Totems: Are Arro much better than Staff? (1 Viewer)

[HarpSingh]

I had decided on the Totem Mites (after comparison with the B&W CM1), and have had them home for a couple of weeks now. However, now my wife has agreed to go ahead with floor-standing instead of the width restricted bookshelfs. Our entertainment center shelf restricted the max width I could do, and I also did not want to put them "completely inside" a shelf. Since these speakers are for a family room and not a dedicated HT room, WAF is important.

So, now seeing the fine wood finish of the Totems, my wife's agreed to go for floor-standing. That is exciting, but a couple of things are making me wonder.

1. Currently the bookshelfs are at perfect ear level (about 39" at top); the floor standing ones will be slightly lower at 34", considering my sofa. How much of an issue is the slightly below ear level?

2. The Arro or the Sttaf floor-standing do not have a perfectly matching center. I would either have to use the Mite center, Rainmaker center, or the expensive Model-1. Are any of these center's close enough in timbre?

 

[HarpSingh]

Sorry about the typo. Editing does not let me change the heading from "Staff" to "Mite".

 

[HarpSingh]

Is a floor-standing always better than a bookshelf, especially if they both have only one woofer and one tweeter? With a floor-standing, you are paying for more wood-laminate, more materials of construction, and more weight (shipping costs). Does a bigger box automatically translate into better sound?

 

[NickSI]

from what ive heard from people who know what they are talking about usually a bookshelf sounds better because there is less front surface for the sound to bounce off. That is what i recall im no expert and i hope someone who knows what they are talking about adds in.

 

[HarpSingh]

It seems the Arro uses a smaller woofer and a smaller tweeter. Not necessarily a better speaker, and thus I feel I will be paying more for the other stuff I mentioned above, instead of for a better speaker.

What do you think of the Sttaf? The woofer & tweeter seem to be the same as the Mite. Combined with a bigger enclosure, it might be a better speaker. Comments?

 

[Dan Driscoll]

I've never heard the Sttaf, but I can tell you that I hate the Arro. I would strongly recommend that you listen to the Rainmaker bookshelf speaker, before wasting your money on the Arros. IMO the Rainmaker is an excellent speaker, possibly the best bookshelf speaker in its price range. I believe Rainmakers on stands will be far, far superior to the Arro, in all respects, and they will be less expensive. FTR, I have heard Rainmakers, Winds and Arros on the same equipment and in the same room a number of times and have posted my impressions before, in this thread.