I guess the Totems look downright thrifty compared to the TADs.
I guess the Totems look downright thrifty compared to the TADs.
One of the nice things about Totems is they seem to hold their resale value very well.Definitely we shouldn't accept questionable design choices and poor FR for such a high dollar. I was partially being facetious with the recommendations. But if you picked them up second hand cheap, it's amazing what some sub integration and DSP can do when done properly.
There's a pair on Ebay right now for $499 OBO. Seems still high though.
Paradigm and Definitive Technology made some decent stuff for the price.So many box stuffer speaker manufacturers, not just in Canada but I imagine everywhere. I think the Canadian speaker industry gets too much credit and rides on the coat tails of the National Research Council’s anechoic chamber. Totem, Paradigm and anything Canadian Sandy Gross had anything to do with are just crap like Reference3a, Definitive, and Golden Ear which all have Canadian connections. Mirage, Energy sounded okay but the styling didn’t survive the rest of time. I’d be curious to see numbers for them. StudioLab and the Canadian king of white van speakers Nuance were the biggest no brain pieces of stuffed conman shit. StudioLab at least had nice veneer (on 5/8” particle board though!). They actually put out a good speaker once the son took over. Are there actually any good Canadian speakers? Probably by smaller makers who use science. Gave up on my country’s ability to make an honest product.
I guess they were all of a time and most are pretty much deservedly defunct. Tuning by ear to a house sound is out of fashion fortunately. I think. Pardon me if I am completely wrong or offend anyone. Just felt like ranting.
Part of this I think has to do with the fact that Totem, unlike KEF or B&W, does not manufacture its own drivers. They used off-the-shelf or semi-custom drivers from companies like SEAS, HiVi, and Scanspeak.Before finding this site, I was very curious about Totems, as they claim that many of their speakers can be placed really close to the wall. I listened to a fair number of different models, and two things stuck out: bad sound that I knew would get fatiguing quickly, and basically no consistency of design. I am continually surprised when speaker companies have no consistent design philosophy. Revel, KEF, Focal, even B & W and Wilson all make speakers that look like each other, either because of shared drivers, or just adjusting the approach for different sizes and costs. Totem is all over the place - almost as if they are selling pretty cabinets which they then throw any random driver into. They even have a brand new series - the Bison -with only three models: they all appear to use the same tweeter, but the towers use a different woofer from the bookshelf, even though the size difference is half an inch. It seems like a silly thing to care about, but it makes me suspicious of any kind of scientific approach to get good sound.
This is a review, listening tests and detailed measurements of Totem Acoustics Rainmaker Speaker.
Such is one of the classic false audiophile legends.He wants to use minimalistic crossovers for best phasing and imaging.
To some degree this approach was justified. A speaker that small isn't intended to shine at life-like sound pressure levels. Then an in-build equalizer, the loudness compensation is appreciated. The tops in trebble, and likewise the deepest bass notes won't be heard anyway. Not the least, tonal deviations won't hurt that much at civilized levels. The resonances contribute to the feel of a vivid speaker, spicing up the expectedly dull sound at lower levels.If you've ever seen any interview with Vince the designer, he goes out of his way to say they are tuned with real music and in real world rooms, and never tuned for best anechoic response. Obviously he doesn't want to follow the research and thinks he can do better with his approach to make the speakers more "lifelike". He wants to use minimalistic crossovers for best phasing and imaging.
Really, Totem speakers will never measure well because they choose not to design or tune them that way.
Such is one of the classic false audiophile legends.
To some degree this approach was justified. A speaker that small isn't intended to shine at life-like sound pressure levels. Then an in-build equalizer, the loudness compensation is appreciated. The tops in trebble, and likewise the deepest bass notes won't be heard anyway. Not the least, tonal deviations won't hurt that much at civilized levels. The resonances contribute to the feel of a vivid speaker, spicing up the expectedly dull sound at lower levels.
Only that today this speaker proves traditional wisdom obsolete:
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Neumann KH 150 Monitor Review
This is a review, listening tests and measurements of the Neumann KH150 DSP 2-way studio monitor (active speaker). It is on loan from the company and costs US $1,750 (each). The design language is not changed of course. The main woofer is 6.5 inches now powered by 120 watt dedicated...www.audiosciencereview.com
There is no need for that additional thrill anymore.
Snake oil, for sure. But no one could say they were pointless!for sure. He also talks about "speed" of the drivers a lot. I will never forget "Totem Acoustic Beak" which was then worst of the snakeoil pushed by this company