So my friend and I did quite a bit of listening today as we went to 3 different shops to hear some speakers around $600 for a 100% music 2ch setup for my office. This is my mini review for all the following speakers.
Totem Dreamcatcher ($500/pair)
Well at first we went into the shop to listen to some Rainmakers as there are quite a bit of good deals on audiogon right now for my target price. They were being powered by an Integra receiver and 2ch amp. They had good imaging with balanced mids and highs and some very decent bottom end. They were not forward or bright and we both liked them very much. It is a well balanced speaker that can put out some very decent low end for it's size. So as we were talking to the sales guy about them we asked him about other speakers and what he did next surprised us. He told us that he liked the Rainmaker but he had another speaker to show us that he found to be better than them for half the price. So he then proceeds to show us the Dreamcatcher. As soon as he hooked them up my friend and I's faces both lit up. The imaging on these little speakers was superb and actually better than the rainmakers. Midrange was detailed and the highs were a tiny bit on the bright side but it wasn't something that couldn't be fixed with some minor EQ'ing.
Monitor Audio RS1 ($600/pair)
We then asked about the MA RS1 since it happened to be sitting right next to the Totem and he told us that even though they were more expensive than the Dreamcatcher he though that what he got from what I was looking I wouldn't like them. But he proceeded to hook them up and from what we were hearing he was dead on. While the MA had clean mids and highs we found them to be a bit brighter than the Dreamcatchers but it was nowhere near as bad as Klipsch or B&W 6xx series. The thing where the MA failed to impress was imaging. The smaller totems just felt like a bigger speaker even though they were almost half the size. Now the RS1 was a very balanced speaker and we didn't feel it did anything bad at all. But they also didn't stand out in anything either. If anything their sound was fuller than the small totems because of their size and for $600/pair I felt they were actually a better value than the $1000 rainmakers.
Rega R1 ($595/pair)
Now these speakers had superb mids and clean highs but were somewhat bright. The shop had them hooked up to some Naim gear. These and the Dreamcatcher were extremely similar in the mids but I have to give the edge by a tiny small margin to the Rega. Imaging was on par with the Totem and for the most part they were very close except that after a while the highs became a bit too much and we became a bit fatigued. But all in all if you like the bright sound without it being overly too bright I definitely recommend these speakers.
Polk LSi7 ($699/pair)
Now at first we weren't planning on listening to these at all but my friend recommended we check them out as he was sure I would like them. Wow was I in for a surprise. These speakers pretty much did everything right. Clear mids and exceptional highs with a huge soundstage. Their sound was fuller than the Dreamcatchers because of their size and these were honestly just a delight to hear. Now the problem is that these were over my budget and after hearing the Dreamcatchers we just couldn't justify the $200 price difference. Don't get me wrong these were the best speakers of the day but the Dreamcatchers are 95% of their performance at roughly 2/3 the price.
So now all I have left to hear is the BG Z-1 (thanks InTheIndustry) and I think I will be doing an A-B comparison with the Dreamcatchers in my home. The Totem dealer said I could audition them in my home.
