Totem Hawks - my impressions


I just acquired a used pair of Hawks this week and am extremely impressed with them. They have significantly more presence in the low end than my Joseph Audio RM25XL speakers and the mid-range is just magical. They have an immense soundstage, too. They don't seem to be very sensitive to set up and sound fine just a foot away from the rear wall. They are easy to move around given their small size and weight. They do need a lot of power to make them sing, probably at least 100 wpc, I would think. In my 40 years in audio, these are the best speakers I have ever had in my listening room at their price point. Oh, one other thing. With their "claw" feet, they are quite top-heavy and thus unstable on thick carpeted floors. I am getting outrigger spikes that will greatly increase their stability and mass couple them to the floor, which will no doubt improve their performance. Very highly recommended speakers!
whitestix
I am 8 interactions of speakers passed the Hawk's, but remember them fondly, particularly their excellent bass response.  
Yes, bass response, clarity, soundstage, transparency.... 
So what bookshelf or tower would you recommend to get deeper into the music @whitestix? 
The Hawk is a great speaker. Be careful not to push it too hard as you can overdrive those woofers. Getting placement right will improve their performance. 

At their new price points i cant recall too many that beat the Hawk at their own game. The Rosso Fiorentino Elba has the same enveloping presentation but have a different tonal presence to them. They are darker speakers but are able to hit deeper given the dual 6.5" woofers. 

Ive had a few speakers I've been hesitant to get rid of. The Hawk was one. The Forest.... not so much. 
I owned a pair of Hawks for a couple of years. I got them used for $1200 and it was the best $1200 I've ever spent. Huge sound for such a small footprint and excellent imaging. I used a Peachtree Nova 220se and later a Primaluna Dialogue One. The Hawks like power but the Primaluna had enough to handle them unless I really cranked the volume. My only issue was the tweeter was a touch "etched" sounding to me on certain tracks. It had great detail, but I had to sometimes turn down the volume. But, it wasn't often and I would own these again.
I love the totem sound. Bought a pair of winds. They really are magical. Had the opportunity to listen to arrow, hawks and model 1 with Sig upgrade.  They all sound magical. U can use small amp,  but more powerful amp really brings them alive.