Jason, Just wanted to say how much I enjoyed your video. It is admirable that you are willing to share your expertise based on your experience with products you actually own; even though you don't use audiophile terminology like most reviewers, your description sounds genuine and authentic. I appreciate you doing that!

After owning a pair of Totem Fire for a year, I'm certain that even if I buy other speakers in the future (and I certainly will) I will never ever sell them. They are a gem.

I still haven't been able to listen to a set of the Zu speakers. After meeting the amazing family and employees at Zu as I was in the local area, I plan to own some in the future. Attention to detail and passion are how I would sum up my visit. Very friendly and welcoming people there. Seeing the cabinets in various states of construction was amazing. The finish quality is stunning! I just need to hear some one day.

I think I've watched all your videos at this point. This one is my favorite. Your approach and communication were great. You also have all the audio stuff worked out and the background is nice. Keep it up fella!

I’ve listened to a few of your videos, and they hadn’t been as interesting as this video. II enjoy most this one. Great to be spontaneous and wring out your thoughts and feelings. Good stuff and keep it coming in your own style.

I usually watch audio channels for equipment reviews with a focus on just the facts. Feelings and equipment reviews were a no no but your passion about this hobby really drew me in. Great video. Thanks

Those JBL L-250 Ti were their pinnacle floor standers!!👍 Always wanted a pair. My 4-way KEF 105/3 are still going strong holding their own!

I'm using Totem speakers in my system and even if they're not the most expensive speakers I've owned, they're the without a doubt the best ones!

Keep up the good work!

Very good video that describes the properties well. Greetings from Germany

Listening to my Zu DW6's with the Supreme Hot Rod upgrade package... I paired them with a vintage 1970 Sansui 4000 stereo integrated receiver... I cannot get over the sound this combination creates. Not just me, but everyone that has heard this combination. Agree on Live music, the sound is 3D and holographic. I can hear things behind me, around me, in every corner of the room. The soundstage is HUGE! The bass these speakers put out, OMG! The airy tube like sound, and the highs, just nails it. Agree on the cow bell! LOL! Somewhere in an alternate universe... Sansui and Sean met. ;-) Throw a TT into the mix, the Mofi StudioDeck with MasterTracker cart... Audio Nirvana.

Thanks for your insightful reviews! Would love to hear any and all of these! I'm intrigued by the Totem Element series speakers, which have yet to be reviewed by the likes of Stereophile (I don't see Totem ads anymore...maybe because of an older review spat with JA?). I hope to resurrect my old AR M4s, when I hopefully move this year. Then try some Zu and Tekton Impact monitors.

Most of my favorite speakers have first order filtering. Subjectively it’s great with driver and tweeter in phase, but the super beefy complicated high part count crossovers are en vogue because people are paying so much attention to near-field measured response and audiophile grade networks.

I own a pair of Zu Omen Def Supreme's. They are just awesome! Not my only speakers. Tekton, Klipsch, Ohm Walsh, Pioneer and a few others. Tekton, Zu, Klipsch and Ohm are my favorites.

Bought the BMR’s based on your review, best speaker i have. Keep looking to beat them though. Sounds great, lots of detail

You are right, I own ZU DW6 full upgrades for live show recording listening and focal for other listening, with a switcher to go from one to the other. The image for the Focal is 10 feet back from the speakers, the ZU the sound is more in your face.

Bought some Zhu Union 6 standard option speakers. They are fun and unique. Very live and huge soundstage. Imaging is pretty special as well. I find them a bit on the bright side but still breaking in. They take a long time to sweeten up. Driving with PrimaLuna Prologue Four. El-34 based tube, 35 watts/ch I believe. NAD preamp and Marantz digital. I miss the folded Motion tweeter of the prior Martin Logan Motion 40.

Well done, Jason! I'm happy with my ESL-63, only $1300 used, but it wasn't that good until I've powered them by Luxman L-550AX integrated amp, class A. I also added REL 212/SE Sub-Bass System and they comes to life, perfect for my small room. To be honest, the JBL Studio 530 bookshelf loudspeakers for $239.99 shipped directly from JBL comes very close, seriously. Try the Duntech Sovereign. Based on some highly original theoretical calculations by the Australian physicist John Dunlavy, the Duntech is distinguished by an extraordinary degree of what might be called sheer musicality. Cube Audio from Poland is on the top of my list and of course one of the Sound Lab speakers, how about Nestorovic Labs Type 5AS Mark V Signature Speakers?

