Totem Arro vs Totem Sttaf. Which one image better?

I agree that the Forests are better in a larger room and as one moves up the $$ ladder to better gear ... I had them along with the Arros simultaneously.

However.....

(1) in a small room environment, they are a big risky wild card on a blind purchase and are arguably non optimal because they don't favour close to back wall, or side wallspeaker placement. I would insist on an actual in-home hands-on audition first without exception before stepping up to them.

(2) The big "ah hah" moment with the Forests is that they personify the Totemcraving for lotsa "grunt" to drive them. There are a. Buzzillion posts in AGON and Canuckaudiomart about this. Grunt is a lot of amperes to go with the big watts that can only be delivered by hi-end build quality amplifiers with generous power Supplies.

In my experiences, tge Forests only opened up fully to their max when I finally actually bi-amped them (not bi wired) with two 2X 100 watts hi-current gear (an integrated amp and a matched separate power amp) . That is why Totems are frequently mated to SIMAUDIO , PLINIUs, or AYRE or better at the expos. You are not going to see Forests driven by cheap gear.

The takeaway:

the small room listening environment and its resulting limitations and warts may dictate close to walls placement of the speakers and that does not favour Forests,

Even with facts taken, Forrests will still do better even with limitations vs. Arros, Hawks or Sttaf. For small room you don't need to feed them with much power either. I heard them voiced with Crown XLS series singing so not even a need for fancy ones. Also did great with vinage Sansui integrated amp at 65wpc.

YEs, the right amp for many Totems is very powerful ones that deliver lots of current. Class D is a great choice to avoid size and bulk and possibly expense.

I've heard Arros perform superbly well away from walls however bass levels will be more problematic most likely without wall reinforcement. THe drivers are very good and punch well above what one might expect for the size (with the right juicy amp) but they are still small and small always has limits in larger rooms.

Also I question teh premise that Totem is not "musical". THat's a very subjective statement. Some may like other sounds better and vice versa for sure, but I do not see very many Totems for resale considering the companies extensive dealership channels in North America and numbers that must have been sold accordingly. Plus, they seem to hold their value fairly well compared to a lot of the competition, although brand recognition is likely a big part of that.

Totems I have heard in general typically make the list of speakers that I think I could live with.

Everything did good on those old Sansui integrated amps.
IMO, the greatest amp bargains in audio history.

Thanks everyone for these great inputs. I will definitely look at some of these suggestions. I was very excited about Arro just for the imaging ability, since I only listen to classical, jazz,and mostly easy listening. Would anyone suggest another speaker for superior imaging and sound staging that is under 2000 budget? Thanks.