Digital Sources: Ayre C-5xe universal player; Cary Audio Design 306 Pro SACD player; PrimaLuna ProLogue Eight CD player; Mark Levinson No.30.6, Benchmark DAC 1 D/A converters.
Preamplifier: Mark Levinson No.380S.
Power Amplifiers: Mark Levinson No.33H, Musical Fidelity 750k Supercharger (both monoblocks).
Loudspeakers: PSB Synchrony One, Dynaudio Sapphire.
Cables: Digital: Kimber Illuminations Orchid AES/EBU, AudioQuest OptiLink-5 S/PDIF. Interconnect (balanced): AudioQuest Cheetah, Ayre Signature Series. Speaker: AudioQuest Kilimanjaro. AC: PS Audio Lab,…
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JA's 2008 Equipment
Those who have read this magazine regularly over the past five years know that Canadian designer Vince Bruzzese has been marketing his small, two-way loudspeakers under the Totem Acoustic brand name. Every review of one of these designs has raved about their strong bass response and three-dimensional imaging, but ends with a "but": "the sound is totally awesome, the imaging is holographic, and my wife thinks it looks terrific in the living room, but..."
An example: Totem's Model 1, a small, 7.2-liter minimonitor, showed a strong low-frequency response, sweet highs, wide dynamic range,…
Although the Forest's rated voltage sensitivity of 87dB/2.83V/m is close to the average range of B-weighted speaker sensitivities noted by this magazine, I had to set the volume control of my Krell KBL preamplifier a bit higher than usual when driving the Forests with the 100Wpc Mark Levinson No.334 power amp.
Final adjustments included comparative nearfield (8') and farfield (16') listening, low-frequency sweeps with a signal generator, phase checks, listening to pink noise, and adjusting my listening position for the best soundstaging and imaging.
The Forest's deep-bass output…
Ken Peplowski's clarinet on "Stompin' at the Savoy," on John Pizzarelli's Let There Be Love (Telarc DSD CD-83518), was seductive and entrancing, according to our household's clarinetist. Suzanne Vega's startling a cappella "Tom's Diner," on her Solitude Standing (A&M CD 5136), was stunningly lifelike. And Harry Connick, Jr.'s tenor voice on "Don't Get Around Much Anymore," from the When Harry Met Sally... soundtrack (Columbia CK 45319), had a slight amount of darkness and richness that might signify a minor midrange suckout near the crossover point's 2.5kHz frequency. Similarly, Willie…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Two-way, floorstanding, reflex-loaded dynamic loudspeaker. Drive-units: 1" (25mm) aluminum-dome tweeter, 6.5" carbon-fiber-cone bass/mid unit with 3" voice-coil. Crossover frequency: 2.5Hz. Crossover slopes: 12dB/octave. Frequency response: 33Hz-20kHz, ±2dB. Sensitivity: 87dB/W/m (2.83V). Impedance: 8 ohms nominal, 6.4 ohms minimum. Amplifier requirements: 120W continuous, 200W peak.
Dimensions: 36" (910mm) H by 8" (205mm) W by 10.6" (267mm) D. Weight: 36 lbs (16.2kg). Volume: 25 liters.
Finishes: Mahogany, black ash.
Serial numbers of…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Analog sources: Linn Sondek LP12 turntable with Lingo power supply, Ittok tonearm, Spectral moving-coil cartridge.
Digital source: Krell MD-1 CD transport, Adcom GDA-700 D/A processor.
FM tuners: Day-Sequerra FM Reference Classic, Rotel RH-10, Magnum Dynalab MD-102, Model 205 Sleuth RF amplifier.
Preamplification: Krell KBL, Mark Levinson ML-7A with L-2 phono section, Margulis and Duntech MX-10 moving-coil preamplifiers.
Power amplifiers: Mark Levinson No.334, Bryston 7B-ST (monoblocks), Bryston 9B-ST (5 channels).
Loudspeakers: Dynaudio…
Sidebar 3: Measurements
The Totem Forest's voltage sensitivity came in a little under specification at an estimated 86dB(B)/2.83V/m, but the 1dB difference is within the margin of error in this measurement. It may be of only average sensitivity, but the Forest's plot of impedance magnitude and electrical phase angle against frequency (fig.1) revealed it to be a very easy load for the partnering amplifier to drive. Even what is probably the worst-case condition—a combination of 7 ohms magnitude and around 25 degrees capacitive phase angle in the lower midrange—will hardly stress even the…
But all things are rarely, if ever, equal. Looking at the Forest's plots of lateral dispersion—fig.5 shows the actual responses to the speaker's sides, fig.6 just the differences between the off-axis responses and the tweeter-axis response—shows that, as well as a superbly even and well-controlled dispersion pattern, which always correlates with stable and accurate stereo imaging, the Totem does become beamy in the top two octaves. In typical rooms, this will tend to work against the on-axis tilt to give a more neutral perceived balance. In the vertical plane (fig.7), a suckout develops at…
John Atkinson wrote about the Totem Forest in September 2005 (Vol.28 No.9):
One of the problems with a magazine like Stereophile, whose review focus is of necessity on the new, is that long-standing, well-designed models can get short shrift. We do try to give second and even third listens to products that have impressed us in the past, but even then, much of quality can get overlooked. So when Totem Acoustic's Lucy Lentini suggested at the 2004 CEDIA Expo that it was high time I gave room in my home to a pair of the Canadian manufacturer's Forest speakers, which Larry Greenhill had raved…
Sidebar: 2005 Measurements
The Totem Forest's sensitivity is low, at an estimated 86dB(B)/2.83V/m, but its impedance graph (fig.1) reveals it to be an easy load for the partnering amplifier, dropping below 8 ohms only in the lower midrange, and then to 7.2 ohms. In the measurements sidebar that accompanied LG's 2001 review, I mentioned the presence of various high-Q cabinet resonances; these affect the impedance plots by producing small glitches in the midrange, at 270Hz, 520Hz, and 700Hz. Fig.2, a waterfall plot calculated from the output of a plastic-tape accelerometer fastened to the…