The Triton One proved extraordinarily revealing of the effects of the various comparisons and tweaks I was making with the DS-PW. The effects of using different cables (three HDMI, one XLR) between the PW and DS were easily audible. The same with the beneficial effect of substituting Hi-Fi Tuning Supreme fuses for PS Audio's stock ones. And when, late in the listening period, PS Audio sent me updated firmware for the DS, the resulting improvements were obvious. The Triton One is a high-resolution loudspeaker, which had its payoff in listening to music as well as listening for the effects of system tweaks. With almost every CD I played in the DS-PW, I noticed musical details that had previously been inaudible or could be only faintly heard. Resolution had been one of the Triton Two's strengths as well. However, while I didn't have a pair of Twos on hand for direct comparison, my sense was that the Triton One is a significant advance on the already high resolution offered by the Triton Two.
When I played recordings of orchestral, choral, big-band, and rock music at impress-your-friends levels, the Triton Ones sounded quite spectacular, and showed little sign of strain. "Winter Wonderland," from Clark Terry and Frank Wess's Big Band Basie (CD, Reference RR-63CD), had the requisite punch but remained musical, and the speakers didn't protest, even though the level was a notch higher on the CAT preamp's volume control than my usual maximum. Audio Tools' sound-pressure-level meter app (C-weighted, fast) on my iPhone 6 gave a peak reading of 94.7dB; the actual level was probably higher, the reading of the meter limited by the clipping of the iPhone's input circuitry. Whatever the actual level, it was subjectively loud enough that if I'd played music at that level for visitors, I'm sure most of them would have asked me to turn it down.
One of the things I appreciated about the original Quads, when I had them, was that I could play the speakers at a low level and all the music was still there. They didn't have to be played loud. (And, of course, the Quads couldn't really play loud.) The Triton Ones were similar to the Quads in this respect: I didn't feel I had to play them loud to hear all the music. I think this is a testament to GoldenEars' high resolution. In fact, some of my best times with the speakers were late in the evening, listening at what, in audio-demo terms, would be considered barely above background level (C-weighted peaks in the low 70s)—but which my system and the Triton Ones rendered as very plausible illusions of listening to music in a concert hall or opera house.
The tonal balance was fundamentally neutral, the highs clean and extended; the various percussion instruments in Ana Caram's "Viola Fora de Moda," from the Chesky Records Jazz Sampler & Audiophile Test Compact Disc, Vol.1 (Chesky JD37), being clearly differentiated. Another test of transient accuracy that I like to use is All Star Percussion Ensemble, led by Harold Farberman (Golden Strings GS CD005). The instruments on this recording cover the entire audioband, including timpani and bass drum at the bottom. The sound through the Triton Ones had an appealing crispness, with no smearing of transients. However, I would avoid combining these speakers with components whose intrinsic sound is on the bright side: the Triton Ones will let you hear it.
In my review of the Triton Two, I noted that at times I could hear a box resonance in the midrange—a common problem with box speakers, and one not easy to fix. The Triton One's thicker walls and improved damping and bracing seem to have done the trick. The box resonance, while not completely absent—a task impossible to achieve even in theory—was much lower in amplitude than I remember from the Two, and was almost always masked by the music.
One of the Triton Two's strengths was its bass, which eclipsed that of just about every other floorstanding speaker of similar size and price that I've heard—so I was a bit surprised that, with the Triton One, GoldenEar chose to focus their efforts on bettering that performance—it sure didn't need it. I suppose it was a matter of building on what had already been accomplished—and, for many people, what most clearly distinguishes speakers from one another is in the area of bass extension and power. (Another reason for focusing on the bass was so that use of Triton Ones in a home theater might make it possible to forgo a subwoofer.)
Because each Triton One has three powered woofers and four passive bass radiators, one might predict that its sound would be heavy, with overemphasized bass. This was simply not so. As I listened to a variety of music, it became clear that GoldenEar had chosen to go for quality rather than mere quantity of bass. The low bass was certainly there—GoldenEar claims 14Hz, which I couldn't achieve in my listening room, but I think this was at least partly due to my use of the McIntosh tube amp and the size and shape of the room itself. In any case, I think faithful reproduction of the 20–40Hz octave is a more realistic target to strive for, and this was well within the One's abilities.
