James Mason

Setting out the desk…

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Sound systems

The desk

Professional · TPI Aerospace Limited · in-house manufacture · released

Type. TOTEM 2

Type. TOTEM 2 in natural birch ply: slotted bass cabinets two by two at the base, two large V-fronted modules with octagonal driver frames, two smaller ones above, and a black horn on top.
Type. TOTEM 2, front.Photo: TPI
The back of Type. TOTEM 2: plain birch-ply cabinets, each with a black recessed connector dish, stacked two by two at the base and narrowing to the black horn on top.
Type. TOTEM 2, back.Photo: TPI
Two stacks of Type. TOTEM 2 in black, with grey octagonal grilles, either side of a DJ booth in a concrete club, red neon along the ceiling pipes.
Type. TOTEM 2 either side of the DJ booth at Reactor, Shanghai.Photo: TPI
A black TOTEM 2 stack beside the DJ booth at Reactor: V-fronted modules with grey grilles above slatted bass cabinets, a DJ at the decks behind.
A TOTEM 2 stack beside the booth at Reactor.Photo: TPI
Close-up of TOTEM 2 modules at Beam: octagonal grilles above slatted cabinets, the club's name in gold and TPI logos on the black cabinets.
TOTEM 2 modules at Beam, Bangkok.Photo: TPI
The top of a TOTEM 2 stack at Beam in green light: the horn on top and the octagonal grilles of the modules below.
The horn and upper modules of a TOTEM 2 stack at Beam.Photo: TPI

TPI's flagship ground-stack system: modular, V-fronted cabinets that stack in different configurations to suit the audience and the room. TOTEM was an established design when I joined TPI: its cabinets were made by a third party, and TPI assembled the components. I was hired, with a CNC woodwork programmer and operator, to bring cabinet manufacture in-house, and re-engineered TOTEM into TOTEM 2 to suit the workshop.

My role

I re-engineered it from version 1 for TPI's own workshop: my design changes solved recurring assembly issues, significantly improved quality consistency and reduced build cost and time.

  • Re-engineering matched to the workshop's capabilities, as part of bringing cabinet manufacture in-house
  • Re-specified the carbon-fibre horn for a different manufacturer, incorporating improvements
  • A detailed live bill of materials in Google Sheets

Outcome

Released by TPI and listed on its website. TPI's TOTEM 2 installations include Beam, Bangkok, and Reactor, Shanghai.

Credits

  • Type. TOTEM version 1: TPI's earlier design
  • Product and installation photographs: TPI

TPI: Type. TOTEM 2TPI: Beam, BangkokTPI: Reactor, Shanghai

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