Listening to Totem Hawks @ Archive Audio, Dublin OH.

SolidSqual

http://www.archiveaudio.biz/

Mr. Bob Kirk seems to be an excellent host. I have an appointment to meet with him next week to demo a pair of Totem Hawks. I'm already 90% sure I will be purchasing these bad boys. Can anyone give me any tips when demoing products of this level? Honestly, this is my first one on one demo. I've never had the priviledge in the past.

Also, how do you guys feel about the Cambridge Audio Azur 640A V.2 which he is using to power the Hawks in one of his recommended systems? The unit is only $600. My NADC272 and Rogue Audio Metis Combo ($1800 value +/-) better blow that integrated amp out of the water. What is your take? IS he under powering? HE says you'd be surprised high little wattage it takes to create truly beautiful sound. I'm not concerned about wattage, but I hesitate to believe that a $600 amp should be paired with a $2600 set of speakers.

tryrrthg

I've always wanted to check that place out but I'd probably never buy anything so I didn't want to waste his time...

SolidSqual

Where do you get your gear? You have some nice stuff. Now I gotta figure out if I want to keep my Lsi15s and Rainmakers. . . I don't think I can part with either of them. Even if I don't listen to them as much as I do now. I want to keep them around. I just like to look at them. Perhaps I can save them for when I move into a larger place and spread my audio systems out into several rooms.

tryrrthg

SolidSqual wrote: »

Where do you get your gear? You have some nice stuff.

Audiogon, except my preamp, I got that here.

haimoc

You might want to bring your favorite CDs to the store. If the store has Plinius, SimAudio, or BAT, ask them to drive the Hawk with it. After you know what amp you like, try CD players and decide which one you like the most. You won't be disappointed.

SolidSqual

I plan on writing a review of the Home/Audio Shop after my appointment next week. I gotta say after talking to Bob on the phone, he makes you feel comfortable and exudes an aura of trust and respect. This may be a good or a bad thing, but as a young guy I hate walking into high-end audio stores and feeling as though I have some rotting disease. I've resorted to wearing dress pants and a tie, as most salesmen can't fathom that a kid who looks like me actually has the funds to finance this hobby and the kind of equipment I am currently looking at.

For instance, I was prepared to buy a $900 Gorgeous Sony SACD player from this store on Bethel Rd. in Columbus near the 315 ramps, the salesman ignored me for other customers who came in later, then once I had his attention he laughed at me when I asked how much he wanted for the unit saying, "No no that's top of the line . . . let me show you something you probably could afford." HAHA I gotta laugh. . . but it still urks me.

I'm 24. I have an awesome job. I manage my money better than most people twice my age and yet I get no respect. Why? Well here's the kicker . . . I work for Abercrombie & Fitch in their legal department. So naturally . . . I wear their clothes (kind of an unsaid company rule.) The clothes are nearly free for me, but I guess holey jeans and a t-shirt make me look like a teenager who still lives off his parents and delivers newspapers. At any rate, free clothes allows me to save even more money for Law school and audio.

SolidSqual

I plan on bringing

Patricia Barber - Companion SACD
Santana - Abraxas SACD
Diana Krall - Long Songs SACD
Pink Floyd - Dark Side of the Moon DVD-A
Tool - 10,000 Redbook
Santana - Caravanserai SACD

haimoc

I think you have enough good CDs in different area to test with.
For vocal, Diana Krall should be fine. One of my favorite CDs to test midrange is Getz/Gilberto.
In place of Santana music type taste, I'd like Paul Brown, The City.

JimBRICK

I heard the hawks in sudbury ontario in an audio shop that was selling them on consignment. I fell in love with Them. They looked as beautiful as they sounded. I didnt think a single woofer speaker could have so much range til I heard those. The salesman had them powered off a macintosh integrated amp on consignment as well. So the set up was alot outta my price range

venomclan

SolidSqual wrote: »

I plan on bringing

Patricia Barber - Companion SACD
Santana - Abraxas SACD
Diana Krall - Long Songs SACD
Pink Floyd - Dark Side of the Moon DVD-A
Tool - 10,000 Redbook
Santana - Caravanserai SACD

Bring Tool's Lateralus and play Reflections (11th Song). I use that song to demo a lot of speakers. Right in 2 from 10000 is a good one too, very fast and layered. Sounded good on the B&W 804S.
V

Early B.

