Напольная акустика — GoldenEar Triton Reference

The Triton Reference is a GoldenEar tower that combines a passive midrange and treble section with a powered, DSP-controlled subwoofer built into the same enclosure. GoldenEar set out to create a lasting standard for affordable performance with it and presented it at the 2017 Consumer Electronics Show, and the company has since discontinued it, with limited remaining stock. The maker states that every component was developed specifically for this model, including the subwoofer amplifier and its 56-bit DSP control unit.

Key specs that matter

Each speaker holds one Reference HVFR ribbon tweeter, two 6-inch cast-basket Reference drivers for the mid and bass range, three long-throw quadratic Reference subwoofer drivers measuring 6 x 10 inches, and four passive planar radiators of 9.5 x 10.5 inches driven by the back wave, whose total surface area is 430.79 cm2. Efficiency is quoted at 93 dB for 2.83 V at 1 m, and the response at 26 Hz to 25 kHz, where the lower figure is a -6 dB point measured on axis in anechoic conditions. The built-in subwoofer amplifier is rated at 750 W RMS, a figure GoldenEar measured into a 50 ohm load with a 55 Hz tone held for 5 seconds rather than to the FTC standard, which calls for an 8 ohm load and a 1 kHz tone sustained for 5 minutes. The tower measures 23.36 cm wide, 47.6 cm deep and 147.27 cm high including the base but not the spikes, and weighs 49.8 kg.

Engineering and use context

The 6-inch drivers use a low-mass voice coil and cone, with a low-mass bond to the butyl rubber surround that is meant to improve transient response. The active low-frequency drivers have 40% more surface area than the active units in other Triton models. The tweeter uses 50% more rare-earth neodymium than GoldenEar's non-Reference ribbon tweeters, for improved transient response and higher efficiency. The four planar radiators sit two on each side, are inertially balanced, and are related to the ones in the SuperSub X subwoofer but retooled to allow greater excursion.

Pairing

The passive part of the Triton Reference is rated at a nominal 4 ohm, and GoldenEar recommends 20 to 750 W per channel of external amplification. Since the internal amplifier drives the three active woofers, the connected amplifier only powers the upper drivers.

Alternatives

The GoldenEar Triton One.R is a smaller, less expensive Triton tower with a built-in subwoofer, using three 5 x 9-inch active drivers and a 90 dB efficiency rating.