Koss Totem Mani-2 User Manual download pdf (Page 11)

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Probably not, Michel, because the

Veena is not substantially larger than

the MM De Capo, and indeed its woofer

is smaller. The notable difference, of

course, is that the Veena doesn’t need a

stand. We prefer the De Capo, but since

our review Reference 3a has announced

a tweeter change.

Both the Veena and the MM De

Capo are rear-ported, which means you

cannot place them up against the wall.

However in a small room a distance of

a foot (30 cm) or slightly more from the

wall is likely to be adequate. Placement

close to a wall adds loading to the rear

port, and therefore moves the low fre-

quency cutoff higher. At the same time

the “megaphone effect” of the wall-ﬂoor

boundary can emphasize the bass that

is reproduced. A distance of less than

30 cm from the rear wall would probably

not give pleasant results.

My entry level system consists of an Atoll

CD50, Atoll IN50 ampliﬁer and a pair of

Polk Audio RTi38 bookshelf speakers.

I’m considering either adding a Goldring

GR2 (or Rega P3) turntable, or getting

a pair of second-hand Totem Model One

speakers (in good condition for about $1000).

Which purchase would give me the most

signiﬁcant increase in sound quality?

Bo Jiang

DORVAL, QC

We are tempted to point out the obvi-

ous: the Totems will add immensely to

the sound of your system, but if you try

to play an LP on a loudspeaker you are

likely to be disappointed! For that you

deﬁnitely need…a turntable.

Consider these factors. First, can

your ampliﬁer drive the Model One to

a level you will ﬁnd satisfactory? The

IN50 is the smallest of the Atoll ampli-

ﬁers, rated at 50 watts per channel into

8 ohms. What’s more, its power into a 4

ohm load is just 40% higher, at 70 watts,

which suggests that it has limited current

capacity. If you do get the Model One,

chances are the ampliﬁer will be next on

your upgrade list.

Then consider how much of the

music you like is available on LP. In the

case of the classical repertoire, adding

either the Goldring or the Rega opens

up the possibilities of bargains galore.

The same is true of classic jazz (Shelly

Mann, Ray Brown, Herbie Hancock, the

Modern Jazz Quartet, etc.), but possibly

not current artists.

Being a rank beginner audiophile, I occa-

sionally (all right, it’s all the time) become

quite confused, especially when it comes to

cables, power cords and power converters.

One person’s advice: power cords ﬁrst! The

next: no power cords until you clean up the

juice with a power converter! The next: the

power converter will screw up everything,

don’t do it!

I’m lost. It seems to me that the power

converters would be a good thing. I can’t see

that the juice coming from my (upgraded)

home outlet is going to beneﬁt my system

until it’s gone through some sort of trans-

formation, otherwise it seems that I’m just

getting whatever level of performance is

available at the outlet, no matter how good

the power cord. I hate to waste money on the

wrong thing, so which should be ﬁrst? Do I

just go all out and do both?

My system includes a Cary 2A3-Si,

Linn Ikemi, and Soliloquy SM-2A3’s. Then

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