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Totem Hawk: Outdated compared to newer spks??

Need to gather some input as to whether the Totem's HAWK speaker($3300 retail) is still a good value in terms of overall performance. The design has been around for over ten years with a few minor upgrades I heard the speaker several times and liked them.

Nevertheless, are speakers like the Usher BE-718, or Monitor Audio's Gold GX-100 which are monitors, (or even another small floorstander like the Hawks) going to significantly outperform them?? Welcome your input and experience with these speakers. Thanks
sunnyjim

Showing 2 responses by paraneer

paraneer's avatar
paraneer
818 posts
 
The design has been around for over ten years with a few minor upgrades I heard the speaker several times and liked them
If you heard them and liked them, that is probably the most important aspect in selecting a speaker.

Not sure by what you mean about the design being around 10 years? Its a ported 2 way speaker - a design has been around for over 50 years and will most likely be used for another 50 barring any significant breakthrough in how we listen to speakers. I think the Usher and MA's you site are ported 2 ways too.

Now the drivers used in the other two are different but not the design. And just because they are more recent models, doesn't mean they will outperform the Hawks. They could actually sound worse to you than the Hawks. I would suggest you listen to these and judge for yourself rather than get hung up on how long a speaker has been around.
paraneer's avatar
paraneer
818 posts
 
First Mr. Parneer, I am not a great believer that older technology has the sonic charm to possibly sound better than newer speaker technology. On rare occasions, that might be true as several members have qualified. Basically, to me that is an old wives tale, If that were the case, then I might as well go on e-bay, and look for a mint pair of the original Advent speakers, or even maybe a pair of the defunct Rectilinear 3A's
Huh? Where did this come from? I am not a fan of vintage loudspeakers either (Advents, Rectilinears?). The Hawks you asked about are a current model still being sold as brand new. Its just that they have been a model in Totems lineup for ten years now. If its still a new model though, its hardly vintage. So why the comparisons to vintage?

You asked about its design. The design is a ported 2 way floorstander. That design has been around 50 years or so and most likely another 50 years. Totem can keep the Hawk around another ten years in its line-up and I would think the model would still be relevant. Its a classic 2 way design.

Hope this clarifies the point I was making and good luck in your speaker search.
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