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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
mdelrossi1
79 posts
 
What is your budget?
I’ve had the Arros and the Rainmakers.
If you don’t mind used, I would look for a pair of Focal 1008be2 ( there’s a pair on another site) blows the Totem away. I got mine for just under 3k, and I’m constantly amazed by them.

If you can’t stretch the budget look at the new Aria line of Focal.

I found the Rainmakers really good but they were a bit tipped up and bright at times. They have a v shaped response. Excellent soundstage and imaging but nothing like the Focals.

The Arros always sounded a bit recessed in the mids, kind of hollow.
But again excellent soundstage and imaging.

I’ve run both with solid state and tubes.

I replaced the Arros with a pair of Focal 714. More even across the frequency range, and a front port so you can place them closer to the wall.

best of luck.
mdr
chrisr's avatar
chrisr
543 posts
 
mdr, thx for sharing your experience... So you would say that the current focal chorus line is up there with totem ?
mdelrossi1
79 posts
 
It's a different presentation. The Arros are better with pinpoint imaging. Focal chorus, the 714's that I have, are more full bodied and even across the frequency spectrum. 
You could get away without using a sub with the focals, they have 2 and larger mid and woofer. No getting around physics. 

I really enjoyed the totems, but in the system I have the chorus in I use for home theater as well. 

Best,
mdr 
213runnin
914 posts
 
The tweeter, and the R&D budget allocated to its design, is no less important to the rest of the speaker.  And a dome tweeter will only go so far and do so much.  The metal dome tweeters in most of Totems lower line up( to about the Hawks)  have various compromises and trade offs to do with a limited budget when a speaker is being marketed in the retail system.  

Totem makes striking choices in voicing each model, and either you like them or you don't.  I found some frequencies over emphasized and just not natural.  But I prefer a flat frequency response, and let the music and the producer make the decisions, and let the speaker not add or take away from that.

We live in the year 2017, and a speaker, these days, that can sound like live acoustic music is actually more common that not.
mdelrossi1
79 posts
 
What did you decide on?
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