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Upgrading to Totem Mani 2's

I’m considering upgrading from the Model 1’s to Mani 2’s. I’ve read most of the forums here on A’gon regarding the Mani’s and the one thing that they all pretty much have in common is that you need a lot of power (and current) to drive them. I’m currently running a Plinius 9100 for my Model 1’s which is rated at 120 W per side (around 200 W @ 4ohms). I’m also running the Plinius on 220v which has opened it up considerably and gives the bass a lot more punch (something I know I'll need for the Mani's). My room size is approx. 15 x 22 and my listening position is about 16 feet from the speakers. I normally listen at a moderate volume (10 o’clock is loud for me and 12 o’clock pretty much drives me out of the room). I know the old adage that you can always get a bigger amp, but if I’m going to spend several thousand on a speaker upgrade I’d rather not turn around and spend several thousand more on upgrading the amplifier as well (at least not right away). In addition I'm very pleased with the 9100 and like the Plinius sound very much. So what do you think Mani 2 owners? Am I living in a bubble thinking that the 9100 has the juice or based on my room size and listening habits will the 9100 do the job for me?
jaffeassc
bdgregory
1,721 posts
 
one clarification on the biamping. I asked Totem about vertical vs horizontal biamping. Below is their reply. Also notice their reply to my question about driving them with one CJ MF2100. The primary consideration if you biamp with your Plinius is wheather the sensitivity of the outboard amp matches that of the inboard. I would think you'll want to set up in horizontal biamp in any event. If the sensitivity isn't identical, you may be able to attenuate using pots.

==================
Hi Brad,

you have mentioned bi-amping your units

would this be done with 2 identical amplifiers ?

external amplifiers are not necessary as the internal crossover supports
this format

(on all our products)

It is important to remove the jumpers if you wish to experiment with
bi-amping

generally we have found the best results to be:

1) the more powerful amplifier of the two to power both speakers woofer
portion
(the bottom two terminal on each speaker)

2) the smaller amplifier to power the tweeter section
(the top two terminals)

we generally we don't recommend "vertical" bi amping due to the fact that
most amplifiers are not "identical" and will cause small discrepancies
between the two channels (even if they are the same model) different
production dates can yield slightly different variants

the Cj unit in question should yield very good results with strong power
delivery and very stable current into low impedance

take care,

TOTEM
================
jaffeassc OP
166 posts
 
Thanks for the clarification. I misspoke. What I should have said was standard biamping using the 9100 for the mids and highs and the P8 for the bass. Still need to find out about the gain and rise time of the two amps. I've sent a inquiry to Plinius and I'm awaiting a reply.
westborn
156 posts
 
Kind of an offbeat recommendation - Audire Otez will drive and control those speakers like very few others.
jaffeassc OP
166 posts
 
A blast from the past! I heard one of the Audire's years ago, not sure which one but it could have been the Otez. In any event, I'm sure it would do very well with the Mani's. My recollection is that they sound similar to Plinius. Are they still in business?
jaffeassc OP
166 posts
 
Well I did the deed...I bought the Mani's...so now I'll have the opportunity to find out for myself. Thanks everyone very much for your input. Can't wait for the fun to start.
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