Totem speakers

[Funkmonkey]

I couldn't find a thread here for Totems so I thought I would start one, in hopes of generating some opinions about their different models. I recently auditioned some Totem Hawks, and really liked their sound, and aesthetics. Right now they are at the top of my short list for a new pair of speakers. The only concern I have heard about is their ability to play loud, and I am not sure that is justified or not. Would a pair of Forests be better suited to playing at loud volumes? By the frequency response ratings for each speaker it looks like the Hawks go lower than the Forest, is this a noticeable difference in real world listening? If anybody owns the Hawks or any other Totem speakers please add your impressions. Thanks.

[Funkmonkey]

For anybody interested, I sent an e-mail off to Totem and asked a couple of questions that I had about the Hawk, and its use in a HT set-up, and about synergy with electronics and stuff. This is their reply:

"the hawk is a tremendous unit and one that can be implemented in a home
theater setup

although we would ideally recommend the TOTEM FOREST for home theater
applications

the Hawk can be integrated as long as the unit is rolled off to 40HZ

the reason being is that FOREST has the capability of playing at 110dB (thx
level) and the hawk does not (104 db)

the added dynamics do put strain on the Hawk woofer and so we ask that the
unit be rolled off at 40Hz for safe operation

the appropriate center and surround for the hawk would be

rainmaker center
rainmaker monitor or lynxs

in terms of amplification we have had great success pairing our loudspeakers
to b&K , ARCAM and NAIM I surround sound applications"

[mrsollars]

i'm waiting for a price list from them.