Best Speakers For Electronica Music

Your dealer was probably under the impression when you mentioned electronic music...he was thinking Who-level volume in a nightclub...if you are after that then by all means upgrade.I also enjoy crystal method/chemical brothers at moderate levels with no sub and my main, full range speakers are fine.Granted, I am missing some bass but im a city dweller in an apt, and I have head phones if needed. I would add a sub (if feasible) instead of taking a loss to upgrade in the Totem line.Or don't sweat it and keep the volume reasonable.

Many think that electronic music is house and techno, but it's far beyond that. For instence if you'll be listening to Jean Michelle Jarre, then Arros are plenty enough.

I run a 2.1 system, and speakers that are voiced for jazz and classical do well with electronic music because they can draw out the little details. My sub handles the subtle sub-bass that adds texture to the mids, this is something you miss with speakers that do not have large drivers. Low frequencies are about moving large amounts of air. Subs are not difficult to set up, I connect mine directly to the taps on my amp. but, if you're set on not having a sub, you could try Paradigm, I've had them before and liked them. I've been listening to electronica and IDM since the 90's.
I've also had B&W 685s and 604 s3s, and I liked them, but my Quads are better for electronic music, they are more neutral.
I have no experience with Totem. But I have heard good things.

If you are on a budget, Audiokinesis is very good about getting good bass for the buck. He also has a subwoofer system called the Swarm which can be used to eliminate spots in the room where there is no bass. It just got an award in The Absolute Sound.

FWIW, the better the speaker, the better it will be for any particular genre of music. Speakers and electronics don't exercise taste; if its really good at classical it will be really good at electronia or heavy metal too. The idea that a speaker is particularly good for a certain genre is one of the biggest myths in the world of loudspeakers.

As an example- my speakers do classical really well- they also do electronia really well (some of my faves are Global Communication, Massive Attack, Infinity Project; I guess I like the downbeat stuff with big bass...). But they also do 80s heavy rock (there is a thread on this forum about the best speaker for that genre; IMO a lot of 80s rock borrows heavily from electronic music), they do heavy metal very well (there is a thread on this form for that topic too...) and they do jazz very well.

The speakers are the Classic Audio Loudspeakers model T-3. They go down to 20Hz without the need of a sub. They are also 98 db 1 watt/1 meter. Efficiency is always helpful regardless of musical genre. It seems that musicians of all types find ways to make that efficiency useful :)

"The idea that a speaker is particularly good for a certain genre is one of the biggest myths in the world of loudspeakers."

I'm glad THIS was finally noted, I've held this belief for a while. Really, why should a speaker/system "specialize" in a particular type of music?