SolidSqual wrote: »

http://www.archiveaudio.biz/

Mr. Bob Kirk seems to be an excellent host. I have an appointment to meet with him next week to demo a pair of Totem Hawks. I'm already 90% sure I will be purchasing these bad boys. Can anyone give me any tips when demoing products of this level? Honestly, this is my first one on one demo. I've never had the priviledge in the past.

Before you whip out your checkbook, take the speakers home and do your demo.

SolidSqual

Bob said I was welcome to check it out in my home after paying a deposit.

LuSh

Hi Solid,

I have the Totem Sttaf's and to be honset they're not really my cup of tea. I'm slightly older then you but grew up in the 90's when music like Massive Attack and Nirvana was in full force. While my jazz collection is growing I still consider myself a true blue rocker dude (My air guitar is incredible btw). I have a few Diana Krall CD's and to be frank I can't stand her and most of her stuff will make any system sing; I can understand why people would use her as a reference point if they listened to Jazz exclusively...or wanted to sell speakers to a potential client.

The Totem's imho are very colored...the Sttaf's in particular have a very laid back sound...in direct comparision to LSI's you're about 10 row's back from the stage. My biggest problem with Totem's was the cabinent...it's VERY coloured. Totem fan's will mention how Totem's sound like music and are natural...I disagree...I'm making a rather bold estimate here but I wouldn't be suprised if 60% of the Totem fans were above the age of 40 and therefore prefer laid back sound and music. The Hawk's are said to have better drivers and a faster presentation (speed is important if you listen to any sort of rock) which might help. I haven considered Hawk's and Dynaudio Focus but haven't had a chance to audition either.

Without knowing exactly what kind of music you're into I would recommend bringing peices that really challenge the Totem's...jazz and softer pieces won't accomplish this. If you're into classic rock try bringing some Led Zep or The Band. If you're into grunge listen to Nivana's Nevermind album, Portishead and Massive Attack or the Gorilla's. Tool would be a good audition.

I checked out your dealers page...I'm sure he's a kind and honest person but I question connecting a $600 amp with $3000 speakers. Perhaps the Sttaf's and Arro's with Cambridge but I dunno about Hawks. Your dealer has one package setup with a Simaudio i-3 and Totem Forrest...if you emailed Totem they'd advise otherwise and they're a big fan of SimAudio. The ideal match with the Hawk is probably a SimAudio i-5 or i5.3 but again don't use my info as the Bible this has just been my experience and I'm sure your dealer know's what he's doing. Don't be afraid to bring music that makes the Hawk's sound bad, if you cater to their strenghts you'll never truely like them when you get them home.

Jim Shearer

I have been looking around at new speakers for a couple years now, and the Totem Hawks are at the top of my list. I suspect you will love them too.

One thing I would suggest when auditioning: bring not only the best recordings you own, but one or two that you enjoy, but are technically flawed in some way. How does a speaker handle a less than fabulous recording? I have many recordings where I really enjoy the performance, but technical quality is poor or mediocre. (e.g. I just love Benny Goodman's 1938 Carnegie Hall concert, even though the technically quality is awful.) Some speakers seem able to make more out of a bad recording than others. Some blow you away on when the recording is great, but make a poor recording unlistenable.

And if you get no respect from the sales people, go somewhere else. I don't want to part w/ good money in a place where they treat me poorly. There isn't much that you can find in only one place.

Cheers, Jim

LuSh

Zero:

I know several people that use the 400xi with Totem's...not that I can't say it's a bad match but alot of dealers in the States have been pairing up Sttaf, Hawks and Forest's with Krell...I don't know many people willing to buy Tubes with a speaker at the Sttaf price points...let alone class - A (which the Krell is until the final output stages.) but I can only assume you're right not having listened. Most dealers in Canada pair Sttaf's with AVR's nowadays...what do you use with the Sttafs?

