Speaker voodoo? Totem Beaks...

[jaxwired]

Anybody ever try a product from totem acoustics called "beaks"? You place them on top of your speakers for improved SQ.

http://www.totemacoustic.com/products/accessories/

We placed the Beaks as shown in the photo below, which is the way Totem recommends.

The test piece was Dorothy from Amanda McBroom's West of Oz (Sheffield LAB-15), also used in our evaluation of phono preamplifiers in this issue. The song is complex, with interweaving of choral voices, harmonica and percussion before McBroom's voice enters. We listened through with the Beaks in place, as they had been throughout the test. The song sounded wonderful, which was no surprise. We removed the Beaks and listened again.
Yes, there was an unmistakable difference, but what was it? We knew we preferred the speakers with the Beaks in place, but we weren't certain what we were hearing. We went back and forth a few times, and gradually all became clear.
It was the clarity that suffered when we removed the Beaks. The lower midrange became a little muddy, and the choral voices blended together a little more, adding a touch of confusion. The instruments were less natural, more electronic, and the Totem's vaunted image was somewhat flatter. Putting the Beaks back brought the sound closer to us. The sibilance in Amanda McBroom's voice was emphasized a little, but so was the warmth.
By the way, Totem emphasizes that the Beaks are not meant only for Totem speakers, and that in fact they may make even more difference to speakers that have lower performance to start with. Perhaps... though we think the Beaks would be hard put to add focus to speakers that don't have any, or improve the lows of a cabinet that booms on every note.

 

[idc]

If you got six of them and had three each under your speakers, I could see an argument for improvement in that they provide isolation from vibration in the same way RA oak cones are supposed to do (though blu tack is cheaper). But ontop of the speakers........thats as mad as a box of frogs (your second one today Jaxwired!)

 

[Tear Drop]

If by placing anything on top of a speaker you can affect its performance, then all I can say is that the speaker hasn't been designed and/or built properly.

 

[jaxwired]

Well then, due to your skepticism, I'm not extending to you the introductory price break on the just released "jax-beaks". Not only are these half the price of the Totem beaks, but they come in your choice of 4 primary colors:

 

[Tear Drop]

I'm not skeptical about whether they might work or not, just that if they do, it's time to look for some better speakers!

 

[Anonymous]

I'd rather use the beaks than god awful sand or kitty litter.Who on earth would want to wreck a good pair of speakers with dirt?! Talk about speakers not being built properly. And yes, I'm a totem owner.

 

[Anonymous]

ukadvocate:I'd rather use the beaks than god awful sand or kitty litter.Who on earth would want to wreck a good pair of speakers with dirt?! Talk about speakers not being built properly. And yes, I'm a totem owner.

Do you use them?

 

[Anonymous]

I am not saying there is anything in this (what do I know) but people have been putting something heavy on top of CD players etc to dampen resonance for donkeys......

 

[Anonymous]

No, but I'd like to try them. You would have to demo em first. Might cost you though. Cheaper to use fill but still would not use that method.

 

[Anonymous]

raym67, you know the rules.

 

[Anonymous]

jaxwired:

Well then, due to your skepticism, I'm not extending to you the introductory price break on the just released "jax-beaks". Not only are these half the price of the Totem beaks, but they come in your choice of 4 primary colors:

Wow, 4 Primary Colours - there was an article about that in Scientific American this month, no really.

 

[jaxwired]

Neon, how's the Krell sound?

 

[ElectroMan]

ukadvocate:I'd rather use the beaks than god awful sand or kitty litter.Who on earth would want to wreck a good pair of speakers with dirt?! Talk about speakers not being built properly. And yes, I'm a totem owner.

Hmmm, the Beaks go on top of the speaker, whereas sand (which is not dirt!) goes into the base. The Totem Claws go on the bottom of the speaker

According to here, the Beaks control
parasitic resonance's (sic) on top of the speaker cabinets, resonance's that
interfere with the proper lobbing action of the tweeter.

- does this mean you have to duck (no pun intended) when listening to aggressive music?

As I just mentioned in another thread, I have a pair of parrots, and their beaks and claws can do a lot of damage to loudspeakers!

 

[Anonymous]

jaxwired:Neon, how's the Krell sound?

Check out my other posts -- I think in my current room, my speakers do not gel, and I got the Krell after I bought the house, so not conclusive. However overall I do think it's a great amp, so I'm going to try replacing the speakers, I saw some Neat Motive 2's on Audiogon I really should have bid on - I'm thinking the A5s or A6s still maybe too big as I have to have the speakers close to the rear wall. I'll grab my camera and edit this post a photo of my system in my profile If I can.

EDIT: Will do tomorrow, Wifey has camera today.

EDIT Again: Ok, searching old posts doesn't work so well, so in the one that did come up I placed the Krell between the Audiolab 8000s and MF A300 in style -- which I characterised as polar opposites of each other, so not much of a conclusion! Therefore in brief, the Krell KAV-300i now available s/h for about $950 Stateside is a fantastic bargain, it is crisp, has great imaging and is certainly powerful, though I don't push it past 90db often due to room-nodes I have, either that or my speakers are a little boomy in the Bass.

