I didn’t have some grand plan in mind when I chose Donald Fagen’s The Nightfly LP as the first thing to play through the Triton Threes; it just happened to be the first record in the stack. But The Nightfly turned out to be an ideal test of GoldenEar’s claim that its internal subwoofer integrates better with the midwoofer than a standalone subwoofer could. Bassist Anthony Jackson’s lines in “I.G.Y.” sail above and below the Triton Three’s crossover point, yet no matter what notes he hit, his playful timing subtleties came through perfectly.
As the record continued to play, I noticed that all the instruments in the lush production were reproduced with unusual specificity — i.e., they seemed to come from more precise positions than I’m used to hearing. In “I.G.Y.,” for example, the background vocals were spread from speaker to speaker but no further, while the synthesizer washes wrapped around and behind me. Fagen’s voice and the cheesy-sounding “synth blues harp” he plays on the track sounded as perfectly placed as they would have if I had gone into the studio, pushed engineer Elliot Scheiner out of his chair at the mixing board, and done all the panning of each voice and instrument myself.
I suspect the Triton Three’s broad soundstage will help it blend well with center and surround speakers in a 5.1 or 7.1 setup. In fact, when I streamed the racing documentary Senna from Netflix, I heard sound effects of racing cars coming from the sides of the room several feet behind me, even though only the Triton Threes were playing. I also noticed when streaming Flat Top, an old mono WWII flick, that the dialogue centered perfectly in the midst of my screen, even when the Threes were 9 feet apart.
Seems time to add some comments about voice reproduction, but even though my test CD is loaded with vocal tracks chosen because they reveal flaws in speakers, I found little on which I could fault the Triton Three. I did note that the speaker added a little emphasis to Brazilian singer Bebel Gilberto’s voice in the lower treble, around 3 kHz, and the same held true for Chancellor Palpatine’s voice in Chapter 4 of Star Wars, Episode II: Attack of the Clones. But by and large, the vocal reproduction is so good that you’ll probably never even notice this. And that’s the way it ought to be.
The bass delivered by the 5-by-9-inch woofer isn’t going to knock you out of your chair, but it’s deep and satisfying enough that I think most people would be happy without a sub. Home theater enthusiasts, though, will almost surely want to add a sub or two. As I stated above, the middle and upper bass registers were beautifully blended and flawlessly tuneful. However, the bottom octave-and-a-half wasn’t as smooth and even as I can get it in my room using standalone subwoofers. Such is the nature of tower speakers.
In his Test Report article posted on March 20th 2012, re: Goldenear Triton Three Speakers, Brent Butterworth mentioned that he had used a Denon surround sound Receiver as one of his components to test these speakers. Which model number did he use ? Look forward to hearing from you very soon..
I'm a Denon fan and need to update my current Receiver to accommodate HDMI etc. I also will be looking at these Speakers as part of my new set-up. The review was certainly very impressive.
Regards
Roger
Hi, Roger. I use a Denon AVR-2809CI, used as a preamp/processor only in conjunction with an AudioControl Savoy amp.
Mr. Butterworth-
You say that "Home theater enthusiasts, though, will almost surely want to add a sub or two" and that "the bottom octave-and-a-half wasn’t as smooth and even as I can get it in my room using standalone subwoofers. Such is the nature of tower speakers." I've often thought that a sub (typically placed off to one side) makes the sound feel "weighted" toward that side (even with the lowest possible crossover point set). But maybe I haven't heard a good-enough setup. Has S&V ever done tower vs. bookshelf+sub comparison tests?
In practical terms, my question is this: Do you think it would be better to add a sub or two (for say, $1000) to the Triton Three or just buy the Triton Two (about which your S&V colleague said "there was a bottomless quality; instead of rounding off at some distinct point, the low-end extension seemed to be without limits. The Triton Two's bass was without question the deepest, cleanest, and most nuanced I've yet heard in my room.")?
Or, if you believe low bass is inherently compromised in tower designs, would you say a combination of a sub with Goldenear's Aon 3 (essentially the upper part of the Triton3) is preferable?
Brent, Thanks for reviewing this smaller version of Triton Two. Weren't you tempted to compare the two speakers to hear how different they actually sound? Measurements, yes, we have them from the Triton Two review for comparison, but more meaningful (to the would be purchaser) would be a direct listening test with different types of source material. Do the extra drivers in the Two's influence sound quality, or just produce more headroom? Please don't take this unkindly... I just want more! more! more!
@loitering: The vast majority of the products sent to Sound+Vision (and other magazines and websites) have to be returned to the manufacturer. Manufacturers allocate only a few samples of any one product for reviews. Most reviewers are able to hang onto a few products here and there to use as a comparison standard, but no publication (or even more so, no freelance reviewer like me) has the resources to keep more than a few such products on hand - even if the manufacturers would allow it.
