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Totem Acoustic Signature One

Totem Acoustic Signature One

The much-lauded Totem Acoustic Model 1 mini-monitor was the speaker that got the ball rolling for the young Montreal-based company in 1987. For its time and price, this two-way bass-reflex design heralded a new era in speed, transparency, and resolution. Success begetting success, the passing years led to various iterations of the Model 1, most notably the hot-rodded Model 1 Signature of the late Nineties. In that version designer Vince Bruzzese installed improved crossover components, and upgraded to silver wiring and two sets of binding posts. Further on, a limited-edition version known as The One commemorated Totem’s 20th in 2007. We turn now to the Signature One, which commemorates Totem’s 30th Anniversary and represents the largest series of changes to this iconic model.

Although the Signature One is still a “mini,” owners of the original will immediately clock how much it has grown—roughly an inch and a half in each dimension. Further examination reveals just how much other things have changed. Gone is the 5.5″ woofer of the original, replaced by a 6.5″ unit sourced from Totem’s up-market Forest speaker. Equipped with an oversized three-inch voice coil and a neodymium magnet, this underhung design yields more dynamic potential. (Totem claims that it can handle 600W transients without a whimper.) The 1″ SEAS aluminum tweeter is similar to the original although heavily modified with better materials and components. It features a metal dome made of an aluminum/titanium alloy that is mounted within a rear chamber to reduce resonances and provide isolation. The crossover is a second-order design with a 2.5kHz crossover point. Nominal impedance is 8 ohms, making the Signature One more accommodating of amplification than the 4-ohm Model 1. Internal wiring uses Teflon-coated silver/OFC copper conductors. Other features include matched resistors from Dale, RCD, and Archromic for phase consistency.

Totem Acoustic Signature One

Totem has always been proud, and rightly so, of the craftsmanship of its cabinets. The Signature One carries forth that tradition, seamlessly and exquisitely. Described as a one-piece monocoque chassis, the enclosure is compared, by Totem, to the chassis of Formula 1 race cars—a stretch perhaps given the modesty of a two-way. However, I will give the Totem team credit for having produced a cabinet of serious sophistication and obvious rigidity. Using a hybrid of techniques, Totem employs CNC technology for driver and rear-plate cutouts and Old School craft for the lock-miter corner joints. Materials are ¾” variable-density MDF, geared to lower resonances. Another tradition carried forward is the veneering of internal surfaces and further treatment with borosilicate for energy dissipation, plus full-plane internal cross-bracing between the woofer and tweeter for increased rigidity and damping. Precision front joints are rounded to lower diffraction. Moving to the back panel, classy details abound. Just above the rear port an annealed aluminum rear plate harbors the gold-plated WBT bi-wireable binding posts. Magnetically affixed grilles are included.

Sonically, the classic Totem virtues prevailed. Having recently reviewed its smaller sibling the Sky in Issue 275, I wasn’t at all surprised that the Signature One shared a similar high-revving, high-output character that doesn’t shy away from combustible dynamic swings or the demands of orchestral bass or pop rhythm tracks. It only took a few moments with Dick Hyman’s From the Age of Swing to feel the seat-of-the-pants big band excitement that this speaker communicates. While no product is ever without an issue or two, the Signature One conveyed a contagiously positive, upbeat, three-dimensional musicality. Most noteworthy were the familiar inner detail, the speed out of the starting blocks, and instantaneous transient snap. As I listened to the Dixie Chicks’ cover of Stevie Nicks’ “Landslide,” guitar and mandolin transients and harmonics were on full melodious display. Similarly, the high-hat figures behind The Carpenters’ “Close to You” had weight, not just metallic sizzle. The responsiveness of the Signature One to low-level passages is where its cabinet rigidity pays off. Its ability to vanish within the confines of a small listening room (like mine) remains astonishing. I still recollect how remarkable these attributes were in 1987 when two-way mini-monitors from the likes of Spendor, Rogers, and Proac were all the rage. While time and technology have allowed a wider cross-section of this segment to close the gap somewhat, the Signature One continues to break ground in this area.

Tonally the Signature One has reasonably neutral response, anchored by a tuneful, full-bodied midrange that is rich in color and texture. It is a little forward sounding, but not aggressively so. Treble response is extended and articulate as I expected from the metal dome tweeter. Nonetheless, I wouldn’t describe its character as all rose-petal sweetness. The tweeter has a revealing, somewhat clinical signature and, as is so often the case with metal domes, a cooler cast. Still, thanks to the lush midbass, the Signature One has a warm overall personality, always an admirable trait in a small monitor in my view.

