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Small living room speaker options.. Totem Arro?

Hi,

I've recently moved into a small condo and feel like my LSi9s are just not working so well in this small living room (11x14). These speakers need to be a bit away from the wall and are fairly large in stature. I am also doing much more low volume listening now and feel like the LSi9 works better when at mid volume, otherwise it's kind of a sleepy speaker that isn't very detailed, especially missing much of the mid section when listening at very low volumes.

So what I want is a small form factor speaker that has clear and live presentation at low volume. From everything I read it seems that the Totem ARRO is a very good contender for this job, especially since it's small and loves to be close to the wall, which is where I'd have it for aesthetic purposes. 

My gear consists of a Classe SSP AMP2 (Class D), which is a 200w amp, so I think I should have no shortage of power. My pre is an Outlaw 975 which will probably get upgraded over the next year or two, but for now this is what I'm working with.

Would love to hear any thoughts on the Arro in this setup and any other options I might look into at this price point and size. Again, keeping in mind low listening volume requirement and lively/punchy presentation, although I'm not a fan of "bright"  speakers. 

Should I consider the Totem Staff? I would probably like it's tonality better, because it's closer to my LSi9 in the sense that it's a more laid back speaker. But I am not sure if it will work as well as the arro in low listening volume and it is also a larger speaker in terms of dimensions that also probably would not work quite as well backed up against the wall.

Any and all thoughts much appreciated! 
lietuvis91
lowrider57's avatar
lowrider57
5,417 posts
 
Ive auditioned many of the Totem speakers, and in your case I would caution using the Sttaf in your small space. They are fussy speakers as far as placement and need about 3 ft. between rear and wall to get optimal imaging.
  The Arro's are made for small rooms. They are 4 ohms nominal, so they need some power which you have. They image well and throw a wide soundstage. The specs indicate only 40Hz at the low-end, but with robust power and your small space, they may perform well.
akg_ca's avatar
akg_ca
2,294 posts
 
If you are considering alternatives to the ARROS that perform with shallow wall placement and in a small room , here’s what I would consider for audition from personal ownership experience :

REGA RS1 standmounts or one up RS3 Floorstanders. I have them both in my "B" system.

I actually like them much better than my prior ARROs, but intuitively that is in my bespoke unique audio system and my listening environment arena.

The R1/ RS1 bookshelves are Goliath killers that actually have OEM wall mounts as accessories.., they are specifically designed to excel up against a wall.

The new "X" model of REGAs, the RX1 standmounts and RX3 floorstanders are arguably a further audio performance improvement.

Google any the reviews for any of the R1, RS1 , RX1 or matched "3" series ... highly recommended.

Sampler:

http://stereotimes.com/speak121305.shtml

https://www.hifiwigwam.com/rx3-loudspeakers-reviewed-by-jason-kennedy/


http://www.hifi-review.com/151472-rega-rs3.html



chrisr's avatar
chrisr
543 posts
 
I have owned rega rs5, audionned staf, and currently own the hawks.
The rs 5 have a very good, clear midrange, image well, efficient, and on  the bright side of neutral.  I imagine the rs3 and rs1 to be the same with less bass depth.  With your monster of power classe, rega would not be my choice.
Totems staf are punchy and go low, musical, but the midrange is not as clean and fleshed out as with the regas.  The hawks fit in between regas and staf, with deeper and punchier bass.
Both totems sound much larger than they look, and the soundstage is more 3 dimensional.
With the power you have, i would buy totem because you will not have any regrets: they are very musical, airy with a very fair amount of detail.  No sub needed.  Sure there's always something better, but you can't dislike them.  Not so with regas.
wolf_garcia
6,723 posts
 
I have a pair of Silverline Preludes and for a skinny floor stander they're amazing…D'Appolito the night away.
lietuvis91 OP
10 posts
 
Thank you all very much. This is a lot of very good info and much to consider.

Since I currently have stand mounts, it did cross my mind that a smaller high end bookshelf might also be a nice upgrade to the Lsi9. Something like Salk Silk, maybe?! Initially, I settled on the a Arro tower because I want just enough low end not to need a sub, and to keep things simple, but if there’s a bookie out there that’ll produce satisfactory bass, then maybe I should look into it. From my searching though, I see that most bookshelves that produce decent low end without a sub tend to be "little" giants, of at least the size of my current LSi9, and since I was trying to downsize, I thought a small tower might be more effective.

In the end, I suppose if my new high end small bookie or tower end up underwhelming me with the low end, I can always add a small 8-10 in sub. 

Maybe that’s the better route... But again, hard shaking bass is not necessary or even usable in my condo, so not sure how much good that'll do.

but I was just hoping to find a satisfactory all in one solution to have a more minimalistic setup.
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