Totem Acoustic Element Metal: The WOW factor!

So the tweeter of course does have a xover or it would fry from temperature. The woofers do not. 
I heard them last week and was blown away. Blisteringly fast and accurate. 

I was thinking about the driver design and it may be as simple as extra winding on the motor inductor coil.  Basically you need a way to control the frequency response of the driver.  If you break down a driver, here are all the possible components in which you can/or cannot modify:

1. The driver diaphragm
2. The driver rubber surround
3. The driver spider
4. The driver motor magnet
5. The driver motor inductor winding

Of the five elements above, the only realistic components that can be modified for frequency response is either the motor magnet or the motor inductor winding.  

As for the motor magnet, I think it would be very difficult.  Although every magnet response will be frequency dependent, to engineer it to have the exact frequency profile you want would be very difficult and expensive.

So the likely option would be number 5 since it would be easy to optimize the inductor winding to the exact frequency response you want, so it is in effect of moving the external inductor from outside xover to internal of the driver.

Anyway, that's just my guess.

Per V. Bruzzeze of Totem, the Element series indeed employs the Torrent driver without a (conventional) crossover. The witchy magnetic motor assembly somehow accomplishes the frequency modulation.

Before (even before the Totem Metal) I always thought that "no xover" means exactly that "no xover", but now thinking of it, I realize that there is still xover even if the xover is in the magnetic element itself (at least based on Totem’s claim). It will invariably involve the losses of the electrical energy. You either do it by using an external inductor or by using the magnet. So the question is why energy losses using the magnet is less bad than by using an inductor? I suspect a lot of inductors, especially the garden variety type, have parasitic excessive high resistance and capacitance that retard the transient. I guess if you’re using quality inductors, it should be close to no xover as in the Totem Metal. Also, I also suspect the Totem Metal driver magnetic design also suffer from resistive losses but probably not to the same degree as an external inductor.

Another variable to consider is that speaker uses 1st order filter and it is true that there is some magic in the first order and one has to listen to it to understand why.

And of course V. Bruzzeze is a very good designer so he knows how to design a good pair of speaker and the "no xover" part is only a small percentage of why the speakers are good.

Also something to keep in mind is that the problem with xover is NOT because of the losses since because it is its job to create losses.  BUT it's the parasitic losses that is the problem.  So if you design a driver that meant for NO xover, but the driver itself has a lot of parasitic losses it would be just as bad as using external xovers.

Just came across this thread. Unbeknownst to me, I have been singing the praises of this exact pairing - Element Metals driven by an XA30.5. Using a Schiit Freya + preamp. The amp really does a nice job with these 4 ohm speakers. Agreed, percussion is fantastic. 

Apologies the page on the Element Metal speakers didn't describe the no crossover aspect of the drivers hence my mistake. Enjoy your speakers klipschking!

Sorry for the redundant information. I got delayed in posting and klipschking beat me to it.  But I did have the website link. By the way, if you have not looked at Totem's website, take a look. It, like the speakers, is a thing of beauty.

In  a typical crossover the higher frequencies are filtered out before the signal gets to midrange/woofers. That is not done in these speakers since the Torrent drivers were designed to work with the full frequency range.  The woofers are connected directly to the binding posts.

From there website

https://totemacoustic.com/en/torrent/

"The genesis for the TORRENT’s revolutionary magnetic application was our conviction that a driver could be made without using any active or passive crossover parts in the signal path of the woofer section. "

I have heard the designer (and company founder) Vince Bruzzese discuss this concept on several occasions. He believes this design contributes to the excellent sound of his speakers that use the Torrent drivers.

I have strong memories of Totem.  My first exposure to 'higher end' speakers and a 'high end' audio store. Surprisingly, I was moved by the Totem lineup and not B&W in that brick and mortar store. It's where it began for me. I ended up with Totem Winds a few years later.

Thanks!! A rare find indeed that satiates “the bug”...

I WISH I KNEW HOW TO CHANGE MY USER NAME!! Can’t seem to figure it out...

That would be EleMental ??? : )

Really happy that you are enjoying your speakers and system to the degree you are. Congrats.

Hi Jond. Per V. Bruzzeze of Totem, the Element series indeed employs the Torrent driver without a (conventional) crossover. The witchy magnetic motor assembly somehow accomplishes the frequency modulation. The manual is probably referring to the simple tweeter protection. I WISH I KNEW HOW TO CHANGE MY USER NAME!! Can’t seem to figure it out...

I think the OP is incorrect on the lack of crossover. From Totem's site:
Besides this, other major technical innovations were developed internally at Totem. The stainless steel and thick aluminum-based voice coils are not only under-hung within the magnets but also fully immersed in a super strong yet completely localized magnetic field. This specialized enclosure, like a cradle, retains multiple claw-shaped magnetic segments, allowing for a full one-inch throw of the driver. The 7-inch cone is fully rear-damped yet light and stiff. All Element drivers have free air resonances in the 16-17 Hz area. 
No mention of a lack of crossover which one would imagine would be something they would be touting. Also when I clicked on the manual it mentions the "meticulously designed crossover". Impressing looking speakers nonetheless and congrats klipschking! Though you may need a new moniker :-)

kalali - He is talking about the  Metals, a complete new design from the Hawks. They have a newly developed driver based on Totem's Torrent technology.  Since you mention the Earth, it might just be a misprint.

I have yet to hear a Totem speaker (model) that I did not like. Something about their tonality and bigger-than-their-size performance that impressed me each time. Interesting to hear that a Pass 30 wpc amp is is able to make the Hawks deliver their potential. Goes to show the quality of the amp. I heard the Element Earth driven by a Mark Levinson No. 585 and I thought it sounded excellent but just a tad on the bright side for my taste.  Class A Pass Labs amps would be a better match, as you've discovered with your Metal.

Seanheis: Totem does publish its measurements. Pretty impressive. They control the frequency to the 7.5” Torrent drivers via a magnetic field innovation involving the motor structure (which I don’t fully understand). However they do it it yields incredible results.

No crossover? Impressive, do they publish measurements of this speaker 🔊? If it measures well, this would be a big breakthrough.