Totem , yeah I got amazed once again.
What's up everyone?
We have all of Totems bookshelf speakers on display. I have not had the time until last night after hours to really give the Bookshelf line a true run. I have listened for a few minutes here and their but nothing serious or a shoot out.
We also have the Paradigm Studio Monitor 10's(the 20's sold and have not been replaced yet) and one of our salesmen just love them to death. So last night we decided to give the Totem lines a run for their money against the Mighty Studio 10's.
Before all this I was out running around all day doing Some walk downs and Installing theater chairs into one of our customers theaters which I did a few months ago with Paradigm Stuido Esprits , 2 In wall subs and Lexicon preamp and Classe amps running everything all wired with Liberty THX 14-2. System rocks and now so does his back row of seats. He is still on the fence on what seats he wants in the front row so for now he put a old Red couch in there. It's actually pretty comfortable to watch a movie on but he want's something to match the room and maybe something Leather or Micro fiber again. I told him to just get the same chairs in the front as the back but he's wants something different for options.
So back to the Totem Shootout. First up was the Studio 10's , for the money they are very nice clear heavy bass speakers. They play loud and strong. Running everything with Cambridge cd and Intergraded , the sound quality was very pleasing. We ran a few cuts of Diana Krall and her voice just reached out to you making you want a bottle of Reisling and a warm blanket (which I would like to share with her after she was done singing to me or she can keep singing and come under the blanket). Ok so they are a fine bookshelf speaker in their own right and look beautiful . Kinda B&W like with their new cabinet design.
Then came the Rainmakers. HOLD THE PHONE!!! Holly Grapes BATMAN these speakers are incredible right from the first note. You hear more detail and clarity then the Studio 10. I could not believe how the Snare drum came to life like it was in the room with us. We both sat there in disbelief. We had to switch back to the Studio 10's to see if we just missed those tones all together. Funny they are barely audible on the 10's and stand out like they are the only sound on the track. You can pick anything on the cut and hear it as if it's the only thing. Amazing. Back and forth went and the clear winner here was the Rainmaker. Ok they are slighty more money by like 100 to 200 bucks per pair but really the sound quality was like 400% better. Neither one of us could believe that they had all that going on.
So then we switched to the Mites which are priced just about exactly like the Studio 10's , same opinion , they totally dominated the 10's in every way. It got ugly so we decided to stop clowning the Paradigms and just go up and down Totems line and really give them a serious listen. These Mites are crazy. The driver looks like a old Polk SRT driver. I kept looking at it and thinking I knew this driver , I was thinking polk audio SRT. Sure enough it looks exactly like the ones just in the SRT's. I would not be surprised if polk OEM'd them to Totem as I don't think they make any of their own drivers. Just cabinets and crossovers.
So after about 20 minutes of the mites we had to connect the Dream Casters. OK they are a very small 500.00 bookshelf like they look like they belong in a very small bedroom playing background music. before we connected them , we took a Val not to go crazy in judging them due to their very small size and the competition around them. Funny we sat down, pressed play and almost fell out of our chairs. There was no believing that little **** speaker could produce such a huge soundstage and crazy clean deep bass that filled the demo room. It simply defied Logic and Physic's. I asked our salesman "how the hell are those little **** speakers filling the room like this?" , he said " I'm every bit as shocked as you and then some" , He proceeded to ask me the same question back while he sat there shaking his head then laughing out loud. We both sat there in silence for about 3 minutes just in AWE about what we where hearing.
So after all the fun with the Dreams we figured the ONES where going to be the BOMB. As well they where. Un effin believable the clarity precise Imaging and deep deep bass with such clear notes, every single stroke of the Piano every single Bass guitar note came through with in room detail off the charts. I sat there and almost shed a tear. These beautiful Sounding speakers captured my heart and very soul.
I can not say enough about any of them. I could write an entire book about each one and what I have heard. I invite all of you to come into our showroom and get a experience. Any audiophile will leave with awe in what these speakers can do with such small drivers and cabinets. The ONES sound like floor standing speakers. It's crazy.
One last thing I can say is there is not a bad seat in the house. We moved out rolling chairs all over the place , stood in the back of the room , stood in the walkway to other rooms and could not believe the quality and room filling sound from every single model.
Totem has really outdone themselves with these speakers. We also have many of the floor standing models and they all do the same exact thing. You leave with a impression not expected from the visual. Nothing we carry at there price points can up stage them in any way except sheer output loudness. Which honestly once you start experiencing the sonic level of quality these speakers produce , you don't want anyone to touch them with high SPL, you start to feel protective of them , you want to preserve every last detail and emotional sonic connection.