How are the mids on the BMRs ? Is the midrange as large as a Harbeth or B&W? I’m asking because of the small midrange driver it has. I was thinking of the BMR HT towers Thanks so much !

Funny, you mentioned one speaker. I have had. The ADS 1230s which sit in a back room as they need repairs that I can't get. You talked a great deal about Zu speakers and I just bought a pair of the dirty weekends with the 60 day free trial. Latest model, Superfly upgrade, rustic hickory finish (beautiful!), House cable. Before I bought these, I auditioned the Totem Tribes from another company you mentioned. I was not particularly impressed with them. Next, I bought open box 702 s2s. Love the clarity, the definition of instruments, but I found a metallic edge particularly to treble, and was missing some bass extension. I returned them and gave a listen to the Sonus Faber Sonetto IIIs against the 702s at a dealer. Preferred the Sonettos. He would not let me audition them at my place. Wound up finally buying the dirty weekends. Somewhat conflicted. Losing the definition and separation of instruments of the 702's and Sonettos, but getting that impact that you talk about. Listening to much more music these days, perhaps the highest compliment. I'm operating at a lower budget than you so these are my options. My audiophile self versus my live music loving self.

Jason, loved this video. I own the Phil BMR and they are fantastic! However, I am looking for a second speaker that captures live music, that plays loud and when I am in the mood for Black Sabbath, Slayer, Gojira...Classic Rock, Alt-Rock, Indie, you know what I am saying. Would the Zu Audio Dirty Weekend be the way to go? My initial idea was one of the new/retro speakers from KLH/Wharfedale, but I am now looking elsewhere. What do you think? Would the Phil BMR and the Zu Audio be the perfect combo? Thanks

great review Jason...what type of tweeter was in that Totem element fire you had and liked so much? the new version V2 has a titanium tweeter...i hope it sounds as good or better then the Totem element fire you liked so much...i'm thinking of making the move from my Dali Rubicon 2 that i really like and this week tried the rubicon 6 BE (not as good as the rubicon 2) ...to the Totem Acoustic Element Fire V2...mainly because of your review...

My all time fave' speakers for their all-round sound capabilities, are (still) vintage Tannoy Monitor Gold's, a single 15"inch M'Gold Dual- concentric driver in each large & slightly rectangular sealed box, both made in Nov' 1969 (according to their rear's glued-on faded, signed & dated test-pass cards, a mere 54'yrs! old & still sounding great) ...a little woody cabinet coloration at louder volumes (i could internally brace their thickly padded but non' braced cab's with some 2x4 ...but i care not) ...the music fills our living room with such a life-like & fulsome sound from the stereo (& as tv surround fronts for the misses & kids mainly) ...from fairly deep but tight bass & mid-bass all the way up to the highest pitched bells with a well scaled sound, even better with the REL Q400E sub turned on. I've not heard the Zu's but the Tannoys are only (I assume) technically similar in that they are very efficient, the main cone paper driver also goes to 1'Khz & then passes over also to a compression driver, only on the D.C.s, it's placed behind the dust-cap, in the throat of a parabolic trumpet who's end aligns to the paper cone's curve beyond the dust cap on my (& all?) Tannoys D.C.s. I've tried others, sometimes for weeks & even a month or 3, but the Tannoys always end up back in place, their fulsome sound at low volume is also a needed bonus for myself late at night, it changes dynamic range only a very little. Perhaps we've all got regrets selling certain components, I know I have, (early in my journey to enjoy my L.P. & 5%-CD music collection better, I sold a pair of mono 805 S.E. Triode valve amps via an eBay final bid of g.b.£600 when i'd much rather have kept them for a more efficient speaker like I now have. So for a long time now, & esp' with speakers, (they set the whole tone of a system the most i.m.firm.o. I keep the speaker pairs I've upgraded or just side-graded from ...in case i'm making a terrible mistake & havent realised it yet, or if I deem them too good to sell for the going rate I'll get, so I've still got 3 pairs of e/stats & 4 pairs of box speakers stashed away that I like & would rather keep than get their going rate selling them, they've all got some, many, or great merits but a shortfall a new amp may fix, I wish I could combine the best aspects of all in one speaker.

