Minimonitor Choice: Proac 1sc vs. Totem Model 1s

I have had the Totem Model 1 speakers. In their day, they dominated the sub $1500 minimoniter sound. I loved tham and had them for many years.

That being said, I would seriously try to get ahold of a pair of Alon Petites. The Petites are a better speaker than the Totems, and they retailed for only $1000. I think Alon has discontinued the Petite line, but they can be found used. I picked up a pair for $400 about 3 years ago (they has a few cosmetic defects, but they have made wonderful rear speakers).

Anyway, the Petites image as good or better than the totems. They also are a more revealing speaker than the Model 1's. I think they play lower (bass) as well.

Give them a shot if you are on a budget.
Even not on a budget, they are hard to beat for the price.

KF

Correction on above thread. The new ProAc is the Signature Referecne 8

You should check out the dynaudio contour 1.1's or the 1.3's. (the 1.3's have a fuller bass, but i only heard the 1.1's which i loved) wonderful soundstage, never bright or forward, just great music with just about everything i threw at them. Compared them to the proac 1sc's head to head and liked the dyn's better, they seemed more natural, more like real music, particularly at high volumes. The nearest dealer is Pheonix, i suggest you get in your car and hear them asap! -bring your amps so you can get an idea of their synergy.

Cellorover, could you elaborate on the ProAc/stand issue? I've only used one stand, the Lovan Imperial 2900 with both my ProAc monitors and was wondering what your experience with different stands yielded. Thanks.

I am not a stand expert, but each stand appears to have its own sound regardless of dampening. I have old Targets, some others that I cannot remember where I even got them and some that I made years ago that are twice the mass as the Targets but only have two columns and a thicker base. The sound differs with each pair. The old, lighter ones (thinner metal, not weight) sound the worse. They are 2" higher than the others and the bass is mushy and the highs a bit brighter. However, the sound is still tolerable. The 2" could be the reason for the difference in the highs, but I doubt it. It is more difficult to hear the difference between the other two. The bass sounds a touch tigher and maybe deeper with the four column Target but less airy. I prefer the sound of my own stands. It drove me crazy and I wanted to write it off as psychological and only wanting to hear a difference. I finally called Richard at Modern Audio (US importer) and he confirmed the stand sensitive nature of the 1SCs. He likes the Targets or that is the impression I got. So, case closed. You need good stands with the 1SCs. How good? That is up to you and your ears. I think the Targets are great, but heavy looking. I probably would not have them if I did not get them used. Hope this helps.