I took a few pic's of the carnage we made of our demo room, we had wire and speakers everywhere. I was actually funny.
We have all of Totems bookshelf speakers on display. I have not had the time until last night after hours to really give the Bookshelf line a true run. I have listened for a few minutes here and their but nothing serious or a shoot out.
We also have the Paradigm Studio Monitor 10's(the 20's sold and have not been replaced yet) and one of our salesmen just love them to death. So last night we decided to give the Totem lines a run for their money against the Mighty Studio 10's.
Before all this I was out running around all day doing Some walk downs and Installing theater chairs into one of our customers theaters which I did a few months ago with Paradigm Stuido Esprits , 2 In wall subs and Lexicon preamp and Classe amps running everything all wired with Liberty THX 14-2. System rocks and now so does his back row of seats. He is still on the fence on what seats he wants in the front row so for now he put a old Red couch in there. It's actually pretty comfortable to watch a movie on but he want's something to match the room and maybe something Leather or Micro fiber again. I told him to just get the same chairs in the front as the back but he's wants something different for options.
So back to the Totem Shootout. First up was the Studio 10's , for the money they are very nice clear heavy bass speakers. They play loud and strong. Running everything with Cambridge cd and Intergraded , the sound quality was very pleasing. We ran a few cuts of Diana Krall and her voice just reached out to you making you want a bottle of Reisling and a warm blanket (which I would like to share with her after she was done singing to me or she can keep singing and come under the blanket). Ok so they are a fine bookshelf speaker in their own right and look beautiful . Kinda B&W like with their new cabinet design.
Then came the Rainmakers. HOLD THE PHONE!!! Holly Grapes BATMAN these speakers are incredible right from the first note. You hear more detail and clarity then the Studio 10. I could not believe how the Snare drum came to life like it was in the room with us. We both sat there in disbelief. We had to switch back to the Studio 10's to see if we just missed those tones all together. Funny they are barely audible on the 10's and stand out like they are the only sound on the track. You can pick anything on the cut and hear it as if it's the only thing. Amazing. Back and forth went and the clear winner here was the Rainmaker. Ok they are slighty more money by like 100 to 200 bucks per pair but really the sound quality was like 400% better. Neither one of us could believe that they had all that going on.
So then we switched to the Mites which are priced just about exactly like the Studio 10's , same opinion , they totally dominated the 10's in every way. It got ugly so we decided to stop clowning the Paradigms and just go up and down Totems line and really give them a serious listen. These Mites are crazy. The driver looks like a old Polk SRT driver. I kept looking at it and thinking I knew this driver , I was thinking polk audio SRT. Sure enough it looks exactly like the ones just in the SRT's. I would not be surprised if polk OEM'd them to Totem as I don't think they make any of their own drivers. Just cabinets and crossovers.
So after about 20 minutes of the mites we had to connect the Dream Casters. OK they are a very small 500.00 bookshelf like they look like they belong in a very small bedroom playing background music. before we connected them , we took a Val not to go crazy in judging them due to their very small size and the competition around them. Funny we sat down, pressed play and almost fell out of our chairs. There was no believing that little **** speaker could produce such a huge soundstage and crazy clean deep bass that filled the demo room. It simply defied Logic and Physic's. I asked our salesman "how the hell are those little **** speakers filling the room like this?" , he said " I'm every bit as shocked as you and then some" , He proceeded to ask me the same question back while he sat there shaking his head then laughing out loud. We both sat there in silence for about 3 minutes just in AWE about what we where hearing.
So after all the fun with the Dreams we figured the ONES where going to be the BOMB. As well they where. Un effin believable the clarity precise Imaging and deep deep bass with such clear notes, every single stroke of the Piano every single Bass guitar note came through with in room detail off the charts. I sat there and almost shed a tear. These beautiful Sounding speakers captured my heart and very soul.
I can not say enough about any of them. I could write an entire book about each one and what I have heard. I invite all of you to come into our showroom and get a experience. Any audiophile will leave with awe in what these speakers can do with such small drivers and cabinets. The ONES sound like floor standing speakers. It's crazy.
One last thing I can say is there is not a bad seat in the house. We moved out rolling chairs all over the place , stood in the back of the room , stood in the walkway to other rooms and could not believe the quality and room filling sound from every single model.
Totem has really outdone themselves with these speakers. We also have many of the floor standing models and they all do the same exact thing. You leave with a impression not expected from the visual. Nothing we carry at there price points can up stage them in any way except sheer output loudness. Which honestly once you start experiencing the sonic level of quality these speakers produce , you don't want anyone to touch them with high SPL, you start to feel protective of them , you want to preserve every last detail and emotional sonic connection.