McCelery

NO FRIKKIN WAY!!!!!

Bob Kirk was my 8th grade English teacher back in 1991. Incidentally, he hooked my dad up with our first "real" stereo, comprising Onkyo and JPW (??) bookshelf speakers. It's great to see he's taken this full time. I'm definitely going to have to drop in to his store when I'm back in the C-bus.

I love our small, small world

venomclan

I also noticed you are running the KAV-400i integrated with the Sttaf. That is actually a bad, bad, match for the speaker. Totem may tell you that it’s a good one, but all they are doing is playing the politically correct game. The Sttaf needs an extremely warm sounding piece, be it vaccume tubes or class A transistors – to really strut its stuff. This isn’t just my ears talking – this is from the man himself. [/QUOTE]

Zero,
Do you feel this way about the Krell because the Totems are on the warm or the cold side? I have never heard Totems before, but if they are on the warm side then the Krell should work well. If they are cold, then a warm sounding amp like tubes would be better imho.
V

SolidSqual

Let me first say, I apologize for coming across prideful. I usually consider myself a very humble person, but this has happen enough to really piss me off royally.

I wish I had more high-end experiecne as you all seem to have. What I can say is that after purchasing a pair of used Totem Rainmakers and hooking them up to my RA Metis and NAD C272, I've never heard a better sound! I love the tonality, the dyanimics and the clarity. Listening to the rainmakers makes me want to own everything Vince makes. I listen to a lot of classic rock from Hendrix with his gypsies to Zeppelin to Aerosmith to Coldplay. The Rainmakers deliver.

Do you guys think I can get by powering the Hawks with my C272 until I have a chance to audition the NAD M3, Krell 400xi, Naim NAit5 and McIntosh MA6300? I've heard a lot of good things about these integrated amps, but I am wondering if I should just get a better amp fed by my Metis. Thoughts?

SolidSqual

I've heard some good things about Plinius with Totems, but the amps are as expensive as McIntosh . . . all in good time. I hope I will have the Totems for many years and many system upgrades. Is this reasonable to assume?

SolidSqual

Oh man, the Signature 30 is not too bad at all. I may have to check that out.

haimoc

SolidSqual wrote: »

I've heard some good things about Plinius with Totems, but the amps are as expensive as McIntosh . . . all in good time. I hope I will have the Totems for many years and many system upgrades. Is this reasonable to assume?

For average listening room size, some owners keeps the Totem speakers for a long time. For me (and a few Totem Forest owners that I know), I never think of letting them go away unless I have to.

As Zero said, "I go through tons of speakers, many of which you could say were much better than my inexpensive set of Sttafs - yet they all come and go.Somehow the Sttaf is the only audio product that has remained in my hands through the years."

SolidSqual

Totem Acoustics had this to say about amplifier choices for Totem Hawks:

sure, we have had great success with :

ARCAM A70/80/90

NAIM NAP 200

ayre v-5

PLINIUS 9100


take care,

TOTEM

venomclan

Zero wrote: »

Venom,

The general sonic character of a Totem is something like this;

A forward and semi aggressive high end
Typically a clean upper mid-range presentation
Warmth in the lower mid-range
Warmth and reasonably tout/quick bass response

The problem with Krell is that it too is fairly aggressive in the high-end, and is more lean and clean in the upper-mid-range. The result is too much of a good thing, resulting in what Lush has encountered; a bright high-end and a thin sounding mid-range. This why warm sounding amplifiers typically compliment many Totems best. The challenge is finding these said amplifiers which are capable of delivering the warm fuzzies while maintaining quick and tuneful bass response.

The Signature 30 is good because it hovers right in between all that. Its not too aggressive, nor is it too warm - has plenty of control with gobs of tone/emotion.

Hi Zero,
Thanks for the Totem info. These sounds almost exactly like my B&W's. I found that the Krell I have really made them shine, but the very detailed high frequencies would sometimes be bright, not too bad but noticable. Dealers who carried Rotel and Krell felt that the Rotel was a better match, warmer presentation. I never tried it though.

