Vienna Acoustics Haydn Grand or Totem Rokk?


Ive heard totems before and I was impressed. I never heard the Veinnas

Anyone have an opinion?
nicknac
Sure, I have VA Bach Grands that are very similar to the Haydn Grands but are floorstanders.

I love them - definitely the speaker for me after owning and auditioning many different models. But it may not be the one for you. Suggest you seek out a pair and give a long listen. If you can't though, lets make some quick comparisons:

* Both are 4 Ohm and similar in sensitivity - 88 & 89 db.
* The Haydn Grands have a larger woofer at 6.5" vs 4.5" and since both would require the same amount of power to adequately drive, I would go for the larger woofer in the VA.
* The Vienna uses a soft textile dome tweeter, the Totem a titanium dome. They most likely sound a little different and if you have a preference in driver material, keep this in mind.

Hope this helps and good luck in your search.
The VA Hayden Grand is a very "polite" sounding speaker so amplifier matching is critical. I've heard very good results with Krell-Primare and Primaluna. On the other hand Totem loudspeakers can sound "over the top" but this was from a demo(s)over 10 years ago. Don't know if the current Totem "house sound" is more subdued.
The VA Hayden Grand does acoustic music very well, and yes, they are polite. To me they sound great when fed with high current SS electronics, with cables that are on the neutral side. If you're using tube amplification you may want to consider not using cables that are on the warm and polite side, IMO.
I feed my pair with SS electronics. Threshold T3i preamp with Threshold T-200 amp, and sometimes with the smaller 60w/ch T-100 amp. Cables are various Tara Labs RSC through out.
The only Totem speakers I ever heard were the Model One, with McCormack Amplification. I thought they sounded better then the VA Hayden Grand.. they also cost more.
Thanks Guys,
Some very good advice.

I was impressed with the realism and the imaging of the Totem products I had heard.
Paranner, thats a great point about tweeter comparisons. Titanium can ring and glare but I never noticed that from the totems I had heard. I tend more towards the smoother soft domes.
I am looking to pair them with a small Emotiva system and a digital player at my daughter's house. I spend a few months there each winter and would like to have something to listen to there.
Thanks again both