Description
Gallery
Reviews
“The bass is deep and extended. They integrate the bass and the treble so brilliantly with so much refinement, neutrality and finesse. They deal with spatial cues very realistically and very precisely. There is a depth, width and height to the soundstage that’s so well placed and accurate that you often find yourself looking to the sides when you observe previously unheard of nuances in music that might not be apparent on other speakers. You feel like these nuances and sounds in the music are actually coming from behind you and that is a test of a really good speaker.”
– Simon Price, 13th Note HiFi Reviews
“The Totem Bison Tower speakers delivered on all aspects of this newly-released audiophile recording [Eric Clapton’s “Nobody Knows You When You’re Down and Out”]. The bass was clear and noticeable, the acoustic guitar sounded natural, not too sweet, and the piano sounded realistic. All of this while you could easily close your eyes and imagine the musicians are right there in front of you. Out of the box, they sound great and really deliver sound that I think many audiophiles will be very satisfied to have as part of their system for a long time to come.”
– Andrew Dewhirst, Future Audiophile
Speaker Highlights
Tweeters
The Bison series employs a brand new, custom-designed 1.3-inch laser etched textile soft dome tweeter that is neodymium magnet activated. This tweeter extends up to 30kHz and plays low enough to contribute to the midrange band, creating a seamless and captivating interplay.
Custom Woofers
The Bison series features custom woofers that are unique to Totem with the integration of critical proprietary elements and magnetics. These woofers are thoroughly engineered by Totem and then manufactured to the strictest standards to meet our especially unique parameters by the finest raw driver suppliers in the world.
Acoustic Decoupling Claw
The newly engineered Claw uses a high-density DELRIN composite to successfully break up standing waves. This CNC machined Claw controls surface resonances, tightens bass and accurately heightens the soundstage.
Connectors
Two sets of high conductivity gold plated connectors efficiently capture the incoming signal for superior speaker performance and allow traditional, bi-wire, or even bi-amplification options. They accommodate a variety of connection options such as bare wire, banana plugs, and spades.
Rear Ported Design
The double or single rear ports use the energy generated by the movement of the woofer to not only enhance the bass response of the Bison series but fine tune this bass response to be in perfect phase anywhere one listens to them in a room. These ports are carefully tuned in conjunction with the cabinet size, volume, and an internal critical labyrinth design to eliminate smearing at lower frequencies.
Artisanal Cabinet Construction
The cabinet design features a lock-mitered, monocoque cabinetry with full cross bracing. Lock mitering produces a cabinet 4 times as rigid as V groove assembly and provides a substantially larger contact point for gluing. Expansion and contraction can occur over many decades without any sonic degradation.
Tweeters
The Bison series employs a brand new, custom-designed 1.3-inch laser etched textile soft dome tweeter that is neodymium magnet activated. This tweeter extends up to 30kHz and plays low enough to contribute to the midrange band, creating a seamless and captivating interplay.
Custom Woofers
The Bison series features custom woofers that are unique to Totem with the integration of critical proprietary elements and magnetics. These woofers are thoroughly engineered by Totem and then manufactured to the strictest standards to meet our especially unique parameters by the finest raw driver suppliers in the world.
Acoustic Decoupling Claw
The newly engineered Claw uses a high-density DELRIN composite to successfully break up standing waves. This CNC machined Claw controls surface resonances, tightens bass and accurately heightens the soundstage.
Connectors
Two sets of high conductivity gold plated connectors efficiently capture the incoming signal for superior speaker performance and allow traditional, bi-wire, or even bi-amplification options. They accommodate a variety of connection options such as bare wire, banana plugs, and spades.
Rear Ported Design
The double or single rear ports use the energy generated by the movement of the woofer to not only enhance the bass response of the Bison series but fine tune this bass response to be in perfect phase anywhere one listens to them in a room. These ports are carefully tuned in conjunction with the cabinet size, volume, and an internal critical labyrinth design to eliminate smearing at lower frequencies.
Artisanal Cabinet Construction
The cabinet design features a lock-mitered, monocoque cabinetry with full cross bracing. Lock mitering produces a cabinet 4 times as rigid as V groove assembly and provides a substantially larger contact point for gluing. Expansion and contraction can occur over many decades without any sonic degradation.
Features in Detail
Customized Drivers
Every single driver is completely unique to Totem and proprietary in design, engineered by Totem and then manufactured to the strictest standards to meet our parameters by the finest raw driver suppliers in the world. In some cases, where the technology is beyond the capabilities of suppliers or is wished to be kept secret, Totem can and will build our own drivers. Every driver exhibits phase linearity, speed, emotion, off axis natural presentation, and spatial articulation.
Handmade Crossovers
Totem crossovers don’t require many parts because of the synergy between our customized drivers, but the components are the world’s best. Our crossovers aren’t built on PCB’s because the laminated conductive tracks are weak and inconsistent. Instead they are secured to a thin piece of fiberboard or insulated polymers and components are mechanically crimped together because it simply sounds better. When we must solder, we choose WBT Silver Solder, the purest in the industry.
Artisanal Cabinet Construction
Meticulously hand crafted for peak performance that lasts decades. Lock-Miter assembly is an intricate woodworking procedure where edges physically interlock together. The resulting cabinet is up to 5 times stronger than conventional V Groove cabinets. Internal and external veneering resists warping, structurally fortifies, and ensures consistent peak performance. Industry unique Borosilicate damping manages dissipation, keeps the cabinet musically alive, and never deteriorates. Popular materials like poly fillers eventually decay, dramatically affecting the performance. Variable Density Fiberboard is denser at the extremities than the interior to reduce repetitive nodes and resonances.
Connectors
Two sets of high conductivity gold plated connectors efficiently capture the incoming signal for superior speaker performance and allow traditional, bi-wire, or even bi-amplification options. They accommodate a variety of connection options such as bare wire, banana plugs, and spades.
Exclusive Delrin Decoupling Claw
The success of Totem’s acoustic decoupling Claw on other towers made it appealing to include but the associated costs were prohibitive for the price point. A new version featuring a high-density Delrin machined composite achieved the cost target and succeeds in breaking up standing waves and controlling surface resonance, tightening bass, and heightening the soundstage. These Delrin Claws are fitted with ¼ 20 thread inserts to accommodate optional spikes (not included). NOT REQUIRED: Bison Towers have been voiced with the claw as is, no spikes, needed nor recommended. It has been integrated should the rare need for a spike arise, as on a thick carpet to add stability.