@freetrademan: I prefer subwoofer/satellite systems to tower speakers. Every home theater design and/or room acoustics professional I know shares this preference. Once you grasp the concept of the Schroeder frequency (http://www.soundandvisionmag.com/blog/2012/03/05/schroeder-frequency-sho...), there's no longer any serious argument.
The Triton Three and, even more so, the Triton Two both play low, but they don't have the driver real estate to match the output of high-performance subwoofers. A sub or tower speaker can play low without necessarily playing all that loud (or vice versa). To get high output at low frequencies, you need either large drivers, multiple midsize drivers, or very high-excursion drivers (a la Sunfire). Plus either a large box or a lot of amplifier power.
I can't endorse the Aon 3 without having heard it, but yes, I would gravitate toward satellites and a separate subwoofer (or two). But to each his own. If you like the form factor and setup simplicity of tower speakers, go for it.
Brent: Thanks for your reply. I understand the Schroeder frequency argument in favor of sub/sat systems. It certainly makes sense in theory. I understand that sounds below 80Hz aren't (or shouldn't be) localizable. Still, I find that I can clearly hear the low bass in music coming from the sub over there, rather than as part of the main speaker soundfield. The music sounds noticeably "weighted" toward the side.
(At the moment I'm listening to a 2.1 setup by Atlantic Tech (http://www.atlantictechnology.com/Upload/PDFs/manuals/discontinued/Sys45...). The sub is set at the lowest crossover (55Hz) and the level is just above minimum.)
Short of having two subs (L&R) or putting the sub dead center, what can I do to mitigate this "off-center" problem?
@Freetrademan: The frequency at which you begin to be able to localize sound is 70-90 Hz, depending on the person. (That's science, not me, talking.) That said, I've noticed that sometimes I get a sense of directionality when I place a sub in the corner. Not sure if that's a psychological effect or an actual audible effect, though.
Your ears simply can't localize sounds at 55 Hz and below. However, there are a couple of reasons you can get directionality even with a low crossover point. If the low-pass filter is relatively shallow (say, 2nd order), you'll get audible output even at an octave or more above the crossover point. Also, distortion will create audible harmonics above the crossover frequency, and the crossover doesn't filter those out.
That is a lovely system you have. I remember reviewing it when it first came out. I recommend double-checking your settings and wiring to make sure there's a crossover in that circuit somewhere. The sub's not in the manual you linked to. Do you have it plugged into an LFE input that bypasses the crossover? Or maybe there's a crossover bypass switch that's activated? If not, an outboard crossover might solve the problem.
@Brent: Yes, it is a lovely system. I'd love to read your old review. Can you link to it (or send it somehow)? The sub is the matching Atlantic Tech 452 (http://www.atlantictechnology.com/Upload/PDFs/manuals/discontinued/452PB... ) (Would you believe someone on Craigslist gave all this away for free?!)
I'm not sure about the crossover wiring. The Denon AVR-981 receiver (also part of the Craigslist find) simply has "Subwoofer out", not "LFE", which I connect to "Low Level IN" on the sub. No sign of a crossover bypass.
I've noticed this subwoofer directionality quite often, not just in this particular setup. I'll continue to experiment with crossover settings and sub placement to solve my dilemma. Thanks very much for your advice.
@Freetrademan: I recommend setting the front speaker size to small, then using the External Filter THX setting on your sub's crossover frequency control. This will use the Denon's internal 80 Hz crossover and may give you a much better blend between sats and subs, and also possibly eliminate that directionality you're hearing. It's certainly worth a try.
I'll try to find that old review. It was from Home Entertainment magazine, probably 2003 or 2004. I still have a few back issues. The measurements may be lost to the ages, though - we posted them on the web only and that old content has been lost through various ownership changes.
Brent, you expressed your preference for subwoofer/satellite systems. GoldenEar has the Super Cinema 3 and50 Systems. Have you heard or reviewed any of these? If so what is your opinion.
Regards, Roger
I was always taught that adding a second identical speaker would raise the spl by 3dB or double it.Yet in your review in the test bench section of the Triton 3's you state a second speaker would add 6dB on average or 4 times.How does this work?Thanks in advance.
hi Brent,
just wondering what do you think about combining the triton 3 with the martin logan electromotion C2 as the center speaker? the reason being when i went to the audio store they recommended it, i like the triton 3 a lot but with the center speaker you need to mount on a wall which i don't like much and the salesman said the tweeter GE uses is 99% similar with the ML C2. so please help me with that. many thanks!!
best regards, kenny.