A few years ago, at an audio show, I was given a CD-R of deep-bass demo tracks by Poh Ser Hsu, of subwoofer manufacturer Hsu Research. Featured are such audiophile favorites as Béla Fleck's "Flight of the Cosmic Hippo," Mickey Hart's "Kodo Drums," etc. The Triton Ones sailed through them, the bass always tuneful and firm. In music that didn't reach down into the deep bass, there was no midbass emphasis to give a false impression that there was deep bass. If anything, there appeared to be some weakness in the midbass; the voices of male singers—primarily baritones and basses, tenors to a lesser extent—seemed to lack some chest resonance. This could well have been due to the speakers' interaction with my room; JA's measurements might shed some light on whether this is a characteristic of the GoldenEars.
The Triton Ones were soundstaging champs: the stage was wide, higher than the speakers themselves, and presented great depth when called for. Imaging was precise, a precision only enhanced when the PS Audio DirectStream DAC was updated with the latest firmware. Playing the "Depth of Image" tracks (34–42) from Best of Chesky Jazz and More Audiophile Tests, Vol.2 (Chesky JD68), I could hear the difference between the sounds of the acoustic clicker at 50', 60', and 70'. I fancied I could even hear the difference between 70' and 80', but I wouldn't swear to it.
Class A Sound for a Class B Price?
To answer the provocative question posed by that subhead: No, I don't think that GoldenEar Technology's Triton One delivers the quality of sound you can get from speakers like MBL's Radialstrahler 101 Mk.II ($70,500), Sonus Faber's Amati Futura ($36,000), Vivid Audio's G1 Giya ($65,000), Wilson Audio Specialties' Alexia ($48,500), or YG Acoustics' Sonja 1.3 ($106,800). If you yearn for and can afford one of these Class A superspeakers, go for it. And yet, the mere fact that it's not unreasonable to compare the sound of the $4999.98 Triton One with the sounds of speakers costing tens of thousands of dollars more per pair says a lot about the GoldenEar's level of performance. For the audiophile who doesn't have—or doesn't wish—to spend the money for cost-no-object speakers, yet wants sound quality that approaches what such expensive models can produce, I recommend first listening to the Triton One. You may decide that it's all the speaker you need.
The tonal balance was fundamentally neutral, the highs clean and extended; the various percussion instruments in Ana Caram's "Viola Fora de Moda," from the Chesky Records Jazz Sampler & Audiophile Test Compact Disc, Vol.1 (Chesky JD37), being clearly differentiated. Another test of transient accuracy that I like to use is All Star Percussion Ensemble, led by Harold Farberman (Golden Strings GS CD005). The instruments on this recording cover the entire audioband, including timpani and bass drum at the bottom. The sound through the Triton Ones had an appealing crispness, with no smearing of transients. However, I would avoid combining these speakers with components whose intrinsic sound is on the bright side: the Triton Ones will let you hear it.
In my review of the Triton Two, I noted that at times I could hear a box resonance in the midrange—a common problem with box speakers, and one not easy to fix. The Triton One's thicker walls and improved damping and bracing seem to have done the trick. The box resonance, while not completely absent—a task impossible to achieve even in theory—was much lower in amplitude than I remember from the Two, and was almost always masked by the music.
One of the Triton Two's strengths was its bass, which eclipsed that of just about every other floorstanding speaker of similar size and price that I've heard—so I was a bit surprised that, with the Triton One, GoldenEar chose to focus their efforts on bettering that performance—it sure didn't need it. I suppose it was a matter of building on what had already been accomplished—and, for many people, what most clearly distinguishes speakers from one another is in the area of bass extension and power. (Another reason for focusing on the bass was so that use of Triton Ones in a home theater might make it possible to forgo a subwoofer.)
To answer the provocative question posed by that subhead: No, I don't think that GoldenEar Technology's Triton One delivers the quality of sound you can get from speakers like MBL's Radialstrahler 101 Mk.II ($70,500), Sonus Faber's Amati Futura ($36,000), Vivid Audio's G1 Giya ($65,000), Wilson Audio Specialties' Alexia ($48,500), or YG Acoustics' Sonja 1.3 ($106,800). If you yearn for and can afford one of these Class A superspeakers, go for it. And yet, the mere fact that it's not unreasonable to compare the sound of the $4999.98 Triton One with the sounds of speakers costing tens of thousands of dollars more per pair says a lot about the GoldenEar's level of performance. For the audiophile who doesn't have—or doesn't wish—to spend the money for cost-no-object speakers, yet wants sound quality that approaches what such expensive models can produce, I recommend first listening to the Triton One. You may decide that it's all the speaker you need.
