Really why do you say that, I was hoping more base and speaker
efficiency would fill my room up more do you think Totems are better
To my ears, Totem is the the more tonally accurate brand, and better regarding imaging and detail, at least compared to the 936.
My experience with the Focal 936 specifically, was that it produced a cold, artificial sounding midrange. All genres were presented with the same coloration. That, and on the whole, I found they were only competitive in the $2K price segment, comparable to the likes of MA Silver 8s, Revel F36s, and B&W CM series etc., not the $4K range where they were easily outclassed in many areas. At the time, I had an opportunity to buy a demo pair of 936s for $2K but ended up choosing the Magnepan 1.7is. The Revel F36s were my runner ups. I’ve since sold the 1.7is and own several sub $4K speakers that I consider superior (I’m one of those who believes there is no such thing as a perfect speaker).
Sure, the Focals will play louder and fill the room more easily, however, you can achieve the same by high-passing your Totems and pairing them with a pair of good subs. This is what I’ve done with my Spendors and the sound is phenomenal. I highly recommend this alternative if you have the space. An additional sub for stereo output was one of my very best investments. The improvements are not limited to the bass freqs. The soundstage width nearly doubled.
