Totem Acoustic has been one of the foundational brands in Canadian high-end audio for almost 38 years, and the Quebec-based manufacturer has certainly proven that it knows how to build great sounding loudspeakers. There are enough industry awards in its front lobby to make even the Montreal Canadiens a tad envious. Can the new Totem Acoustic KIN ONE earn additional hardware for the lobby?
The two-way monitor loudspeaker has been their area of expertise and few companies have done so well with consistency.
Think highly musical, accurate, perfect phase coherency and three-dimensional expansiveness, all the while, yielding performance that defies their size.
Over the years, Totem Acoustic’s loudspeakers also became a lot more expensive and that priced them out of the entry-level segment of the market which became dominated by Q Acoustics, PSB, Wharfedale, KEF, and ELAC.
It’s much easier to make a great loudspeaker with a much higher price point compared to something that is priced in the $500 to $600 range; the compromises when it comes to driver selection, crossover components, cabinet design and materials, and finishes are completely different.
KIN ONE
So why are we excited about the new Totem Acoustic KIN ONE?
$599 USD. Say it again. $599 USD.
Through the use of “trickle-down” technology with respect to driver technology, cabinet design and its crossover circuitry, the KIN ONE performs far beyond both its price point and physical stature. In essence, a great deal of technical know-how learned from Totem products, including the legendary “Model One” and Element FIRE v2, was applied to the KIN ONE design.
Further, thanks to 5 different satin finishes and its placement flexibility — this new bookshelf loudspeaker might be a great option for smaller rooms and even your desktop.
On a technical level, the KIN ONE uses specific custom proprietary drivers. The MHEX woofer (Multiple Strata Hex Cone) is stiffer than metal but reacts very fast and sounds like paper.
The titanium infused soft dome tweeter is matched to both this woofer and the cabinet, resulting in perfect phase response. Next, upon a first look at the KIN ONE you can’t help but notice they appear to be a much smaller version of the “Element Fire V2” (which has an MSRP that is 14 times more expensive).
This specific cabinet geometry assists with the precise base tuning of the KIN ONE in conjunction with the crossover. Using just seven high quality precision components, the 2nd order crossover is minimalist but an effective way to achieve maximum performance from the two aforementioned drivers and the custom cabinet.
Finally, there’s an “L shaped” port to achieve a much longer length in a small cabinet to virtually eliminate cabinet resonances. This port design allows information to exist below 65 Hz (i.e. 40 Hz @ -12dB).
KIN ONE Features:
- Ported 2-way design
- 1” Titanium Infused Soft Dome tweeter
- 4” MHEX Cone Woofer
- Nominal Impedance: 6 ohms
- Sensitivity: 89 dB @ 1watt
- Crossover Frequency: 2.5 kHz (second order)
- Frequency Response: 65 Hz to 22 kHz ± 3 dB
- Recommended power: 20 – 100 watts
- Dimensions (W x H x D):
- 5” x 9.5” x 6.25” (bottom) x 5.25” (top)
- 12.7 x 24.3 x 15.9 cm (bottom) x 13.3 cm (top)
- Weight: 6.25 lbs each
- Available satin finishes: Pink, Blue, Orange, Black and White
- Matching magnetic grills included
- Recommended placement: 3” – 2’ from rear wall / 3’ – 12’ apart
- Wallmount Thread: ¼”–20 allowing the speakers to be mounted directly on the wall
Initial Thoughts
The $500 to $700 category has a lot of competition from the aforementioned brands and the KIN ONE will have to offer more than just solid build quality and engineering to compete.
The cabinet is on the smaller side and we suspect that the loudspeaker will benefit from some low end support in the form of a subwoofer to really show off what it can do above 80Hz.
Totem has established that it knows how to build a great sounding loudspeaker and we suspect that these will offer the “house” sound with some trade-offs in regard to bass response.
The impedance and sensitivity rating look rather amplifier-friendly on paper, but our experience with their loudspeakers over the years tells us that they like power and that “20 watts” on the low end is probably not going to cut it.
A network amplifier from Denon, NAD, Bluesound, WiiM, or Marantz might be ideal for these and keep the overall footprint rather compact. However, Totem’s integrated KIN AMP (with Bluetooth aptX HD, 100-watts per channel, analog & digital inputs) could be a cost-effective pairing at $1,199.
Having not listened to these yet, we don’t know which way the tonal balance and overall presentation tilts.
At the $599 USD price, they might be a great option if you don’t have a lot of space.
Where to buy: kinbytotem.com
Related reading: Totem Acoustic’s LOON Bookshelf Speakers Are Crazy Affordable
