And so I am, finally, on my sofa again, with music.

It’s been a long time.

The Denon speakers which I imported from Japan right out of college have now retired, and replaced by a set of Totem Rainmakers in cherry. Took the plunge as a birthday present for myself and went to the Stereo Exchange down in Soho with DJ. This is probably the first pair of more serious audiophile grade equipment ever acquired. Obviously, though, without a truly decent source and interconnects, just the speakers isn’t enough, but I’ll wait.

Now here’s a little audio review. The Denon Presta speakers have always sounded too bright for me. The highs were edgy, but not clear. My real problem was with the midrange and bass – while the mids seem to be OK with vocals, the lower ends were sloppy and unrefined. I knew it was nothing to do with my source, because I’ve had a fairly decent entry-level tube amp the Cayin TA-30.

The Rainmaker sounds a bit laidback at the store, almost like playing behind a nice silky vail. The highs and low ends aren’t that pronounced, but seem to be able to balance with each other, which was something that my Denon lacked. So I went with the Rainmakers, after comparing to Vienna Acoustic’s and a pair of Era (which had a nice all wood cabinet).

Right of the box the Rainmaker was already miles ahead of my old speakers (which costed about $500-600 a pair). Everything’s much tighter, clearer. But the sound is not as laidback as first heard at the shop – it’s a little bit harsh overall. I am hoping that with a good breaking-in period, the harshness will go away. Already though, music start to sound like instruments playing harmonically, instead of just “tunes” and “melodies.”

I’d like to experience that kind of quiet heart pumping when a song is played back poetically, like in a live concert, or perhaps, better.

Rainmaker, please calm down and make my day.