The key is to find the right balance. Synergy is essential.
V

sucks2beme

Zero wrote: »

SolidSqueel,

First and foremost; Being close to your age, I can fully understand and even relate to your experiences. I will never forget one of my first visits to a “high end” shop; as soon as I walked in the door I was directed towards the consignment area. You would think in an industry that has lost and continues to lose significant ground in terms of walk-in stores would be more open to anyone that walks through their doors. Yet I digress, hi-fi shops often carry notorious reputations for being snooty. When you encounter those situations, either walk out immediately or casually listen and waste their time until you are satisfied, and then walk out. As far as I’m concerned, they don’t deserve the business.

QUOTE]

At 50, That's not a problem any more.:D But I won't be getting much female attention.:mad:
There are a lot of semi high end shops that push a few big high end brands out at you. These are the places that I hate. No real demos happen there.
There are a few that have demo rooms that work. They will put gear you want to hear in the room. That appears to be what is needed here.
The 640 is not a good match. If they do sound good on the 640, they'll get nothing but better with the higher end electronics.
As far as snooty is concerned, salesmen have to make sure not to eat up their time with dreamers. Talking with them about gear normally clears that up. If you have some good gear, and they know you know good from bad, that will open the door for a real demo. Getting in there during the day is good, too. Saturdays are a horrible day to get a demo.

Some of us like the trade in /consignment area!

tryrrthg

SolidSqual wrote: »

Totem Acoustics had this to say about amplifier choices for Totem Hawks:

sure, we have had great success with :

ARCAM A70/80/90

NAIM NAP 200

ayre v-5

PLINIUS 9100


take care,

TOTEM

I ran the Arcam A85 (pretty much the same as the A90) for a while with my Dynaudio's and it was fantastic. I don't really have a good reason for why I got rid of it other than audiophile syndrome, I wanted to try something else...

SolidSqual

tryrrthg wrote: »

I ran the Arcam A85 (pretty much the same as the A90) for a while with my Dynaudio's and it was fantastic. I don't really have a good reason for why I got rid of it other than audiophile syndrome, I wanted to try something else...

I don't understand the A85 specs:

A85 STEREO INTEGRATED AMPLIFIER

Continuous Power Output Per Channel
Both channels driven 8 Ohms, 20Hz-20kHz 85W

Single channel 4 Ohms, 1kHz 140W

Does this indicate the unit can only run 1 speaker at 4 ohms? I assume note, but can someone please explain the lingo.

SolidSqual

You know what else . . . I just remembered I heard a pair of Totem Model One SIgnatures on a Rogue Audio Perseus Preamp powered by a Lexicon Amp. That experience is still the best music I have heard to date. I respect all you recommendations, but I'm going to let my ears take me the rest of the way.

Thank you all

george daniel

SolidSqual wrote: »

You know what else . . . I just remembered I heard a pair of Totem Model One SIgnatures on a Rogue Audio Perseus Preamp powered by a Lexicon Amp. That experience is still the best music I have heard to date. I respect all you recommendations, but I'm going to let my ears take me the rest of the way.

Thank you all

Hey,,keep us posted,, trust your ears,,and have some fun,, enjoy

Avalon

SolidSqual wrote: »

Where do you get your gear? You have some nice stuff...

Ahoy!

There are a number of good audio stores in Central Ohio. I appologize if you're already in the know on these locations, but two of the best are Progessive Audio on campus and Genesis Audio on the east side near your employer. I don't think you'll be treated the same as you were at StereoV. P.A. and G.A. have a much better selection and are much more professsional. Also, if you want to e-mail me off-line, I'd be more than happy to let you listen to my all Odyssey set-up. It's the best deal in high-end audio and you won't find it at a retailer.

LJ

SolidSqual

6 pm tonight . . . ME, Bob Kirk and a pair of Vince's Hawks. If all goes as expected, I may be putting my LSi15s up for Sale. I'll report back later tonight.

zombie boy 2000

See if you can get your ear on a pair of Acoustic Zen Adagios while you're there.