2. amps-preamps
  3. 1313364070

Powering Totem Sttafs and Rainmakers

Hi all,

Just bought Totem Sttafs and Rainmakers (I like 4 stereo speakers in one room, I also like floor-standing speakers on stands so mid-range is ear-level). But my Integra stereo receiver under-compels Totems and anyway the 8 ohm Sttafs & 4ohm Rainmakers will kill the Integra in time. The Nad C375BEE would feed the power hungry Totems and drive down to 2-3 ohms but is it worthless without a Niles or similar switcher? I use an OPPO DVD as my CD player but soon will likely run all my audio / video from my laptop + Moon DAC. Are there tube pre’s and solid state amps that pair well with the Totems that I should consider? Or another integrated superior to the Nad for the Totems? What about cables? Thanks in advance. -Scott
scottmoshen
rar1's avatar
rar1
1,769 posts
 
I am using an Outlaw RR2150 with a pair of Totem Mites, which are 8 ohms, 87db to the Rainmakers 4 ohms, 87db.

There is definitely not a lack of power with the Outlaw as it is a true 100 wpc. The receiver is also stable at 2 ohms, see measurements from Sterophile review .

For 2 speaker connections, the following is from the user manual:

Speaker A/B Selection

The RR 2150 allows you to connect two pairs of speakers, each of which will be sent the same output signal. Four options are available, depending on where you set the Speaker Selector Switch (FP14).

 Set the switch to the “A” position to listen to speakers connected to the “A” speaker output terminals only.

 Set the switch to the “B”position to listen to speakers connected to the “B” speaker output terminals only.

 Set the switch to the “A+B” position to listen to both sets of speakers.

 Set the switch to “OFF” to disable all speakers connected to the
RR 2150.

Hope this helps.

Rich
headshrinker2
110 posts
 
Naim and Totem are a great combination. I had great success with Naim XS integrated and a pair of Totem Arros.

Good luck!
bdgregory
1,712 posts
 
I've powered my Sttafs with many different amps and they all worked well. You don't indicate a budget range, but staying in the neighborhood of the NAD there are a number of options. I like B&K amps - and if you want to power 2 sets of speakers a multichannel amp is an option. One of these would be quite nice. (I don't know the seller and have no interest in the sale).

Other options - Musical Fidelity A3cr, PS Audio HCA-2.

A Dared SL2000a preamp is one tube preamp worth considering in the presumed budget range, but only has 2 inputs. are great.Other Tube preamps I can think of will run $700+, but in the $700-1000 range there are probably some great choices (eg, TAD 150sig if you can find one). In Solid State - staying with B&K and PT-3 or PT-5 are great for the money.
More to discover