Amplifier for Totem Forest

I've had ARROs and FORRESTs
One common theme that you will see in many posts and that I also personally experienced: is that they are power hungry.In fact, the FORESTS only performed at their peak when I bi-amped them with hi-current and Hi watts amps

My audiophile buddy test drove the FORRESTS with his CARY pre-amp and tube power amp system ....they sounded flat until he juiced them to a 2 o'clock position on the volume dial... noy exactly a comfortable listening level long-term.

THE POINT: they are not the ideal tube mates in our experience

Take a look at what TOTEM uses to drive them at trade shows: PLINIUS, SIM AUDIO and a select few others. All hi-current hi-watts solid state gear.
SIM are ideal, in fact they are both in Montreal and voiced with each other's kit.

Silly me, been using Forests for over ten years on 15 watts of tube power. This speaker doesn't dip below 6 ohms impedance which makes it very tube friendly. Totem has demoed the much less efficient Model One with a 35 watt tube amp and the sound was wonderful. What you need is a simpatico amp regardless of power output, or tube/transistor. Also, don't over damp your room and soak up all the life in the music. That WILL sound flat. Think diffusion as opposed to absorbtion. Now, you may be a solid state guy and thats OK, but don't be afraid of trying them with tubes because it can be done with great results. Nothing about this speaker that requires SS only.

My brother has smaller Totems with Arcam amplification, and IMHO, it's a good match. By inference, Hegel would also be a good match, since, again IMHO, the Hegel house sound is similar to Arcam's. Both are very clean, smooth, with good PRAT and spot-on transients.

How large a listening space you have and how loud you listen are definitely relevant. FWIW - I've owned Forests for years now. While not perfect - I very much enjoy how they sound. They aren't the most efficient speakers and do benefit from more power BUT don't rule out tubes. I originally ran them with a JoLida 502B, things sounded good. Got the factory mod for the JoLida and things sounded better. But always wished for a little more "loud" without having to crank the volume control to 2AM (sound was NOT fatiguing in this position, peak dBs maybe only low - md 80s)but I did worry about pushing the amp to get them to that level. Subsequently, got a pair of Cyber 800SE monoblocks. The nominal power rating isn't all that much more than the JoLida (78WPC VS ~60??) but something is definitely different. I've got all the volume I need in my small (13' x 15') listening space. Easy 85dB+ if I want it with 9-10 o'clock volume control setting. I know volume pot settings aren't apples to apples but the point is tubes can work very well. I've always been amazed at the imaging and soundstage from the Forests and with the better amplification, bass is really impressive. I'm not anti-solid state at all. Have heard very good things about Plinius + Forests. Have fun. Hope you find something great that works for you.

I've run Forrests (and Model Ones) on 35 - 60 tube watts and the sound was glorious. I've also run them on a 120 watt Plinius integrated amp and the sound was very good as well. You have to decide what sound you prefer. I'll take them with tubes any day of the week.