Totem Dreamcatcher, Rega RS1 opinions please

[womble72]

Interested to hear from those who have demo'd/owned these speakers. Which is the better of the two?

 

[womble72]

Anybody?

 

[busb]

Dream catchers are pretty amazing for their size but are hardly budget "bookshelves". Am not familiar with the Regas.

 

[plastic penguin]

What amp do you have?

 

[womble72]

I have the Marantz M-CR603. I'm trying to compile a list of speakers to demo. There are two dealers near(ish) to me that have the RS1 and Totem DC available to demo but thought I would post on here first. Neat Iotas are still top of my list but I'm exploring other small, compact speakers before I Go Compaaaare. What I'm looking for is a small speaker with the best possible sound for its size. Budget is about £700 and must be able to pack a punch should the mood take me

 

[BigH]

I have not heard the Regas yet but will be soon, they are top of my short list because, sensitive so do not need high volumes to drive, can be placed fairly close to a wall and from what I have heard they are very musical. So the 603 should not have a problem with them. As for the totems I don't know them, look at the sensitivity first.

Ok the totems sensitivity is around 87 db so that is lower than the regas which I believe is around 90 db. A demo is needed to hear them as with any hifi, don't just go by reviews use your own ears that is what will be hearing them.

 

[plastic penguin]

I have the Marantz M-CR603. I'm trying to compile a list of speakers to demo. There are two dealers near(ish) to me that have the RS1 and Totem DC available to demo but thought I would post on here first. Neat Iotas are still top of my list but I'm exploring other small, compact speakers before I Go Compaaaare. What I'm looking for is a small speaker with the best possible sound for its size. Budget is about £700 and must be able to pack a punch should the mood take me

Heard that Rega is a very good match with Marantz. The Totems are a better quality speaker and are slightly harder to drive as they are only 4 ohms. You'll need to hear the two and decide whether that extra is more.

 

[Radiohead]

I own a pair of Dreamcatchers and used them in my original system paired with Cyrus. They sounded good, I still own them and they are now the rears in my AV system. I then upgraded them to the PMC DB1i, which were excellent, very detailed an analytical sound with plenty of bass on tap, but these are above your budget, though you may find a pair on e-bay for less.

The best and most underrated pair of small bookshelf speakers I have heard of late is the Pioneer S-A4SPT-PM whiskey barrels. Highly musical and kick out a lot of low frequency for their size.

At £400 they are definitely worth a dem.

I can't comment on the Rega's as I haven't heard them.

Happy listening.

 

[womble72]

I like the 'look' of those Pioneer S-A4SPT-PM, I can't find any owners reviews on them. I think £700 should bag me some decent speakers, happy to go secondhand if the PMC Db1 are suitable for the 603.

 

[plastic penguin]

I like the 'look' of those Pioneer S-A4SPT-PM, I can't find any owners reviews on them. I think £700 should bag me some decent speakers, happy to go secondhand if the PMC Db1 are suitable for the 603.

Andrew Everard reviewed the 603 and tested it with PMC GB1is:

"That’s a pair of speakers selling for over £1500, yet the Marantz system proved more than capable of both driving them and making them sound rather special. A brief listen to the system with the smaller DB1s suggested these would also be a suitable pairing, and represent a useful saving, but it’s a tribute to the capabilities of the little Marantz system that it’s far from outclassed by speakers this good."

 

[stevebrock]

Rega RS! are beautiful sounding speakers but dont take my word for it - they work really well in my room......I couldn't get Neat Motive 3's to work at home!

I am moving shortly and my new lounge will be a lot bigger so RS3 will be on my shortlist!

 

[Anonymous]

The Rega RS1s are superb speakers and with ana amazing soundstage but for me; they don't really pack that much of a punch. Being a sealed box I found them boxy at times more so with bassy music (electronica, house etc...). With vocals and instumental music through they're stunning!

the Neat Motive 3sbare also superb and would highly recommend them but they can be nobody if not in the right set up and no good close to walls...

Another set(s) of speakes I'd highly recommend in your budget would be the KEF R100s and LS50s... Both absolutely fantastic and I've listened to my KEFs this morning with my CR603 running them and they're a very good match indeed however I'd be more inclined to go down the R100s route as they're just tha bit easier to drive!

Also take a look at the Monitor Audio GX50s as they'll work very well indeed. Only heard this combo at the hifi shop but still sounded very good indeed; even the lads at the shop admitted it was a better combo than the Arcam A19 and Arcam CDP combo they had with the MA's initially!

cant comment on the Totems sorry; no one near me has them as I would have liked to hear them with my Cyrus amp.

 

[stevebrock]

yep i agree the RS1 a little bass shy

 

[stevebrock]

Did you compare the Dreamcatcher to RS1?