Totem mani 2 or Dynaudio 1.3 SE

I am also in the market for some speakers and have found the Dyn 1.3 se to be as described in this thread. Extremely accurate with the best tonality of speakers at its price point and a bit above. I have not heard the mani 2.
They dyns are a little tough to drive however. Tube amps need not apply, but I think it would be a great match with your CJ pre. I love their preamps and I think the dyn would be a nice match for its warmth. I think that the mani-2, as described in this thread, would be far too slow and tubby with the CJ. Best of luck in your search!

Thanks for all the responses! It looks like most of you are in favor of the mani 2's. Looks like I am going to have to buy a pair just to audition them. I have listened to the Dynaudios, as well as the Revel M20. I liked both of them but was hoping for something with more of that "undefinable something" in it. I've never heard a any of Totem's speakers but I am now extremely intrigued. The Mani 2's may be a little too much for my CJ Premier 11a to drive though, I'll have to look into that. I'll also have to inquire about amp compatibility for the 1.3 SE's.

I've heard both these speakers in stores, and I think they are both good, but quite different. The Dynaudio's are more "accurate," leaner and drier, whereas the Totems are warm, earthy, lusty things. I thought the Mani 2 was great for its drive, bass and harmonic meatiness and it is the best soundstage I've ever heard (driven by Sim and Classe, with Transparent cables and Richard Gray PLC). The drawback is that you must have lots of good power and rock solid stands. It may be small, but it's a $4k speaker and needs a commensurate amp, placement well into the room and massive stands. Isobarik woofers in a small cabinet will just eat power. Hepl's Klout is no doubt a good choice. And you definitely need something like Sound Anchors' four pillar stand. I considered buying them and ended up spending a lot more to get something genuinely better.

On the last sentence of my original sentence there is an error. What I meant was "you cannot go wrong with the Mani-2". Sorry, english is not my first language. Thanks

I am a Totem Mani-2 owner, and I can say that they are incredible speakers. You will get full range sound from a small package. You have to put them on a strong solid stand and drive them with lots of smooth amplifier power. It will reveal any flaw in the upstream components so be carefull to go for quality. Some of the cleanest and most powerful bass in a real world speaker I've heard.

totem mani 2 is your best choice,i am using the tabu
and they are great

About the Totem Mani-2 I can tell you they are amazing.
I bought a demo pair, about 2K from Seyla, a member in Canada. I bought them for my backup system, Linn Genki +
Wakonda Pre and Klout power amp, I have just realized that I
haven't listen to my main system in weeks, didn't need to I am quite happy with them, they could be the last speaker you will need to buy. My main system is a Linn Ikemi + Kairn Pre + Klouts (4) and Keltiks. They are so good, bass is incredible and so is the mid and high. Just take care to mate them with equaly good electronics and enough power.
The finish is incredible, they put to shame my 10K Keltiks.
Seyla has another demo pair in mahogany, he is true to his word, he told me they were a 10/10 and they were. The only drawback to this speaker is their MSRP, but they can be bought used for around 2K. You can go wrong with the Mani-2.