Clear, subtle high harmonics and frequencies. These are so important to make instruments appear in front of you and possition them in the stereo perspective apart from each other. Wow!

Lack of deep bass, which you can feel in your stomach. (This depends greatly on the CD-player / Amplifier. The Naim CD5 and Naim NAIT5 combination gives you no possibility to adjust bass/trebble. So you get exactly what the studio put on the CD you're listening to. And the differences between recordings are huge! Believe me...)

I've used the Totem Sttaf speakers in conjunction with a Naim 5 audio-set (CD5, NAIT5, Flatcap II, NAT5) for 7 months now. After a month or so, they reached there optimum performance. I like to listen to vocals, jazz, natural instruments and classical music. They do a great job. The high and mid frequencies are so stunning, the bass frequenties are heared, not feeled. If you like to feel basses as punches in your stomach, this is not your pair of speakers. If you like to listen to your music at live-concert volume-levels (1/2 to 3/4 of the NAIT5 volume) you can listen to it for hours, without a headache afterwards. All instruments are so alive and with such accurate positioning. Listen to "one day my prince will come" from Miles, close your eyes and you can point out the instruments for real in 3D-space. It's amazing. Have to say that the power from the NAIT5 is only 30W, and capable with an accuracy and timing to feed this speakers. The CD5 is the most accurate cd-player i know in this price-segment. If you're able to listen to this NAIM-TOTEM set: give it a try. Especially when you're an instrumental/vocal enthousiast!

Execellent performer for small floorstander.

non with my setup

Purchased these used Totem Sttafs on the internet. These speakers are the older one had two blue dots on tweeters. But are equally impressive. First thing that caught my ears is the clear, detailed, and very involving wide soundstage.Close your eyes and focus on the music, the speakers seem to "disappear" with its amazing performance. In my room, the bass is great, certainly not need for subwoofer. Since I have obtained this pair of speakers at such wonderful price, I give it a definite 5 stars for value. And overall rating as 5 stars for the impressive performance.

Similar Products Used:

Rega Jura

I just bought a pair of Totem Sttaf speakers. These are beautiful two-way floor-standing speakers (black, mahogany or cherry-wood) - the first Totems with a real concern for esthetics (IMHO). And of course, the product quality is outstanding.
They have clear highs and mid and a solid bass (<40hz±3db) with a good sound-stage. They are very accurate and dynamic and they image fairly well too. I've often heard the Model One speakers and they sound very similar, but they are more "forgiving" when the recording is not good. At 1,650$ Can. it's a very good value.

Once broken in and mated with good electronics and cables, IMO these are one of the best values in dynamic speakers available. Smooth yet detailed highs, accurate mids and solid bass to 40hz, all in a small floorstanding design.

Lacks ultimate dynamics and low bass. I run it full range with a sub crossed over at 40hz with excellent results.

This is a "no brainer" best buy.

pure musical quality

deep bass, high spl's

Goose bumps! Remember goose bumps? These speakers will give them to you. They are very precise, clear and the detail is really incredible. They just sound good! They don't play incredibly loud and would be best used in rooms of smaller dimensions. Mine are in 20' x 18' x 20' high ceilings. If you like blues, jazz or softer pop or country consider these. They are not terribly efficient (87db) so have some amp power. The quality of the cabinets is first rate. They are built to last, are quality constructed and sound great. Highly recommended!

Great sound from a small floorstander that is easy to move and position.

None for my small room

Found and purchased these used Totem Sttafs on the internet. These are the latest edition Sttafs with, from what I have been told, an improved tweeter and crossover. The latest edition Sttaf has a blue dot on the top side of the tweeter whereas the older one had two blue dots on either side.

These speakers are impressive. The cabinet assembly work and finish are outstanding. They look good and their minimal weight makes them a pleasure to move around.

The sound is clear, detailed, and very involving with a wide wonderful soundstage. There is an amazing amount of bass for the size of the midrange/woofer used. In fact, I often look at these speakers and wonder how such deep and strong bass is produced. For me, a subwoofer is not needed.

If you have a small or a medium size room you must audition these speakers. I obtained these speakers "used" so the value rating is a definite 5 stars. Overall rating (in the context of new speakers with a retail price of approximately $1500.00) is also 5 stars.

By the way, I was one that thought that speaker wire did not really matter that much. You know, wire is wire and copper is copper. Well, after talking to the previous owner of these speakers I decided to try bi-wiring them. I went from a single run of some ten year old Monster Cable Powerline 2 Plus cable to bi-wiring the Sttafs using Kimber Kable 4TC. This resulted in a definite and quite dramatic improvement in detail, depth and clarity. Was this improvement the result of bi-wiring or the use of the 4TC Kimber Kable? I think it was a combination or both. So, does using a better grade of speaker wire and bi-wiring work on the Sttafs? In my opinion, absolutely ! I also tried the Totem Beaks. Subtle improvement with the Beaks but nowhere near the impact of bi-wiring with the 4TC.

this was a noticeable upgrade from my previous speaker so my review is skewed that way since I didn't spend much time listening to other speakers. I'm sure there are better products still but I liked the Sttaf's huge soundstage. The bass is strong but I did notice that the sound was a bit coloured. The sound surprisingly can be a bit bright if matched with the wrong electronics. I'm leaning towards the Simaudio I-5 or Anthem/Sonic Frontiers.
check to make sure you get a later model that has the cross-over wrapped. i was quite surprised to get an anoying resonance from inside the box at certain frequecies. Totem though was very gracious and fixed it

i feel that the sound stage you get from these two way speakers is great.these speakers are small but the depth and clairty you get is superior for
its price. only $1500. i use a small jolida amp to power them and it is suffiecnt.

I've had the Totem Staffs for about 2 months now and my mouth drops to thefloor every time I listen to them. I'm powering them with a Bryston B60 and
my source is an Arcam Alpha 8. The sound is absolutely incredible.. I listen
to them all day long and they do not fatigue my ears! The sound is very
natural... voice is open and accurate and if you like acoustic music then
give the Staffs a listen... I was looking for an all round performer because
I listen to ALL KINDS of music. I compared them against the BMW CDM1, NHT 2.5i
proac tablettes (will make your ears bleed.. powerfull tweeter and fatiguing but
good speaker none the less if matched with proper cable and interconnects). The
Staffs were very open and airy... excellent soundstage and tight deep bass response. The NHT 2.5i sounded shut in on voice passages although their imaging
was slightly better. The BMW CDM1 are good as well but something just kept
on pulling me to the Staffs. Totem has redesigned the tweeter section of the
staff and is sounds much much smoother than the original staffs. The original
staffs have two dots to each side of the tweeter unit.. the new staffs have
one dot above the tweeter unit.. I owned both and upgraded to the new models and
man what a difference!.. IF your looking for smoothness then look no further. For $1650 Canadian IMHO I think they are underpriced!
4 stars for performance.. but 5 stars based on price.

These are simpily the best speakers that I have heard in the price range. I am a student so did alot of reaesarch and made sure that I was satisfied with the produck that I picked. The soundstage and imaging are simpily amazing!!!! The Bass is full and deep in true Totem style. The highs and mid are just perfect. These speakers are a little hard to power so lots of current is needed to keep these guys pumping.