Shomi

Overall Rating
 3 of 5

Value Rating
 3 of 5

Used product for
Less than 1 month

Visitors rate this review
3.40 of 5, 5.00 votes

Price Paid:  $0.00

Summary:
These were the speaker someone easy can fall in love with, happened to me, so i went, and i got them. First impression in my home, is these speakers rock, most is true what people like about them. What i didnt payed attention in reviews, is that they are bright. Didnt notice in first, didnt notice in store, but it started to be annoying. Someone here mentioned its about sibilants, if they are in record they will be there, its ok, i can hear sibilants in headphones too, just with arros, they sound HARSH.
So many reviews and nobody mentiones this brightnes in tone, how come? Do u not hear it or u like speakers that way?
Now, i just listened them for 2 days, so basicaly not even 10 hours of music, burnin time is 100-150 but i am afraid it will not soften high notes even then. What kind of improvement in sound happens after that time? Should i wait to see will it soften, or should i try with cables? I have NAD c350, will i must buy some warm amplifier like arcam or unico?
I have them biwired now, will try these days mono, with different options of connecting like they say in faq, just i think that wont help with brightness either.
I really love these speakers, but i must rate them with 3 cause of to much brightness in tone, if it improves in time, i will correct this mark, but i am afraid it will not happen.

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fresco

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
1 to 3 months

Visitors rate this review
5.00 of 5, 2.00 votes

Price Paid:  $700.00 from local hi-end store

Summary:
This arro has a sweet, detailed and relaxing sound. It is so detail and revealing that certain sound that cannot be heard by big spekaers can be heard by arro. It is small and easy to move. That is why I like arro.

Listen to Norah Jones and Diana Krall music with arro and you will know why this tiny floorstander is amazing. I am driving it by jolida 202 using the zhuguang el34 tubes. The sound is very very clear and detailed when I used the zhuguang el34 but It is lack of bass though probably due to the jolida 202. But I think it will sound a lot better with the BAT vk-60 tube amp.

Strengths:
Nice slim design. Sound sweet and revealing. excellent for small room. $700 used is a very good deal

Weaknesses:
A bit lack of bass but Still OK and I dont need sub.

Similar Products Used:
Snell, sonus faber, jolida202, bat vk60, arragon 8008, acurus a250, acurus preamp, musical fidelity a3cr preamp, maranz cd, rotel cd.

ARTU9R

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
Less than 1 month

Visitors rate this review
3.40 of 5, 5.00 votes

Price Paid:  $1200.00 from LE BOUTIQUE ELECTRON

Summary:
I BEEN ALWAYS A BIG FAN OF MUSIC I ALWAYS BEEN INTO AUDIOPHILE EQUIPMENT SINCE I AM PROUD CANADIAN(LIVING IN BEAUTIFUL QUEBEC) AND
I LOVE CANADIAN PRODUCTS AND REAL CANADIAN QUALITY
I HAD PARADIGM FOR LON LONG TOO LONG TIME I HAD MONITORS 9 STUDIO 40
ALWAYS MATCHED WITH ANTHEM STUFF ALSO BUT MY INTEREST WAS
POINTING TOWARDS MY NEIGHBORHOOD COMPANY FROM MONTREAL
TOTEM ACOUSTIC SO I STARTED LISTENING TOTEMS FOR ABOUT 3 YEARS
FIRST I ALWAYS LIKED TOTEM HAWK'S BUT THAT WAS 3 YEARS AGO
LAST MONTH I WAS REALLY BUSY LISTENING AL POSSIBLE MODELS AVAILABLE AT MY FRINDLY BOUTIQUE ELECTRONIQUE
HAWK STAFF MODEL 1 FOREST MITE ALL OF THEM I PUT TO TEST AGAINST
MY FUTURE PURCHASE ARRO
IN BOUTIQUE ARROS SOUNDED AMAZING BUT HAD VERY AGGRESIVE HIGHS
AND NOT MUCH BASS BUT ALL THAT WOULD CHANGE IN MY ROOM WITH ALL
MY GEAR SPECIALLY MATCHED TO MY NEEDS

