Can the Totem Hawk Rock?

Exertfluffer, it is not about watts, it is about power. i have heard bob carver amps that claim 400 watts that did not produce the power of an onkyo 70 watt amp. you need a good 'powerfull' amp (not just an amp with a lot of watts) to drive totem speakers to their fullest. also, i would not crossover an audio speaker at 80hz, even if it is the THX standard, i don't even do that in my dedicated ht room.
i don't understand your response about a smaller speaker not producing a big sound. you don't want to overpower the room with speakers. 2chnlben claims his room is fairly small, so he will be able to get a big sound out of a smaller speaker. are you trying to tell everyone that he would need a large floorstanding speaker with an 18" subwoofer to get a full loud sound? i don't think so. also, what is loud? 80 decibels, 90, 100, ...? 100 decibels in a small room is pretty loud, especially when you are practically sitting next to the speakers.
2chnlben, your best bet is to bring home a pair of the speakers you like and listen to them using your equipment in your environment. if you like them, buy them, if you don't send them back or sell them. Nobody can really tell you how a speaker system is going to sound in your environment.
BTW Exertfluffer, i have never heard of a review of the mani 2's indicating that the bass is lumpy and thick. my guess is that you were listening to them using an amp like the Carver i talked about above instead of a good quality amp!

Thanks guys. I realize I need to demo different speakers and ultimately try them in my listening environment. The dilemma is that I need to drive 3 hrs east to demo the Totems and 3 hours west to demo Thiel (two brands I'm interested in). That's why I really do appreciate all your input - it does help in my decision-making. Now, I do have a B&W dealer practically right next door to me. I may have to audition the 704's again. The reviewers seem to like the 704's, but I wasn't overly impressed with them. My budget is going to allow me the B&W 704; Totem Hawk; Thiel CS1.6; or something else I'm not familiar with. Have any of you done any comparisons with the three I mentioned? I realize that there are some killer bookshelfs in this price-range, but I think I need a bigger speaker for the lower end.

Thanks,
2Chnlben

I'd again recommend the Totem Hawk for your situation. They certainly can't play as loud as the B&Ws, but in your small room, 100dB (which they can definitely play without compromising sound quality @ about 2m away) will cause serious ear damage if you listen for more than couple of hours.

If you're a party animal and need to blast windows and shake walls, look elsewhere. But I think the Totems will serve you right. I have not demoed any Thiel speakers, so I can't quite comment on those, but I hear they're excellent as well.

I've demoed the B&W 704s and the Totem Hawks with less than 2 minute break between them (in Singapore's Adelphi building) and I liked the Hawks better. It was quicker, had extremely good imaging (didn't try too much off-axis) and awesome soundstage. Plus they're significantly smaller than the B&Ws so it'll be nice for your small room.

As for the lack of bass extension mentioned by Exertfluffer, I dissagree. The Totem Hawks were certainly missing the very bottom octave, but they weren't designed to reproduce the very low 20Hz-35Hz frequencies. But they had very good bass response when I demoed them in a room about your size. It was nicely detailed, quick and loud enough. If you are obsessed like many of my friends are, you'll need a sub-woofer, even for the B&Ws. The bass does go a little mushy if you really turn up the volume (again, probably an uncomfortable level for your room).

I'd recommend that you actually do take a day or a weekend off to demo the Hawks and the Thiel speakers. It'll be worth it and see which one YOUR ears prefer before you spend $2200.

Good luck,

Seong

Thanks Spacekadet. I look forward to auditioning that speaker. Rbstehno has peaked my curiousity about the Mani 2's. I've been reading about them. I learned something new - that a small bookshelf can actually produce good deep bass. The Mani's are expensive though. I might be interested in used.

No, but I tipped one over once and you should have seen it roll!