Totem Mani 2 Sig. vs Dynaudio C1

I have owned both, and both has its strengths and weaknesses. C1 is a great speaker, but I got rid of them because I couldnt stand how ugly they were. Dynaudio Special 25 is the best of both worlds, except they are not quite as smooth sounding as the C1, and dont have quite as much bass as the Manis. My vote is for the Manis, because I like their nice clean simple looks, they have impressive bass for their size, and have been in production for almost 20 yrs. Some other nice monitors to look at would be the older Dynaudio Confidence 3s, and Crafft/C2 monitors. IMHO the Confidence 3s were the best monitors Dynaudio made.

I have heard both totem mani and the Dynaudio. If it was my money I would look for a pair of second hand Special 25's, next would be the Mani 2 and finally the C1.

While the C1 is a great speak I would really miss the base extention.

Yes, Barry, that's what I would assume - makes sense to me. In that case, neither the Totem or Dyn would be the best choice for low volume listening. I have heard too, that the later C1s are much better at low volume - something about a tweak to the crossover?

Now you're talking Harbeth!Later generation C1's are apparently better at low volume. Please correct me if I'm wrong, but to me it would seem counter intuitive to believe that speakers that are known to thrive on watts and current would excel playing at low volume levels.

Great responses, all. Thank you!
Can anyone tell me if either works better at low volume?

For those interested in knowing... the Mani-2's use Dynaudio 17W75-XL drivers (2 in each speaker configured in an isobaric arrangement) for bass. Simply amazing for the size, I don't think anything exists today that has topped these in that regard IMO.

http://www.neat.co.uk/p_pages/xls.php
similar design,similar price
Anyway,I always wanted to try mani 2 signature.Here in europe they are very expensive.Who wants excange to c1:D?

I have owned both and was more pleased with the C1 overall, although the Mani 2 definately was superior in bass extension. I just found the C1 to be more coherent and easier and more enjoyable over the long term. Each to their own though. I actually preferred th Dynaudio Special 25 Anniversary over both C1 and Mani 2. It also has good bass extension and is a little more sensitive than either. They all are great speakers.

The bass response you will get depends on the room to a large degree. Some rooms seem to amplify and muddy the bass, while other rooms just seem to cancel it out, leaving you with a thin sound. IMO, in the normal domestic environment, it's largely a matter of luck. That said, the Mani 2's are wonderful speakers with very good bass response and a realistic midrange that sounds wonderful on vocals. But they are very power hungry and, if you want to turn them up, I would say 250 watts minimum.

I see you have a 180 watt SS amp, but that in itself means little. The Mani 2's are a very demanding load and you need a very high-quality amplifier with a stiff power supply to drive it to its potential. If you call Vince at Totem, he'll be very honest with you about whether your amp is adequate. Best of luck.

I too owned the Totem Mani-2's and can vouch for the quality and quantity of bass - - no subwoofer required! They should energize your room just fine.

I cannot comment from experience on the C1's but I can tell you that the Mani-2's deliver in spades! If you look at specs for each, the C1's are 45Hz +/- 3 dB and the Mani-2's are 29 Hz +/- 3dB. I wouldn't hesitate for one second to state that the Mani-2's deliver as promised, and it's not bloated or muddy bass, it is exceptionally deep bass. For those interested in knowing... the Mani-2's use Dynaudio 17W75-XL drivers (2 in each speaker configured in an isobaric arrangement) for bass. Simply amazing for the size, I don't think anything exists today that has topped these in that regard IMO.

I can say with the utmost confidence that you will not need a sub if you go with the Totems!

Good luck in your quest.

Philip

Great, thanks Xti16 - all good info.
Now, can anyone comment who has had experience with both the Mani 2 sig. and Dyn C1?
-Bob

As a former Dyn C1 owner I can only comment on those. I have heard some Totem speakers used Dynaudio drivers. But Dynaudio never sells their current production driver, and if those in the Totems are Dynaudio drivers which driver are they? From the Focus/Contour or Confidence series?

That said my room is very similar to yours and had them set up on the long wall. They worked very well and I even had a Rel B3 with the crossover set to 36hz to add the lows the C1's can't do. So they go pretty low on their own. If you should decide on the C1's make sure you get the Stand2/4/6. They make a difference.

That said there are 3 versions of the C1's. The originals sounded the best at the higher spl's. The MKII/Sig had a crossover redesign along with an upgrade to the internal wiring and a new coating on the Esotar2 tweeter. Since I owned both the original and the Sig's I will say the MKII/Sig sounded much better at lower listening levels, BUT they won't play as loud as the originals before bottoming out. The newest are the Platinum's which only offer a cosmetic difference over the MKII/Sig.

Best of luck whatever you decide