ARCAM CD 62T CD PLAYER
THULE AUDIO IA60B INTEGRATED
TOTEM ARRO CHERRY
MERLIN CHOPIN 0.6M INTERCONNECT
MERLIN BLACK WIDOW 2M X 2 AC POWER CORDS
TOTEM TRESS SPEAKER BIWIRE SELFMADE WITH MERLIN BANANA PLUGS
ACOUSTIC RESEARCH POWER BAR WITH AC CONDITIONER

ARRO NOW ARE COMPLETELY DIFFERENT SOUNDING I FILLED THEM WITH SILICA SAND 12LBS EACH CABINET
BURN IN TIME PASSED NOW SO I CAN FREELY ENJOY ALL WHAT IS BEST IN MUSIC-WARMTH SUPERB DETAILED BASS WITH VERY SURPRISING LOW EXTENSION SUPER NATURAL 3D IMAGING(GUYS PLEASE TAKE TIME TO BIWIRE THESE BABIES) VERY SWEET HIGHS NATURAL SOUNDING INSTRUMENTS
I WAS LISTENING SOME OF MY CDS I WAS SURPRISE EACH TIME
SANTANA SUPERNATURAL JUST YELS FOR WORSHIP AND THAT GUITAR
IT ALMOST FELT LIKE CARLOS WAS PLAYING IN THE SAME ROOM
UFFF SOME KIND OF ORGASMIC FEEL
ANNA MARIA JOPEK AND HER ALBUM SECRET SOUNDED FROM OTHER PLANET
THAT GIRL HAS A VOICE OF ANGELS!!!
PINK FLOYDS LIVE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP SWEET DETAILED PRECISE AND
ORIGINAL

AFTER 1 MONTH OF LISTENING I DARE TO SAY I FOUND MY SOUND
I FOUND MY SPEAKERS AND MY EQUIPMENT
I HATE TO SAY BUT ALWAYS TRY YOUR SPEAKERS AT HOME
WITH PROPER ELECTRONICS IF POSSIBLE
AND JUST TO BE FAIR ARRO SOUNDED MUCH BETTER THAN HAWKS AND FOREST HAD MORE MUSICALITY AND PERSONALITY
I HAD SIMILAR SOUND ON FOREST COMPARING THEM TO MY MONITOR'S 9 V.2
I LIKED HAWKS BUT AGAIN BASS WAS LURKIN EVERYWHERE I DID NOT SEE TRANSPARENCY AND IMAGING AS W/ARRO'S

CONCLUSION: DON'T BE FOOLED BY THE PRICE-MAKE WISE CHOICES
LISTEN TO WHAT YOU LIKE AND COMPARE ON SAME LEVEL
BUT OUR EARS DONT LIE-IF THEY DONT LIKE SOUND THEY WILL TELL YOU
AND HELP YOU WITH YOUR ACTION

Strengths:
EVERYTHING
CHERRY COLOR OPTION
LOOK
PERSONALITY
MUSICALITY
SOUNDSTAGE
PERFECTIONISM

Weaknesses:
PLINTH(BASE) FIX TO CABINET
WOULD WISH FOR WBT SPEAKER POSTS(LIKE IN HAWKS)
BIGGER MASS LOADING CHAMBER

Similar Products Used:
TOTEM HAWK
TOTEM FOREST
TOTEM MODEL 1
TOTEM STAFF
PARADIGM MONITOR 9 V.2
PARADIGM REFERENCE STUDIO 40 V.2

jas75

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
1 to 3 months

Visitors rate this review
5.00 of 5, 2.00 votes

Price Paid:  $750.00 from demos

Summary:
At the 2006 Los Angeles High End Show I headed right to the Totem room to listen to the Totem Ones. I've read so many positive accolades about them that I had to listen for myself. However, when I arrived at Totem, the Arros were being demonstrated by their designer, Vince Bruzzese, so I stayed and immediately became enchanted and dumbstruck by the palpability and spaciousness of these little speakers. I greatly preferred the Arros to all but the most expensive speakers at the 2006 show. I did listen to the Totem ones, but left the room knowing that I would be buying the Arros.

