Powering Totem Sttafs and Rainmakers

Should I have given my thread a more exotic name? Triple X Starlet seeks assistance with speaker installation. Hmmm...not much feedback yet.

You posted on a weekend during the summer. Maybe people had better things to do than sit at their computer?

Anyhow...

I never cared for the NAD/Totem pairing. No synergy to my ears. Several forum friends on a different forum emailed Totem for amplification recommendations and all were told NAD isn't a good match. Can't remember why off the top of my head, but it made sense at the time.

The Outlaw suggestion looks good, but I haven't heard it.

Arcam, Simaudio, and Bryston pair up pretty well with Totem too IMO. Not sure if you'll get a Sim or Bryston integrated with 4 speaker outputs, nor if you'll find one for your budget if they do, but the Bryston B60 can be found for your budget here. I own one and have nothing but great things to say about it.

A good speaker switch box can somehow regulate the load the amp sees with multiple speakers of different characteristics. Not sure on the technical reasons or how exactly they work, but it made sense when I heard it explained.

Hi Scott:

If you look back at your original post you ask some very specific questions about using amplifiers with already purchased speakers in a set-up that is not too common ... two sets of speakers in the same room off of the same amp amp with the floorstanders on stands, no less.

I have never heard the Staffs and the Rainmakers playing in the same room at the same time, so I don't know if you are going to run into voicing issues, no matter what amp you use. If you have gone CD shopping in J&R Music in NYC, the sound of the music playing changes every so many feet because they have different brands of speakers connected to the same amplifier.

I would find a local Totem dealer and see if he can re-create your set-up with the amplifiers on hand and decide for yourself. It may be easier to purchase an amp on-line, but your set-up is too specific and you are committed to the Totems in a big way.

Rich

Kbarkamian,
That is odd. Never heard anything bad about Totem + NAD combination. In fact one of the demos I had for Totem Rainmakers and Hawks were with NAD amps and that was a nice demo indeed.
Yes, Bryston and Simaudio would be step up. Arcam will be more "refined" but not "power", which I feel the Totems need.

Milpai,

Totems no doubt benefit from some power. But what they really need is stable power in my experience. They need an amp that won't struggle with low impedance and difficult phase angles. If I recall correctly, Totem was saying NAD wasn't fast enough in it's power delivery. Perhaps it's damping factor or slew rate? I'm not a specs guy at all. No idea what those truly mean, even though I've read a definition.

The Bryston B60 has a good bit less wattage than an NAD 372. On a pair of Sttafs, the B60 smoked the NAD in an average sized room during a demo. Same with the Arros. If you're looking for SPL above all else, I'd imagine an NAD 372 would fare a bit better than a B60. However, the B60 powered the Totems to levels a good bit above normal in an average sized room without breaking a sweat.

Regardless of all that stuff, I can't really figure out why someone would use 4 speakers for stereo music in a room other than a huge open room. Makes no sense to me. Can't see how imaging, sound staging, etc. wouldn't be thrown off. 2 speakers that were designed for the amount of space that are properly placed should sound better than 4 speakers in a 2 channel system IMO.