I am reluctant to offer another opinion because the choice between these two speakers just boils down to a simple matter of personal taste. But being a minimonitor freak, and having owned both pairs of these at the same time, I’ll put in my $.02 FWIW. I absolutely agree w/ comments from Jla “I have not heard another monitor that presents the music in such a natural involving way w/out coloration.” Insofar as the points mentioned regarding bass, if you want it right, you need a sub, simple as that. There’re minis that go deeper, but what the 1SC does, it does magically. And I personally don’t see the point in compromising this for the sake of a few extra bucks for bass. Regarding your 2.5.s, if they sound aggressive they’re not set up right. And if you have ears sensitive to aggressive tweeters, I believe you most definitely would prefer the ProAc over the Totem.
Minimonitor Choice: Proac 1sc vs. Totem Model 1s
Has anyone directly compared these two speakers? I've heard the Totems, and they image so well, though may be a little congested in the midrange. How do the Proac's compare? I've got Proac 2.5's, I think they are great, but currently find the tweeters a tad bit aggressive (but am working on that with cable selection). I've heard still better things about the tweeters in the 1sc's. I'm using great amps in my systems right now (Pass Aleph, ARC VT100 mk2, Berning ZH270).
Anyhow - I love good imaging, but not at the expense of tonal balance. Considerations that I'm aware of between these two speakers are:
1) Which has better/more natural bass response? (I want to avoid the subwoofer approach if possible - but I do like to listen to all sorts of music, including rock, orchestral, jazz, female vocals, etc.).
2) Is either more sensitive/dependent on positioning? This includes speaker positioning in the room and listener positioning (e.g. size of sweet spot)?
3) Do either have characteristic tonal biases that I should be aware of? (I've already described some impressions of the Totem Model 1s).
Thanks for your input everyone. Also, are there other minimonitors I should be considering or auditioning (when traveling outside of my small town of Flagstaff, AZ).
Anyhow - I love good imaging, but not at the expense of tonal balance. Considerations that I'm aware of between these two speakers are:
1) Which has better/more natural bass response? (I want to avoid the subwoofer approach if possible - but I do like to listen to all sorts of music, including rock, orchestral, jazz, female vocals, etc.).
2) Is either more sensitive/dependent on positioning? This includes speaker positioning in the room and listener positioning (e.g. size of sweet spot)?
3) Do either have characteristic tonal biases that I should be aware of? (I've already described some impressions of the Totem Model 1s).
Thanks for your input everyone. Also, are there other minimonitors I should be considering or auditioning (when traveling outside of my small town of Flagstaff, AZ).