My first two higher end speakers were totem rainmakers and a zu omen dirty weekend with clarity caps. I’m still rocking the omens .. I sold the totem and miss them !

I bought the Totem Fire V2’s last April. I moved up the Metal V2’s. Totem has created something special with the Torrent driver.

Just found your channel Jason. I own the current version of the BMR but I'm thinking about a change. Paired with dual subs, what would you do with a $4K budget (subs are not part of the $4K budget)?

*NOTE* Missed a crucial part of my notes regarding synergy and how fleeting it can be; for all of the different amps and integrated amplifiers I used with the Philharmonic BMR’s, they never did pull off the proverbial disappearing act in my Idaho living room. The best they sounded was with the 12 watt class A tube amp. The first amp I used with the Totem Element Fires was my Marantz PM15-S2, a very dark and polite amp. My source was JRiver Media to a Bel Canto 2.5 pre/dac. I was never impressed with that Marantz integrated, no speaker shined with it. Once that Mark Levinson No. 331 was connected to the Fire’s - they disappeared in my living room, even with eyes wide open, there was no pinpointing any instruments directly from the Fires, they simply shrunk into the room and I never repeated that feat with any other combinations. The Mozart Grand SE’s have come as close as anything since then with the Peachtree GaN400.

Two speakers I wish I still had were my Magnepan MGII's and my Dahlquist DQM-7's.

love your passion about the Zu Omens and think they could be for my liking but iam not a tube guy, So my question would be how about driving these Zu's with a 200watts Solid state

Dude I like your list.I think that Vince is a genius designer the Fire V1's were great as well as the Tribe Tower for their size.And while I'd like to hear some of the new open baffle designs (Pure Audio Project.Spatial,GR Research) I think Herb Reichert chose some great speakers as main stays in the Soul Superfly and the Harbeth 20,2 .Right now I have my 20 year old Odeon Tosca horn two ways (at time the poor mans Avantegarde) and I'd iike to have a bookshelf like the Tote or Harbeth but wouldn't mid a pair of Klipsch Cornwalls or Fortes.One speaker Two speakers still out their which used to get more attention are the Reference 3A and Nola brands

Not putting a lot of faith in loudspeaker specs, they are important to give you an idea of potential. Sadly, too many manufacturers list a frequency response without a +/-3dB figure. No speaker will sound the same in all listening environments. Laws of Physics apply and room acoustics are usually the biggest problem to fine sound. While speaker shopping in 1978, the Ohm Acoustics model H were my choice. Unfortunately, I didn't have the $700+ for them. I did get a sonically and cosmetically restored pair of Ohm H's two years back and it only took me forty three years to get them. Well worth the wait.

And Snell type a my all time favorite

The thing I most regret selling is not a speaker. I don't regret selling any speakers I sold. It's the Carver C4000 preamp. If you are a big fan of precise focus an old Carver C4000 preamp is a fun little thing to play around with. I had one years ago & I wish I would've kept it. I'm into really pure and natural sound, so I doubt if it would have still been my main preamp, but it wasn't too too bad in those ways; certainly listenable but it's main unique feature was its Sonic Holography button. When you pressed in that button its like turning the lens of an old style camera or projector, and everything suddenly snaps into sharp perfect focus. Both left to right and front to back. The depth was incredible as was the general increased openness. It was all done with phase shaping. The respected U.K. magazine HiFi News & Record Report in a review by a reviewer, said that there is more difference between Sonic Holography and regular stereo than the difference between regular stereo & mono. Not sure about that, but it was spatially amazing & spatially more genuine than regular stereo. The preamp also had an effective noise reduction button which made lps quieter, a dynamic range expander, and a time delay circuit which delayed the sound to a trio of side and back speakers by fractions of a second to simulate the longer arrival & reflection times of a much larger acoustic. Imagine sitting in your small bedroom and having it sound like a big cathedral, or a bigger than your room Jazz club. Of course the preamp was the opposite of the straight wire with gain philosophy; with all that extra circuitry, but it had to be the most fun preamp ever. There are speakers I regret buying in the first place, but none that I regret selling. Someone in one of the comments mentioned the Snell Type A. Andy Singer the proprietor of a high end audio equipment business since the 1980s, says that the long discontinued Snell Type A III is one of the greatest speakers of all time.

