Goodbye Tyler Acoustics, hello Totem

[lanion]

Just sold my Linbrook Signature 2 piece due to unfortunate employment circumstances and unacceptable WAF of the bass module. However, tomorrow I go off to see how well the Totem Forest and the Totem Hawk play with my Outlaw Audio RR2150.

(The Tylers did not play well with the RR2150.... a fact I realized when I connected my Outlaw 7900 instead. 150lbs speakers need serious power)

[markmarc]

The Totem's should do much better in combo with the Outlaw. Totem seems to make easy 4 Ohm loads. What size room will they be in?

[lanion]

Yeah. I had totem mites and LOVED them but they couldn't fill my living room... especially on a 30watt Jolida hybrid amp. I would guess about 15feet by 20 feet with 2 hallways. my Polk LSi9s fill it just fine so Totem Forests should not have an issue.

[dorokusai]

Woo Hoo!

[unc2701]

Congrats on getting those sold- I saw a pair on CL and thought that might be you.

We seriously need to do an RDU polkfest- there's a ton of us around here.

[lanion]

That was me all right. Someone with way too much freedom to use company shipping orders had them shipped UPS overnight Saturday delivery (that had to cost like $2000). He made the deal in about an hour so no complaint from me.

[lanion]

an RTP polkfest would be fun. I'm in a duplex right now so my 7900 hasn't gotten a chance to stretch its legs properly... i.e. at 100+dB :) it is a BEAST!

[Zero]

The Hawk is one ridiculously picky speaker. It likes what it likes, and only how it likes it. I'm interested to know if the Outlaw will yield positive results with the Hawk. Also, are you buying used or new? There are different 'versions' of the Hawk that offer vastly different performance. Thats the one, and only thing about Totem Acoustic I take issue with; they change their stuff without giving any indication to either the consumer or dealer. If you buy new.. open up the crossover and look for the 'green' caps. If you've got those - you've got the good un's.

As for the Forest - I currently have it in my abode. A very versatile speaker. Very laid back. They too, like their own particular situation.

If theres anything I can do to help you get the most from the Totems.., please shoot me PM.

[lanion]

They are used but not very old. One guy has Forests and Hawks about 3 miles from my house so I am going to do A/B blind testing on a few albums and get whichever one sounds better (or the Hawks if the difference isn't huge). I remember something about a dot on the top of the tweeter indicating a new version. Maybe that is not the case with the Hawks.

[lanion]

I got a good lesson on Source and Amp quality a week ago with the Tylers... I demoed a Benchmark DAC-1 USB in my house and under blind tests preferred my Cambridge Audio 540c CD player to the DAC-1. I felt a little cheated.

Then I hooked up my 7900 to the Tylers and used the DAC1 as the pre and it sounded ridiculously good. So, those speakers are just too much for my Outlaw to resolve much detail with. However, the RR2150 is magic for my LSi9s. Synergy sure is important.

[SKsolutions]

Big Cambridge fan here, but it points to the pre as being the weak link.

[lanion]

The RR2150 was the weak link with those speakers. I bypassed the pre section of the RR2150 and just used the amp stage with the Benchmark as the pre and got the same results. The RR2150 is 100 watts into 8 ohms and 160watts into 4 ohms (rated conservatively), so my guess is those speakers are very demanding and could dip well below 4 ohms.

[treitz3]

Synergy sure is important.

For those of you who are new at this, this is key. Please take a note of it. ;)

Very important.

[Zero]

Lanion, if those Hawks are anything past circa 2004... they aren't the Hawks that were built for 2channel music. Nonetheless, they are good speakers.

The 'dot' doesn't indicate a damned thing. Unfortunately, the only indicator you will get is from the serial numbers - and you'll have to contact Totem to get the skinny as to how old they are.

[phipiper10]

I'm going to place an ad:

Seeking someone with Audio synergy experience to confirm my systems synergistic qualities.

Which brings me to the question can you walk in a room and determine synergy when listening to an unfamiliar rig? Sure it might sound good but is that in itself synergy?

Synergy is subjective still is it not?

Someone needs to develop a synergy test.:p

[dorokusai]

Audio is easy....audiophiles make it difficult.

[lanion]

Well, tried the Forests and the Hawks which were essentially brand new. Unfortunately that meant they were not yet broken in, so it was a bit difficult to really compare them. That being said, I slightly preferred the Hawks accuracy over the Forests. Given the prices difference ($1375 for essentially brand new Hawks is a good deal too) and the fact I liked the finish better, I now have Hawks! pics to come.

[beardog03]

Cool.....I was just at thier website looking at these very speaks...

Congrats !

[SKsolutions]

The RR2150 was the weak link with those speakers. I bypassed the pre section of the RR2150 and just used the amp stage with the Benchmark as the pre and got the same results. The RR2150 is 100 watts into 8 ohms and 160watts into 4 ohms (rated conservatively), so my guess is those speakers are very demanding and could dip well below 4 ohms.

That would be the pre, either way. If you are also using the amp section, I don't see the point of even comparing them.

When using the same amp and speakers, if you get much better sound using a source as a pre, you're pre is the weakest link.

[markmarc]

Explaining how to spot synergy, or the lack of, isn't easy. For me it's pretty immediate, if I come into a room playing music and go ummmmmm, that is a personal indication that there seems to be a nice balance. On the other hand, if I get ancy after a few minutes and spend time turning and adjusting to best find sonic satisfaction then something is amiss.
Others will describe the treble as "hard", bass being mushy, a lack of detail, etc. etc.