CEDIA 2007: Totem Tribe III on-wall speaker leaps ahead of its predecessors
September 14th, 2007 — By Chris Martens
September 14 - I favorably reviewed the Canadian firm Totem’s Tribe I on-wall speakers and companion Storm subwoofer in The Perfect Vision Issue 71, and perhaps for that reason had the notion that Totem’s new flagship Tribe III on-walls would sound like incrementally improved versions of the original Tribe Is.
Man, was I ever wrong! Contrary to my expectations, the Tribe IIIs I heard at CEDIA 2007 demonstrated a giant leap forward in sonic performance—one so great that I now regard the Tribe IIIs as one of the best-sounding speakers Totem makes, regardless of size, price, or configuration.
The Tribe IIIs measure 36 inches tall x 5.9 inches wide and are just 3.75 inches deep, meaning that they are a bit larger than some on-walls, but certainly not huge.
The speaker features a pair of 4” proprietary “Torrent” woofers that flank a centrally positioned dome tweeter—again, a configuration that seems pretty commonplace.
But a closer look reveals that those Torrent woofers are, in fact, extraordinary. When you hold a Torrent driver in your hand, two things are immediately apparent: first, the little woofers are astonishingly heavy, and second, their build-quality is off the charts (imagine woofers that are fighter-plane rugged and Swiss-watch precise and you’ve got the idea).
More important, the drivers also offer turn-on-a-dime responsiveness, thanks to a woofer cone plus surround assembly that weighs just two grams, total.
The result is an on-wall speaker that offers exceptional sonic detail, nuance, and purity. Like all really good loudspeakers, the Tribe IIIs never seem to be working very hard; instead, they just let music (or movie soundtracks) unfold in a wonderfully rich, natural way.
But the weird part, which I did not anticipate, is that they can also play loudly and go low—really low (bass is said to extend down to 30Hz).
With subwoofer unplugged, my immediate thought was that the bass actually sounded clearer and more lifelike than when the sub had been in play (though you still might want to use a sub for large-scale action films or orchestral music with heavy bass content).
The Tribe IIIs sell for $1500 each and are available now.
