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Speaker Asylum General speaker questions for audio and home theater. |
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Speaker Asylum General speaker questions for audio and home theater. |
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An Inmate wrote, "You nailed it, Lummy. It's the music first, and then the audio follows. But there's gotta be an army of like-minded rock music audiophiles."
I wrote back, "At least from my decades in this hobby, I don't know if 'army' is the correct word, but there are certainly plenty. It's just that they are spread out across the globe, and they don't bother to post on the major audiophile sites."
We then turned to Totem Acoustic, who got their start in 1987-88. Having lived with a wide variety of Totems, we would not be surprised, if Totem's staff has members in the rock music audiophile "army."
In their inaugural year, if Totem staff had been here in San Francisco, they would have come across local thrash band, Exodus. Exodus recorded Pleasures Of The Flesh at Alpha & Omega studios, located on Hyde Street, less than two blocks from where my late friend Skull lived.
Towards the end of my junior year at UC Santa Cruz, I took public transportation from campus to the San Jose Caltrain station. There, my old friend Shelly picked me up. We had dinner, then met up with other friends, at One Step Beyond, for an Exodus concert. Common for that era, the band entered to carnival music. During that 5/2/92 show, they said they were working on a new album. They may have previewed three new songs. One of which was an anthem adopted by audiophiles, "Me, Myself & I." Anyway, audiophiles like little details, such as Shelly being over 21. But since she (a) had to drive, and (b) didn't drink anyway, she used the 2-drink coupons on soda. The Inmate above wrote, "Tidbits like this really make me, as the reader, feel included. Like I was a friend, not just some weird and random audiophile, LOL! You hold our hand, bring us into your world, which is critical, because it gives the context. From there, we truly learn about the product."
After that concert, I did not immediately go back to UCSC. Instead, my brother and I went home to San Francisco. The next day, I met up with friends. One, whose parents were divorced, had a dad who was getting re-married, on the upcoming Memorial Day weekend. It was to take place in Golden Gate Park. We were in that 18-, 19-, and 20-year old age group. We were no longer minors, but we weren't really adults yet. So we were stoked, that so many of us were invited to the wedding. It was like a mini reunion.
During the dad's wedding, we learned that, regardless of which colleges we were attending, we'd all be back in San Francisco for the summer. We spent a lot of those days at Rossi Playground. Notice that the skies are still cloudy/foggy. Every so often, a new-to-me audiophile will reach out, and swear that he must have come across me and my friends, at places like Rossi. He knows what we look like, and knows that we had the boombox, often cranking out the rock music.
Our girls had long hair, so maybe they looked like rock bands, such as Exodus. I told the girl in the middle, that she looked like she was holding an iPhone. But she said it was a little LeSportsac pouch. Exodus did not come out with Force Of Habit , until summer '92 was over, and we had begun dispersing, to go back to our respective colleges. The album down-tuned the guitars, which now took on a browner tone. The album tanked.
So far, over 50 different readers have written to me about this Totem Sky series. Many of whom ask how the Sky compares to other speakers, including others in Totem's history. For Totem's first four or so years, they only made one product, the original Model 1. But sometime in 1992, Totem brought to market new products, including the Mani-2. By 2000, Totem had incorporated parts upgrades, and produced the Mani-2 Signature. The Inmate above asked, "Is the Sky a junior version of the Mani-2 Signature?"
The M2S is kind of a niche product. It is for those who (a) have a medium-to-large sized room, (b) prefer a heavy but compact standmount, over a floorstander, and (c) can't stand toe-in. Also, the M2S has a slightly lower-than-average sensitivity. Therefore, if the sound with other speakers has been TOO LOUD, even when the preamp's volume control is at or near MIN, then the M2S will give you an extra step or two of volume control range. With its back-to-back woofers, the M2S goes down deep, into the upper 20s. But at the same time, it doesn't cheat the mids or highs.
I met ACS at the end of 1987, when Totem were in their inaugural year. She was also one of the core friends, during that magical summer of 1992. Sandwiched between two brothers, she matter-of-factly said, "I'm tired of seeing my brothers' butts all the time." At clothing-optional beaches, ACS flashed her ebullient smile, "I like looking at guys' butts!" However, she hates looking at the rear of the M2S. ACS claims that the "big-ass screw heads look like butt zits."
Sigh, okay, not including the rivets which hold the awful stair-step binding post frame, the Sky's rear is free from screw heads. But do note that, by projecting music just in front of the plane of the speakers, the Sky is subjectively of higher-than-average sensitivity. In the small rooms the Sky will be used, this is a major negative. If the sound is TOO LOUD, even when your preamp's volume control is at or near MIN, the Sky will only make things worse.
In Fall 2005, Exodus came out with Shovel Headed Kill Machine . No, the Totem M2S is not a rat-a-tat-tat machine gun. Big, clean, and powerful, it is like a new tank on display. The Sky is like a small pet rat or dog, eager and energetic to please. Or, the Sky is like a small LeSportsac makeup bag. If the audiophile is too MANLY for little handbags and pouches, that is perfectly fine. He has the information here, to skip the Sky, and move on.
Personally, no, I do not think of the Sky as a junior version of the M2S. Even in the small rooms the Sky is intended for, it is not the tank or big-hearted lion that the M2S is. With the Sky, there is nothing fat, thick, or enlarged, gettting in the way of the music. It is blissfully free from the plague of "audiophile warmth/coloration." Though the midbass is quick, detailed, and rhythmic, it does not move air.
Exodus were prone to silly and ridiculous lyrics. Such was the case with "Feeding Time At The Zoo." Here, we were on a 22-Fillmore bus, on our way back from the San Francisco Zoo. Scary thing is, those kids are now in their late-30s. But anyway, like being with friends at the back of a bus, the Sky is not about sitting still. You will be amazed that guests who normally don't sing, will be enthusiastically singing along. The nerd girls will be doing their S-shaped "dance move," with their head, shoulders, and hips. In thrash music, the full-bodied M2S will have your feet playing along to the kick drums. But the thinner and more biting Sky will have you putting emotion, into your guitar riffs and solos. Unpretentious, the Sky is like the economy subcompact car, taking you and three girlfriends on road trips. It's both the destination and the journey. And the Sky will remind you, just how fun it was, for you and the three girls, to sing out loud, while in the car.
The M2S is the equivalent of you and your friends on the field. With the jock jams firing you up, you guys dog-pile each other. Not really a junior version of the M2S, the Sky is like taking a break on the bleachers, and your girlfriends, without any self-consciousness, are singing lite rock and love songs. To which the Inmate above wrote, "Man, Totem's got it covered!"
ACS piled on, "The Hawk [previously compared to the Sky in Part 13] adds jumping into Rossi pool to the mix. Yup, Totem's got it covered!"
-Lummy The Loch Monster
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Topic - Totem Sky, Part 14 - Luminator 23:25:57 04/24/21 (0)
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