The ProAc 1SC's are very neutral and critical regarding what you feed them. Cheap CD players or amps will not allow the 1SC to shine. I have auditioned many monitors including the Totems and ended up with the ProAc's. I have not heard another monitor that presents the music in such a natural involving way w/out coloration. Vocal are amazing as well as acoustic instruments. The Totems are very nice as well, but being that you have and Audio Research VT-100 I would absolutely go with the ProAc's.
Minimonitor Choice: Proac 1sc vs. Totem Model 1s
Has anyone directly compared these two speakers? I've heard the Totems, and they image so well, though may be a little congested in the midrange. How do the Proac's compare? I've got Proac 2.5's, I think they are great, but currently find the tweeters a tad bit aggressive (but am working on that with cable selection). I've heard still better things about the tweeters in the 1sc's. I'm using great amps in my systems right now (Pass Aleph, ARC VT100 mk2, Berning ZH270).
Anyhow - I love good imaging, but not at the expense of tonal balance. Considerations that I'm aware of between these two speakers are:
1) Which has better/more natural bass response? (I want to avoid the subwoofer approach if possible - but I do like to listen to all sorts of music, including rock, orchestral, jazz, female vocals, etc.).
2) Is either more sensitive/dependent on positioning? This includes speaker positioning in the room and listener positioning (e.g. size of sweet spot)?
3) Do either have characteristic tonal biases that I should be aware of? (I've already described some impressions of the Totem Model 1s).
Thanks for your input everyone. Also, are there other minimonitors I should be considering or auditioning (when traveling outside of my small town of Flagstaff, AZ).
Anyhow - I love good imaging, but not at the expense of tonal balance. Considerations that I'm aware of between these two speakers are:
1) Which has better/more natural bass response? (I want to avoid the subwoofer approach if possible - but I do like to listen to all sorts of music, including rock, orchestral, jazz, female vocals, etc.).
2) Is either more sensitive/dependent on positioning? This includes speaker positioning in the room and listener positioning (e.g. size of sweet spot)?
3) Do either have characteristic tonal biases that I should be aware of? (I've already described some impressions of the Totem Model 1s).
Thanks for your input everyone. Also, are there other minimonitors I should be considering or auditioning (when traveling outside of my small town of Flagstaff, AZ).