Totem Forest...any thoughts. I've heard they are somewhat difficult to drive. Efficiency sits at 87db with 8ohm nominal rating, not going below around 6ohms. Would a Bryston 4B be sufficient to drive?
I saw a pair at a very discounted price and got thinking. Not sure I'm ready to buy and as usual, if you don't move quick on these things you lose. I haven't heard the Forests myself but have read a bit. J. Atkinson at Stereophille seemed to like them and say they were worth the dime; however, the review on Audiophillia stated that their midrange was lacking and symptomatic of a two-way design. I've also read that they are strong at the two ends but not something to speak of in the midrange. Strength seems to be in the soundstage and imaging, which are my favourite qualities in a speaker, along with definition. Any description of their sound? Any comparisions to other product of their sound? Where do they stack up? Thanks.
Description of their sound: big powerful presentation. Loads of scale from a relatively small floorstander. They need to stand in free space so that they don't boom in the bass but otherwise it's a big, powerful pacey sound. I have not heard of them lacking in midrange, although i can see how this could happen if they were not setup correctly.
Would my Onkyo 805 be capable of running the Forests with reasonable results while I'm in the midst of searching for a more suitable power souce (over the next year)? The real question is whether the Forests will provide any better than my Sinclairs (which do sound quite good on the Onkyo - even in stereo model) or will they just non-perform given the lack of compatability with my AVR? Thanks.
Well, I had them for quick try with Arcam 350 by amped. In my opinion - no midrange. Like Frank mentioned - I did not play too much with set up and placement, but this is what I think - very good base and highs but lacking in mid.
It does stand to reason that mids may be sacrificed because you only have a two driver system and one driver is a 6.5". However, it has been done before. My Dad has a pair of Energy Pro22 Reference monitors with the "million dollar" dual hyperdome tweeter and they have a good midrange. Possibly due to the tweeter reaching down quite low. I wonder how the Forests compare in sound to the other Totem columns.
Enjoy those Pro22's Marc. My Dad bought them at my insistance back in 1986. They are still working well and sound good. I haven't lined them up against any modern speakers to do an A/B comparison but I think they would hold their own. Their polypro woofers with the "handstiched" rubber surrounds provide a unique damped bass sound. I always did like that bass from them - though they don't handle dirty power very well. I once did burn a tweeter on them. Back to the thread at hand now.
The 805 should be able to drive the Forests, particularly if biamping with the extra channels. It's way off base for the Forests though, since they really need something with better fidelity and drive.
George, how much power do you really need? Ever though of a 3BST which can be had used for around the same price of a regular 4BNRB. Or even a 3BNRB, and put the extra cash toward those Totems. EH EH!!!lol
My Sinclairs have a power rating of 250w/ch. So if a 3B powers them well, will I not hear that much more out of them with a 4B? Though the 92dB sensitivity of the Sinclairs may result in deafness/bleeding from the ears and short term memory loss? Ha ha. Seriously, I'm not someone who likes to flip gear or have a bunch of equipment. If the 4B or the 4B ST is the way to go, I'm willing to wait for my opportunity and do it once. If I go 3B, will I be looking to upgrade in a year? Recognizing that we may be talking different power here but my Onkyo is rated at 130w RMS/channel and I want to hear a "real big" difference if I'm going to put money into anything. What do you think?
The Sinclair Brightons are a nominal 8ohms, so easy to drive but your MA at 6ohms and I believe 91db sensitivity would be even louder - though they can't handle as much power.
There's a reason why the Bryston has similar power specifications yet weighs twice as much. It's the power supply, and you'd be surprised what a difference that makes. After all, my amplifier is only 85 watts per channel and yet it drives my Mani-2s better than when I was biamping with my Arcam P7 - that was 320wpc!
Then again my 2-channel Naim 250.2 is more expensive than (and similarly weighty to) my Arcam P7...
Hey Frank. My Onkyo 805 AVR is no lightweight. It weighs over 50lbs, due mainly to the huge power supply, granted it's not torroidal but rather a conventional push/pull unit. The Onkyo power ratings are supposed to be quite dependable and it does have that 60A on reserve. Don't know what capacitors are involved though.
Personally, I will never need anywhere near the power the 3b provides. Until it breaks, I wont be upgrading ever. Your sinclair's are pretty damn easy to power bud. You will never use the power of a 4B unless you want to blow your ear drums. Even then you wont be using near the power of the 4B IMO. The MA speakers are definitely more of a load than the Sinclairs, and at 9Oclock on my Pre amp My Brains starts to rattle. 3Oclock is full blast.
I like running amps in mono because I like to dedicate a transformer to each channel. Some people say it helps in separation of channels. I don't know about that - I do know that my Bryston monos are the best amps I have. Plus it looks cool.
Of course, some single chassis amps have a dual-mono topography.
Keeping the room, speakers, and SPL level the same, a more powerful amp will have a more head room for dynamic peaks, can sound a tad quicker, and a bit fuller. If the lower powered amp isn't breaking a sweat, you may not hear any difference going to a bigger one.
Some speakers are very difficult to drive and require more head room for peaks. Some rooms are bigger and require more power to achieve the same SPL.
From what I've read, Bryston basically makes 3 different amps. The 2, 3, and 4B use pretty much the same parts. Power is increased with each one. The 7 and 14B are the same amp (7 is mono, 14 is 2 channel) and use higher end parts. The 28B SST uses newer stuff.
To make a long story short, unless you're underpowering your speakers, I doubt you'll hear much difference between a 2B, 3B, or 4B (as long as all are the same series - ST, SST). You should hear an improvement between those and the 7B or 14B. You should also hear an improvement between those and the 28B SST.
