Would Totem Arro's be a significant upgrade from Kef Q150's

That tekton epic 15 is $2200/pair, shipping included and will beat the living daylights out of Lackluster-Be.

I guess it is safe to assume that you have done a direct comparison between the M126be and the Epic 15, @deep_333 ? I guess I’d probably pop $100 for the grilles, $75 for biwireable, and I wonder what the $210 upgrade package is? I would probably have to look into that. I would not spend 1k for the high gloss option. I suppose that is part of the price of the Revels, because I do think that they are gorgeous, but I was and am more interested in spending $ on sonic technology.

@decooney , did you ever drive the Totems with your V12?

@immatthewj decooney,, did you ever drive the Totems with your V12?

Yes. Apologize for the long answer. It was a pivotal point for me about "speakers" at the time, fwiw. Yes, Cary V12R tube amp. Cary SLI-80 tube amp. And, Cary SA-200.2 solid state amp, all around the same time. Also had a few loaner tube amps at the same time just to make sure I was making well rounded comparisons. Also had a few other manufacturer demo speakers I was asked to evaluate at the time, along with additional pairs I was testing with audio and home theater at the same time too. All the sudden I was rotating in every amp and speaker I could get my hands on to compare to. Some of this was a bit discouraging because I really wanted to keep my mighty Totems.

The 4-ohm 87db Totems did their best with the more powerful SS amp at the time. Sure, they’d play on the tube amps, but a more subdued result, when compared to the big 87lb SS amp was 350wpc at 4ohms. This was a good comparison lesson.

I later compared all amps again with my custom designed and built 92.5db 4ohm speakers which did very well, and notably better at low volume level listening.

Disclaimer: I do a lot of low volume level listening comparison testing too. This might be a bit "unfair" to some folks who just say "turn up the volume a little more". Dont ask why, but I seem to prefer lower 90-93db more responsive speakers at lower volume levels. Just something I prefer. And, I did NOT get a chance to try any of the later model 8-ohm or minimalist crossover-less speakers that Totem started making that were "supposed" to be more tube amp friendly. I had moved on by then, fwiw. This reconfirmed for me what good or better speaker matching was about, and for me always seems to be a chore.

Yes, i have heard both the floorstander and your bookshelf in that Revel Be series.

Get the ’upgrade package’ with the mundorf/clarity caps, binding post, etc as it is a sonic improvement. If you bought such things separately as a diy-er, it would cost you as much @immatthewj . You’d be hard pressed to find a company that operates on as much a razor thin margin as this one in this world of audiophilia.

Ignore the grill (a sonic detriment, especially with this mid array) unless you have a dog or kid waiting to destroy the speaker any minute. Ignore the high gloss and biwire. If one of the default paints don’t work, they give you a custom color option for an extra 50, i.e. as long as you nail the correct color for your room’s decor, you should be good.

I guess it is safe to assume that you have done a direct comparison between the M126be and the Epic 15, @deep_333 ? I guess I’d probably pop $100 for the grilles, $75 for biwireable, and I wonder what the $210 upgrade package is? I would probably have to look into that. I would not spend 1k for the high gloss option. I suppose that is part of the price of the Revels, because I do think that they are gorgeous, but I was and am more interested in spending $ on sonic technology.

@immatthewj I think you have become too analytical*. (Anal as some would say.)

Focus on the music, forget the sound, for a little bit. It seems to me the Revels are great speakers, from your description.

*I am doing it with amps now