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Totem Hawk a underated "Jewel"

Is it just me or is the Totem Hawk the most underrated/underrepresented speaker in the Totem lineup? There seems to be few discussions on these little gems and I just want to tell everybody that my recent visit to a Totem dealer to demo the YBA Passion Integre yielded a surprise that I didn’t expect. That was of course the Totem Hawk (French-Canadian) hooked up to the YBA Passion (French) and YBA CD Integre utilizing Totem Bi-Wire Cable and Sinew Interconnect Cable. Absolutely flabbergasted with what I heard I consulted a couple sources and read what reviews were published on this speaker. The Audiophile voice did one review a while back and he quotes “Over all, the Hawks are more natural sounding than any other full-range system I’ve had at home” and he goes on talking about the Balance and Integration of the Scanspeak Revelator woofer and MB Tweeter, Overall I agree with all his assessments on the speakers and more. These speakers just sound “right” and I have much experience with the Forests and it is my personal belief that the Hawks paired with the YBA offered me more expressive communication and “PASSION” than any Forest setup I have ever heard. What’s so great is the system was so damn simple; no super exotic interconnects or cables. When people on these forums always talk about that “musicality” and that point they reach when the music communicates with the soul and nothing else seems to be relevant, that point of satisfaction, I experienced that today. I would also like to point out that that the reviewer was actually using Tara and Music Metre cables and had really poor results, so much so that he called Vince to ask what was going on, Vince sent him the Totem cables and he was startled with the magnitude of improvement, Totem apparently engineer’s all there cables to there speakers, furthermore they incorporate all there cables exclusively at shows and exhibits. I purchased the entire setup for a fair price, speakers are breaking in as I speak. Now, to what hobby should I take up now?

P.S. What is everybody’s thought on the Hawk vs. Forest?
slov_dream
chazzbo
1,007 posts
 
Just to second Chayro without getting into full frety ("leave Audiogon"-my my!) but the Mani -2's (a dual coupled design?) are for those who want/need 2 way monitors are, to tell the unitiated absolutely bass monsters.Even if for a monitor they are a bit larger than mostmthey areb amazing in the low end.Maybe for mids or full spectrum I'd rather some of the Brit designs but if you want listen to techno and don't have space for sub (and have no neighbors) the Manis deliver the bottom end.
Chazzbo
mimberman
299 posts
 
Heh, reread my post and realize it could be misconstrued: I was only saying that if he's happy with the setup then why let all of us mess with his mind. I was kiddin', so no offense intended. I haven't heard a bad totem speaker yet, and the YBA is great stuff so have fun
mani_canadian
6 posts
 
Mimberman wasn't trying to be rude.

Anyways, I still feel the Arro, Forest, and Mani-2 are the "jewels" in the Totem lineup. I do own the Mani-2 but am considering going back to the Forest, as crazy as that sounds, the Forests just have that "magic" for me. John Atkinson did a follow up review this year on the Forest and spoke VERY highly of it.

Not to mention the gorgeous look too
sutts
700 posts
 
5 Mani-2's; Sim Audio Attraction; Theta Dreadnaught- my old HT system- still miss the dynamics...
ghunter's avatar
ghunter
164 posts
 
I've been meaning to do a Hawk vs. Forest "test" at my house, as I know of a guy near me who owns some Forests. I love my Hawks, and they provide an AMAZING full range sound when driven by my 100 wpc Audio Research VS110. In our last home I had more volume to fill and they were able to mate PERFECTLY with a Lightning sub. Since moving, the Lightning has moved into our family room to sit beside a set of Rainmakers in the Home Theatre.

Which reminds me, the Rainmakers are another Totem jewel. I also own some Spendor S3/5se's (up for sale here so maybe I shouldn't say this) and the Rainmakers walk all over them. More rhythm, more body, more extension, you name it. They absolutely disappear in the room no matter where they are.

Another Totem revelation comes with the beaks. I was skeptical, but bought some anyway. I loved them so much I bought another pair. The second set doesn't add as much as the first, but it is still an improvement.

As far as cables go, I've a/b'ed the Sinew against Chord Chorus/Anthem/Singature, Audioquest Diamonback/King Cobra/Jaguar and even some Acoustic Zen Silver Reference. The only one to really compete was the AZ at nearly three times the price. The rest of my system is now Sinewed.

I'm torn right now whether to upgrade my preamp or put the Urth power cables in place. I'm a real believer in Vince and his team of magicians.

I can't say yet whether the Hawk is better or worse than the Forests, but I can say that the Hawk is an awesome speaker in its own right.
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