Totem vs Dynaudio

I had Totem Model Ones for some time, and my friend has them now. I loved them and now they are his pride and joy. Don't be afraid of their metal tweeter, Totem knows how to get them right.
Not sure I can tell you which brand will be best for your set-up, but you probably cant go wrong either way. You are on the right track!

I previously owned the Dynaudio Focus 140s. I enjoyed them very much. They are easy to listen to and perform well with all kinds of music, except large scale symphonic music, which is a challenge for any small speaker.

I have not heard the Totem Forests, but I have heard other Totem speakers. I found them pleasing, but different. It really would help if you could listen before purchasing.

Bryon

I've owned Dynaudio Focus 220 II, Audience 70's, Audience 42's, and Confidence C1's. The only Totem I've own was the Model One Sig monitor. I have heard the Winds though powered by Mac 501's. Both lines are very good, although I would give a slight edge Dynaudio, mainly because they manufacture their own drivers and Mick (customer care) is a pleasure to deal with. The Totems are a little more polite IMO, while the Danes, although warm, are extremely detailed. I did audition the Focus 140 in my home once. Just remember with either of these, a good quality source and amplification is key and neither should let you down.

But just to counter someone else's post... Totems DO NOT use Dynaudio drivers. They look very similar and sound great, but they are a knock off.

I have owned the forest and dyn 1.3 se,s.the dyns wont give you the dynamics of the forests(bass extention).The dyns will be a smoother sound,totems are great imagers.Your music consideration s should be the deciding factor.defride is absolutly correct alu tweeter is not for everyones taste...needs to be considered (if try before buy?)strongly.Woofer on totem is no a dyaudio,i forget what it is(swan)well made though.both are great little speakers but very differant animals.

I've had Dynaudio standmounts, heard Focus 110 and discussed the 140 with dealers, I also owned Forests. Of them all for me the Forests were the best balanced. The dealers suggested while a good speaker the bass wasn't as well intergrated in the 140 as some. The Forest runs a metal tweeter that doesn't have their hard/bright tendency and a Woofer that looks like a Dynaudio one but is sourced elsewhere and then modified. I'd definately recommend giving Forest's a listen though I've no experience of your amp and your room is also an important consideration.

Ditto, the above. I have owned several pair of Dynaudio speakers in the past. I suspect that I will own more in the future. You will not be disappointed in the 140's.

To me, Dynaudio is one of the cornerstone brands in high end audio. Just solid, solid and solid all around and hard to beat.

Totem is also up there.

YMMV.

Some but not all Totems use Dynaudio drivers (just wish I remembered which ones). That being said Dynaudio will not sell a current production driver to a manufacturer. They will sell older drivers but more importantly they still have stock for the drivers they ever produced. I was even told by a Dynaudio Rep if they ever run out of a driver they have all the materials to make more and have in the past.

Mapman has another great point. As a Dyn owner I will say they sound fantastic when you have an amp that puts out good clean current. Watts don't mean much to the Dyns. I'm currently running an Octave V70SE with EL34 tubes which in theory brings me down to 49w. That crushed my old integrated that was rated at 180w @ 4ohms. I'm as happy with the sound as when I had my KT88's in @ 70w.

Disclaimer - I am a Dynaudio C1 owner and I can not say enough good about the entire Dynaudio product line and their service.

I think it will come down more to personal preference than one being a better match to the amp than the other.

Otherwise, check the sensitivity ratings maybe and see if one is more sensitive and more likely to go louder easier if that is a concern at all.

Hi Audiofreakgeek,

Thanks for your suggestion to audition the speakers. However, I have no local Totem/Dynaudio dealers and the nearest one/s are farther away than I want to travel. Rgs.

You can drive either ones, go to a dealer and listen to both an see which ones you like, and bring your amplifier to check.