best totem speaker

With a large solid-state amp, the Forests will work really well, but you should look into the Mani 2 as well. It is a really nice full-range speaker. If you like your music loud (I don't), the Mani 2's are the way to go.

Soundgasm, at the NY Audio Show, Vince B. demonstrated the Hawks with a 60/wpc Ayre integrated and they sounded excellent. I drove a pair with an 18/wpc tube amp and it worked fine, as long as you keep the volume within reason. (Disclaimer - I have a pair of Hawks up for sale right now)

I have pair of the Model ones,forests,winds and shamans. The detail in the winds and the shamans are outstanding. the forests
are good but they lack the bass but much better than the model ones.
If you can swing it the Winds are your best buy for the money but you wont be disappionted with the forest.
I had a pair of the mani 2's and they just didn't do it for
me.
I will tell you that the Hawks and arro are made with different drivers than the other speakers I have taked about once you try the others you will see what I mean

Chayro, thank you for the info. What do you mean by 'within reason,' in terms of db, do you think?

I've been told that both the Forests (which I'm very interested in) and the Hawks are too much for my 302brc Jolida (50w tube)...does that sound right to you?

Soundgasm, if you like to listen to loud rock, I think more watts is better, regardless of the speaker - unless you're talking about very efficient speakers like Klipsch and such. I listen to mainly acoustic music at very moderate levels, as apartment life will does not lend itself to very loud music. For my taste, 50wpc is fine for the Hawks. It's something you really have to try for yourself and experiment. I realize it gets somewhat expensive, but that's part of this hobby. Good luck.

Soundgasm, I agree that the Jolida 302brc is not quite up to the task of powering the Forrests, but it can drive the Hawks adequately. (I use that exact combination sometimes, and it sounds great, especially with chamber music and jazz music.)

Michael