Totem forest And Mass loading

Jakecanada.

Go ahead and mass load your speaker. The bass will tighten up and the micro and macro dynamics will astound you. There is nothing but vibrations in those cabinets that is robbing your speakers of there potential. I have about 110 lbs of stone pavers on top of each speaker and the performance has gone beyond anything I could of imagined before adding the weight. Vince knows along with any other speaker manufacturer that by adding weight to the cabinet the performance will dramically improve. Remember your speakers were built to a price point, add some weight to the top and you will thank me.

I recently emailed vince at totem acoustic to see if my little amp would work and what was his thoughts? He said

There are few products that communicate “music” and the deep message behind it. The entire Totem product range is magical with tube gear, because of the harmonic integrity nescient with some exceptional tube equipment. In the end I think that 40 Watts in triode class A is enormous and it is not the wattage in the end but the quality of that wattage that is most important. IN most instances the Cary SLI 80 / Forest combination should be ideal since 40 W in Triode Class A is more that sometimes 60-80 Watt in ultra linear. One of my brothers drives a pair of Element Metal speakers with a 24 Watt per channel single tube 211 based triode amp and that is sufficient for him because he wishes for clarity/involvement/purity over the highest dB’s he can obtain. The 60 Watts we recommend is a general guideline for more ordinary equipment. I would recommend that you try a different power cable/interconnect before thinking of going to 60 Watt. Sometimes less is more. Your ear and good judgment has brought you this far and you should continue using this in a well controlled and calculating way to choose what is right for you. Your heart will tell you what is correct.

Best regards and many thanks Vince Bruzzese

I did take a look at my room which I am listing too and my speakers are 17inches from the back wall and spaced in between the sides of my fire place. I still do not have proper power cord for my amp just a $5 cord. Planing to get the new shunyata Eton viper after i pay off my cd player. This weekend when i pick up my new cd player, I am going to try half a pound of shot and another half of play sand. Basically one pound but to totem recommends 2 pounds as a minimum. but I will go no further with 2 pounds max for me. Like other audigon's say to much would take away the image. But some mass loading I notice it dose make some more unveiling detail stand out .
I do want to upgrade my amp if one day I could get the totem element Earth's

Yes, Totem Forest needs some power.

Impedance: 8 ohms (6.4 minimum)
Sensitivity: 87 dB
Recommended power: 50 - 200 W

Jakecanada, you have a nice amp, maybe underpowered. Do try the Cary cad120s, but to help the imaging i hope you are using room treatments. Front wall (behind speakers) plus side walls. Look at the Virtual Systems section for ideas.

I agree with Rockn that Totems sound best with a good 150WPC+ high-current solid state amp which is able to control the bass and expand the sound stage. When I owned the Forest, I got the best results using a solid state amp and a tube preamp. For less than the price of the Cary cad120s you could get an outstanding SS amp from Simaudio, Mccormack, Bryston or even Cary that would probably sound better with your speakers IMO.

I am planing to upgrade my amp to a tube Cary cad120s which is 120wats in ultra liner mode and 60watts in triode. Paired with a Cary slp 98 preamp once I finished the system I have now. Don't know will that help much?

I use to own the Forest and the Model 1 and although I'm a tube guy now, the Totems really come to life with lots of ss power. I use to run them with a Aragon 8008 amp with great results. I agree with Elsaudio about the sand & lead shot. Be careful.

When I auditioned the Totem Forest, I was under the impression that the Beaks would "tune" and clean up resonance issues.
The cabinets are very "lively" and if u decide to use lead shot, take care not to deaden the sound. It might also remove some of the soundstaging.

Is there something you dislike about the sound without mass loading? There's no reason you have to add mass to the speakers unless you're worried about them tipping or you feel the bass is over-pronounced (i.e. "boomy"). Another thing to consider is whether or not you might ship the speakers in the future (like if you decide to sell them). Adding material such as lead shot can potentially damage the finish if you're not careful. And materials like sand are a real PITA to get out prior to shipping.