Totem Forest or Acoustic Zen Adagio

There are different amps that totem reccomends with the forests...they like plinius.They said it has power with a atouch of warmth that tames hf.Sim worked really well with the forests.I also believe that the particular recordings are just lousy,theres nothing to get around there.The forests are very stark and revealing too.(I do have to admit i still wish i had mine still.)

No opinion on the Forest or the Adagio as i havent heard them.

BIG opinion on the Model One-- stunning and one of my all-time favorite 'things' in life-- let alone 'speakers.'

Just curious (and off topic I know)but have you guys who think the forest or Mani tweeter is bright ever owned the model one? Or-- did you (erroneously) toe in your Mani's or forests (usually a no no with totem)?

The only thing I noticed in a great demo with the model ones head to head with a pair of Audio Physic Step SLE's (terrific also) was a slight midbass lift with the Totems. No brightness there to speak of-- nor in my home in the past.

I just traded off the Mac 6900 integrated for the MC402 and C220 preamp - was running Spendor S9 speakers at the time -
I auditioned the Forest's just before I bought the Spendors 4 years ago...loved the soundstage and tight bass, but they were pretty set-up fussy. Now I own a new pair of Adagio's with the new Mac gear, and brother, you WON'T be disappointed! When they start breaking in (40-50 hours), it gets better by the hour...unless oyu're a bass-aholic (I'm picking up a Hsu VTF2-MKIII just for that purpose) you will LOVE your Mac with the Adagio's. I would recommend a little more power though - the Adagio's rated at 6ohm's...

Abramsmatch - i have had the totem model 1's, arro's, and now the mani 2's. the model 1's are amazing. i never toe-in a pair of totem speakers. BRIGHT? not totem. i also like the hawks and forest. i was thinking on getting the winds but doing a demo between them, i will keep my mani's. as for the adagio's, they are a very nice speaker also. i have listened to them in a couple different setups and were very nice.

I think Digsmithd is giving good advice. I own the Forests and like them very much. I wish i could check out the Zen Adiogos...on the other hand, I hear magic every night with the Forests. When first installed I was concerned about a lack of bass. Digsmithd talked me through that. After an extnded break-in period (on the order of 200 hrs or so) they deliver an amazing amount of bass. I'm running a JoLida 502B amp. CDP and tubes greatly affect the reported HF "forwardness" of these speakers. A Denon 2910 mod'ed by the Upgrade Factory provides an amazing amount of air and detail. The move to JJ/Tesla KT88 sounded wonderful - deeper bass and overall smoothness. No harshness at all. Unfortunately, the JJ/Teslas were not reliable (I miss them). Am now running Penta Lab KT88 solid plates. Wonderful detail, improved sound stage & extended frequency...but on some recordings, a bit forward sounding (read that as "can be a little harsh". Vinyl? no such issues on my system...the Forests sound wonderful with a KAB mod'ed 1210Mk5G & KAB mod'ed Stanton. My 2 cents. You probably can't go wrong with either. If I had budget, opportunity and time...I'd check out the Zens. But I don't and I really love the Forests. If I were to make a change in my system, it would be for more power.