I attended the March 2006 hifi show in Montreal and the best room by far, in my book was the one with a set of Totem Mani-2 driven by Conrad Johnson Preamp (the new CT5) & 2 CJ amps and Chord transport and DAC. Simply out of this world ! I did not dare ask the price of the entire set-up but the Mani-2s really shone.
Upgrading to Totem Mani 2's
I’m considering upgrading from the Model 1’s to Mani 2’s. I’ve read most of the forums here on A’gon regarding the Mani’s and the one thing that they all pretty much have in common is that you need a lot of power (and current) to drive them. I’m currently running a Plinius 9100 for my Model 1’s which is rated at 120 W per side (around 200 W @ 4ohms). I’m also running the Plinius on 220v which has opened it up considerably and gives the bass a lot more punch (something I know I'll need for the Mani's). My room size is approx. 15 x 22 and my listening position is about 16 feet from the speakers. I normally listen at a moderate volume (10 o’clock is loud for me and 12 o’clock pretty much drives me out of the room). I know the old adage that you can always get a bigger amp, but if I’m going to spend several thousand on a speaker upgrade I’d rather not turn around and spend several thousand more on upgrading the amplifier as well (at least not right away). In addition I'm very pleased with the 9100 and like the Plinius sound very much. So what do you think Mani 2 owners? Am I living in a bubble thinking that the 9100 has the juice or based on my room size and listening habits will the 9100 do the job for me?