I took a few pic's of the carnage we made of our demo room, we had wire and speakers everywhere. I was actually funny.
Dan
My personal quest is to save to world of bad audio, one thread at a time.
My personal quest is to save to world of bad audio, one thread at a time.
Post edited by mantis on
Comments
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Dan, nice write up.....which do you feel would be best in a larger room for 2 channel listening.
Jimmy -
Dan, nice write up.....which do you feel would be best in a larger room for 2 channel listening.
Jimmy
Any one of them, thats whats funny , they all had a room filling huge soundstage. They have a full line of floor standing speakers which any model would fit the bill , you gotta come get some man. Door is open
Dan
My personal quest is to save to world of bad audio, one thread at a time. -
Having owned Mites and Hawks... yeah. totem makes a VERY good speaker.My Iron Man training/charity blog.
HT:
32" Sharp LCD. H/K dpr 1001 to Outlaw Audio 7900 to Polk LSi + Paradigm Studio center. Hsu DualDrive ULS-15. PS3/Wii. Outlaw 7900. -
Looks like a Pioneer Projector, yeah? Nice read Mantis.Shoot the jumper.....................BALLIN.............!!!!!
Home Theater Pics in the Showcase :cool:
http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/showcase/view.php?userid=73580 -
Thats so strange that big sound can come from little bookshelfs
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nice write up. I was thinking if I don't find SDA's to maybe try out some bookshelf speakers and these might fit the bill.
and if I'm ever near PA I'll have to drop by your show room. I would like to see that PJ in action
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nice review Dan!I am sorry, I have no opinion on the matter. I am sure you do. So, don't mind me, I just want to talk audio and pie.
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Nice review! Makes me want to buy a pair! I know Totem uses dynaudio drivers in alot of there speakers. Im really a fan of dynaudio. If I could only win the lottery!!Living Room setup: Pioneer Elite VSX-21TXH, Krell KAV 300i, PS Audio DL III DAC, Tyler Acoustics Taylo 7u, Dynaudio Audience 120C+, SVS 25/31PCI, B-P-T Clean Power Center, Ps3, Panny 50" S1 Plasma, Tekline speaker cables, Audio Art interconnects, and Pangea power cables.
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I want a pair of Rainmaker's;)Polk Audio SDA 2.3tl Fully Hot Rodded. 😎
SVS SB16 X2
Cary SLP-05/Ultimate Upgrade.
Cary SA-500.1 ES Amps
Cary DMS 800PV Network
OPPO UDP 205/ModWright Modification
VPI Scout TT / Dynavector 20x2
Jolida JD9 Fully Modified
VPI MW-1 Cyclone RCM
MIT Shotgun 3 cables throughout / Except TT, and PC’s -
Great review.Living Room Rig:D
Rotel RSP-1069/Rotel RMB-1095/Rotel-1072/Polk lsI15's W/modded xoverW/DBsubs/Polk LsiC/lsI7's/Klipsch sub-12"the weak link"/DLP Mitsubishi 65"
Xbox360/PS3/WII
M.Br. setup:)
Emotiva MMC-1/Rotel RMB-1075/Polk BlackStone TL350's/Velodyne SPL1000/Samsung 51" Plasma
Computer Rig:
Rotel RB1050/Tannoy DC4's/Klipsch RW-10d/ImodIpod/HK AVR230 for now....
Headphones-Ultrasone-HFI780's w/LittleDot MK Vamp Portables Panasonic HJE-900's -
Nice review !!!!
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Very nice write-up. I was considering Totems, but the $$ was an issue for all but the smallest... Any idea how LSis would compare with any of these? I just picked up a pair of LSi7s last week and my Cambridge Audio 640A arrives tomorrow (I see you were using the 650A). Can't wait... I've got a couple pairs of speakers I want to try out with this integrated amp.
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The Mites are in my cross hairs. I have never heard them but I have heard The Ones and the Rainmakers and I loved the way they sounded. When I listened to them I also listened to some B&W 800 somethings and the little Totem Bookshelves blew the $14k B&W floorstanders away.
Thanks Mantis.
ScottI like speakers that are bigger than a small refrigerator but smaller than a big refrigerator:D -
MillerLiteScott wrote: »The Mites are in my cross hairs. I have never heard them but I have heard The Ones and the Rainmakers and I loved the way they sounded. When I listened to them I also listened to some B&W 800 somethings and the little Totem Bookshelves blew the $14k B&W floorstanders away.
Thanks Mantis.
