I know everyone is into Sunniva right now, and I'm a bit behind, but I had a very generous friend who was willing to ship and let me borrow Totem for a bit to try out. I wanted to share my impressions on it.
I own and have been using Serratus for the past few months and loved every minute of it. I listen to quite a few different genres, but my main listening revolves around varying types of metal. I thought Serratus was my endgame and that it would be my favorite... boy, was I wrong.
I made it two songs in before Totem showed me everything I didn't know I was missing with Serratus. Totem is very fast, doesn't get congested, and the timbre is another leap up. The mids are incredible, and the treble is very crisp and detailed. The soundstage is still very wide with great separation and imaging. Totem puts me on the stage, while Serratus gives me a front-row seat.
However, it definitely doesn't replace Serratus, even with all that. Especially on some of the less chaotic symphonic metal with actual composed orchestral arrangements or even some more ambient black metal, Serratus just gives a sense of endless notes that seem to ring out to infinity all around you in a giant concert hall. I would say they both complement each other nicely, and depending on my mood, I would easily reach for one or the other.
My wife also gave it a quick photo shoot, so please enjoy some glamour shots.
![Totem1-2.jpg](https://www.head-fi.org/attachments/4471249/)