Anyone spent time with the Totem Wind?

I have no experience with the Totem speakers but I can comment on the amp. I have the Cary 120S and VAC PA100. I am using tube friendly full range speakers. The Cary produces a more laid back cerebral sound than does the VAC which is more upfront, dynamic and lively. So, you might audition the speakers with another amp if you like a more lively presentation.

I see a couple of potential trouble spots in the OP's original audition environment. One is that you'll generally get a better presentation by putting the speakers in front of the long wall, not the short one. Next, if you have to put the speakers in front of the narrow wall, chances are they'll benefit from some toe-in to lower the influence of the sidewall reflections. Third, currently there is only one Cary tube amp above 60 watts, the newly released 110 watt (in class A/B) Founder's Edition monoblock. Totem's spec sheet requires a minimum of 80 watts and has a stated nominal impedance of 4 ohms. Generally you find that 4 ohm speakers have dips down to 2 ohms and sometimes less.

It sounds to me that, besides the room setup issues, the Winds were not getting the best match in amplification. A nice Cary tube amp would bring out the Totem's best in subtlety and nuance, such as a chamber music or acoustic folk/pop, but wouldn't have the oomph to give it zing and make it come alive on other kinds of music. Going by Totem's specs, this speaker seems to be screaming for a high powered high current solid state amp with a very low output impedance to come alive, and that's the part the Winds didn't do for you. I'll bet it would come across entirely differently with some toe in and a 250 wpc Parasound Halo.

Heard them at Stereo Exchange in NYC. Did not spend a lot of time with them, but was not "wowed" either. They sounded exceptionally clean, with a black black background, but unexciting. My friend said they sounded like they were in an 'anechoic' chamber, which he meant sterile sounding without air or "aliveness". We next heard B&W 803D and 802D, and they both sounded better to each of us. Hope that helps (please no flame from the B&W haters, thankyou)

hey sounded exceptionally clean, with a black black background, but unexciting. My friend said they sounded like they were in an 'anechoic' chamber, which he meant sterile sounding without air or "aliveness".

That's a pretty apt description of a speaker that's not broken in yet. Winds require 250 hours of breaking in. If a store sets them up and just plays them for auditions, it could take half a year before they're broken in. I'm not saying that's what that shop did, nor am I a diehard Totem fan, but the speakers do have some pretty specific requirements that don't happen all that naturally, and when you consider how detailed and lush their other offerings are, I think there are other factors at work here.

Johnny, that's a very good point. I have no other frame of reference for Totem as I haven't heard their other products, so I wouldn't know what to expect. It is definitely possible they were not broken in yet. However, I can only report what I heard.