 

[Anonymous]

-does this mean you have to duck....-I suppose so.

 

[idc]

jaxwired:

Well then, due to your skepticism, I'm not extending to you the introductory price break on the just released "jax-beaks". Not only are these half the price of the Totem beaks, but they come in your choice of 4 primary colors:

Jaxwired, did you ever secure your speakers with spikes? If not then can I suggest that you position your 'Jax-beaks' on the carpet where you want your speakers to go, then set them on fire so they melt and just as they are setting place your speakers ontop of the pools of plastic. Tell your misses it was an accident.

 

[Ajani]

ukadvocate:I'd rather use the beaks than god awful sand or kitty litter.Who on earth would want to wreck a good pair of speakers with dirt?! Talk about speakers not being built properly. And yes, I'm a totem owner.

Ummm... you should insert a bag into the speaker first and then pour the dirt into the bag... don't pour sand/kitty litter (clean kitty litter) directly into the speaker....

 

[Anonymous]

Great idea Ajani, but don't you think it would be a bit of a hassle to doe this since there is little space to do this-trying to avoid any type of overtones here-and has anybody achieved this with success?If so then I'm pretty ill informed.

 

[Ajani]

ukadvocate:Great idea Ajani, but don't you think it would be a bit of a hassle to doe this since there is little space to do this-trying to avoid any type of overtones here-and has anybody achieved this with success?If so then I'm pretty ill informed.

No idea... I believe I got that info from Totem's website some time ago... Since I've never had the desire to mass load speakers, I haven't tried it....

 

[Anonymous]

ukadvocate:raym67, you know the rules.

Am I missing something here............apart from the typo

 

[bretty]

they're just pretty weights, aren't they? I use big ol' church candles on my speakers to reduce vibration. If the 'beaks' are heavy enough, I would think they would tighten the sound.

 

[jaxwired]

bretty:they're just pretty weights, aren't they? I use big ol' church candles on my speakers to reduce vibration. If the 'beaks' are heavy enough, I would think they would tighten the sound.

I've never held one, but I think they are light and hollow...

 

[Anonymous]

jaxwired:
Anybody ever try a product from totem acoustics called "beaks"? You place them on top of your speakers for improved SQ.

http://www.totemacoustic.com/products/accessories/

We placed the Beaks as shown in the photo below, which is the way Totem recommends.

The test piece was Dorothy from Amanda McBroom's West of Oz (Sheffield LAB-15), also used in our evaluation of phono preamplifiers in this issue. The song is complex, with interweaving of choral voices, harmonica and percussion before McBroom's voice enters. We listened through with the Beaks in place, as they had been throughout the test. The song sounded wonderful, which was no surprise. We removed the Beaks and listened again.
Yes, there was an unmistakable difference, but what was it? We knew we preferred the speakers with the Beaks in place, but we weren't certain what we were hearing. We went back and forth a few times, and gradually all became clear.
It was the clarity that suffered when we removed the Beaks. The lower midrange became a little muddy, and the choral voices blended together a little more, adding a touch of confusion. The instruments were less natural, more electronic, and the Totem's vaunted image was somewhat flatter. Putting the Beaks back brought the sound closer to us. The sibilance in Amanda McBroom's voice was emphasized a little, but so was the warmth.
By the way, Totem emphasizes that the Beaks are not meant only for Totem speakers, and that in fact they may make even more difference to speakers that have lower performance to start with. Perhaps... though we think the Beaks would be hard put to add focus to speakers that don't have any, or improve the lows of a cabinet that booms on every note.


Hilarious.Thanks.

 

[6th.replicant]

They work.

They're not 'weights'. Made of milled aluminium billet; 3in-high; a 1/4 hollowed; with 1000s of light grooves machined into the exterior.

Nor are they compensating a flawed basic concept(s).

The Beak was introduced because a customer who's a fan of the marque's Model-1 offered the company some computer-modelling time on a supercomputer - $100,000-worth, a sum Totem could not afford - to see if he could find any solutions for product improvement.

The boffin's conclusion was that there's now't wrong with Totem's designs for its cabinets' structure, woofers 'n' tweeters, wiring, crossovers etc. However, the 'air' moving out of/around the boxes could be 'tidied'. Hence, the Beak's name, shape, structure and surface texture. The improvement is a measurable "0.5dB attenuation in treble output" and various other chunks of techno-speak I don't/can't comprehend.

However, what I can comprehend is that two Beaks sitting topside, placed in diagonally opposite corners, of each speaker give the sound a slight 'lift' and improve the soundstage, add a wee bit more bass depth and focus and slightly sweeten the treble.

Whether or not the Beaks' RRP of £79/pair is good value is a matter of personal opinion, but many have spent much more on various other types of 'accessories'.

Why not track down a friendly dealer and ask if you can demo a set?

 

[shooter]

I've got Totems and when i bought them the guy had some for sale and kindly gave me all the shpeel, and so i was obliged to have a demo. At this point he went off to the loft for a rummage about and 10 minutes later returned Beaks in hand. At that point i said cheerio.