Canuck Audio Mart

Hello..I find myself leaning towards perhaps 3 in the Totem line up...In order..Rainmaker, Sttaf, and perhaps the Hawk (maybe a deal in the works)...I have been browsing the net to see and hear what others are using to drive their Totems...Seems my Denon 2106 is "adequate" so i tracked down a dealer to chat with...Tho he is 3 hrs away i am willing to drive up and listen to what he has to offer...He carries Creek, Naim, Sim, Arcam, and Cambridge...Im hoping to come in around $ 1500-$ 1800 cdn....So im wondering if you are using any of these in your system, and if not---what are you driving your Totems with....Thanks.

Hello,

I use a Linn Kolektor pre-amp and a Linn LK140 amp to drive my Rainmakers. I am very happy with this setup but I have to concede that I do not have much to compare it to. You might want to consider buying a used amp. I have found that amps are the best value used because they last a long time and the technology is pretty much unchanged (as compared to used CD players and even speakers). Your budget will give you many fantastic choices in the used market.

Driving my Totem Sttafs with Bryston Power Pac 120 monoblocks, through a Rotel pre-amp.

i drove rainmakers fine with a denon receiver. on the totem site i believe they suggest the staff can be driven by a receiver. when i swapped out the rainmakers for the beautiful hawks my denon 1803 could barely make the woofer move. will not work.

i have had nait 5i and totem forests and the nait drove them reasonably well and vince at totem suggested the nait was better for the hawks over the forest. the nait is highly regarded and can be purchased mint usually around 1000.

roger

I'm driving my Hawks with a Parasound Halo P3 pre-amp/A21 power amp combo, and my Sttafs with an Anthem TLP-1 pre-amp/PVA2 power amp. Cheers.

Great topic! I am a Forest owner pushing them with an Audio Research vi55 tube amplifier. I believe that the 50-55 watts of power are adequate for the small size of the room the speakers inhabit although if I had a bigger room I would like to have something closer to 100 watts to really make them sing.

The sound of the totems is quite transparent with this amp. The tube sound is of course is warmer but the sound does not become colored or boosted in any frequency. Should there be little bass in the source recording the sound will be what it is.

I play mostly jazz and acoustical music thru the Forests and it sounds very true, live recordings play very well with a realistic soundstage.

I've heard totems thru SS gear like the Arcam and it sounds great also just different.

Any other Tube-Totem combos out there?

I'm driving Totem Model 1 Sigs with a Magnum Dynalab MD308 Integrated (100 watts per @ 8ohms). They sound great!

Thank-you for all your replies...and the informations is excellent.......The dealer i have contacted e-mailed me back that he has a Creek Denstiny and a Demo Sim audio I3...The Sim has tweeked my interest...I dont know the price on the Sim but it is a demo and he will give it full warrantee...Thanks

Totem Tabus driven by

Amp is SimAudio 4150 and pre is a mapletree ultra 4A. room size is 10'x20'

Have used an Arcam integrated (80 watts?) with Model 1's for a nice combination.

Switched to a YBA 2 pre and YBA 2 HCDT which yielded a HUGE difference in transparancy and control. My model 1's were very happy in this set up.

Currently using the YBA with pair of Mani2's and the synergy is wonderfull.


See if you cannot find an audiophile or local shop that would help you test your combination - the match is very important....

I have also hear great things about the Naim gear as listed above.

Good luck with your totems.

I'm using a Cayin 12 wpc EL84 based integrated with my Sttafs. I never expected this combo to work, but it sounds better than the Rega R5's and Vandy 1C's I tried.

Hi Leency if you are looking for an upgrade there is a Unison Research S-6 on sale used here on C.A.M. that is a big big 35 watts per channel integrated amplifier also gorgeous looking heard that amp with Audio Physics Spark very close to panel sound that's saying a lot Chow

Model 1 sigs ; Moon W-3 trying different Pre's

Currently biamping Totem Shamans using a 100wpc McIntosh c2102 tube amp for the upper drivers and a SS 500wpc Bryston 4BSST for the woofer enclosures. Preamps are a tube McIntosh c220 and a SS Benchmark USB pre.

Forrests driven by Space-tech Labs... QA-113 pre with HP100-EH hybrid power amp.