Totem Acoustic Bison Tower
The Bison Tower delivers pinpoint imaging, lively dynamics and unexpectedly weighty bass from a compact two-way floorstander. Andrew Dewhirst found instruments naturally rendered, dense mixes articulate and performances convincingly present, making this an especially compelling choice for focused, seated listening in smaller rooms.
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Nicely Roasted
Sound Quality
89/100
Build Quality
80/100
Value for Money
85/100
Pros
Creates a vivid, well-focused soundstage that makes individual sounds easy to place and performers feel present.
Delivers unusually substantial, clear bass for a compact two-way tower once broken in.
Handles dynamic crescendos with excellent momentum while preserving natural piano and acoustic-guitar tone.
Cons
Non-adjustable claw feet can make leveling difficult on uneven hard floors.
Its compact scale is better suited to small and medium rooms; larger spaces may need a subwoofer or bigger speakers.
Performance is noticeably optimized for the seated listening position and may be less satisfying for taller listeners or when standing.
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What Reviewers Are Saying
SOUND QUALITY PERFORMANCE 89/100
The Bison Tower is described as an unusually musical compact floorstander, producing a large, involving presentation that makes performances feel convincingly present in the room. Review listening found strong imaging, natural instrumental tone, unexpectedly capable bass, and an expressive sense of dynamic build, though there is little direct commentary on its high-frequency character.
Bass
90/100
The reviewer found the bass substantially better than expected from such a compact two-way tower. After break-in, low frequencies were clearly audible and satisfying, with the speaker lending real weight to music despite its modest 5.25-inch woofer.
Mid
90/100
Acoustic guitar was described as natural rather than overly sweet, while piano came across as realistic. This convincing instrumental character helps the Bison Tower create the impression of musicians performing directly in front of the listener.
Treble
80/100
The review says individual sounds are easy to hear and place within the mix, suggesting useful resolution. However, it offers little direct comment on treble extension, tonal sweetness, brightness, or long-session refinement.
Soundstage Imaging
92/100
Imaging is a clear strength: the reviewer repeatedly describes a live, in-room sense of performance and says sounds can be located easily. Listening from the main seated position is important, however, as the speaker was said to sound noticeably better there than when heard standing up.
Dynamics
93/100
On music that rose from a quiet start to a crescendo, the Bison Tower delivered dynamics described as fantastic. The reviewer also found the crossover integration seamless during these shifts, contributing to an easy and pleasurable sense of musical momentum.
Assessments of Build Quality, Usability, and Overall Propositions.
Build Quality
80/100
The supplied claw feet and manageable weight were noted as making installation straightforward. The feet are not adjustable, though, and the review provides little further detail about cabinet finish, internal construction, terminals, or long-term durability.
Value for Money
85/100
At approximately $2,795 to $3,200, the Bison Tower sits in a competitive premium compact-floorstander segment. The reviewer expects it to retain a good portion of its value because of Totem's standing and the speaker's perceived quality, but does not directly compare its performance or pricing with competing models.
Reviews & Sources
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Specifications
- Design
- Ported 2-Way Tower Speaker
- Tweeter
- 1.3 in /33 mm Laser Etched Textile Soft Dome
- Woofer
- 5.25 in / 146 mm Copper Clad Voice Coil
- Impedance
- 8 Ohm
- Sensitivity
- 88 db
- Frequency Response
- 33 Hz to 30 kHz ± 3 dB
- Recommended Power
- 30-150W
- Crossover Frequency
- 2.5 kHz (first order)
- Speaker Terminals
- 4 way Bi-Wire-able
- Break in Time
- 70-100 hours
- Width
- 175mm / 6.89 in
- Height
- 849mm / 33.46 in
- Depth
- 232mm / 9.13 in
- Weight
- 31.90lb / 14.47kg
Manufacturer's Description — Totem Acoustic
The made-in-Canada Bison Tower is an easy listening, musically captivating speaker that creates a stunning listening environment, filled with spatial cues, extended harmonics and a full-scale portrayal of instruments and vocals. Its non-directional sound will surprise you with its dynamics while transforming the poetic flow of music into a new listening experience that is fresh, sparkling and revitalizing.
