It's interesting you say the Andrew Jones Pioneer speakers are lackluster. I heard the bookshelves a number of times at different venues, including my own home, and was very impressed.
A few weeks ago, I brought them into my new space to compare against my Dreamcatchers. The big problem with my Dreamcatchers is they can't handle higher SPLs for those songs when I just HAVE to turn it up. So I was really hoping the Pioneers, being quite a bit larger and more favorably reviewed and measured, would do the trick. The Pioneers are exemplary on the test bench; the Totems not so much.
The Pioneers were indeed fuller and achieved higher SPLs and I could not bottom them out but they sounded very "thick". I thought it was just me so I left them in place for a week and had a few buddies over to get their opinions. There was no contest actually. Right from the get-go, everyone preferred the Totems. Much wider and more distinct soundstage and microdynamics.
So I do agree they sound lackluster but then again, they can be had for $100/pair compared to $600 or more for the Totems. I really do wonder what Andrew Jones could have achieved by integrating a better tweeter into the design.
