In Walls: Tannoy or Totem?

OK, I have to speak up. I have demo'd the Tribe In-Walls for many people and the general concensus is that these are the best In-walls they have heard and I have to agree. As far as support Totem has a US Sales Manager who is based in CA and is great to work with. The list of Totem dealers is growing quickly in the US due to the fact that many dealers are realizing what a diamond in the rough this company is. Montreal, where Totem is located, is near the US so any warranty issues are taken care of very quickly. I have heard the Tribes in surround setting and they are incredible. 200W is great power to drive them with just set the low end to about 50hz. You won't be sorry. What amp will you be using?

You'll just have to adjust the volume using a db meter. What are your fronts going to be?

We have the Totems, Dali and Triad on demo in our showroom and I have to say that I am not a fan of the Totem Tribes.

Compared to the Triad or Dali in-walls, the Totems sound bassy and the vocals move into the background. Almost like there is a cloth over the midrange. I am also not a fan that the whole Totem range of speakers doesn't have a similiar sound. The sound changes drastically from one model to another.

The Dali speakers are great and have fantastic sound and sound exactly like their bookshelf or floorstanding speakers. They do have a sonic signature so matching them is important.

If you are using Meridian for fronts, I would try and steer you towards Triad as they have 3 different in-wall dipole surround models and 16 different in-wall direct radiating models. But for your situation with the seating being so close to the walls, I would suggest the Inwall Gold/4 Surrounds. They will sit flush in a 2x4 wall and have a very neutral sound that will mate very well with your front soundstage.

btw, both the Dali and Triad speakers have sealed enclosures like the Totem's.

http://www.triadspeakers.com/products/iwg4sur.html

If you can, you may also want to check out the Jbl Synthesis S4Ai surrounds. Extremely versatile and can handle loads of power.

http://www.jblsynthesis.com/products...=US&Region=USA

I have had good performance from James Loudspeaker in-walls.

Nice but you may be unhappy with them once you hear the Totems

ahem... what?

Robert Bacci is a distributor for Totem Acoustic, located in Rolling Meadows, Illinois, although he has not filled out his profile here or identified himself in his sig. Totem is an excellent brand.

Rather surprised you don't have 420's, 350's or 330"s on that list considering your other Meridian equipment.

No actually I'm the rep, Totem is not sold through distribution.

I have the Totem in-walls as my surrounds in a 5.1 setup using Dynaudio Focus 220/200c for the front stage. I'm powering them off of a couple channels from a Nuforce MCH-300SE.

I can tell you that although they do have good bass, they don't sound boomy or anything. Also, they don't sound veiled, nor do the vocals seem to drop to the back. In fact, the vocals, although not extremely forward, stand out very well on these in my installation. Keep in mind that I've got a room that is well suited for in-wall surrounds on a 5.1 system, so placement is nearly ideal.

I find these to be very detailed, smooth, and excellent bass. The movie tracks that pan a bunch of soundtrack content to the surrounds sound incredible now.

Well, there is Atlantic Technology 30SRs, Snell Acoustics IW-C7THX, JBL S4AI or Bay Audio will custom make 'em for you. On the other hand you could use a 6 or 8 speaker array of 330's. Lot's of choices.

It doesn't really matter how the Totem's sound since everyone is suggesting a dipole/bipole/tripole surround given the op's sitting distances to the speakers.

AT, Snell, Triad, JBL or the Tannoy's should all be good given the specs for all.
Yes, there will be posters here that will favor one brand over another and all have strong followings from members here and will sound good.

It will depend on budget, size constraints and accessability to his/her geographical location on which surround is choosen.