Would Totem Arro's be a significant upgrade from Kef Q150's


My listening room is on the long/narrow side 8' x 18' x 8' high. Therefore I listen in the nearfield, speakers (Kef Q150's) are 5' apart and myself 7' away from them. I very much enjoy the sound I'm getting from them. My setup is Yamaha A-S501 with chromecast audio going into the optical input, streaming Spotify premium. My speakers are 2' away from the rear wall and I find the bass is plentiful that I don't use a sub woofer. I have the opportunity to purchase a pair of used Totem Arro's which would work in my room as far as tower speakers are concerned. I am quite happy with the sound I'm hearing now, but if this would be a significant improvement I would purchase the Arro's and sell my Kef's. Type of music I listen to is a lot of acoustical, alternative/indie, a little classic rock.  
hagarthehorrible

Hey @immatthewj wait a second. I just kinda realized something looking back at other threads. So you have the standard Cary V12 or V12I amp then now?

Before you try and test any more speakers, there could be a whole separate thread on what caps and tubes you have in your preamp and your amp now. Gotta tell ya, I drove myself crazy with my former V12R until I made upgrades, and this changed everything downstream for the speakers. Speakers reacted differently. Like, I’m saying, maybe a whole separate thread and i’ll pose two questions. Maybe take it over to a V12 thread or something as I can’t reply to msgs due to Agon fees, CC.

You can send me a msg, with these answers, and I’ll have to send a separate message later to reply back - separately.

 

Amp: Is the V12 all stock, and does it have the old original gray looking AudioOne coupling caps in it now? [if so, its time for a change, no doubt]. What front end EL84s do you have it it now, what brand/model/era. Same goes for 6922s etc.

Preamp: Do you run the SLP-05 preamplifier now [or am I confused]. Exactly what tubes/model/era are you running in the preamp now? [if running the new Tung Sol tubes, they are smoothed over, kinda veiled over, not good in my Cary SLP98]. I run other TJ Full Music there and just received new PSVane Art Series II 6SN7s direct from the factory and testing those soon. Opening box in just a bit, fyi.

If I’m remotely close to these other assumptions, its definitely worth a serious look here first before more speaker buys imo, and fwiw. Before I upgraded my V12R, it was a bit more flat and dull sounding. After the upgrades, it was truly amazing. The new owner was astonished at the sound, he also compared it at his friends house against a very high $ Aesthetix amplifier and both said my upgraded Cary V12r surpassed the sound of the Aesthetix. They drove it hard I guess, even with massive electrostats until it ran hot for weeks I guess, and had a transformer meltdown or something  The only thing upgraded in that V12R was the coupling caps and the smaller input/driver tubes up front to very nice matched vintage tubes. If you want more open and large sound with a V12, this will do it. Send me a msg with the answers fwiw.  

 

@decooney , not all that long ago I was able to send someone a message by hovering the cursor over their icon and clicking on the send message when it appeared in the drp down box.  For some reason, that function no longer works for me.  I know from reading I have done on this site that there was a pretty good thread with a discussion you had going with @oldhvymec , but I wonder if anyone would mind if I just started a new V12 thread in 'amps/preamps'?  I'll give it a try, and if it is a line crosser, the mods can just delete it.

If you don’t love how your speakers sound, I say move on.  Try something else you can buy, try and return for little or no money.  I have the Revel M126Be and I love them.  the best bookshelves I’ve heard in my listening room.  I tried the KEF R3 Meta, B&W 705 S2 and S3 and others and I preferred the Revels.  I believe there is no perfect speaker only what’s perfect for you based on what you like, your room and your budget etc.  FOMO is a different story.  It’s a definite challenge with this hobby.