Your Unsung Heroes.

Zero

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So.. have any of you ever loved a speaker that's been overlooked or unappreciated by your fellow audio brethren?

I have.

For the better part of 8 years, I found musical harmony in a set of Totem Acoustic Sttaf's. Man, could those things absolutely sing when set up properly. I admit that every once in awhile, I find myself longing for their wonderful tone, not to mention dat soundstage - which could stretch for dayzzzz. :D Anyways, those were my hidden gems. What were/are yours?
 
Platinum audio solos. Damn things were $900 used. And I cursed myself for upgrading to audio physic virgos. And never found another pair for sale. They imaged like none other. Big deep tight bass from 4" woofers. I loved and lost!!! Lol!!!
 
My old Genesis 44's. Tweeter has gone bad now....but found new old stock. May replace.
 
My ProAc response 2.5's. I bought them in 1998. After listening to one song, I knew I wanted them.

They stayed in my system for 15 years until earlier this year when I listened to the Harbeth SHL5's.
 
So.. have any of you ever loved a speaker that's been overlooked or unappreciated by your fellow audio brethren?

I have.

For the better part of 8 years, I found musical harmony in a set of Totem Acoustic Sttaf's. Man, could those things absolutely sing when set up properly. I admit that every once in awhile, I find myself longing for their wonderful tone, not to mention dat soundstage - which could stretch for dayzzzz. :D Anyways, those were my hidden gems. What were/are yours?

It's funny you mention Totem. The Element Metals which I currently have, are the first speakers I have owned that I am truly content with, yet you rarely hear mention of them. I continually ask myself, is my interpretation of a great sounding speaker that different than everyone else?
 
RLL1,

It's funny you should chime in, as I noticed your avatar when I first joined this site. :) I too enjoy the way Totem's make music. Vince knows his shiz.

IN FACT.... I got to spend a bit of time with the 'Fire's earlier this year. Great speakers. The whole Element series is rather unique insofar as Totem's go. Suffice to say, I can't wait to publish my synopsis of em'. :)

As for why you don't read much about Totem's Element line, here is my understanding of the situation: For the past couple years, Totem has been focusing on markets outside of the usual Hi-Fi channels. While the company still caters towards the Hi-Fi business, they've also been establishing a name for themselves in the installer/designer/decour community. Funnily enough, McIntosh has been doing the very same thing. Word on the grapevine is that the strategy has been working out well for both companies.

So yep, Totem is still alive and well. Better than ever, in fact! But since they've all but ceased advertising in the big rags, and since they rarely submit products for formal review anymore, you'll probably not see em' mentioned on audio forums with the same frequency as in the past.
 
NOoooooooooo I've been caught! Darned internetz! hehe Nah, I stopped writing for Sonicflare a couple years ago. However, I will be launching my own site here in the near future. To be entirely honest, it won't be that big of a deal. I have no intention on competing with anybody, nor will I be looking to accept advertising/sponsors. It'll just be a place where I can riff (quite bluntly) about various Hi-Fi stuff.
 
I really want to hear the Totem Element series.

Unsung heroes...I had a pair of Totem Rainmakers that were a bunch of fun. Not very audiophile approved but great fun none the less.
 
When Cyrus bought out Mission (late 80's or early 90's) I snapped up a pair of 782's. They retailed for $800. They were even better than the original Mission 770's. I used them until I got the original Dyn C1's about 6 yrs ago. I still have them.
 
I'm going to list a few from past and present and all of them are budget speakers because to me, an unsung hero, is really an underdog with stellar performance that compares in some regards to higher priced designs and overall doesn't get the respect that it should. And FWIW, I've personally owned all them or a prior version of said speaker.

Sequerra Metronome 7, Mk.II

I bought a pair from Dick Sequerra himself when he used to work out of his house in Bayside, NY back around 1989/90. After reading the rave review in TAS, I called him up and requested a demo since he was only selling direct at the time. He invited me to his home in Bayside and went down to his basement where he had his listening room and I suppose his workshop. Set up with vintage Marantz gear and a Marantz/Philips CD player, it was a jaw dropping demo not only because the speakers completely disappeared, with an overall smooth tonal balance that was easy to listen to with solid bass extension down to the mid 40's. The overall sound was stunning for a pair of speakers that were selling for only $450.

Years later, I also got a chance to hear the original Met 7's and they were a complete disappointment with an uneven response exaggerated by a severe suckout in the mids.

Spica TC-50

Another budget speaker whose imaging/soundstage rivaled that of more exotic speakers but costed only a fraction of the price. No low end to speak of and the last bit of top end sparkle was missing, but the mids were right and again, these speakers when setup correctly simply disappeared.

Magnepan MMG

I used to own the predecessor to these, the SMGc and have heard the latest MMG's on many occasions. Properly amped and with proper placement and a good front end, these baby Maggies do shine like very few under $1000 budget speakers. A taste of what planar/ribbon speakers are all about and more specifically, bigger and better Magnepan designs? Sure. A great budget speaker and even more so, a great speaker in it's own right? Absolutely.

Vandersteen IIce Signature II

Arguably, the best selling audiophile speaker of all time and for good reason. These are the quintessential Vandersteen speakers, a "jack of all trades, master of none" speaker if there ever was one. One of the easiest speakers to live with, year after year and one that you can recommend easily to a friend who may not necessarily be an audiophile but truly loves music. It's a speaker that gets out of the way and lets you into the heart and soul of the music without calling attention to itself. It's also amazing that pricing has stayed in check for a speaker that is going on nearly 4 decades of revisions. Lastly, it's the speaker that I held unto the longest of any other speakers that I've owned in the past and that in itself is pretty special.
 
RLL1,

It's funny you should chime in, as I noticed your avatar when I first joined this site. :) I too enjoy the way Totem's make music. Vince knows his shiz.

IN FACT.... I got to spend a bit of time with the 'Fire's earlier this year. Great speakers. The whole Element series is rather unique insofar as Totem's go. Suffice to say, I can't wait to publish my synopsis of em'. :)

As for why you don't read much about Totem's Element line, here is my understanding of the situation: For the past couple years, Totem has been focusing on markets outside of the usual Hi-Fi channels. While the company still caters towards the Hi-Fi business, they've also been establishing a name for themselves in the installer/designer/decour community. Funnily enough, McIntosh has been doing the very same thing. Word on the grapevine is that the strategy has been working out well for both companies.

So yep, Totem is still alive and well. Better than ever, in fact! But since they've all but ceased advertising in the big rags, and since they rarely submit products for formal review anymore, you'll probably not see em' mentioned on audio forums with the same frequency as in the past.

I'm looking forward to hearing your thoughts on the Fire's.
 
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