Request advice-need "brighter" speakers than Totem Hawks

New and engaging news:
But first...
Lowrider: I have used the stock brass connectors for bridging the speaker inputs on the hawks. I mislaid them, as previously noted (keeping my eye open, though). I have thus also tried some simple 12GA OFC jumpers, some shotgunned higher-end OFC (in both cases bare wires). I am presently using the 6" jumpers (Level 3) provided by Anti-Cables, which I like because they appear to radically reduce any chance of a short (spades), which I am paranoid about with the bare wires (stranded). Note that I have detected no differences in sound across ANY of the jumpers except that the non-stock ones I mentioned above all sound a little bit better than the stock brass plates provided. I tentatively plan to stay with the anti-cable jumpers. They are also really solid. Note: I remain convinced that the upper inputs give me a slight (ever so slight) edge on the high end over the other three possible combinations (bottom inputs, 2 diagonals). These differences of which I speak are not the types of differences that offset the deficit in high freq. output that I have been describing. 

Here's the Really Interesting News:
I switched the speaker wire channels at the amp. The problem with few highs stayed with the left speaker. Reminder: I think the highs are muted on both sides, but they are close to inaudible on the left. 

I was thinking it was the amp (Moon Audio W-5) and am kind of relieved it appears not to be that item. I still plan to swap in the Creek 100a for the P-5/W-5 and have a listen for confirmation of my impressions.

Anyone have any thoughts? I am thinking I need to take the pair of speakers in to repair service and ask a pro to determine if the tweeter or crossover is bad, at least on the left.

Thanks.

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!

 Before you buy any new components, take your speakers back to the dealer and have them checked. Call first.

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