Dynaudio Focus 140 vs Totem Model 1 Signature

Have to agree with rumadian and Jaybo.

On the Naim Front - I have never yet heard a pair of speakers that the Nait 5i integrated could not drive to comfortably loud listening levels and still make it sound like (real) music, including: Quad 21L, Devore Gibbon 8's, Totem Arros, Hawks & Forest, Epos M16 and Naim's own SL2. Note that these are all small floor standers and may be slightly more efficient than the smaller monitors you are considering. These speakers are all ass kickers by the way, just in case you are ever looking for a bit larger box.

Other random notes:

Another Dynaudio monitor that I have been impressed by is the Audience 52. This is a bigger box than the Focus 140, and sounds like it. I listened carefully to this speaker driven by a Rega P3 TT and a PrimaLuna ProLogue 2 integrated tube amp, and was QUITE IMPRESSED. The ProLogue is only rated at 40 W, but was easily able to drive the 52's. This amp might also work well with the 140's since they have the same sensitivity rating (86db). Not sure the used price for this amp is below $1000 yet, but it's worth a look.

I also demoed the Dynaudio Audience 72 floor stander with NAD separates driven by an NAD cd player, and that combination sounded very nice, although the NAD amp (C272) was packing considerably more horsepower than a the C325. Again, the little NAD will make pretty noise with either the Totem 1's or the little Dynaudio Focus, but you will just need a more capable amp to extract the total goodness therein.

It all comes down to your taste whether great mid range and imaging that you crave or the tighter bass that you like. Good electronics (amplification) plays a big role too.

Amended position on the Totem Model 1's and 50W amplifier.

Not sure if this comes too late to help, but I happened to listen to the Model 1's today driven by the Music Hall Trio all-in-one system which claims 50W/channel. The combination sounded pretty good - with any sins being those of omission, rather than the Model ones pointing out any glaring deficiencies in the amp or CDP. So the Totems at least seem to be fairly forgiving. This may also say something about the quality inherent in Music Hall's new "lifestyle" system, which I thought comported itself fairly well next to the mid to high level Naim gear on hand for comparison.

Both the Totem Model One and the Dyn 52 are great speakers worth matching with amplifiers that cost as much as three times the amount that you invest into the Totem Model One or the Dyn 52SE. They are designed by different people and of course they sound different. Whether you go with Totem or Dynaudio is a matter of taste.

To extract the most out of both the Totem and the Dyn, you will need decent pre/pro combo that gives you 100 watts each channel. But decent integrateds like Sim, Plinius, and Naim also suffice. NAD is also okay if you spend less than $1K. $1K or more, I would go with the amps that I have mentioned earlier.

Save up so that you can move up to the real mid fi electronics. You wil be more content.

Good luck.

I have owned both the 140's and Model 1 Sigs, with different integrateds- Musical Fidelity a3.2 and a308, Simaudio I-3SE and Plinius 8200 mkii. The MF a3.2 seemed a bit weak. The MF a308 had plenty of power but lacking in detail and soundstage. The Sim I-3SE was very musical and detailed, but could use a bit more uumph. The Plinius 8200 mkii, though just a bit bloated sounding to my ears, was the best match.
I would respectfully disagree with Hieule5 in his statement that these speakers are "worth matching with amplifiers that cost as much as three times the amount that you invest into the Totem Model One or the Dyn 52 se". The cost would be in the $6000.00 area. Great sound? Absolutely. A good amp/ speaker cost ratio? My thinking is the money could be better spent elsewhere in your system or in music.