Can the Totem Hawk Rock?


I was told by a dealer, who distributes both Totem and B&W that the Hawks are superior in every way to the B&W 704 except for volume (Note: the 704 is an excellent speaker). This particular dealer does not stock the Hawk, because he stocks the Staff and claims the two are so close in sound. I already know from second-hand research that I would prefer the Hawk over the Staff. However, I hate to ask the dealer to bring in the Hawk specially for me if there’s a chance I might not like their sound - thus my thread. I appreciate quick detail, image and clarity, a good soundstage, etc., but I do like to crank up the volume when the wife and kids are away. I'm from the old-school and like to "feel" the music right in my chest. When the dealer said the Totem's wouldn’t play as loud as the B&W's I thought I should ask you Agoners before I drive 3 hrs to listen to a pair of speakers that the dealer would have to bring in specially for me to demo. I've demo'd the 704's and was impressed with their ability to play loud, but I was not that happy with their overall sound.
Note: My listening room is small (12 x 15) - due to layout, I'm forced set up and listen between the shorter distance (12 feet). I can bring the speakers out 18 - 20 inches without freaking the wife out too much (that is the max though!)

Thanks in advance to your responses. Keep in mind, my budget is only $2,200.00 max. so no need to remind me of all the really great, but pricey, speaker choices.
2chnlben
Fantastic advice from all. I love this website...I'm hooked; had to get up early today (before the "honeydo's" and check for responses).
A lot of responses dealt with having sufficient power for the Totem's. So, give it to me straight, do I have enough power? I'm powering my speakers with an Audio Research D-240 (IMHO a good solid state amp). That's 240 watts per into 4 ohms or 120 per into 8 ohms (not sure what the math is for 6 ohms). Not sure what the Totems are; I assume 6 ohms? Anyway, it's a tuff little amp and my Musical Design tube preamp helps to smooth out the solid state sound. I'm running the Martin Logan Sequel II's just fine right now. I'm not sure how efficient the ML's are?
I will agree with Exertfluffer on auditioning any speaker in your room with your equipment. if you get quality equipment on audiogon at a decent price, you will be able to sell it again if you don't like it. Totem speakers sell pretty fast on audiogon.

I would not agree with Exertfluffer on driving these speakers into distress unless you cross them over at 80hz. If you were trying to get 115 decibels of sound in a 15 x 30 ft room, then these would not be your speaker, go with revel's, joseph, wilson watt puppys, or totem winds. you have a small room, it will not take much to produce loud music. when i had my totem model 1's with a rel sub, i ran the model 1's full range with no crossover involved. this was rel's recommendation. i had that system very loud with no breakup/distress. one thing to remember, you need a quality amp. if you don't, then the speaker would start breaking up because of the lack of power, not from the speaker not handling the power.
good luck!
..."I would not agree with Exertfluffer on driving these speakers into distress unless you cross them over at 80hz."

