Полочная акустика — Totem Acoustic LOON Monitor

The LOON Monitor is a small ported two-way bookshelf speaker from Totem Acoustic of Montreal, and chief designer Vince Bruzzese credits 37 years of loudspeaker design work behind this model. Totem announced the LOON on April 5, 2024, describing it as its newest and most affordable monitor, at USD 1,299 or CAD 1,500 per pair at launch, and the current list price on the maker site is USD 1,300 per pair. It is engineered and hand-built in Canada.

Key specs that matter

The cabinet holds a 1 inch tweeter with a laser-etched textile soft dome and a 5.75 inch woofer driven by a copper-clad voice coil, loaded by a port. A first-order network hands over between the two drivers at 2.5 kHz. Totem rates the frequency response at 51 Hz to 26 kHz within 3 dB, sensitivity at 87 dB for 1 watt and nominal impedance at 8 ohm. Each box measures 273 mm high, 152 mm wide and 203 mm deep, growing to 213 mm deep once the grille is fitted, and weighs 3.9 kg. The shipping weight per pair is 8.9 kg. Finish choices are Black Ash, Black Walnut and Satin White, each supplied with a matching magnetic grille.

Engineering and use context

A first-order crossover uses the gentlest possible slope, so both drivers overlap across a wide band around the crossover point and the network needs very few parts. The small woofer diameter keeps the front baffle narrow, which suits shelves, desks and narrow stands. Totem designed the LOON partly as a rear-channel speaker for its Bison Series, so it shares the finish palette of that family and can complete a Bison multichannel system. The maker suggests keeping each speaker 15 cm to 0.9 m from the rear wall, with 0.9 to 2.4 m between the two speakers, and it quotes a break-in period of 50 to 80 hours before the drivers settle.

Pairing

Totem lists a recommended amplifier range of 20 to 110 W, so modest integrated amplifiers and streaming amplifiers fall within its window, while larger units should be used with care near the upper figure. The benign nominal load does not demand high current delivery. In a home cinema layout the LOON works as surround or rear speaker behind Bison towers and a Bison Center, with the matching wood finishes keeping the system visually consistent.

Alternatives

The Totem Bison Monitor steps up to a bigger ported cabinet, pairing a 1.3 inch soft dome tweeter, a 5.25 inch long-throw woofer and a 40 Hz to 29.5 kHz rating.