August 16, 2014

  • Totem Element Fire, Part 14

    I recently hooked up with ACS, and look what she had:
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    Yep, these are our CDs of La Bouche’s “Sweet Dreams” (the single) and Sweet Dreams (the album). In spring ’96, we used these exact CDs, as we went around Bay Area audio stores. On one trip to Ultimate Sound, we played these CDs to evaluate Kimber’s DV-30, DV-75, and D-60 digital cables. While we skipped those mixed-bag digital cables, the killer “Oriental mix” of “Sweet Dreams” convinced us to bring home the demo PSB New Stratus Mini.

    The PSB New Status Mini has the tweeter below the woofer. In real life, this is a disaster. You see, the tweeter then comes in line with low-lying furniture, such as chairs, shelves, ottomans, sofas, tables, and desks. These furnishings absorb the tweeter’s output, so you’re left with dull, airless sound. It was like listening to AM radio.

    ACS saw that I was disappointed, so she pulled me away from the stereo, and whisked me away to her apartment. She still worked part-time at Victoria’s Secret. Maybe that influenced her, but she had this thing against Visible Panty Lines. Thus, she usually wore thongs. I don’t know how she did that, while also wearing jeans. Doesn’t that chap your hides?
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    One time, she reached behind, stuck her hand down her jeans, and scratched. She then pulled down her jeans, and I saw the culprit: a big zit. I quipped, “Either a bug likes your butt more than I do, or your tender ass and rough jeans don't mix.”
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    Despite her dislike for VPL, ACS had no qualms about bending over, and having the top of the thong appear above the backside of her jeans. Other times, she wore shorts or stretch pants, and here, the no-coverage thong did not display any VPL.

    While the PSB New Stratus Mini sat and played at my place, ACS did say she preferred the Totem Model 1. First of all, she was partial to Totem, because the name rhymes with “scrotum.” In her mind, that was sexy and a turn-on. Two, the Model 1’s footprint seemed to match perfectly the top plate of Target 4-pillar stands. Thus, the speaker looked like an extension of the stand. Look, if a girl likes how a speaker looks, we male audiophiles would be wise not to object. And, ACS just liked the way the Model 1 sounded. The problem was, the Model 1 plus stands cost $2200 – way more than we could afford.

    I don’t know about that zit on her ass, but because she played sports, ACS could get small zits on her face and back. Sigh, we are now almost twice as old as we were in the mid-90s, and we still have a few zits. Anyway, ACS didn’t like shaving that often, so she often had rough legs and prickly armpits. Even after ACS shaved her armpits, she always had this gray-colored 5 o’clock shadow.
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    Unlike Totem’s non-Element Series models, the Fire’s edges are perfectly smooth. It is the equivalent of not having VPL, zits, or that pervasive 5 o’clock shadow in the armpits. If you don’t care about aesthetics, this means nothing. But if aesthetics are important to you, then the lack of unfinished edges, mismatched veneer, screw heads, Velcro, garish logos, and grille holes is a godsend.

    One night after dinner, ACS brought me to her room. On the floor along the base of the wall were bags and bags of new (never worn or washed) Victoria’s Secret products. ACS then modeled multiple sets of lingerie for me. Even if I didn’t say anything, she could tell from my body language, whether I was repulsed [this yellow bra & panty set made ACS look like an egg], indifferent [she normally wore black or blue, so I was neutral towards these colors], or turned-on [this jade green set made me want to jump her].

    In the mid-to-late 90s, when Ultimate Sound brought in the upgraded Model 1 Signature, it was placed on a ledge. That demo M1S sandwiched an inexpensive Sherwood receiver. San Francisco's K101 FM radio station was used to break-in the M1S. When Tina Turner’s “We Don’t Need Another Hero (Thunderdome)” came on, we were stunned by how real Turner’s voice sounded. Even in these unfavorable conditions, the M1S still shined.
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    Just as ACS put on a wide variety of Victoria's Secret underwear, my audio friends and I subjected the Element Fire to a wide variety of electronics. Like most Totems, the Fire sounds quite good, when driven by mass market receivers. Not that many audiophiles will do that, but I have seen some start over by getting the high-end speaker first. They then have no choice but to run it with a receiver. If you do run the Fire with a mass market receiver, it won’t sound bad. You can dig it now, and then get more and more into it, as you replace the receiver with higher-quality amplification. Forget the snazzy, pricey, expensive, and sexy lingerie. Even in basic jeans and hoodie, ACS is still, and has always been, attractive.
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    The Fire ($5995) costs about the same as my Mark Levinson No. 37 ($3995) and NuForce DAC-9 ($1695). So price-wise, this is an appropriate match. Maybe it’s not quite as ravishing as ACS in that green bra & panty set. But the Fire is so resolving, it’ll let you hear the infinitesimally small differences, as you cycle through the different digital links between transport and DAC. Yeah, yeah, it was fun to watch ACS cycle through all that lingerie.

    On cold nights, ACS would wear the thong, sweats, and a loose t-shirt. On cool but not cold nights, she would wear a teddy, camisole, or babydoll. But her apartment, sandwiched between two floors, was usually warm. So, after showering at night, ACS most often simply went without clothes.

    The Fire doesn’t do DEEP bass. But other than that, for the Fire, the sky’s the limit. ACS and I are now middle-aged, with our own lives and families. With the Simaudio Andromeda/P-8/W-7 playing La Bouche via the Totem Element Fire, we feel as though we're back to being young adults, sans kids. The Fire reminds ACS of those wonderful mid-90s nights (and days, too!), when she had the time, privacy, place, freedom, and environment, to be naked.