 

I listen to a lot of vocals, and while I wouldn’t characterize the Signature One as merely a “voice” speaker, this is a critical area for many audiophiles. The Signature One has, as noted, a more forward presentation. Vocalists and soloists take a step closer to the listener. With a singer like Diana Krall singing “I’m Confessin’ That I Love You” from Turn Up The Quiet, I could identify a bit more lift in her upper register. The articulation between a lead singer and background harmonies is also a Totem strong point, and I enjoyed the soaring backup vocals of Randy Meisner in support of lead singer Bernie Leadon during The Eagles’ “Bitter Creek” from Desperado.

There was a tonal region in the vocal range that was a little less to my liking. There’s a suppression of energy in the mid/upper mids that emphasizes the breath of a singer at the expense of some of the vocalist’s body. I could hear this during Ella & Louis’ version of “They Can’t Take That Away from Me” in the way the singers’ chest tones seemed a bit diminished, and detail and air in the upper harmonic region were accentuated. Admittedly, I may be an outlier in my sensitivity to this relatively narrow issue, but it is a factor to consider.

The Sig One was not merely a quick, peel-out-and-burn-rubber compact. It actually has fairly broad shoulders that impart authentic gravitas to recorded music. Totem claims mid-40Hz extension, and I have little reason to doubt it. While this is not quite pipe organ territory, this little speaker leaves the impression in the bottom octaves that it is playing well beyond expectations. The Totem’s upper bass and lower midrange also fare well, providing a satisfying (though not completely full) amount of heft and muscle for orchestral winds and lower strings, and percussion. I was more than satisfied as I listened to cello soloist Pieter Wispelwey perform Bruch’s Kol Nidrei. Reproducing a string section’s power range is a tall order, but the Signature One was more than game, although it couldn’t quite muster the deeper, extended resonances of the music in the hall. Descending into the midbass I could hear some port augmentation on bass drum explosions, timpani thwacks, and vigorously bowed acoustic bass. All things considered, these are relatively minor quibbles. To be fair, if you’re hoping to get full transparency in this region, then your expectations for a thirteen-inch-tall two-way are probably a little out of whack.

Devotees of the two-way monitor, myself included, have always wrestled with the inherent limitations of this segment of loudspeakers. We’ve come to terms with the fact that bottom-octave extension and PA-level output will never be parts of the résumé. However, Totem Acoustic continues to push hard against these boundaries, continually widening the performance envelope of the small speaker and raising the expectations of aficionados. The Signature One is the widest expression of Totem’s grand quest thus far.

Specs & Pricing

Type: Two-way, bass-reflex compact
Drivers: 1″ aluminum dome tweeter, 6.5″ mid/bass
Frequency response: 45Hz–22kHz
Crossover: 2.5kHz
Sensitivity: 87.5dB
Impedance: 8 ohms
Dimensions: 7.7″ x 13.8″ x 10.6″
Weight: 19.5 lbs. each
Price: $2650/pr.

TOTEM ACOUSTIC
9165 rue Champ D’Eau 
Montreal Quebec Canada 
H1P 3M3 
(514) 259-1062
totemacoustic.com

Tags: ACOUSTIC SIGNATURE

Neil Gader

By Neil Gader

My love of music largely predates my enthusiasm for audio. I grew up Los Angeles in a house where music was constantly playing on the stereo (Altecs, if you’re interested). It ranged from my mom listening to hit Broadway musicals to my sister’s early Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, Beatles, and Stones LPs, and dad’s constant companions, Frank Sinatra and Tony Bennett. With the British Invasion, I immediately picked up a guitar and took piano lessons and have been playing ever since. Following graduation from UCLA I became a writing member of the Lehman Engel’s BMI Musical Theater Workshops in New York–working in advertising to pay the bills. I’ve co-written bunches of songs, some published, some recorded. In 1995 I co-produced an award-winning short fiction movie that did well on the international film-festival circuit. I was introduced to Harry Pearson in the early 70s by a mutual friend. At that time Harry was still working full-time for Long Island’s Newsday even as he was writing Issue 1 of TAS during his off hours. We struck up a decades-long friendship that ultimately turned into a writing gig that has proved both stimulating and rewarding. In terms of music reproduction, I find myself listening more than ever for the “little” things. Low-level resolving power, dynamic gradients, shadings, timbral color and contrasts. Listening to a lot of vocals and solo piano has always helped me recalibrate and nail down what I’m hearing. Tonal neutrality and presence are important to me but small deviations are not disqualifying. But I am quite sensitive to treble over-reach, and find dry, hyper-detailed systems intriguing but inauthentic compared with the concert-going experience. For me, true musicality conveys the cozy warmth of a room with a fireplace not the icy cold of an igloo. Currently I split my time between Santa Fe, New Mexico and Studio City, California with my wife Judi Dickerson, an acting, voice, and dialect coach, along with border collies Ivy and Alfie.

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