Totem Forest or Thiel CS2.3 ?

I auditioned both of these speakers separately. I was very impressed with both. The Thiels were powered by Proceed equipment in a dedicated room. I liked the forward detailed sound, and just the clarity they produced. The Forests were powered by Krell equipment in a room filled with many brands. The Forests sounded a bit more musical and fast to me. I like both. In fact, I also listened to the Thiel 2.4s which I liked the most, but the price was prohibited to me. I ended up with the Forests (bought new) due to the overall presence of sound and the fact that they play much larger than than their diminutive stature. My room is approx. 12x18 with the speakers sitting on the long wall, about 18" from the long wall behind them. I'm positioned about 8 feet from the speakers. I'm powereing the Forests with a Pass x250 and my meter never moves out of class A operation. I believe the Thiel 2.3s are more difficult to drive, make sure you consider this as well. Lastly, the premium cherry finish on my Forests is just beautiful. I'm interested in what others have to say here to see how my opinion measures up with others. Good luck.

I would buy the Totem. You might prefer the Thiel if you prefer the sheer scale and weight and attack that they will have over the Totem.

First, I never managed to enjoy the 2.3, and even preferred listening to music through the 1.5. Something about the 2.3 was impressive, but not musical. I like acoustic music and naturally recorded vocals to sound like it is in the room with me, and the 2.3 never did that. But anything that required weight and scale was exhilarating for sure.

Second, alarm bells ring when you say you want to place them on the short wall. Eight feet apart is fine with the Totem, but the Thiel will sound better at nine feet - something that might get them too close to side walls by the sounds of it. I think you could probably put them as close as 18 inches from side walls, but their very broad radiation pattern means you will have to damp the side walls at the first reflection point at least. Secondly, firing down the room sitting 13 feet from the speakers, sounds problemmatic to me with the Thiels. Again, because they have a very broad radiation pattern, I would expect flutter echo and other echo problems that far away, and with the speakers that close to side walls - meaning the room is likely to need some wall treatment for you to get well defined imaging. I once set up a system for a friend, using Thiel 2.3s, in a room that was 14*23*8. He wanted the speakers along the short side and we found that sitting closer than 13 feet was required, to avoid the sense that the sound was coming from the walls, floors and ceilings as much as the speakers. Ten to eleven feet was best.

I have less experience with the Forest, but some, and more experience with other Totems, but I would expect them to fit your room better then the Thiel.

Another vote for the Forests.

Another appealing thing about the Forest is that you can drive them with lowish power if you ever decide to go that route. I am using 15 watt tube amps and the sound is fantastic. They claim the impedance never drops below 6 ohms.

Thanks to all of you for your helpful comments. Being Canadian I tend to lean towards the Totems. I have also heard good thigs about the Mani 2. Does anyone have any experience with it.

Regards
Brent

The Mani 2 would be ideal in your room in my opinion. I have had a pair in a similar room and it worked very well.

I thought the Mani 2 was excellent, but I believe it's more money, it's more difficult to drive and you need stands. I didn't feel they were justified compared to the Forests, but certainly another option for you.