How much power do I really need for Totem Tribe Tower? LFD NCSE II, Sugden ANV-50 or?

MY TAKE:

I’ve owned several models of TOTEMs in prior systems, so I know their strengths, their limitations, and their warts very well.

TOTEMS are generally all comparatively power hogs that demand high-end / high-current amps to perform at their maximum. There are many prior posts here on AGON and CAM that repeat this common theme. Do your own research.

MY EXPERIENCE

- Fuhgeddaboud about wpc ratings on your amplifier as leading clues as to eligible amp contenders ….it’s lotsa current / amps to make them open up fully. Any suggested 50wpc is a bare minimum threshold and wholly inadequate IMO to get them to,open up. You need headroom. I had to bi-amp a matched 100wpc high current power amp to its stablemate spec integrated amp to get my FORESTS perform at the maximum potential.Similarly it was a high-current 100wpc integrated even for the diminutive ARROs to strive to their max.

- Fuhgeddaboud tube or hybrid amps …it’s beefy output solid state for TOTEMs.

- Intuitively, also fuhgeddaboud any receiver …there isn’t one receiver that can do them proper justice because of their inferior and comparatively cheap power supplies packed into a unibox and are a major compromise.

HOW TO SORT OUT THE CONTENDERS FROM THE PRETENDERS

- Simply ignore all upfront power ratings at 8ohms, and see what are the specs when the impedance drops to 4 ohms…. Full stop.

- The “standard” marketing specifications puffery might say the output power is 100 watts RMS at 8 ohms. Notice the power output (100 watts) is at a specified load (8 ohms).
- The above metric shows that for an ideal amp, halving the impedance doubles the power output

- if the power output nearly doubles-then you have a high current amp.

RECOMMENDATIONS

SIMAUDIO ( their better models are my fave .,,, SIMAUDIO and TOTEM are both in Montreal and are used to voice each other’s products)

AYRE

PLINIUS

All of the above are fine performers paired with TOTEM at the audiofests.

(1) Pass on any notion of a DAC plugged directly into a power amp.. It’s definitely either (a) Integrated amp or (b) discrete preamp/power amp combo .

(2) Regarding ANY hybrid integrated amp option: … choose wisely.

I WOULD NEVER buy one without a detailed multi-hour direct hands-on audition first. Do not get blinded by marketing puffery about “juice” and do NOT minimize the contributing factor that each of the contenders and pretenders has its own bespoke sonic signature, that is not insignificant.

Q why?

A, (1) Up here in Canada,, we see many more TOTEM products, They can sound lovely, but the darker side of them is that their criticisms revolve around them being characterized as “fatiguing” . TOTEMS continually form the largest cohort of Pre-owned listings on CANUCKAUDIOMART. The “fatiguing” factor has at least a large share in poorly matched upstream electronics. TOTEMs are fussy IMO, and their system synergy requires a careful matching with upstream components.

A (2) ask yourself a key question: With all available options open to them, why does TOTEM pair up with solid state amps at their audiofests? Not hybrids and not tubes.

FWIW , TOTEMs are fussy. My audiophile BFF borrowed my FORESTS to test drive with his top high-end CARY tube gear. In short, it was a big disappointment and a distinct “yuk” in comparison to SS.

A(3) Ask yourself a further question in the same vein. With all the myriad of available platforms out there , how key is it that TOTEM chose SS when developing their own integrated amp? NOTE: If you want the Holy Grail in integrated amps with your TOTEMs, it would be the discontinued TOTEM AMBER integrated amp. But they very, very rarely come up for resale for intuitive reasons.

TOTEM had its own SS integrated ("AMBER") amp with a ton of grunt (now discontinued) that was a JV with SIMAUDIO based on a SIM integrated amplifier design and platform.

TAKEAWAY

- Choose wisely , based on direct auditions. Ignore isolated amp reviews that have no relevance or reference in their reviews to TOTEMs. System synergy with TOTEMs is acute in my experience.

Sure … some drive Fords and some drive Chevys….np. I favour a top SIM AUDIO kit in current offerings. (I’ve auditioned them all ) SIM AUDIO and TOTEM are both based in Montreal and they are used to voice each other products. That ethereal system synergy match has a track record.

the last wild card: TOTEMs can stir your drink for sure, but they are not the ideal match in some classes of music in my experience. I enjoyed mine a decade ago , but as my music tastes changed from pop and classic rock, and my upstream components were also upgraded into a much higher strata; they were sold off . Lower volume light jazz, classical, piano, and female vocals dictated a change. I found better options for MY bespoke tastes and low-level volumes.

Choose your own bespoke fave music genres and volume levels as the building blocks in auditions ..,

FWIW ..I am well aware of LFD integrated amps … they were on my short list when I upgraded to my REGA OSIRIS. But LFD favour British speakers  ( think NEAT, PROAC, SPENDOR et al ) . LFD  would not be in my initial LIST of ideal amps with your TOTEMs