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Totem Mani 2 Signatures vs. Usher BE-718

I have the upgrade bug and I am looking to upgrade my speakers. I'm looking at the two speakers noted above but am open to other suggestions for comparable speakers. I have chosen these speakers because I currently have the Totem Model 1 Sigs and have heard great things about the Mani's as well as hearing them at the local audio store. I have not heard the Ushers but have chosen them because of all the positive reviews. I do not have a local Usher dealer.

I would like to hear what you have to stay about these speakers espcially if you have owned either of them or have been in a situation to compare them.

I know the Totem's have had great reviews and have been considered the best bang for the buck in the past and the reviews on the Ushers seem to indicate that they are the best speaker sub $5K. Would be interested to get your thoughts on that.

I will be driving them with a Bryston integrated amp with 100 watts at 8ohms and 170 watts at 4 ohms. I am a little concerned that it might not be powerful enough to drive the Totem's from what I've read. I am not sure about how they will drive the Usher's. Any comments or experiences with similar types of amps would be appreciated.

Thanks
audioman999
larryrx7's avatar
larryrx7
137 posts
 
I have the Ushers and I will be keeping the Ushers. They are the best balanced stand mount I have every heard. I am driving them with a pair of Monarchy SM 70's running single ended mono and the sound is fantastic. While the Ushers are fairly inefficient, the impedance curve is very steady with very minimal swings. I will tell you that proper amplification will be rewarded greatly by these speakers. I noticed a great improvement when I added the second Monarchy. Running one amp, the sound was very pleasant and smooth, but a little lacking in dynamics and bass extension, but with the second one added, all that changed and I suddenly had a world class sound. I would be very much intrigued to see how the Bryston would handle the bottom end of these speakers. With these speakers, I tend to feel like I own a bmw m5 and have only hit third gear. These speakers have the potential to survive many bouts of upgrade-itis
jaybo
4,478 posts
 
if you are still running the nautilus 804's, this is kinda sideways....different, for different's sake.
audioman999 OP
13 posts
 
I actually moved away from the B&W Nautilus 804 / Rotel combo to the Bryston and Totem Model 1 Sig when I had to move my equipment into a personal listnening room. Too hard to keep everything safe with 3 children. Still have the Rotel RCD991 as my front end although I use the DAC on the Bryston integrated. Seems to be much better.
jaybo
4,478 posts
 
in a small to medium MAN CAVE, i have two favorites, the ohm mcro walsh tall(it really does it all for way less than a mani)...and the proac D2....both in a small to medium room offer up any type of music in a full range,major league fashion from top to bottom. the ohm is so underpriced for the way it performs, its not even funny.
audioman999 OP
13 posts
 
For what it is worth. My room measures, 8'w x 10'd x. 9'h. My speakers are about 1 foot from the rear wall and 4-5 feet from each other. My listening position is about 7' from the speakers.
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