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06-02-03: Bombaywalla
Matt,
Some points for you to consider:-
As a 604S2 owner I can tell you that B&Ws, in general, require lots of clean power amplification. By "clean" I mean refined, which indirectly means an amp on the expensive side rather than the cheap side. I do not know the Rotel specs & I'm sure that it has adequate power but it certainly lacks refinement in the mids & highs, which can be grainy (this I remember from my experience of hearing a few Rotel amps a few yrs ago). Lack of refinement might cause listening fatigue & could accentuate the brightness of the Nautilus tweeter. Additionally, the power amp should be capable of supplying large doses of current 'cuz the speaker has a 4th order x-over ckt which has a bad habit of changing its impedance over freq. This means a hard load for the amp to drive. Gobs of current is the solution. A side related issue is that these speakers sing (really well!) when the volume is turned up a bit. Don't know if your neighbours will complain!
I have also found that on complex orchestral pieces, the compromise made by B&W in making the 600 series cabinets MDF shows up pretty significantly - the sound is boxy/directional rather than being spatial within the soundstage.
I have also found that the larger 600 floor standing units work best when pulled out into the room i.e. very little or zero help from the walls for bass. The speakers are capable of re-producing plenty of bass when free-standing. If they get close to the wall, bass becomes boomy & that can get annoying + it hides the details of the music. I solved that problem using ASC tube traps. You will need some room treatment to get the best out of them.
I have also found that using a tube pre (like I have) tames the Nautilus tweeter to where the listening fatigue is virtually gone.
Don't know anything about the Totems, sorry!
Bombaywalla (System | Reviews | Threads | Answers | This Thread)
06-02-03
I have heard many of the speakers in the b&w 600 series. the ... Key_metric
06-03-03
I too am a classical music fan and for years have used totem ... Jsl23
06-03-03
If you're not in a hurry, you can probably get a pair of bw ... Joeb
06-04-03
Forget both of those brands..if you are looking for ... Aram
06-04-03
Aci sapphire. slightly over your budget but they will take y ... dmb@
06-04-03
I have not heard the totem mani-2s, but i have heard the tot ... Jetkitty
06-07-03
Jm renaud, vienna haydn's, pro-ac and aerial acoustics are g ... Cdc
06-07-03
My friend own totem model one. he runs them with parasound a ... Jayctoy
06-12-03
I second alon petite speaker and i strongly recommend jolida ... Pisitc
06-14-03
Call totem and ask how your electronics will mate with their ... Elb
06-14-03
This is for aram. how can you be so sure vmps will beat bot ... Ozzy62
06-19-03
I recently audiotioned the totem model-1 signature speakers, ... Bmd
06-21-03
I am more familiar with the totem line, and would concur wit ... Golfrok
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