Anyone spent time with the Totem Wind?

i owned a pair of paradigm studio 100's before but when my dealer brought in the winds i fell in love with them right off the bat. I did take a look also at some Verity fedelio and even the sophias from wilson audio. I personaly dont listen to alot of rock music, more into Jazz, electronic and trance and also some classical. The wind is more defined then the above speakers and just seems to do things with less effort and with smoothness when it comes to that kinda music to my ears. But this is done with good matched amp and needs to be driven properly. Thx for the compliments on my system.

johnnyb53 - i wouldn't say that it is better to put speakers on a long wall vs a short wall. it depends on a lot of things. i have had totem mani 2's for many years and i preferred these on the short walls with the speakers pointing straight ahead, which is totem's recommendation also. i have a 13.5 x 24 ft room, and i like my speakers out from the wall. i had the mani's out about 5ft which i really couldn't do using the long wall.

cary amps are very good but i don't think they will have the power to drive the winds or mani's for that matter. i have a 200 watt classe amp driving the mani's and that would be the smallest amp i would use. i have had them setup using the macintosh 1000 watt monoblocks (and the 352's and 501's) and they sounded fantastic. if i was spending $14k on a new pair of winds i would be using a pair of classe omega's or macintosh 501's or the monoblocks.

I evaluated the Winds (basic version) and a few other Totem models to potentially carry in my business (I am a by- appointment retailer). I liked 'em well enough, but, surprisingly, found another line that I liked even better: Canton. Without getting into specific sonic differences, the comparable Canton models sounded overall more musically satisfying to me, i.e. "better" in terms of what I look for in a loudspeaker. I am referring to the Canton reference series which starts at 4K for a two way stand mount and goes up to 36K. I have the 7.2 model which is a three way floor stander at 7K. Regardless of whether someone liked the sound of the Totem's better, in the build quality/fit and finish department it's no contest, Canton's all the way. At these price points I believe that's an important consideration. If you're going to spend Totem level money on a pair of speakers, it should be esthetically pleasing to you and be built to a very high standard. Note: I have not seen or heard the "design" version of the Winds. To each his own.