The totem mani 2's are the way to go. i have had multiple pairs of totem speakers in the past (model 1's and arros) and sold them all to buy 2 pairs of mani 2's. The forests are also a great sounding speaker and are much easier to drive than the mani's. If you have the amplifiers, the mani's are a more musical speaker than the forest. |
Mani-2 would probably offer you the best presentation but your amp had better be up to the task as they are notoriously power hungry... |
The Mani-2 are the best speakers I have owned in the last
20 years, over 20 pairs by 6 different manufacturers and
prices from 2K to 16K. They do require an adecuate amp,
but power seem to be cheaper this days. Just bought a Signature pair about a month ago, can stop listening to them. |
I have not heard the Totem's but their reputation for quality is well known. However, at used prices of around $2000 for the Totem's versus $600 for the Green Mountain, You could save quite a bit by going with the Europa's. I have owned them, they are a excellent speaker and would give up nothing (or very little) to the Totem's. They are also a very easy 4 ohm load and can be driven by most amps. As mentioned above, I have read that the Totem's like power to show their best.
Try to listen to all the speakers you are considering, it would beat trying to figure out all of the recommendations you are going to get here. In home demo would be best, especially condsidering the size of your room (to make sure the speakers would fill the room).
Regards, |
Question for Rbstehno and Hepl; those who know and love the Mani-2s. Which of the higher end monitors have you compared them to, and why did you prefer the Mani-2s? Have you been able to compare to Dynaudio Special 25s, to JMlab Micro Utopias, to Harbeths, Spendor 3/5se, Focus Audio 688s, or the Harmonic Precision Caravelles just for example? (Some of these pricier than the Mani-2s). I've always liked the Totem sound, still enjoy my old Sttafs in my second system, but I took a different path since. The Mani-2s aren't kept in stock where I live, special order only...otherwise I might have gone that route. |
I bought a brand new pair of cherry Forests last year. I powered them with a Pass Labs x250 amp. My livingroom is roughly 14x22 with 8 foot ceilings. I loved the sound. Just on a whim, after reading the acolades about the Europas, I found a dealer in my area who brought a pair over for an in home trial. I bought them on the spot and still have them. Soundstage, bass response, detail were better to my ears. I have not heard the Mani-2s vs. the Europas, so no comment. From all I've talked to, the Mani-2's are superior to Forests. |
Good Question (Panderso), I want to hear the answer to this
recommendation. |
As an update - Vince from Totem suggested the Forests with a thunder sub given the choice of amp and room size. |
Larry from LSA recommends the LSA 2, a $1499. speaker which kills the $3500., Sonus Grand Piano, according to consensus of several groups of audiophiles and non audiophiles. They sound like $12000. and list for $1400. No dynamic constraints.
Even the $625. Bookshelf would destroy all commers. |
Panderso,
I have compared it to the Dynaudio Special 25 and the JM Labs Micro Utopias. For my music taste (Jazz, brazilian and latin rock) I do preffer the huge bass of the Mani-2.
Patricia Barber's Distorsion of Love, (I never went away and My Girl), are very demanding on the bass, so is Soda Stereo MTV Unplugged(first track). The Mani-2 provide deep and very tight bass on this two cds. The Special 25 bass was rather loose, the Micro Utopias couldn't go that low.
Hope this helps. |
Larry from LSA recommends the LSA 2, a $1499. speaker which kills the $3500., Sonus Grand Piano, according to consensus of several groups of audiophiles and non audiophiles. They sound like $12000. and list for $1400. No dynamic constraints.
Even the $625. Bookshelf would destroy all commers. |
The reference to "Larry from LSA" raises my curiosity level, but what company is being referred to by the posting of Lrsky? |
I just completed work on two designs which will hit the street soon.
Listening groups, which include audiophiles, and not really interested parties, all picked my designs over all the other products in the listening session. It was really embarrassing, as the LSA 2 killed the Sonus Faber at $2K more per pair.
The LSA1 and 2 is all natural wood, with rosewood as a standard finish. Three way, for the 2 and two way for the 1, with completely (as I can make it )natural sound.
Working in the lab with Jim Thiel taught me what to do, and frankly, what not to do. No hot sound here, simple an invisible tweeter,and beautiful mid.
My plan is to mass market, but there may be some direct sales.
This is kind of like Mick in Austrailia. You may wait to get hand made speakers that outperform, for example the THIEL SCS3 and the B&W 805, costing between $2K and $3K., for $625.00 |
panderso, i did quite a bit of auditioning of other speakers before going the totem route. I auditioned: proac, aerial 10t, sonus faber, thiel 1.6, joseph, revel f30 and m20, dynaudio special 25, audio physic spark III, totem hawk, totem forest, kef reference, and i used to own a pair of nht 2.9's. I first purchased a pair of totem model 1's after auditioning the above speakers. I paired the model 1's with a rel strata III sub. nice musical setup in my audio room. i then purchased a pair of totem arros for my den. amazing little speaker. i have since sold the model 1's along with the rel sub and the arros and replaced them with 2 pairs of mani 2's for my den and audio room. awesome musical full range monitor. the only issue with these speakers is the requirement of a powerful amplifier. i use a yamaha rx-v1 in my home theater room (i think 140 watts) and hooked up the mani's to the front pair and the yamaha barely drove them. they sounded just ok. i use a pair of bigger monoblocks in my audio room with the mani 2's and it makes a huge difference with the increase of power. i was contemplating purchasing a classe ca-301, ca-401 or even the omega amps to drive them in my audio room. i have to admit that I will probably be selling my 1 pair of mani's that i use in my den. to me, they are overkill for my den setup whereas the model 1's would be a better fit in this room. i will be going back to a smaller pair of totem speakers. |
Rbstehno, your post and Hepl's are most valuable. Thank you both. That kind of comparative experience is more useful to me than most professional reviews (not that I won't continue reading them)which usually leave me asking 'compared to what?'. |