U probably never had the opportunity to listen to JSE engineering speakers but I would but the model 2.0 from jse over any of them they were made in the mid 80s to late 90s u won’t be disappointed

Carnegie Acoustics csb1 modified by GR Research. They were magic and if one speaker was perfect it was this one considering my room dimensions and placement. It got my foot tapping and more every time. I moved house since then and i didn't have the perfect room anymore for these particular speakers. So i sold them but knowing what they were capable of i regret it a lot and it even brought a tear to my eye when i sold them. I was buying a house but i still did not know what price i would get for my current house. So it was a unsecure situation. That's why i sold them. Still trying to replicate the musicality.

Hi Jason, What you have with the ZU speakers I have with Plinius amps. Grtz Phil

Thanks for the warning about zoo. Though the cowbell example seems counter to your non-audiophile description of them

Totems torrent technology spreakers just sound 🤩🤩🤩🤤🤤🤤

The prevailing notion, one that propels high end audio (besides money), is that "Everything makes a difference." What drivers are made of, what circuit boards are made of (glass circuit boards are great; glass is made with sand), what speaker cabinets are made of etc. I used to be big on kevlar drivers, (really clean sounding, but it has a breakup mode in the upper midrange). Aerogel sounded nice but a little soft. I do like "some" metal drivers. Maybe I haven't heard the right paper cone drivers. The ones I've heard always have more distortion. Distortion is caused by driver flexing and paper flexes way more easily than some other stiffer materials. Basically things sound like what they are made of. I have been doing experiments lately with exotic woods, many are on the verge of endangerment; African Blackwood, Purpleheart wood, etc. Blackwood is around 3 times stronger than white oak. It is the most expensive wood in the world. It immediately sinks in water. Bassoons are made of it. Purpleheart wood, Kiseiki uses in its expensive cartridges, which are among the best.

If you like the live sound with a lot of punch what you can rock out to and finesse, check out the Leak 3090 with the ribbon tweeter. A spectacular speaker would love a pair If anybody's gone any!

They had some new Prototype Eminent Technology Model 18 LS Loudspeakers for around $10K a pair at the Florida Audio Expo 2023 and they were better than anything at the show ! Can't wait until they come on the market ! They make a model LFT-8B too for only $3200 shipped ! These could be your End-Game Speakers for life...

Had Ar9's and then LS's driven by a McIntosh 2255 whose Powerguard would kick in at 110db with those speakers...talk about party time.

Have you heard the all new QUAD REVELA 2 Loudspeakers yet ?

What speakers do you regret selling the most, I am curious about your all time favorite speaker. Thanks!

