Totem Sky, Part 5

Posted by Luminator (A) on February 22, 2021 at 17:35:54

In the late-90s, Totem had two San Francisco dealers, Harmony A/V and Ultimate Sound. Since the latter was located in Union Square, and catered to entry-level high-end audio, it drew much more foot traffic.

You'd get off work, meet up with your friend, Yumi. A little older than most undergrads, Yumi attended USF, and worked part-time at the flagship Macy's. She was trained in cosmetics and the gift registry, but hated them. She preferred women's clothing.

If you had gone to Ultimate Sound repeatedly, you'd meet other customers. And if you actually conversed with them, occasionally, you'd exchange numbers and emails, and try to meet up. One customer looked like Ned Flanders of The Simpsons , so let's call him Flanders. He introduced you and Yumi to his "partner." Yumi whispered that the partner reminded her of Duran Duran's Nick Rhodes, so let's call him Nick. Flanders invited you and Yumi to come over to their place, on a Saturday afternoon.

Flanders and Nick lived out by Ocean Beach, not far from the Safeway and Dutch Windmill. Wisely for San Francisco's small and furnished homes, they had the Totem Model 1 Signature. Nick complimented Yumi, by saying that she should be a Noxema Girl. Yumi said that she detested working in Macy's cosmetics section. She never really got comfortable, applying makeup on customers. Nor did she like to wear that much makeup on herself. She explained that it was imperative, to have clean, blemish-free skin. But now, she was having adult acne. And, by being past puberty, her hormones were different, and her skin didn't replenish as rapidly.

Turned out that Nick and Yumi both liked dance music. Then you thought to yourself, that Nick was exactly the audiophile, who, because of all the personal attacks, never post on AA. Everyone enjoyed Real McCoy's "The Sky Is The Limit," which, no, had nothing to do with Totem's replacement for the M1S, the current-production Sky.

Interestingly, Flanders and Nick had Totem's Beaks on top of their M1S. They had the Beaks positioned on the speakers' outer front corners.

Into fashion, Nick spied Yumi's tank top, and asked, "Is that a boy's shirt?"

Yumi smiled, "No, they really do make women's clothing this way now. If you are right-handed, it's easier to fasten boys' buttons."

Sigh, of course Flanders asked Yumi, "What are you?"

In her soft voice, Yumi said, "German, Irish, Japanese, and my mom is from the Caribbean."

Flanders then asked, "Where are you from from?"

Yumi smiled, "I'm from Brazil. Portuguese is my native language, but I'm not Portuguese."

Standard for audiophile hosts, Flanders and Nick offered alcoholic beverages. But you and Yumi didn't drink, so got water instead. They had a fruit basket on the table. Yumi noticed that, rare for San Francisco, the apartment had a gas stove. And they had the metal grill, which bridged two burners.

Yumi asked if she could cook the plantain bananas from the basket. Everyone else called it "Plan-TAYNE," like "contain" and "retain." But unusually, Yumi pronounced it "PLAN-tin," like the words "curtain" and "mountain." Yumi grabbed some cinnamon, honey, sugar, and vanilla extract, and grilled up the plantains.

What do you notice about the Totem Sky's veneered front baffle? It is lacking in "acne," or screws, badges, and peg holes for grilles. So while the Sky may not be pretty, at least it doesn't have acne. Hmmm, maybe it should work cosmetics at Macy's.

If you absolutely must use grilles, the Sky comes with a pair. Instead of pegs or Velcro, these attach magnetically.

If you do use a Beak, the Sky has a flat top surface. So you should play around with positioning of the Beak. Personally, I like keeping the Beak front and center, because this maintains treble extension, liveliness, and air.

I use the Sky on stands. A least with the stands I have, adding a second Beak doesn't do much. For best overall balance, one Beak is placed front & outside, while the other goes rear and inside.

You will just want to toss the Sky's awful stair-step binding posts into the Bay, or at the Dutch Windmill. In order to fit on the binding post's shaft, the cable's spade lug must be at least 9mm wide. Very few are actually that wide. Moreover, the shaft's center hole is shallow, so most bananas will not go all the way in.

-Lummy The Loch Monster

The Sky Is The Limit (Open in New Window)

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Topic - Totem Sky, Part 5 - Luminator 17:35:54 02/22/21 (4)

RE: Totem Sky, Part 5 - troutbum 05:56:18 02/24/21 (0)

RE: Totem Sky, Part 5 - rivervalley817 18:07:24 02/22/21 (2)

Hmmm, maybe - Luminator 22:16:08 02/22/21 (1)

RE: Hmmm, maybe - rivervalley817 10:55:06 02/23/21 (0)

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