I bought a pair of Arros and have them installed 8' apart, sleightly toed in and approximately 20" out from the wall behind them. Distance from the side walls is approximately 4 1/2 ' and the seating area is about 8 1/2 ' from the speaker line. Totem recommends placing the speakers somewhat closer together directed straight out into the room, but after listening to them that way for a month I placed them as noted and got a more satisfying soundstage. The sound is lean, when 'lean' is what is on the recorded material, and rich when the source is rich. I hear the 'edges' of the sound without exaggerated sibilants and I suffer no listener weariness. Bass is deep, realistic, and without overhang. These speakers should probably be used in small to moderately sized rooms. In my room they will provide lease-breaking levels without breaking up.

Because I already own an Audiosource 10", 100 watt, down-firing subwoofer , I added it to the system two weeks after listening to the Arros by themselves. I wanted to see if it made a difference. Crossed over at 70 cycles the difference is sleight. If I didn't already own a sub-woofer I wouldn't run out to buy one. These
speakers don't need it. My current amplifier is a NAD 350, sixty watt Integrated unit. My CD is a $300 Marantz CD5001 single disc player. I use inexpensive 14 gauge stranded speaker wire and inexpensive Radio Shack interconnect cable. I 've previously used more expensive designer cables and never heard an improvement or difference.

I'd like to articulate exactly what it is that makes these speakers so endearing to me, but it's elusive.. I have owned, AR-3as, Original Advents, Magnepans, NHTs and others, and while they all pleased me in one way or another, none radiated magic like the Arros.

Who should listen to them? Anybody who hasn't heard them. Even if you own more expensive speakers and systems. They have to be heard to be believed!

Strengths:
Depth, width of soundstage. Palpable sound, satisfying bass. Small size requires less floor space.

Weaknesses:
A bit tricky to set up on carpet because of small footprint.

Similar Products Used:
As listed above.

Bonger

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
More than 1 year

Visitors rate this review
3.50 of 5, 6.00 votes

Price Paid:  $950.00 from authorized dealer

Summary:
Upgraded to the Totem Sttaf's a few days ago to which I can make a comparison of the Arro's to.

Well, first of all I miss the Arros already...why? Because these speakers just sound so accurate. With the right equipment, voices & instruments sound almost lifelike. These speakers have been with me for years through several amp & CD player upgrades and the Arros have always kept up.

The sound:
Speakers excel at jazz, acoustics, classical, vocals because the small 4" drivers that has the agility to accurately reproduce the music. Passable for rock & pop as it does lack the "energy", loudness of speakers with bigger cabinets. Though bass is not deep, it is relatively good and most of all rhymic sounding to keep your toes tapping.

If I were to compared the Arros to a steak, it would be a good sized tenderloin. Most people eating this ultra high quality steak if cooked properly would be totally satisifed and not crave any more meat. For those who want even more meat maybe get the Tbones or porterhouse of speakers like the hawks or forrests (bigger, deeper & louder, but it maybe be at the expense & not necessarily more accurate sounding).

I finally upgraded to the Sttafs because I did want a fuller sounding speaker and so far dare not say the Sttaf's are better sounding just different...but I don't want to judge the Sttaf's until I've spent some quality time evaluating the speakers.

Finally, on value, definetely 5 stars. Speakere were purchased for $950 new 3 years ago and I recently sold them for $725.

Strengths:
most of you already know: wide soundage, excellent imaging, accurate tonality (excellent for reproducing voices & instruments). Not many speakers in the price range can outperform these little guys. Asthetics, compact design. wide following hence keeps it price well

Weaknesses:
lacks the deepest bass notes, doesn't play ultra loud but reasonable loud. needs really good equipment to truly get the fullest potential from speaker. not easy to drive because of 4 ohms.