Loved the video! It was just the kind of video I wished there were more of. You left us wondering though, which speakers displaced the Zu and the Totem Fire and why did you sell them in the first place? There's a general lack of creativity in audio related videos which make them boring. They shouldn't be like a rerun of the TV show, the McNeil Lehrer Report. A lot of us are into vintage audio (many because of cost). One video I would like to see is if someone would compare like the best speakers from the late 1970s versus an adjusted for inflation super speaker of today. Like if someone would compare a full range Acoustat X or Watson Labs model 10 (with the heavier than air injected cabinet) with something that would be equal to it's inflation adjusted price equivelent of today, which would amount to a 7 or 8 thousand dollar loudspeaker. Some say even after 40 years, they've never heard a better speaker than the Acoustat X. I remember hearing the Watson Labs speakers and for the first time understood what room filling profound perfect bass definition was like. Got into audio at a very early age, and couldn't afford either. Would love to hear if todays phono cartridges really are better than the ones from the golden era. Are there any affordable cartridges today as good as the Madrigal Carnegie One back in the 1980s or even further back, the top Pickering or ADC cartridges, which have become a bit of a legend. There was lots of money pouring in for R&D back then, only a smidgen of that now. Not that tinkering has to be expensive. Another interesting thing would be to have someone review regular pressing lps using a very high end turntable rig versus the expensive audiophile pressing played with a much less expensive turntable and cartridge. What would win there in each different comparison? Would love to hear the top of their line $60,000 DS Audio Light Beam cartridge. Couldn't come near affording it, but at last, would it tell us just how good vinyl sound quality is? What about vintage tube amps versus the sound quality of modern tube amps. I am very familiar with a very rare Dynaco tube amp they came out with after they started the Dynaco 70 series, which used EL84 (6BQ5 tubes) and I cannot hear anything that it is not doing just right. I'd like to see someone do some videos of some unknown effective tweaks. There were so many tweak type products over the years. Unlike nowadays, they were cheap and most made some kind of improvement; and there's a universe of possibilities for creative homemade tweaking ideas too, which often cost nothing. I have a feeling there's people out there with upper mid fi equipment whose sound is beyond anything we've ever heard. Fifty tweaks times around 7% improvement each really adds up. I really doubt that the best equipment on the planet is anywhere near 350% better than upper md-fi.with tweaking galore. I think we would all feel like laughing upon hearing it.. It has become a very expensive hobby (to those who let it be), as greed has definitely pervaded it. It's now pervading our software too. There's always used vintage reel to reel title tapes. They're usually $60 or less and have audiophile sound quality. The old music was best anyway. Right? I'm very sure there's a lot of guys out there with 1970s $800 reel to reel decks hooked up directly up to their early 1960s $150 tube power amps going into a pair of $800/pair 1980s speakers who have better and more likeable sound than people with modern systems costing more than the price of an above average new car. And the All Pro Tweakers with so many of their tweaks which add up; forget about ever catching them. Even if their older but still great equipment only costs 1/20th as much.

Great video that rings bells in my 40+ years of loving music anough to spend money on gear to enjoy it better. I buy hi-fi to hear my records while many buy a few hi-quality popular test-worthy recordings only, to hear their equipment playing, as said on the vid & I've known that type, they love to talk about & buy top-reviewed gear but virtually never enthuse about any good new music they might hear, but onky ever enthuse on about new gear. My last surprise was a £1:00 charity shop mint con' "The Carmen Suits" by Bizet. It's not oporah like I assumed & I cannot stop playing it L8ly, it's superb, I'm newish to classical tho Bizet is later classical (a 700 year old genre) to expect gaping big differences from within it. Bach piano sonatas are transcendental, man.

Just found your channel - why don't you like subwoofers? Have you done a video on this?

EPI 100 (my favorite speakers). Same idea as the Totems. Human Speakers can build you some.

The JBL 4425s and the 4408s. Magnapan 2.5s, anything else I would pass on. Good topic, thanks.

Buckethead sighting!

Thanks for sharing this. I'm really interested in the Zu Omen Def Supreme. I don't understand how you have the money for 5k harbeths and 2k tektons sitting behind you but you don't have enough for a 6k speakers. I also don't get why you won't repurchase a speaker you've had before. To me that makes no sense and is very odd. Anyway, thx again.

You mentioned Sacramento, do you live in the area?

Do Zu Audio work well with Vocals? Could you watch a movie through them ?

I think that is reason i wont sell my omen def. Im going with synergy with my ears lol

Okay maybe you just have “the bug” way worse than I do and way more money to throw around but if you loved a pair of speakers so much like the Totem Acoustic Element Fire V2, why did you get rid of them?

Try a CSS Audio 1TDx

Biggest regret selling Yamaha 1000 m speakers Wonderful speakers when correctly matched

If you decided to sell more speakers, let me know, I buy ;)

Sonus Faber extrema apogee stage audio note type e hpe I miss them

Wait until you hear Totem Metal v2

Totem Metal V2 will change the way you listen to music.

Zu are fantastic. Music not HiFi.

A sub is not needed for these if playing music. I really dislike subs for 2 channel music. It like cheating. HT is different, subs are allowed.

Get to the point.