Hegel H90 or H95 or H120

[shyamv]

This I can vouch for, having both at home.
Cheers,
Raghu

Yup, Me too

 

[Rajeshh]

@Kumar442244 check out the new Arcam SA30, it is an integrated amp with a built in streamer, control App & Roon end point.
After auditioning multiple amplifiers, my friend picked this up to power a ELAC Carina floorstander, its a great sounding setup

 

[Kumar442244]

@Kumar442244 check out the new Arcam SA30, it is an integrated amp with a built in streamer, control App & Roon end point.
After auditioning multiple amplifiers, my friend picked this up to power a ELAC Carina floorstander, its a great sounding setup

U have a pm

 

[raghupb]

Hey @Kumar442244

Thanks for hosting me today at your place. I finally got to hear Totem speakers
Also got to meet another FM @csd508868306kant, that was nice.

The speakers are truly wonderful. The mids/vocals are so lush and they produce an amazingly large soundstage.
There are bass boom issues in your listening room, nothing that can't be handled with some tone tweaks.
Surprisingly the Totems do dig deep enough and hold steady. And they are capable of quite an amount of detail.
I was impressed hearing them.

Now coming to my impressions of what all we tried out:
Combo 1: Laptop/USB --> Peachtree Decco --> Totems
This chain is a bit lean on vocals/mids and a bit too sparkly up top. Bass control is good.
But the sound can get very tiring soon enough. I agree with what you are experiencing.

Combo 2: Laptop/USB --> DAC --> Rega Elex-R --> Totems
Don't remember what DAC was inserted (IFi or CA), but the signature was still "bright".
Rega does bring in some warmth, but not enough to make the Totems sing.

Combo 3: Laptop/USB --> Peachtree Decco (as DAC/pre) --> Parasound 275v2 (pwr) --> Totems
Now the Totems started showing what they are capable of.
The vocals had heft and strings had the body sound to it.
Detail up top, sparkle was good enough, not overwhelming.
Bass also I felt got a bit more nuanced and textured.

Combo 4: Laptop/USB --> Parasound 200Pre --> Parasound 275v2 --> Totems
Yep. The Totems came alive and started singing. That's where I personally could gauge what these speakers can do.
Very good staging, great separation of instruments. Strings sounded very natural.
And vocals were smooth, and bass was beautifully rendered. Kudos to the speakers.

Combo 5: Laptop/USB --> Parasound 200Pre --> Parasound 275v2 -->Tannoy mini XT (??)
May have got the exact speaker model wrong. I loved what these speakers do in terms of musicality.
For their size the sing very well. This was a welcome surprise. Good that you pulled them out of the carton

My suggestions to you (or any other FM, if interested):
- If keeping the Peachtreee as a DAC/Pre, try paring with a warm-ish class AB power amp
- If going IA, make sure it can handle the 4 ohm load and SQ must be neutral to warm
- If IA has DAC, please hear it out to gauge how it sounds
- Lookout for affordable pre/pwr combos, there may be something that will click, if they have a balanced SQ
- Don't hurry this addition/replacement; hear out as may power amps or IAs as practically possible.
- Yeah, raise the stands by 3-4", those speakers can sing

Enjoy the hunt!!

Cheers,
Raghu

 

[Kumar442244]

Hey @Kumar442244

Thanks for hosting me today at your place. I finally got to hear Totem speakers
Also got to meet another FM @csd508868306kant, that was nice.

The speakers are truly wonderful. The mids/vocals are so lush and they produce an amazingly large soundstage.
There are bass boom issues in your listening room, nothing that can't be handled with some tone tweaks.
Surprisingly the Totems do dig deep enough and hold steady. And they are capable of quite an amount of detail.
I was impressed hearing them.

Now coming to my impressions of what all we tried out:
Combo 1: Laptop/USB --> Peachtree Decco --> Totems
This chain is a bit lean on vocals/mids and a bit too sparkly up top. Bass control is good.
But the sound can get very tiring soon enough. I agree with what you are experiencing.

Combo 2: Laptop/USB --> DAC --> Rega Elex-R --> Totems
Don't remember what DAC was inserted (IFi or CA), but the signature was still "bright".
Rega does bring in some warmth, but not enough to make the Totems sing.

Combo 3: Laptop/USB --> Peachtree Decco (as DAC/pre) --> Parasound 275v2 (pwr) --> Totems
Now the Totems started showing what they are capable of.
The vocals had heft and strings had the body sound to it.
Detail up top, sparkle was good enough, not overwhelming.
Bass also I felt got a bit more nuanced and textured.

