Office System -- Low Volume Speakers

My friend has a pair of Arro's and he mentioned that they were rather "bright" when he first got them. He attached a DIY damper to the tweeter of each speaker (consisting of a straw and hockey tape) and was satisfied with the sound. I listened to them and they offer an outstanding dynamic range for such a small, narrow speaker, especially in the bottom end.

i have never heard or had a pair of totem speakers that were bright. if the arros sounded bright, there must have been some cheap hardware before the speakers.

i have never heard or had a pair of totem speakers that were bright. if the arros sounded bright, there must have been some cheap hardware before the speakers.

I don't consider a Quad 99 CDP and Copland CSA-29 amp as "cheap" hardware. Fact is, as good as the Arros are (and I definitely recommend them!!), they sound bright with certain hardware.

Rbstehno,

What Hitman_hifi said. With all due respect, I was driving my Arros with a Unison Unico hybrid integrated, with a Music Hall CD 25.2 for digital and a SOTA Sapphire for analog, etc., etc., and yes, they sounded pretty bright out of the box. They are very good speakers, but they do lean toward the bright side, at least (so I'm told) until broken in, for which Totem recommends over 100 hours.

The absolute best sounding near field speakers are Wilson Audio Tunetots.  You just need to find a pair at an auction where nobody else knows about good speakers, or find a pair that have "fallen off the back of a truck" but the actual drivers aren't damaged despite the cabinets appearing destroyed.  You also never know what amazing things go up for police auction or home insurance auction.  So keep an eye out for a pair of Wilson Audio Tunetots and bid $100 while everyone else wonders why you would pay so much for tiny no name speakers.  To let you know I'm serious, I bequeath to you upon my passing my secret method of covertly listening to music at work without headphones nor disturbing your nearest cubical neighbor, yes, get some Wilson Audio Tunetot near field speakers and stash a 5 watt amp under your desk.