Totem Mites--Articulate and Detailed Speakers
This is my first post in this newsgroup, so my apologies in advance if I post incorrectly or breach etiquette.
I have a pair of Totem Mites in my study which I mounted approx. 6" from the ceiling on adjacent walls so that I could get good imaging from my chair in the corner of the smallish room. They replaced a pair of Mission M71s. I currently own five amps including a Yamaha AX-596. The Yamaha is a wonderful amp with lots of power and great dynamics. I normally keep the Yamaha in my living room system (also two channel--I'm not into home theater) and match it to a pair of Athena AS-B2s. When I connected the Yamaha to the Mites, the Mites, which are extremely clean and articulate, sounded amazing in my study, but initially came across as sounding a bit bright in my significantly larger living room. I used the Yamaha playing Kraftwork's Radio Activity on vinyl to break them in and they seemed to sound less tight after a couple of days. Although the Totems are definitely brighter speakers than my M71s and AS-B2s, once I took them into my study, they were neither aggressive nor grating with the Yamaha and in fact sounded very good. Yamaha makes some great amps and are probably underrated by the audiophile crowd.
I couldn't use the Yamaha in my study because it would have been overkill with the Mites. Although the Mites do like a lot of power (I also have a 15 Watt Vuum VTI-B1, basically the same unit as the Fatman iTube and the Dared MP5 without USB, which struggled with the Mites and couldn't product the low end I felt was necessary to become lost in the music), the Yamaha would have been too imposing in my little study. However, I would have considered a smaller version of the AX serious if I could have found one.
Instead, I recently purchased a Nad C315BEE which is an absolutely wonderful match with the Mites. The Nad seems a bit warmer than the Yamaha (although the Yamaha is by no means clinical sounding), yet just as resolving as the Vuum. Where the Totem Mites really benefit, however, is from the Nad's generous low end. I also have an ancient 3020 which also has Nad's characteristic warmth, but without the resolution of the C315BEE. With the Nad C315BEE, a subwoofer would definitely be overkill in my study because the Mites actually produce plenty bass for a small room. For a larger room, however, I think a subwoofer should be considered.
Enjoy your Mites. Do give them some time to break in. In addition, don't judge them until you've listened to them for at least a month or so that you have time to acclimatize to them. I've always found that it takes a bit of time to get used to a new system (it took me a long time to wean myself off of the loudness button on my earlier amps). The Mites are incredibly detailed and I haven't heard anything in their price range that will let me hear the finer nuances of music better. BTW I listen mostly to a lot of classical, some Jazz and World, and artists such as Leonard Cohen, Neil Young, Van Morrison, Frank Zappa, etc..
Keep it lit!
Roland.
