Acoustics

Review by hairydog on March 08, 2005 at 21:03:04
IP Address: 70.21.22.8

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The Totem Rainmaker is standmount monitor. I got a pair in cherry, which looks nice (the cherry price is $1050). When you pick up a Rainmaker, it feels lighter than you expect. The low mass is also evident with the "knuckle test". Overall I'd say the build qulaity is good, not exceptional. Both the Epos ES 11 and Monitor audio studio 2 I have had have better build quality and finish. But it's the sound that counts. My pair have a little over one hundred hours, I liked 'em out of the box, but they open up a bit and get more coherent once broken in.
The Rainmaker is a very good speaker. It works well with my amp which has 40 watts into 4 ohms. I emailed Totem to ask about whether my amp would work well and other general questions about the speaker before auditioning, they replied promptly and were very helpful.
I was looking for a monitor speaker with some more bass extension. I tried the Triangle Comet since it had high efficiency, and more bass extension than my monitor audio studio 2, but found them not to be "keepers" (see review elsewhere). Efficency is'nt everything, however, and it does'nt seem that Totem overstated the specs at all, I get a good volume level in my smallish room, and these things go down to 40hz for real. They work well with all kinds of music also.
With rock guitar, they are exciting with good bite and powerful bass. Jimi Hendrix "live at Berkely 2nd show" sounds amazing. They actually beat the model one during a comparison audition with the Hendrix disc. With the model one his guitar was too shrill. The model one is a good speaker, but it pretty much demands a good recording. The Rainmaker is more musical but still has excellent detail.
The Rainmaker has very impressive bass extension. With the intro to "telegraph road" by Dire Straits, and "Time" or "Is there anybody out there" by Pink Floyd the Rainmaker goes down cleanly. Certain tracks with electronic synth bass seem exagerated though- like "Voices carry" by Til Tuesday. This is the best speaker I have used when playing rock music- dynamic and involving.
The Rainmaker is very good with jazz too. Sax sounds full and dynamic, trumpet has good presence, and acoustic bass is given believable weight, with maybe a slight loss of "tightness". Coltranes sax on the first track of "Settin' the pace" sounds very lifelike. Well recorded Piano trios like Chick Corea "acoustic band" sound excellent. I don't really hear the "parched" quality mentioned in the absolute sound review with piano. This speaker is enjoyable with jazz, giving a sense of realism that belies their size and price.
They do classical symphonies and piano concertos well, giving a spacious presentation- wide and deep stage with impressive scale, cellos are handled easily, and piano concertos have good hall ambience with capable recordings. Solo violin, and chamber music violin does have some dryness or "parchiness", but I don't hear this quality with massed violins. I like the speaker with classical music concertos and symphonies. They are acceptable with chamber music, but that is not my main listening, so I can overlook this weakness.
I feel vocals are generally handled well- Fleetwood Mac "Dreams" sounds great with Stevie Nicks lead and double tracked background vocals. Male vocals are done well. "Don't take me Alive" by Steely Dan is 3D on the lead and backround vocals and the guitars........man this track sounds good. With certain female vocalists, there is slight loss of expression and openness in the upper midrange. Some call this "nasal", I don't know if I'd describe it as this since I perceive it as more of a notch drop somewhere in the voice range. Vocals still sound natural. It is a fault, but nothing major, considering the speakers other strengths.
To sum up, the Rainmaker is speaker that has the power of a floorstander with the imaging and detail of a good monitor. They are exciting AND musical, which is'nt easy to find, especially at this price. The Rainmaker does alot of things right and not that many things wrong. No speaker is perfect, but I'd rather spend a grand on a pair of speakers I can live with because they all do something wrong regardless of cost. You can really get alot of bang for the buck at this price point. These Rainmakers were just the ticket, the more I listen, the more I like them. There is now a foundation in the low end that I was missing with my previous speaker and I am getting good musical detail on top of that. If you are looking for a good monitor for about a grand, check 'em out since this review is only my experience with them, but maybe you'll like them too.

Product Weakness: Solo Violin a bit dry. Loss of expressiveness with certain female vocals. Not an easy amp load.
Product Strengths: Dynamic. Good bass extension. Detailed. Image well

Associated Equipment for this Review:
Amplifier:	Pass Aleph 30
Preamplifier (or None if Integrated):	AR LS 3
Sources (CDP/Turntable):	Rega
Speakers:	rainmaker
Cables/Interconnects:	DH labs/ Wireworld
Music Used (Genre/Selections):	Rock, Jazz, Classical
Room Size (LxWxH):	14 x 12 x 8
Room Comments/Treatments:	a good sounding room
Time Period/Length of Audition:	one month
Other (Power Conditioner etc.):	Monster
Type of Audition/Review:	Product Owner

Product Weakness:	Solo Violin a bit dry. Loss of expressiveness with certain female vocals. Not an easy amp load.
Product Strengths:	Dynamic. Good bass extension. Detailed. Image well