Reference3a vs Totem Hawks....

LuSh

Anybody listened to the Reference3a MM decapo I's? I've outgrown my LSi9's....this will be my last upgrade for a long time. I can't afford to play this game anymore, I'll simply leave it at this and learn to live with the music it produces. What appeals to me about the ref3a's is the almost crossoverless tweeter, and 8 inch driver in a bookshelve. They are incrediblely efficient as well.

The totems, people either like em or hate em. I've listened to Totem Mani II's on a SimAudio W-3, Anthem setup but I hated them, partly because the room was too bright. I'm still interested in the Speakers though. I'm not sure if the Hawk would be pushed enough by my intergrated. I emailed Totem, they recommend Simaudio products with their speakers but said they don't think it would be as dynamic as the Forrest speakers.

www.reference3a.com
www.totemacoustic.com

for those interested.

tryrrthg

I listened to some Reference3a MM decapo a year or so ago (not sure if it was the I version). I believe They were running off all Classe gear. Only spent 15 minutes or so with them but they sounded VERY good, but were VERY ugly. Not sure what they cost but I'm sure they would give my Dynaudio's a run for their money. They are DEFINITELY worth a listen.

I've never heard the Totem so I can't comment on those.

dkg999

tryrrthg - tell me about the Dynaudio's? I love the looks, the specs look impressive, and most of the comments are very positive. I have seen the evaluation pretty evenly split between being very neutral to being warm sounding. I have seen several sets of contour 3's go pretty reasonable here in the Chicago area. I have not been able to find any to listen to, but they are on my list of speakers that intrigue me. How is the soundstage?

Thanks!

gmorris

I've heard Tryrrthg's setup. Those Dyns are awesome. Each time I heard them, I always remarked how "real" they sound. Especially piano, sounds very live & real.

And the bass, forget about it. Awesome.

dkg999

My listening runs from hard rock (Metallica, Black Sabbath, AudioSlave, etc.) to softer rock such as Harry Chapin, Mindy Smith, CSNY ..... with a little jazz, blues, country, and folk mixed in! I don't listen at real loud volumes anymore. How do you feel the Dynaudio's will perform with this mix of music? I ask because some speakers are definetely better at piano, orchestra, etc. and don't work real well for the wide mix of music I listen to. As an example, I really like Magnepans, but to me they seem to start to fall apart on SQ when you crank up Metallica, Rush, Nickelback, etc.

mantis

Let me jump in here for a minute....

Dynaudio's don't care what you play, they don't care how loud you play them, they sound better then anything made on this planet or the next one down the solar system.

Dynaudio in my opnion are the very best. the ones I want to own one day. From there Audience line all the way to the top Masters , I feel nothing sounds better at any price.

Totems are very good sounding speakers. They use Dynaudio Drivers here and there. There Higher end speakers use Dynaudio drivers.Totem wants to be as good as Dynaudio.........there not there in my opnion.

After you experience Dynaudio theres no going back.....

gmorris

I also am a huge Audioslave fan, and have heard them on Tryrrthg's Dyn's. Great. Enough said. Mantis sums it up just about perfectly.

dkg999

Would the Contour 1.8's be a good introduction to these speakers? I see them come up for sale pretty often and they seem to go for reasonable amounts. Even though Dynaudio USA is headquartered here in Chicago, the dealers listed on their website don't stock them. Hopefully I can find a dealer while I am travelling on business that has them in stock and I can listen to them.

jmierzur

Originally posted by mantis
Totems are very good sounding speakers. They use Dynaudio Drivers here and there. There Higher end speakers use Dynaudio drivers.Totem wants to be as good as Dynaudio.........there not there in my opnion.

Dynaudio does not supply drivers to speaker manufacturers anymore. Totem did use Dyn drivers upto about 2-3 years ago.


I agree with Mantis, Dynaudio speakers are great products. Mantis, would the Contour S3.4 match with the LSi center if I was to replace my LSi speakers in steps? This would be temporary until I could get the matching center. There are no dealers in the general area anymore since the North Amerian distribution changes 3 years ago. I would need to travel a great distance to see the Dyn's again.

dkg999, the Contour 1.8 is an older model. I do not believe they are still in production. That might be why you can not find them at a retailers show room.

mantis

jmierzur,

no they wouldn't match at all. They have a totally different sound.

You can run it that way untill you get up the money to get the contour center. Your call.

Last I saw which was this year was the winds , Model ones had Dynaudio drivers in them. Dynaudio drivers are unique looking.If Dyanudio didn't make them , then someone is coping them exactly.

The S3.4 s are incredible. I hope you have really good amps to drive them. They are one of the very best sounding speakers I have ever heard.

One day I will go Dyandio , actually I believe my next upgrade will be.

gatemplin

Last I saw which was this year was the winds , Model ones had Dynaudio drivers in them. Dynaudio drivers are unique looking.If Dyanudio didn't make them , then someone is coping them exactly.

I was listening to some Totems the other day. Sounded pretty damn good to me. I suspect that they used Hi Vi Research woofers like the ones below. Even though they copied the look of the Dynaudio woofers they are still very high quality. These were made by the Jon Mark Hancock for his daughter.

mantis

Looks like a Dynaudio Driver to me.Damn good copy.

Sweet looking spekaers.I bet they sound good.

tryrrthg

Originally posted by dkg999
tryrrthg - tell me about the Dynaudio's? I love the looks, the specs look impressive, and most of the comments are very positive. I have seen the evaluation pretty evenly split between being very neutral to being warm sounding. I have seen several sets of contour 3's go pretty reasonable here in the Chicago area. I have not been able to find any to listen to, but they are on my list of speakers that intrigue me. How is the soundstage?

Thanks!

sorry for the slow reply. I was out of town for the holidays.

I have the 1.3mkII and love them. They sound as good as the gear you have running them. They do like room to breathe. I have mine in a 10' x 11.5' room and they sound good but would sound MUCH better with some more room to breathe. They never sound small in any way. Very dynamic for their size. These reviews pretty much sum up my speakers perfectly:

Soundstage Review

Stereophile Review

As for the 1.8, I would look at the 1.3SE before I would get the 1.8. and if you can swing it go for the Special 25. I haven't heard the special 25 or the new contour line but have heard the 1.3SE and it is FANTASTIC!

Lush, sorry for the derail. have you considered Dynaudio's?

tryrrthg

Oh, forgot to mention. I'm a HUGE Metallica fan and the Dyn's rock VERY well. However, given the poor recording quality on a lot of rock music the Dyn's will show you just how bad the recordings are. They are a neutral speaker so they'll sound like the equipment you run them with.

LuSh

No I haven't I usually prefer to buy Canadian because of costs. I think it is crazy to suggest one speaker is the ultimate....

Once you reach a certain level I'm not so sure its about performance anymore but more to do with how the speaker is built. Dynaudio's are a fine sounding speaker I'm sure but so are Kharma's and Wilson Audio's....Reference 3a makes a $12k pair of speakers UHF used as their reference for a long time...They could have afforded more but felt that the reference3a were the best suited for their gear and needs. Regardless, maybe I'll check them out. The MM De Capo's are the ones I really want to check out.