Scott
There was a pair on audiogon that I almost bought... -
Dan,
Cool - nice write up. Thanks for sharing.
I find that the Cambridge gear you use is very appropriate for the Mite's and the Rainmakers. As for The One's... man, you haven't even begun to hear them yet. Get a bad-**** tube integrate on those things and a real beastly front end.... Great speakers for those in a small room.
Your very welcome as is all of you. We don't have any new Tube gear. We might have a few used models laying around somewhere I would have to look through our swap sale Items.
As far as the Cambridge gear goes, it's shockingly good. You can't see it but in that pic of the gear used , underneath the NAD there is a Anthem Intergraded and the Cambridge in our combined opinion out shined the Anthem hands down. The sound quality I got out of all the speakers was breath taking.
You have me intrigued to try something mightier. I'm sure we will have a few Tube amps , I gotta find them. But in the mean time I have some M series NAD and Krell both Integrated 400 series and a killer Evolution series preamp and stereo amp. Monster 400 watt power with limitless current and dynamic range. Everything sounds better on that system which is also fully Cardos wired. I'm gonna run the Ones on that system not that I feel it should sound any better then what I heard on the Cambridge but if they perform even better I'm probably just gonna have to take them home.
The Rainmakers are the clear value to performance winner of a speaker I have ever heard. No speaker anywhere near that price point I have heard sounds anything like that. WOW , I'm pretty ruined with that experience.
I hate it.Dan
My personal quest is to save to world of bad audio, one thread at a time. -
Nice review! Makes me want to buy a pair! I know Totem uses dynaudio drivers in alot of there speakers. Im really a fan of dynaudio. If I could only win the lottery!!
Whats funny is they sound A LOT like Dynaudio. They suck you in and don't let go, you want more and more. With Dynaudio aside , Totem is my next very favorite musical speaker. I would like to hear them for a surround system but I have already been down that road and it doesn't work out well with such fantastic musical speakers. I prefer my Def Techs for Movies , now I gotta plan out a 2 channel system.
I'm kinda liking the Cambridge Intergraded and CD player along with the Rain Makers wired in Cardos or Kimber. I now gotta get in gear for a wire shootout on that system and hear whats in favor with that setup. Crosslinks vs the 8tc and Hero's , we got em all in stock , I love having so many cool toys to play with. And it sucksDan
My personal quest is to save to world of bad audio, one thread at a time. -
Whats funny is they sound A LOT like Dynaudio. They suck you in and don't let go, you want more and more. With Dynaudio aside , Totem is my next very favorite musical speaker. I would like to hear them for a surround system but I have already been down that road and it doesn't work out well with such fantastic musical speakers. I prefer my Def Techs for Movies , now I gotta plan out a 2 channel system.
I'm kinda liking the Cambridge Intergraded and CD player along with the Rain Makers wired in Cardos or Kimber. I now gotta get in gear for a wire shootout on that system and hear whats in favor with that setup. Crosslinks vs the 8tc and Hero's , we got em all in stock , I love having so many cool toys to play with. And it sucks
Maybe one of these weekends I'm gonna set up shop and really test that. We have a bunch of other wires like Ixos , Liberty , Tributaries , etc but Cardos and Kimber is our top stuff in my opinion.Dan
My personal quest is to save to world of bad audio, one thread at a time. -
mdaudioguy wrote: »Very nice write-up. I was considering Totems, but the $$ was an issue for all but the smallest... Any idea how LSis would compare with any of these? I just picked up a pair of LSi7s last week and my Cambridge Audio 640A arrives tomorrow (I see you were using the 650A). Can't wait... I've got a couple pairs of speakers I want to try out with this integrated amp.
As nice as the Lsi7's are I don't see them comparing well against any of the Totems. I owned the Lsi9's and from what I remember(it's been years) they where very nice but no where near the level of my Dynaudio's. At first I went lsi15's over Dynaudio Audience 82 mostly due to price but after owning the Lsi's I knew I needed more. The Dynaudio Audience series really was a step up , I put Totem in that class Up to the Floor standing Hawks , Staff and even the Arrows. The Arrows will throw you 2. They shock the **** out of you when you see them , then hear them.:eek::eek::eek::eek: Is basically what everyone does.Dan
My personal quest is to save to world of bad audio, one thread at a time. -
I did a dealer locator since I this had piqued my curiousity and the nearest reseller is in Montreal, hahaha.. I think their reseller script needs some work. I'm on the West Coast.. there's got to be somewhere on the West Coast that has these, hahah
Jason2-Channel - So far...
