I've owned both the de Capo BE (I installed the tweeters) and the Totem Sky. Having said that, I'd recommend you call both manufacturers and let them know your amp and see what they say Tash at Reference is accessible and honest. I've never touched base with Totem, but I imagine they'd be similar. Both are fantastic speakers, with the de Capo having achieved a deservedly cult status. They're the one speaker I let get away that I wish I'd held onto.
Two Canadians and a Dane walk into a bar.... (bookshelf advice)
Sorry about the intro, but I have gotten the itch to upgrade my current Acoustic Energy Aegis Evo One bookshelf speakers. Current amp is a 40w Jolida 202A with upgraded tubes and the room is small - 13’x11’. My music is everything from Jack White to Miles Davis.
Years ago I sampled many budget bookshelf models and was drawn to the laid back sound of the soft dome tweeters used in my AE’s.
This time around I am considering the Totem Sky, Dynaudio Special Forty and Reference 3A De Capo. I have not heard the BE - Beryllium tweeters used in the Reference 3A’s.
There is a large range in efficiency between the De Capos and the Forties. How much should these numbers factor into my decision?
Has anyone compared any of these side by side? Any other other recommendations?
I am also interested in the respective “little brother” speakers - Evoke 10 & 3A Dulcet. These more cost effective options may work well in this room size.
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You’ve got some good recommendations here. I’d shy away from the Totems and Dyns because your amp may not have enough juice to get them to fully open up, and I’ll put in a recommendation for the new LSA-10 Signatures that are on sale here now for $1799/pr. new by the manufacturer. They have a silk-dome tweeter and are getting some very favorable initial reviews, and they offer a 30-day, in-home trial, which is huge. Best of luck in your search. |
Totem and Dynaudio are not tube amp friendly. DeCapo is rumored to be more so but the specs published have been questioned as making them appear more efficient than they are. Personally I would look no further than Fritz speakers for an affordable stand mount model that sounds great and is designed to be an easy load for most any amp. |
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With regard to the Fritz Carrera BE, it is claimed the xover does not have any capacitor or resistor. It is interesting to know how he can match the efficiency of the tweeter and the woofer. The BE dome is about 92 - 95dB whereas the woofer is around 87dB. Maybe he is using the woofer resistance as a resistor in series with the tweeter, but then it would be worse than using an external quality resistor for that. Having looking at the link, it does have a resistor http://web.archive.org/web/20110902214134/http:/arhifi.dk/store/product.php?id_product=22 . Having a closer look to the Acoustic Reality xover, it does take a hit in term of efficiency. At low frequencies, it robs some of the current that would be going to the woofer. I have not listened to the speakers but I would guess it may not be as dynamic compared to a more conventional speakers using typical parallel xover. Does anyone have a freq. of the speaker? |
To b_limo, I created a thread at diyaudio.com so if you could post the xover there. The cap may have been used for impedance correction so it may not be in the signal path. Without impedance correction, the impedance might be too high. https://www.diyaudio.com/forums/multi-way/355929-acoustic-reality-series-xover.html#post6239932 |
I've owned Reference 3A de Capo i's with the original soft domed tweeter, and I loved those speakers. They were powered plenty with my 35W tube integrated (Primaluna Dialogue One), in fact, too good, as I never got volume up even close to 12:00. The only reason I don't still own them is that they sucked being placed in an actual bookshelf location on either side of the fireplace (WAF issues rule in the living room). Their rear porting will not work when it is that closed in. |
how about a $4000 pr. of speakers for $1499, gloss black or white and add $200 extra for cherry.https://www.accessories4less.com/make-a-store/item/cantventoref92dcblka/canton-vento-reference-9.2-d... there's a ton of youtube videos on them. |
Update - I was able to listen to both the Sonus Faber Sonetto 1's and the Dyaudio Evoke 10's. The Sonus Fabers were nice, but no "WOW" factor for my ears. The Evokes sounded amazing with an 80w NAD SS amp. This brings me back to the sensitivity issue... Evoke 10's are only rated to 84db versus 88db in the Dulcets. I feel like the 4db difference is significant, can someone confirm? Where do I go from here? |