So Harbeth CX 7. What’s the main difference on sound vs the Tribes?
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The Metals are too pricey and I don’t have a system powerful enough to properly drive them. So no chance I’m going to test them in my room, but it would be interesting to see how they behave in my room considering it’s quite reflective (keep in mind that I partially treated it with great results). It’s basically a studio even though I mostly use it to listen to music. If the room wasn’t a problem, I would maybe consider loudspeakers such as the Winds or new the Torrent driven speakers that should come next year.
@DanielH I’m not a fan of SF, however I’m glad you found your perfect upgrade!
@frenchrooster I haven’t listened to them, but I would guess the Tribes have more precision, clarity and punch. I’m saying this having heard the HL5 Plus XD and the M30.2 XD. Despite the lack of bass (as it turns out in this thread, we don’t judge it the same way), I would say the Tribes are more complete generally speaking.
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Actually, after the Tribes, I had Harbeth C7, Sonus Faber Minima Amator and Electa Amator III.
I will be staying with the EA3 for a long time!
The Harbeth had a more pleasing midrange than the Totems. The Sonus Fabers, excellent midrange like the Harbeth, but better bass and top end.
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Aka more mellow and delicate? Maybe the Totem are a touch drier.
Unfortunately I didn’t try any other Totem speakers at home. One of the driving factors was the physical size (especially the height) in terms of fitting into the room. I had heard the Tribe Towers at my dealer a couple of years prior, and was impressed with them. I assumed that the Metals would be “like that but moreso”, which proved to be the case.
The one thing that I would say about the Element Metals was that they were the only speakers that when playing a Janis Joplin album, my wife looked up and said “is this a different recording? Because it sounds better”. She basically doesn’t notice anything music related, so this was a bit astonishing.
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Sounds about right.
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The Torrent drivers are superbly (over) built. Take it for what it’s worth, but I once heard a Youtube reviewer claim that each Torrent driver cost them 1000$ to build.
Looking at the fine maching of the parts, He may be correct. When I auditioned mine at the dealer, he had an actual 4 inch version of a torrent driver on display. I picked it up and handled it. It was very heavy and had a silky smooth finish.
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@JonoB I get it, they are heavy too. When I demoed both the Tribes and the Metals I felt the Tribes were more on the analytical side, oddly they felt more precise to my ears than the Metals (this must have been a coincidence). I wonder if your wife had that reaction only with the Metals or with other Totem speakers too!
@DanielH I perfectly see why you went for the Hartbeth and SF, I remember that the Harbeth had a delightful, rich but airy midrange, hard to deny. On the other hand, if I have to choose, I prefer the drier midrange of the Totems. By the way I do like the finish of Totem speakers, I’ve also seen a pair of dark red Tribe Towers, they were very good looking and smart. Somehow they reminded me of some lacquered Asian furniture I’ve seen. The Torrent drivers do look and sound expensive!
The size of the Element Metals was borderline ok, but for my wife (as chair of the lounge aesthetics committee) wasn’t keen on the black monolith aspect of them. With a Fraim stack full of electronics, and the TV, she (not unfairly) was concerned that the corner of the room would be an oppression of shiny black.
I do wonder what the opinion would have been if the satin white models were available for demo. The white front baffles of my Kims are what we mostly see of the speakers, and it works quite nicely
They’re not the heaviest of the demo speakers (that was the Fyne F703), but I did discover that they still needed floor protectors under the spherical floor interface - the rubber balls at the back were fine, but the metal ball on the front foot did leave a nice dent in my solid wooden floors when I repositioned the speaker.
All of the above said, they were the best sounding speakers that I heard in my room, and if they had passed the aesthetics committee, a pair of my own would be there now.
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Considering your wife background, I can’t blame her at all. I think it all depends whether you have a dedicated listening space or a living room. Aesthetics can then become a priority. Despite having a more humble system than yours, I do struggle to arrange it in a pleasant way as my priority is mostly its performance.
The white Metals surely look much better and less “in your face”. However, if I’m not mistaken, the Metals have a white glossy finish. Satin would be so much better. Out of curiosity, what do you think of the Kims? I’ve never tested them, maybe they are good when paired to a computer.
Sorry to hear that.
Maybe this could be interesting for you.
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