advice on choice ot totem rainmakers.

The Rainmaker was not one of Totems best efforts. For Totems, they are very colored sounding.

I would spend your money on a used pair of Totem Sttafs. I have a pair and they sound exceptionally good.

I agree on the Sttaf, and see no advantage to the Rainmakers over the Sttaf. With the Rainmakers you'll need to spend another ~$150-$200 for stands (minimum), and the footprint is equal, if not larger than the Sttaf. The Sttaf is a fantastic sounding speaker and is very reasonably priced on the used market.

thanks for the responses.

See this is why you have to listen to speakers...whenever you can. I went into the Totem dealer to buy some Dream Catchers, based on other reviews, and walked out with the Rainmakers. I absolutely love them. There is something really special about them. I had never even heard of them...but I loved the sound. WhatHiFi has a good review of them that sums up their sound well.

I got Dayton Audio SSMB24 24" Speaker Stands from Parts-Express for less than $70, and they are a perfect fit. I say for $450, you'd be hard pressed to beat them. But that is just an opinion. :-)

Good luck!
mot