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I bought a pair of Totem Arro floorstanding speakers about a month ago. It is was a demo pair, but the speakers appeared to be in perfect condition in the store, both cosmetically and sonically. In my home, they have performed admirably, until tonight. I was listening to James Taylor's *Hourglass* CD and noticed a problem during "Gaia". If you are familiar with "Gaia", you know there is a powerful percussion segment at about 4:20. At this point, I heard what I thought at first was static coming from the left speaker. I played this section of "Gaia" a few times with the grill removed so I could observe the woofer. First of all, I noticed no cracks in the woofer whatsoever. However, during this percussion segment, I noticed that what I thought was static was the rubber woofer flapping a bit. Thus, I was hearing a "tap, tap, tap" sound as the woofer vibrated.The Arros replaced an inexpensive pair of Energy e:XL 16 bookshelf speaker, which I found do not exhibit this flapping sound during "Gaia". Therefore, it is clear that this sound is not inherent to the recording. I've listened to "Gaia" many times since buying the Arros and never noticed this flapping sound until tonight. The left speaker looks to be in good condition, and I cannot tell that the rubber is loose. Still, I can't help but feel that I should not be hearing this flapping sound. For what it's worth, I don't abuse my speakers by listening to music too loudly. Still, the Arros are well regarded and should last. Has anyone experienced such flapping sounds with Arros? For now, it looks like I will be calling the store I bought them from to discuss what can be done about the problem. Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.
Follow Ups:
I recently bought a pair of Arro's and have been very satisfied. I
have not yet experienced what you are describing, but I am actually
very happy with the bass response of these speakers. I have listened
to rock, country, and rap muaic and find that although they are
not the best bass producers, they certainly provide a great
foundation for all types of music except maybe pipe organs. I suspect
that I am subconsciously filling in the rest of the bass tones.
While they don't plumb the depths of bass, the tradeoff is that the
bass is extremely quick and accurate.Granted I am listening to them
in a smaller room(12x15), but I do listen at levels that are
normal, comfortably loud levels. Actually, the bass response is much
better than I expected given their dimensions and the size of the
woofer. Other than this problem, how do you like the Arro's?
Thanks for your replies. It is true that the Arros have a small woofer, so loud, low bass could push them past their limits. I called the dealer I bought them from, and the salesman said that it could also be a function of the recording. He is a recording engineer as well as an audio salesman, and he said certain recordings employ a low-frequency cut-off, while others do not. He said something to that effect. He put it more eloquently than I did. Anyway, he said that the James Taylor recording may not have had such a cut-off applied, so very low frequencies that the Arros cannot handle could be coming through (Totem rates the Arros down to 40 Hz).One suggestion the salesman made is that I turn the "Soft Clipping" feature on my NAD C 370 amp off. He said that may help matters. He also suggested I buy a frequency sweep test disc to make sure there is nothing wrong with the speaker. For now, I am going to go to the store and listen to the Taylor disc on their current demo pair of Arros to determine if they behave as mine do. One thing I am thinking is that maybe I should upgrade to the Sttafs. They retail for $1500, while the Arros retail for $1100. The difference in price isn't huge. I bought a demo pair of Arros for $895, so maybe I could get a demo pair of Sttafs for a $300-400 more. This, of course, hinges on determining that what I am hearing from my Arros is inherent to the design such that the dealer would take them back in an exchange.
Hi 9Fold,
What you are experiencing is "normal". That particular passage contains
much infrasonic energy, and it is unreasonable to expect a small
cone to reproduce those fundamentals at realistic levels.
An amplifier with a good damping factor spec would certainly
help by offering better control over the small woofer.
Incidentally, is`nt that a great cd?
Hope this helps.
M.F.
I owned a pair of arrows, the woofers are very small and do tend to pop when pushed, they are a nice speaker at low volumes, after awhile the popping got anoying so I sold them, if you like the sound of the totems I would suggest moving up to the tabu. good luck
I think adding a powered subwoofer would help - it would relieve your Totems from having to reproduce the full-range of a recordingby themselves. You might also get better soundstaging.Just an idea - discuss it/try it out at you dealer - Chr3is
Thanks for the info. I definitely like the sound of the Totem Arros. If the problem I am having is inherent to the design of the Arros, I might look at the Sttafs, which are one step up, but only $400 more than the Arros. Anyway, I will call my dealer today. Maybe they have another pair of Arros on display that I can try and possibly a pair of Sttafs.
I agree with panzer. I also owned a pair of Arro's. I've never seen an easier speaker to bottom out. Wait till you play something that makes the woofers CRACK! While having an illusion of bass, the limitations of the Arro drove me nuts. I think it's a crime that all the reviews gushed over this speaker but never mentioned this problem. All I can tell you is don't turn them up.
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