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Totem Sttaf

I'm currently auditioning a pair of Totem Sttaf speakers. I've read so many good things about them, but I'm not particularly impressed. Their voicing, to my ears, seems to employ certain tricks to enhance the sense of imaging. The bass, while many say is strong for the speaker's size, sounds loose and undefined. The soundstage stays strictly between the speakers; I hardly ever hear it extend beyond. Depth is also not that great. Overall, they seem to lack the same natural sound that my LSA1 monitors put forth. It might be a bit unfair to compare imaging of a floor stander versus a monitor, but even for a floor stander, I'm not that impressed with the Sttaf's imaging. The sense of imaging all seems to come from a slightly enhanced treble; imaging in the midrange seems not quite as clear.

Maybe my ears are pushing my tastes beyond my wallet. But I think I can do better for the money, considering the Sttaf's $1800 retail price. I should also note that I have a small 11x11 listening room, so finding speakers that work is a challenge too. That's why I considered the Totems.
jwglista
jwglista OP
206 posts
 
I wanted to post an update regarding the Sttaf. Yesterday evening, a cold front started moving through my area, which meant I could open up the windows and break out my PrimaLuna Prologue Two. I hooked it up to the Sttafs, and I will say that these speakers are a much better match for tubes. It didn't solve all problems that I found with the Sttafs, but it helps tremendously. Since the tube amp has more of that "fat" sound, it helps to fill out some of the leanness I heard in the Sttaf's lower midrange. Alas, the summers here are too hot for me to use a tube amp during, so the Sttaf would still not be a good choice for me because of that. But just something to keep in mind for others who are considering these speakers.
bdgregory
1,715 posts
 
I've used my Sttafs with tubes and a multiple different SS amps. I would not say they are a better match for Tubes, but they do sound really nice with tubes. All of the amps I have used, at least the ones that sound good with them are high power (140W - 200W) and have really good bass control. That's when they shine.
jakecanada's avatar
jakecanada
80 posts
 
Try mass loading! My dad owns a pair and runs them in a 1500 square foot room with all windows. And the bass is well defined and inner detail brought out more and better throw in bass when loaded. He runs them on a old 100w luxman and put about 5 pounds of play sand in them. I liked the staffs so much I bought a pair of totem forest speakers. Also I am running them on a 40watt class A triode tube amp in the same room. Which shocked how much of the same bass I got in the room with my little amp in that room after mass loaded. But more clear and lower the throw. And every body wonders where is the sub woofer? One thing that really helped was getting the new shunyata Viper Ztron power cord. And have the speakers bi-wired makes better bass and image limber 12tc cable. Totem beaks too. I also used a mix of lead shot for shot guns and a little play sand to stop them from moving brought the great image but better bass definition.
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