The Bison Tower is a full-range floorstanding speaker that is modestly sized, impeccably proportioned, not finicky to placement within a room and easy to match with any decor. Its modest nature is contradicted by its stunning sonic abilities and aesthetic poise. The Bison Tower is a powerful, yet graceful speaker with unique advantages that are certain to satisfy the most discerning music lovers.
Experience Totem’s never-ending quest for an affordable soul mover of the highest caliber. Regardless of what other audio components you pair this speaker with – whether it’s the KIN AMP, an exotic tube amplifier or a cutting-edge Totem surround system – it will reward you with a superior listening enjoyment.
Design Highlights
Customized Drivers
Bison Tower drivers are completely unique and proprietary in design. They are engineered by Totem and manufactured to the strictest standards to meet our parameters by the finest raw driver suppliers in the world. In some cases, where the technology is beyond the capabilities of suppliers or is wished to be kept secret, Totem can and will build our own drivers. Every driver exhibits phase linearity, speed, emotion, off axis natural presentation, and spatial articulation.
Handmade Crossovers
Bison Tower crossovers don’t require many parts because of the synergy between our customized drivers, but the components are the world’s best. Our crossovers aren’t built on PCB’s because the laminated conductive tracks are weak and inconsistent. Instead they are secured to a thin piece of fiberboard or insulated polymers and components are mechanically crimped together because it simply sounds better. When we must solder, we choose WBT Silver Solder, the purest in the industry.
Artisanal Cabinet Construction
Meticulously hand crafted for peak performance that lasts decades. Lock-Miter assembly is an intricate woodworking procedure where edges physically interlock together. The resulting cabinet is up to 5 times stronger than conventional V Groove cabinets. Internal and external veneering resists warping, structurally fortifies, and ensures consistent peak performance. Industry unique Borosilicate damping manages dissipation, keeps the cabinet musically alive, and never deteriorates. Popular materials like poly fillers eventually decay, dramatically affecting the performance. Variable Density Fiberboard is denser at the extremities than the interior to reduce repetitive nodes and resonances.
Connectors
Two sets of high conductivity gold plated connectors efficiently capture the incoming signal for superior speaker performance and allow traditional, bi-wire, or even bi-amplification options. They accommodate a variety of connection options such as bare wire, banana plugs, and spades.
Exclusive Delrin Decoupling Claw
The success of Totem’s acoustic decoupling Claw on other towers made it appealing to include but the associated costs were prohibitive for the price point. A new version featuring a high-density Delrin machined composite achieved the cost target and succeeds in breaking up standing waves and controlling surface resonance, tightening bass, and heightening the soundstage. These Delrin Claws are fitted with ¼ 20 thread inserts to accommodate optional spikes (not included). NOT REQUIRED: Bison Towers have been voiced with the claw as is, no spikes, needed nor recommended. It has been integrated should the rare need for a spike arise, as on a thick carpet to add stability.
Verified Dealers
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Authorized dealers for Totem Acoustic Bison Tower
- The Music Room — online and in-store — Erie, Colorado, United States (website)
- Accent On Music — in-store — Mount Kisco, New York, United States (website)
- Acoustic Technologies — online and in-store — Montréal, Québec, Canada (website)
- Alpha High End — online and in-store — Brasschaat, Vlaams Gewest, Belgium (website)
- Alta Fedelta — online and in-store — Lombardia, Italy (website)
- Area 51 Audio Visual Engineering — in-store — Tucson, Arizona, United States (website)
- Audible Elegance — online and in-store — Cincinnati, Ohio, United States (website)
- Audio Artisans — in-store — Bozeman, Montana, United States (website)
- Audio Concept - Luxembourg — in-store — Gare, Luxembourg, Luxembourg (website)
- Audio Destination — online and in-store — Tiverton, England, United Kingdom (website)
and 71 more verified dealers