![toem tribe toem tribe](http://www.totemtribe.com/static/presskit/screenshots/totemtribe2-20170214-165147.jpg)
We can forgive this though, as the speakers successfully cover their tracks in most other areas. These speakers don’t manage to represent the scale and authority of the orchestra so successfully though, failing to fully communicate the feeling of power and scale. The sound stage is decently expansive and nicely layered with a pleasing sense of depth. These speakers don’t aim for an analytical balance – placing more importance on timing, dynamics and general coherence – but they still offer enough resolution to be able to follow a multitude of instrumental strands easily. There’s a good degree of body to the sound, particularly through the midrange and upper bass area. The speaker’s appearance may suggest a thin presentation, but Totem deserves plenty of credit for delivering an unexpectedly robust and solid presentation. They’re not wholly neutral, but still sound nicely balanced and reasonably full-bodied. We try Prokofiev’s Romeo And Juliet next and admire the Tribe Tower’s well-judged tonal balance. That’s not to say that larger alternatives, such as ATC’s SCM 40s, don’t do better - more that these Totems manage considerable more sonic heft than their size suggests. Basslines have decent weight and are tuneful.
#Toem tribe drivers#
Those small mid/bass drivers and compact cabinet don’t look promising when it comes to low frequencies, but they deliver enough to have us checking there isn’t an additional woofer hidden round the back. The big surprise is how these slim speakers handle bass. Her voice is strongly projected, thanks to a slightly mid-forward balance, and easy to follow, despite the dense backing instrumentation. These are rhythmic performers that make the most of the insistent beat on My Right Eye while still communicating the feeling and intensity in Anderson’s distinctive vocal superbly. They have a wonderfully cohesive sound that balances detail, refinement and attack well. We start with Laurie Anderson’s Homeland on our reference Naim ND555/555PS music streamer and the Tribe Towers sound right at home. That seems like an age, but use them regularly and that time flies. This much is apparent after only a few hours of use, but if you want to hear them at their considerable best you’ll need to give them a few hundred hours.
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They’re so well balanced that you’d have to go out of your way to mismatch a system to make them sound wrong. These Totems are impressively unfussy in nature.
![toem tribe toem tribe](https://livingnewdeal.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/unnamed.jpg)
Something like PMC’s Cor or even Naim’s SuperNait 3 will work a treat. Their dispersion is nicely controlled, so minute adjustments of the toe-in angle towards the listening position aren’t needed to get a decent stereo spread.Ī sensitivity of 89dB/W/m suggest that the Tribe will go loud with any decently powered amp, though the 4 ohm nominal impedance means that it needs to supply a solid amount of current to get the best from them. They sound tonally balanced close to a rear wall without being overly thin when placed further away. These Totems are refreshingly easy-going when it comes to positioning. Being lightweight is no bad thing of course, particularly when it comes to energy storage, and it also makes the speakers really easy to move around.
#Toem tribe full#
Fit and finish is as pleasing as you’d hope for at this level, though the Tribe Tower’s relatively low weight is something of a surprise in a market full of hefty speakers. Overall build is good and the cabinet feels reassuringly rigid. The standard finish choices, also white or black but with a satin finish, look neat though. But they are functional, and should you choose one of the premium high gloss finishes – white or black at an extra £1000 – the terminal panel gets changed for something much classier. The bi-wire speaker terminals on our review samples wouldn’t look out of place on speakers one-tenth of the price. Its non-parallel sides reduce the build-up of internal standing waves, and the panels are damped by the use of Borosilicate – something unique to Totem, to the best of our knowledge. That small, angled cabinet isn’t ordinary either. The crossover for this high frequency unit is a simple first order design, reducing the degrading impact of a more complex solution.
#Toem tribe torrent#
The larger than normal diameter has presumably been chosen to help integration with those two Torrent mid/bass units and that heavily dished metal faceplate helps to control dispersion. This purist approach to speaker design is carried over to the unusually large 33mm ‘laser etched’ textile soft dome tweeter.