Yeah right now I do not have a subwoofer but I am looking at some RELs. I am also in the market for a meridian g08 and some nice cardas cable.

That is awesome about the I-3.3. Really sounds like it would solve your problems with it having the DAC and all.

I couldnt help but butt in on this tubes convo. I agree with Vinyl9. Hawks do sound nice with tubes, but the rep was right about staying away from small tube integrates with the totems. They will just not have enough current to make them show all theyve got. These are some amps that you can get for under 2000 that you should be looking at on audiogon to see if you can get one that you like to ship to canada. The price is what Ive seen them go for.

1) Plinius 9100 ~$1550
2) Simaudio I-3se ~$1300
3) Classe Cap 151 ~$1200
4) Simaudio I-5 ~$1600
5) Plinius 9200 ~$2150
6) Classe 101 ~$950

Any of these amps would push the hawks fine. I dont know what the I-3.3 will be listed at, but alot of simaudio's intergrates are well over $2500.

What are you doing for cable? Do you have a line conditioner of sorts?

-Darren

macd November 17, 2008 23:32

Hey Scott, I am also a college student and right now my set up is Totem model ones and a Classe Cap-151. I am just starting out and I am in the process of buying a meridian g08 CD player. So far (i have been using my macbook as a source with apple lossless files) i have been BLOWN away at the synergy between Classe and totem. My Dad has Forests with a plinius 9100 that sounds amazing, but at the same time, its alot different sound. I lot of people that buy totems do not get an amp that works well with the speakers. I would HIGHLY recommend getting an amp with enough current to push your hawks. You can get the simaudio i-5 for around 1500 USD although simaudio is a bit to agressive for totems, but no doubt that it will work fine. If you want my honest opinion, i think you should go to a Classe dealer and listen to some of the amps. Their sound is alot like Mcintosh in the sense that the treble sounds like silk to your years which is one of the reasons their good with totem. I have no experience with Naim, although I did talk to totem and they said that Naim sounds very good with totems. All I have to say is use your ear to decide, remember that SO much depends on the amp, especailly with Hawks. Move your speakers around the room to see how they react, one slight movement could surpise. Its great to see another college guy that is a fan of totems. If you have any recommendations for a digital source hit me up. Until then good luck on the amp search!

-Darren

macd November 16, 2008 22:32