I see a couple of potential trouble spots in the OP's original audition environment. One is that you'll generally get a better presentation by putting the speakers in front of the long wall, not the short one. Next, if you have to put the speakers in front of the narrow wall, chances are they'll benefit from some toe-in to lower the influence of the sidewall reflections. Third, currently there is only one Cary tube amp above 60 watts, the newly released 110 watt (in class A/B) Founder's Edition monoblock. Totem's spec sheet requires a minimum of 80 watts and has a stated nominal impedance of 4 ohms. Generally you find that 4 ohm speakers have dips down to 2 ohms and sometimes less.
It sounds to me that, besides the room setup issues, the Winds were not getting the best match in amplification. A nice Cary tube amp would bring out the Totem's best in subtlety and nuance, such as a chamber music or acoustic folk/pop, but wouldn't have the oomph to give it zing and make it come alive on other kinds of music. Going by Totem's specs, this speaker seems to be screaming for a high powered high current solid state amp with a very low output impedance to come alive, and that's the part the Winds didn't do for you. I'll bet it would come across entirely differently with some toe in and a 250 wpc Parasound Halo.
It sounds to me that, besides the room setup issues, the Winds were not getting the best match in amplification. A nice Cary tube amp would bring out the Totem's best in subtlety and nuance, such as a chamber music or acoustic folk/pop, but wouldn't have the oomph to give it zing and make it come alive on other kinds of music. Going by Totem's specs, this speaker seems to be screaming for a high powered high current solid state amp with a very low output impedance to come alive, and that's the part the Winds didn't do for you. I'll bet it would come across entirely differently with some toe in and a 250 wpc Parasound Halo.