Pre: Dodd ELP
DAC: W4S-Dac2
Source(s): Computer and Denon 2910
Amp: Parasound HCA-1200II
Speakers: LSi9s - Vr3 Fortress Mod -
I did a dealer locator since I this had piqued my curiousity and the nearest reseller is in Montreal, hahaha.. I think their reseller script needs some work. I'm on the West Coast.. there's got to be somewhere on the West Coast that has these, hahah
Jason
If you ever make your way to the east coast , you can come hear. No audiophiles journey is complete without getting a Totem experience weather you ever own a pair or not.Dan
My personal quest is to save to world of bad audio, one thread at a time. -
Nice review.
Did I miss something ? Where in PA is the showroom ?? -
MillerLiteScott wrote: »The Mites are in my cross hairs. I have never heard them but I have heard The Ones and the Rainmakers and I loved the way they sounded. When I listened to them I also listened to some B&W 800 somethings and the little Totem Bookshelves blew the $14k B&W floorstanders away.
Thanks Mantis.
Scott
Scott, FYI - Gramaphone in Timonium has them set up in one of there rooms.
Pretty amazing indeed. -
As you can see from my sig I have both the LSi7 and the Rainmaker. I love both speakers, but don't think they're really all that comparable. I don't do all that audio mumbo jumbo, so I'll offer my opinion in one sentence:mdaudioguy wrote: »Very nice write-up. I was considering Totems, but the $$ was an issue for all but the smallest... Any idea how LSis would compare with any of these? I just picked up a pair of LSi7s last week and my Cambridge Audio 640A arrives tomorrow (I see you were using the 650A). Can't wait... I've got a couple pairs of speakers I want to try out with this integrated amp.
The Rainmakers 'sound' better, the LSi7 'feel' better. -
I know from reading a lot of Dan's threads that he 'likes' to hear a lot of 'detail' in his speakers. So I understand what you mean between sound better and feel better.
Personally I like 'warmth' and lots of it. But I'd love to get my ears on these Dan. Probably when I get back from China and go down to Pa to see about selling our parents house..I may drop you a PM (a few months from now) and hopefully get to hear them. I am 'interested' in their sound.
Nice review BTW!!
cnhCurrently orbiting Bowie's Blackstar.!
Polk Lsi-7s, Def Tech 8" sub, HK 3490, HK HD 990 (CDP/DAC), AKG Q701s
[sig. changed on a monthly basis as I rotate in and out of my stash] -
Vette C6.r wrote: »Nice review.
Did I miss something ? Where in PA is the showroom ??
Here is our website , www.Audiolab.com
we are in Fairless hills right outside of PhilaDan
My personal quest is to save to world of bad audio, one thread at a time. -
AsSiMiLaTeD wrote: »As you can see from my sig I have both the LSi7 and the Rainmaker. I love both speakers, but don't think they're really all that comparable. I don't do all that audio mumbo jumbo, so I'll offer my opinion in one sentence:
The Rainmakers 'sound' better, the LSi7 'feel' better.
Very cool, the Rainmakers Are my favorite overall due to price per performance ratio. The Lsi7's are really good as well.
Audiophiles create their own language, I speak from my heart emotionally. I try to discribe how I feel when a speaker or in this case speakers move me .
I also understand what you are saying. I envy you for owning such fanstastic speakers.Dan
My personal quest is to save to world of bad audio, one thread at a time. -
I know from reading a lot of Dan's threads that he 'likes' to hear a lot of 'detail' in his speakers. So I understand what you mean between sound better and feel better.
Personally I like 'warmth' and lots of it. But I'd love to get my ears on these Dan. Probably when I get back from China and go down to Pa to see about selling our parents house..I may drop you a PM (a few months from now) and hopefully get to hear them. I am 'interested' in their sound.
Nice review BTW!!
cnh
Looking forward to hearing from yeah , sounds fun
man.Dan
My personal quest is to save to world of bad audio, one thread at a time. -
Dan,
I was looking for the prices to compare, not finding anything. Would you be willing to post what your place is selling them for? The ones you tested. -
AsSiMiLaTeD wrote: »As you can see from my sig I have both the LSi7 and the Rainmaker. I love both speakers, but don't think they're really all that comparable. I don't do all that audio mumbo jumbo, so I'll offer my opinion in one sentence:
The Rainmakers 'sound' better, the LSi7 'feel' better.
Thanks a lot...:rolleyes: now I want them both! -
Dan,
I was looking for the prices to compare, not finding anything. Would you be willing to post what your place is selling them for? The ones you tested.
Shoot me a pm and I'll go over anything you need.
DanDan
My personal quest is to save to world of bad audio, one thread at a time.
