These Affordable Bookshelf Speakers Borrow Tech from $8,000 Loudspeakers

The KIN One are the Canadian hi-fi company’s most affordable bookshelf speakers to date.

Totem Acoustics is a Canadian hi-fi company that makes a wide range of loudspeakers typically out of most people’s price brackets. For example, its most affordable bookshelf speakers to date have been the Totem Loon Monitors ($1,299/pair) and Bison Monitors ($2,250/pair), but the luxury audio brand makes loudspeakers that go well beyond that.

High-performing, entry-level

Totem Acoustics is a high-end audio company that has been around for almost forty years, but for the last decade it’s also been releasing more affordable speakers — most of which are powered speakers — under the “KIN” brand.

The KIN One are interesting because they’re the first passive bookshelf speakers that have been released under the KIN brand, but they also leverage technologies from Totem Acoustics’s significantly higher-end bookshelf speakers.

According to the press release, the KIN One feature trickle-down” technologies — with respect to driver technology, cabinet design and crossover circuitry — from the company’s legendary Model One (whose spiritual successor is the $3,500 Signature One) and Element Fire v2 ($8,450) loudspeakers.

The company claims these KIN One speakers are “a true gateway to high-performance audio.”

The KIN One are passive bookshelf speakers, but they can be paired with a turntable if you have the right integrated amplifier.
Totem Acoustics

An amp to match

The KIN One are two-way passive bookshelf speakers with a recommended power of between 20 — 100 watts and should be fairly easy to drive.

If you don’t have an amplifier at home, Totem Acoustics recommends pairing the KIN One bookshelf speakers with the Kin Amp ($799). It’s an integrated amplifier with a range of analog and digital inputs. It has a built-in phono preamp (switchable) for hooking up a turntable, as well as Bluetooth aptX HD connectivity for easy streaming.

Totem Acoustics even sells a KIN One bookshelf speakers and the Kin Amp as a combo set for $1,199, which is a savings of nearly $200 if you were to buy each separately.

The KIN One bookshelf speakers are available in five different satin finishes.
Totem Acoustics

Price and availability

As you’ve undoubtedly noticed, the KIN One bookshelf speakers are available in more fun colors than most of Totem Acoustics’s higher-end loudspeakers. You have the choice of five different satin finishes: pink, blue, orange, black or white.

Totem Acoustics KIN One bookshelf speakers cost $599/pair. Each pair comes with matching magnetic grill covers. They’re available now from the company’s website.