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

@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

Hey @immatthewj wait a second. I just kinda realized something looking back at other threads. So you have the standard Cary V12 or V12I amp then now?

Before you try and test any more speakers, there could be a whole separate thread on what caps and tubes you have in your preamp and your amp now. Gotta tell ya, I drove myself crazy with my former V12R until I made upgrades, and this changed everything downstream for the speakers. Speakers reacted differently. Like, I’m saying, maybe a whole separate thread and i’ll pose two questions. Maybe take it over to a V12 thread or something as I can’t reply to msgs due to Agon fees, CC.

You can send me a msg, with these answers, and I’ll have to send a separate message later to reply back - separately.

Amp: Is the V12 all stock, and does it have the old original gray looking AudioOne coupling caps in it now? [if so, its time for a change, no doubt]. What front end EL84s do you have it it now, what brand/model/era. Same goes for 6922s etc.

Preamp: Do you run the SLP-05 preamplifier now [or am I confused]. Exactly what tubes/model/era are you running in the preamp now? [if running the new Tung Sol tubes, they are smoothed over, kinda veiled over, not good in my Cary SLP98]. I run other TJ Full Music there and just received new PSVane Art Series II 6SN7s direct from the factory and testing those soon. Opening box in just a bit, fyi.

If I’m remotely close to these other assumptions, its definitely worth a serious look here first before more speaker buys imo, and fwiw. Before I upgraded my V12R, it was a bit more flat and dull sounding. After the upgrades, it was truly amazing. The new owner was astonished at the sound, he also compared it at his friends house against a very high $ Aesthetix amplifier and both said my upgraded Cary V12r surpassed the sound of the Aesthetix. They drove it hard I guess, even with massive electrostats until it ran hot for weeks I guess, and had a transformer meltdown or something  The only thing upgraded in that V12R was the coupling caps and the smaller input/driver tubes up front to very nice matched vintage tubes. If you want more open and large sound with a V12, this will do it. Send me a msg with the answers fwiw.