Combo 4: Laptop/USB --> Parasound 200Pre --> Parasound 275v2 --> Totems
Yep. The Totems came alive and started singing. That's where I personally could gauge what these speakers can do.
Very good staging, great separation of instruments. Strings sounded very natural.
And vocals were smooth, and bass was beautifully rendered. Kudos to the speakers.

Combo 5: Laptop/USB --> Parasound 200Pre --> Parasound 275v2 -->Tannoy mini XT (??)
May have got the exact speaker model wrong. I loved what these speakers do in terms of musicality.
For their size the sing very well. This was a welcome surprise. Good that you pulled them out of the carton

My suggestions to you (or any other FM, if interested):
- If keeping the Peachtreee as a DAC/Pre, try paring with a warm-ish class AB power amp
- If going IA, make sure it can handle the 4 ohm load and SQ must be neutral to warm
- If IA has DAC, please hear it out to gauge how it sounds
- Lookout for affordable pre/pwr combos, there may be something that will click, if they have a balanced SQ
- Don't hurry this addition/replacement; hear out as may power amps or IAs as practically possible.
- Yeah, raise the stands by 3-4", those speakers can sing

Enjoy the hunt!!

Cheers,
Raghu

O'whaata day it was.. The pleasure was all mine to have you guys here.
The session helped me get clarity on lot of things, at least now I know the direction i need to proceed.
All the points checked on the suggestions and I do mean to follow them all.
My initial hunt will be a warm sounding Power amp with Decco as DAC/Pre to start with. Will try to audition couple of more power amps to ascertain the hypothesis we built.
The hunt begins.. Will keep bothering you more

 

[balavignesh002]

Some one in this forum got a 2500 NE . I think the NE series with their single stage design and single pair devices are very high VFM with given features and DAC .The japan website has ton of details of these amps including design approaches .

I bought DCD and PMA Denon 2500NE and using it only with Dali Zensor 3 as of now. The over all sound output is not warm but not very bright either.

 

[Kumar442244]

I bought DCD and PMA Denon 2500NE and using it only with Dali Zensor 3 as of now. The over all sound output is not warm but not very bright either.

Just curious, what made you buy PMA 2500? Must say, I have heard lot of good things about them.

Think yo need better speakers to get best from PMA2500.

 

[balavignesh002]

Just curious, what made you buy PMA 2500? Must say, I have heard lot of good things about them.

Think yo need better speakers to get best from PMA2500.

Why I bought it:
1. Built quality.
2. Bass and tone control options (hardly use it though)
3. Hardware architecture.
4. Quality of sound output.

Yes, I need better speakers for sure. Will buy in some time on new year Eve.

 

[Imtiyaz Ahmad]

Why I bought it:
1. Built quality.
2. Bass and tone control options (hardly use it though)
3. Hardware architecture.
4. Quality of sound output.

Yes, I need better speakers for sure. Will buy in some time on new year Eve.

Hi
I have heard that Denon pma 2500 ne has tube like sound and is a little bit sweet also.Can you elaborate its sound signature ?

 

[balavignesh002]

Hi
I have heard that Denon pma 2500 ne has tube like sound and is a little bit sweet also.Can you elaborate its sound signature ?

The amp is very powerful. Think Denon would have under-rated it.

On the sound signature side, it's very smooth and detailed. Good instrument seperation. To my ears It's pretty neutral or warmer side of the neutral. You can feel the EI transformer on the bass notes. It's a good match for the Linton Heritage what I use currently.

 

[Imtiyaz Ahmad]

The amp is very powerful. Think Denon would have under-rated it.

On the sound signature side, it's very smooth and detailed. Good instrument seperation. To my ears It's pretty neutral or warmer side of the neutral. You can feel the EI transformer on the bass notes. It's a good match for the Linton Heritage what I use currently.

I am also interested in the amp.Since Lintons are pairing with it nicely i think my Dentons 85th anniversary sets would also match with it .Can you please tell me where you have purchased it and the price?Are you using the Dac of the amp or an external Dac?

 

[balavignesh002]

I am also interested in the amp.Since Lintons are pairing with it nicely i think my Dentons 85th anniversary sets would also match with it .Can you please tell me where you have purchased it and the price?Are you using the Dac of the amp or an external Dac?

Dentons should do good with 2500s.

I bought the amp and speaker from Hifimart. Check with Anil for prices.

I use Denon DCD 2500NE built-in DAC. It's same as the dac which is built-in with Denon PMA 2500NE.