Напольная акустика — Totem Acoustic Element Metal V2

The Element Metal V2 is a floorstanding loudspeaker in the Element range from Totem Acoustic of Montreal. The V2 versions of the Metal and the bookshelf Element Fire were introduced in May 2019 after a development programme centred on the bass driver, and Totem describes the result as close to a decade of refinement over the original Metal. The launch price was USD 15,500 per pair, while the current Totem price is USD 17,850 per pair.

Key specs that matter

Two 7 inch Torrent woofers work with a 1 inch titanium dome tweeter held in a 9.5 mm thick aluminium faceplate over a finned aluminium chamber. Totem rates the response at 26 Hz to 22 kHz, sensitivity at 91 dB and nominal impedance at 4 ohm. Each speaker measures 297 mm wide, 1105 mm tall and 378 mm deep and weighs 33.34 kg. Two multi-coat polyester finishes are offered, Dusk and Ice, with magnetic grilles that attach through hidden magnets.

Engineering and use context

The Torrent driver is machined and assembled by hand at Totem. Instead of one ring magnet it uses seventeen 64 mm neodymium magnets placed in a cylindrical arrangement, up from sixteen in the first version, and the V2 unit adds a slightly larger dust cap with extra damping. There is no active or passive crossover in the low-frequency path, so the woofers connect straight to the amplifier and only the tweeter passes through a first-order filter. According to Totem, the reworked driver, a new tweeter network and different internal bass tuning moved the bottom of the range 5 Hz lower than on the first Metal. The cabinet follows a complex geometry with no parallel surfaces against standing waves, and a borosilicate coating damps the interior walls. For V2 the driver facade and the rear skid plate changed from silver to black anodised aluminium. An adjustable front claw and the skid plate decouple the speaker on hard floors or carpet. The drivers need 200 to 300 hours of break-in according to the maker.

Pairing

Totem recommends 50 to 300 W. The high sensitivity means the amplifier does not need huge output, but because the woofers see the amplifier directly with no network to shape the load, a stable design with ample current into a low impedance is the sensible choice. Bi-wireable Platinum WBT four-way terminals sit on a machined plate of annealed aluminium and let the owner wire the woofers and the tweeter on separate runs.

Alternatives

The Totem Forest Signature is a slimmer floorstander with a single 6.5 inch woofer, an 8 ohm load and a 50 to 225 W amplifier window.