This statement doesn't make any sense! First, the Hawk is a 6 ohm, 86 db, two way design with one tweeter and a small 5 1/4 inch driver! This speaker, even with a 1000 watt per channel amp(or biamped for that matter) needs ALL THE HELP IT CAN GET TO HANDLE ANYTHING WITH REAL DYANAMICS!!!! Also, if you did cross those FLOORSTANDING "BOOKSHELF SPEAKERS"(which is what they are) over at 80hz, you would be getting much better dynamic control and power handling with these, because you'd be taking all the demanding bass load off of them, which would make your amp/speaker combo sound much much much more dynamic, controled, powerful, composed, un-compressed, and distress-free!! Your powered sub would then bring in the demanding bass dubties, just like any properly set up home theater or THX system. These low sensitivity, small driver music speakers can't handle the goods at any reasonable level with any level of control, impact, power, dynamics and or authority! They'll sound like small speakers in dire need of help if you really push them..and not just to 115 db! This speaker recommends on it's website "107 db" peak potential!!!!!...that's the extreme outside!. With an 86 db rating(not to mention small woofer) you would reach 106 with a hundred what amp. This is the outstrech of what they are recommending in terms of volume. yes, a larger amp will help control. But still, compresshion, distress, distrotion, and the outer limits will be quickly reached.
Then again, don't take my word for it. Just go buy them and try them! I mean you have the itch, right? Then, just plunk in some Techno, Metalic, rap, or even HT movies, play em full range, and just listen to those drivers beg for mercy!..not to mention the sound will be less than composed and powerful! Then, you can cross em over to a sub, and hear IMMEDIATE DIFFERNCE AND IMPROVEMENT DYHAMICALLY!(by the way, this is how THX recommmends things for a reason...passive speakers can't deliver mostly full range...they need help).
So when you pop in "Fluke" (track: "Absurd"). YOu'll know what I mean.
Seriously, if anyone here thinks a little 5 1/4 inch driver is going to rock your socks off, you are sadly mistaken! These are not pro audio, active, or large horn speakers with big bass woofers. They are dainty audiopile spaekers,that have serious dynamic limits. They can' be made to play hard and strong, but you must crossover and do bass managment of some sort, and enlist acxtive woofer as help. Sorry...that's the way it is. I've worked in 6 high end stores over 15 years, and done custom for many of those...not to mention I'm an avid 2 channel and HT junkie, who's constantly tweaking and trying out different gear for a living and hobby! I've "been there and done that". You can't expect small speakers to just change the laws of physics.
Anyway, the bottom line for you is to try this speaker and some combo's or setup preferences and see!
I'm just saying, if you think you'll pop in any hip/hop, heavy dynamic pop/rock/techo/whatever, and just wow your friends and neighbors with those dinky dudes, rethink. It's not going to happen. You'll be the only one excited, trust me. If you like those speakers enough, and listened, then consider bass managment(which effectively partially actively bi-amp's them) for rock dubties. Either way, you'll find out real quick.
Hey listen, I've sold Wilson's, Dunlavy's, Celestion, Meridian's, B&W's(not bettered by Totem, sorry), Totem's(complete line), Jm Lab's, Martin Logan, Aud Physic, NHT, Paradigm, Mirage, Maggies and Apogee's, Thiel, Def Tech, Sonus Faber, Boston, Polk, Klipsch, Infinity, and many others. And if Speakrs like Wilson WATT Puppies or Dunlavy SC1V's can't rock to their potential without some help, than neither can your delicate 86db 5" speakers! So be realistic.
BTW, The Mani two's don't have the greatest treble, and their bass is a bit thick and lumpy(as with most issobaric loaded woofers), and the Totem model 1's are soft and lack detail(compared to any of the B&W's Matrix or Nautilus series, which aren't as detailed as others even, yes!)
Exertfluffer, it is not about watts, it is about power. i have heard bob carver amps that claim 400 watts that did not produce the power of an onkyo 70 watt amp. you need a good 'powerfull' amp (not just an amp with a lot of watts) to drive totem speakers to their fullest. also, i would not crossover an audio speaker at 80hz, even if it is the THX standard, i don't even do that in my dedicated ht room.
i don't understand your response about a smaller speaker not producing a big sound. you don't want to overpower the room with speakers. 2chnlben claims his room is fairly small, so he will be able to get a big sound out of a smaller speaker. are you trying to tell everyone that he would need a large floorstanding speaker with an 18" subwoofer to get a full loud sound? i don't think so. also, what is loud? 80 decibels, 90, 100, ...? 100 decibels in a small room is pretty loud, especially when you are practically sitting next to the speakers.
2chnlben, your best bet is to bring home a pair of the speakers you like and listen to them using your equipment in your environment. if you like them, buy them, if you don't send them back or sell them. Nobody can really tell you how a speaker system is going to sound in your environment.
BTW Exertfluffer, i have never heard of a review of the mani 2's indicating that the bass is lumpy and thick. my guess is that you were listening to them using an amp like the Carver i talked about above instead of a good quality amp!
Thanks guys. I realize I need to demo different speakers and ultimately try them in my listening environment. The dilemma is that I need to drive 3 hrs east to demo the Totems and 3 hours west to demo Thiel (two brands I'm interested in). That's why I really do appreciate all your input - it does help in my decision-making. Now, I do have a B&W dealer practically right next door to me. I may have to audition the 704's again. The reviewers seem to like the 704's, but I wasn't overly impressed with them. My budget is going to allow me the B&W 704; Totem Hawk; Thiel CS1.6; or something else I'm not familiar with. Have any of you done any comparisons with the three I mentioned? I realize that there are some killer bookshelfs in this price-range, but I think I need a bigger speaker for the lower end.

Thanks,
2Chnlben