(The side-mounted units are passive radiators.) Connectivity accoutrement cover all basses.er, bases: you get stereo line-level inputs and outputs plus speaker-level ins and outs. Totem's new Storm mini subwoofer boasts 8-inch drivers on three sides, but only the front woofer is connected to the sub's 300-watt-rated amp. I can imagine that some folks will even use Totem's petite Arro towers ($1,175/pair) with a Tribe as a center speaker. Or use them in combination with Totem's smaller monitors like the Rainmaker ($950/pair) or Dreamcatcher ($430/pair) as surround speakers. It's worth noting that you can also use the Tribes in concert with Totem's all-out assault on in-wall speaker design, the Inner Spirit ($2,295/pair). I used standard Monster cables terminated with spades. The Tribes are fitted with double sets of all-metal binding posts for biwiring, but, whether you wall- or stand-mount the speakers, the limited wall clearance precludes the use of thick speaker cables or even skinny cables fitted with banana plugs. This mighty little woofer extends bass response and increases dynamic headroom beyond what the Tribe I and Tribe II speakers can achieve. The Tribe I and Tribe II each feature twin 4-inch woofers flanking a 1.1-inch tweeter, but the Tribe III ($1,500) upstages the two lower models with its new 4-inch, Totem-designed-and-manufactured Torrent woofer. You can place each of the three models either horizontally or vertically. Each Tribe includes a sturdy wall bracket. And, for once, I actually preferred a speaker's sound with its grille in place. The fanatical attention to detail extends to the nickel-plated, solid-copper Totem badge affixed to the Tribes' magnetically attached cloth grilles. Even the port tubes that bolster the Tribes' bass response are hand machined to precise tolerances. It's definitely a more expensive construction approach, but Bruzzese designs for quality sound, not the bottom line. But the Tribes' crossovers feature pricey gold-and-silver foil capacitors and carbon-composite resistors, and, instead of mounting those components on a printed circuit board, Totem uses hand-crimped, Teflon-coated, oxygen-free copper wires. Sure, a lot of manufacturers make those sorts of claims. (The drivers are made to Totem's specifications in Europe.) Lurking inside the Tribes' lock-mitered cabinets are crossover networks brimming with high-quality parts. The motives go beyond national pride Bruzzese wants to maintain audio-obsessive control over quality. ![]() I'm also happy to report that Totem still builds almost every part of their speakers, except the drivers, in Canada. Clearly, Bruzzese isn't resting on his laurels. The heightened resolution shimmered and shined on "Just Like You" by Keb' Mo', which had the in-the-moment vibe of live music. Further listening revealed that the Tribes' sound was an advance over previous generations of Totems, as I heard a wealth of new detail from my go-to demo discs like the Best of Sessions at West 54th, Volume 1 DVD. But the Tribe speakers delivered the totality of the Persuasions' soulful music. Our ears are most keenly attuned to the sound of voices, so we can instantly detect unnatural colorations. My favorite a cappella group, the Persuasions, amply demonstrated the Tribes' strengths. Bruzzese is also unleashing a potent micro subwoofer, the Storm, to provide a solid foundation for the Tribes. He has sized the new models to visually complement 40-, 50-, and 60-inch screens. ![]() (See my review of the Totem Dreamcatcher system in our May 2003 issue.) With his Tribe I, Tribe II, and Tribe III speakers, Bruzzese is now applying his skills to the even trickier realm of on-wall speakers. This leads to the question, how good can an on-wall speaker be? Vince Bruzzese, Totem Acoustic's president and chief designer, has a knack for extracting big and beautiful sound from the teeniest speakers. Skinny on-walls are what's happening now. Maybe I'm overstating the case, but it's starting to look like colossal towers and even fairly small monitor speakers' days are numbered. This just goes to show that, for some customers, style and size are the dominant factors when picking out a set of speakers. Anything other than the most demure designs now elicit comments like, "They're too big," "I think they're ugly," or the perennial, "Not in my living room!" from reticent shoppers. Just when I thought speaker designers could focus 100 percent of their talents on creating the best-sounding speakers, flat-screen TVs came along and created a burgeoning market for ultrasvelte plasma-friendly speakers.
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