Where to audition Totem, Epos NYC

Why not audition at In Living Stereo? Oviously you've been there already and had a good demo.
Odd question.

Was going too but was a little put off by the sales people there. I actually auctioned the mites at my friends place where he has a pair.

Daimbert salesmen bad now? They used to be much worse. You can try Audio Connection in Verona NJ for Epos - John Rutan is pretty cool. Also they sell Proac which IMHO is far more accurate tonally that Totem and still lush and musical. Spendors also a nice choice.

Bizarre, I was just at that store in NYC and found them to be very nice, laid back and not at all pushy -- two of three were there (owner and one other). Compared to the stores on the upper east side, they were much more inviting and laid back. I guess things like that are very individual and case specific. - walkman

I auditioned the Totem dreamcatcher against the Epos els3 at In Living Stereo and bought the Epos. IMO the Totem was very appealing on most pop and jazz recordings. When I put on a classical orchestral cd, it became apparent that the Epos was the more accurate (and enjoyable) speaker as the Totem was tilted up in the treble range. Orchestral strings were too bright. I think that the Totem formula is to accentuate the highs and the lows (with a somewhat depressed midrange). It helps sell the speaker as most listeners latch on to these attributes and find the appealing initially. I've found the Epos fairly neutral and balanced. Please see the Stereophile review and you can find reviews of budget Totem speakers too (you'll see what I mean in the response graphs).

Good luck.