Another +vote for Thiel loudspeakers, if you so desire to switch out for the Totem. Speaker repair is another option, if you want to keep the Totem.
Keep me posted & Happy Listening!
Keep me posted & Happy Listening!
Request advice-need "brighter" speakers than Totem Hawks
Hi All-
Love the community here; first time poster.
My gear:
i have a pair of Totem Hawks, driven by Sim Audio W-5 amp and P-5 pre. I listen primarily to Redbook CDs via a Marantz SA8005. Cables are all Audience AU24SE. I listen both through a modded Eastern Electric DAC (op amp upgraded, tube removed) and direct from CDP to preamp (teensy sound difference between DAC/no DAC, if any). My medium sized room is pretty dead sonically (carpet, textile window coverings).
My Issue:
The high frequencies are uncrisp, rolled off severely, muted, and just lacking generally, especially on contemporary works (jazz, rock). I don’t hear cymbals, hi-hats, or rich, crisp snare drums (yeah, I’m a drummer). Listening to my favorite disks is a deeply disappointing experience, Though classical sounds ok to fine. I am thinking that I need brighter speakers than the Hawks (though there are numerous folks who extoll Sim Audio plus Totem speakers, something is not right. I do have a bit of hi-freq. hearing loss from playing percussion for over 40 years (amateur), but I’ve heard a number of less expensive systems that sound better to me. My first thought is to go for a used pair of B&Ws (CM5s?) or Vandersteens (assuming good WAF on the latter) to swap out for the Hawks. I’m on a budget, but am not above selling some of the current gear to pay for the right equipment.
I would love love to hear some suggestions or alternate diagnoses/ideas. I am not limiting myself to speakers; I’ve tried a bunch of different cables to no good effect. Analysis Plus silver cables, for example, were a disaster with this gear, for example, FYI. Thanks in advance for any sage thoughts you choose to offer. -Bruce
Love the community here; first time poster.
My gear:
i have a pair of Totem Hawks, driven by Sim Audio W-5 amp and P-5 pre. I listen primarily to Redbook CDs via a Marantz SA8005. Cables are all Audience AU24SE. I listen both through a modded Eastern Electric DAC (op amp upgraded, tube removed) and direct from CDP to preamp (teensy sound difference between DAC/no DAC, if any). My medium sized room is pretty dead sonically (carpet, textile window coverings).
My Issue:
The high frequencies are uncrisp, rolled off severely, muted, and just lacking generally, especially on contemporary works (jazz, rock). I don’t hear cymbals, hi-hats, or rich, crisp snare drums (yeah, I’m a drummer). Listening to my favorite disks is a deeply disappointing experience, Though classical sounds ok to fine. I am thinking that I need brighter speakers than the Hawks (though there are numerous folks who extoll Sim Audio plus Totem speakers, something is not right. I do have a bit of hi-freq. hearing loss from playing percussion for over 40 years (amateur), but I’ve heard a number of less expensive systems that sound better to me. My first thought is to go for a used pair of B&Ws (CM5s?) or Vandersteens (assuming good WAF on the latter) to swap out for the Hawks. I’m on a budget, but am not above selling some of the current gear to pay for the right equipment.
I would love love to hear some suggestions or alternate diagnoses/ideas. I am not limiting myself to speakers; I’ve tried a bunch of different cables to no good effect. Analysis Plus silver cables, for example, were a disaster with this gear, for example, FYI. Thanks in advance for any sage thoughts you choose to offer. -Bruce
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- 94 posts total
Further update: Today I schlepped the Hawks to my friendly neighborhood hi-end dealer, Hermary’s in San Carlos, CA, where they hooked them up to a system comprised of a nice Parasound pre and a Mackintosh 1520 power amp (yum). Source was a recent PS Audio server providing WAV and FLAC files. Surprise! The speakers sounded fine. No differences in high freq. response between speakers, even switching channels. The Hawks sounded like many of you gentle experts have suggested that they should sound--rather amazing, with no issues on the high end. Even a slight tendency towards brightness without harshness--so cool, to hear them as they are supposed to sound. That’s the good news. The bad news is my amp, pre-amp, or CDP are now suspect. I am thinking I may take the power amp in for work/diagnosis first, and would like the advice of you, the cognoscenti, on this matter. Thank you in advance for any pearls of wisdom you may wish to offer. B |
Try this quick experiment. Sit and listen with a pair of hard bound books. Remember those? :) Otherwise LP covers will work. Lift them up about a foot from your head to either side, so that they form a 45 degree angleto your ears and the speakers. Does this fix your problem? If so your room may be too well damped, especially to the sides and behind your listening location. Other cheap fixes include replacing any interconnect with plain-jane cheap RCA cables. One thing I wonder about is the impedance of the speakers. I can't find a curve to answer but there's an interesting discussion here: http://www.avsforum.com/forum/89-speakers/928498-totem-acoustic-owner-s-thread-16.html It is possible that there's something in the crossover design that makes them difficult to drive. Not sure why, should be a very straightforward design unless there was a lot of EQ added. The fix for this type of issue is a beefier amp. Best, Erik |
- 94 posts total