Totem Forest or Mani-2 signature?

Maverick,

As Bdgregory said, you can drive the Mani-2's just fine with as little as 30 watts. Whether or not that kinda current is sufficient hinges largely on how loud Metro plans on taking the system, and the kind of experience he is looking to get from it. If he wants to play soft music at fairly modest volumes, than the aforementioned Accuphase should be just fine.

However, if he wants to crank things up a bit and enjoy more of a live / life-like experience, then he will have to put more juice through those Mani-2's. A lot more.

Rumadian, yes it's been a long time but this thread is just too valuable to be left behind :-)

Sorry that I should've been more specific. I plan to drive the Mani-2 with a pure Class A Accuphase power amplifier 50 watts @ 8ohms and 80 watts @ 4ohms (I think Mani-2's are 4 ohms) and just to give other members an idea.

This Amplifier currently drives my Forest and for some reason I feel it is more powerful than the Bel Canto Ref1000 mono blocks. My floor shakes at regular listening level at 9 o'clock but at the same time I do not feel it's loud or noisy.

I'm not sure how to describe my listening room but it's basically a Living room/Great room in a typical house that I would think it's medium size.

I mainly listen to Classical and Jazz musics and so I'd think I don't play the music in an extremely loud volume.

Thanks again for your help Rumadian. You have a bag of knowledge in the Totem line and yes I am looking for an upgrade up the totem pole two years after enjoying the Forest.

I am going to revive this thread once again because the contributors are so gracious and knowledgeable. I have been enjoying my Arros (actually my 2 set) and Dreamcatcher combo for approximately 10 years. The best qualities I find are the 3D soundstaging, transparency, realism and resolution.

I have always dreamt of eventually moving up to the Mani-2s but was discouraged when I found out about the power requirements as well as the space requirements.

Currently I power my Arros with a Bryston B60sst plus 2B-lp biamp combo. The system is situated at the end of a great room which measures 12x30 and fires across the width of the room. (see my system)

What is your opinion in terms of the Mani-2s with my amplification and in the room I have? Would this be a significant improvement over the setup I have now?

Thanks in advance to any and all responses. Cheers!

Hi ckung, looking at your room photo, you sit way too near-field for the mani's, imo, unless you play at mid to low volumes. Having said that, it all depends on how they play in your room. Looking at your setup, the hawks are what came to my mind.

Thanks Chashas1, I was thinking the same thing and just needed a reality check. Much appreciated.