This should be interesting. Both have great reputations and would definitely be in my crosshairs if I wasn't already happy with my ProAc Response 2.5s. Even then I still think about these two speakers.
Many components have passed through my listening rooms, but only one set remains, the Totem Mani-2s. I have opeated them with an Audio Research VT-100, a McIntosh MC-252, a McIntosh MHT-100, a pair of Cary 300B monoblocks, and a restored/upgraded Dynaco ST-35. No matter what, they are steller performers. And organ pedal notes reproduced through these speakers have to be heard to be believed!
Man, you got the right person with this question. I used to own a pair of Mani-2. I now own a pair of Tylers 7Us. The 7Us are a SMALL floor standing model that is very simular to the Tyler Linbrook Sig monitors. In my option no comparison. The Tylers take it. First of all they do not need a large powerfull amp to sound good. Buy a good 150 watt amp and a tube pre-amp and you are all set. The Totems need a really $ amp to sound good. Secondly the the Mani-s are way over priced. $4,000 dollars for a pair of small speakers that contains at the most $600 dollars worth of parts. Give me a break! I have built a few pairs of speakers so I know what I am talking about. The biggest think I have against the Totems is that they have a small sweet spot. Move around the room and they sound very different, and I do not mean for the better. Both speakers have Seas tweeters, but the Tylers have the better Millennium tweeter. Do yourself a favor, and buy the Tylers and get a better speaker and save yourself some money.
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