Goldenear Triton Two+, Three+ Speakers & Sub X Preview

It’s only been six years since speaker company Goldenear and Sandy Gross (Formerly of Definitive Technology) emerged on a rebounding speaker market. Since then the reviews of the Triton One, Two, and Triton Three models have been extremely positive.  Goldenear continues to surprise us with the release of two new and improved models: The Triton 2+ and Triton 3+ at CES 2016 in Las Vegas.

The new models are based on the original Triton One innovations such as GoldenEar’s High Velocity Folded Ribbon tweeter. A high-powered built-in powered subwoofer For low end sound, (incorporating quadratic active sub-bass drivers, inertially-balanced sub-bass radiators, and a high-powered digital amplifier controlled by an in-house precisely programmed DSP). In addition to these features, Cast-basket drivers incorporate a polypropylene cone for additional bass and mids. Other features found in the original Tritons include butyl rubber surround and multi-vaned phase plugs, and a linear phase crossover.

Goldenear Triton Two+, Three+ and SupersubX Interview with Sandy Gross at CES 2016

Goldenear says about their new speakers:

A successful loudspeaker design is much more than just the sum of both an excellent concept and the high quality parts incorporated in it. More importantly, it is the commitment to get it right, schedule be damned, and the knowledge and perseverance to execute this. In other words, making the effort and taking the time to get all the thousands of little details right, is the real key that makes the difference.

The speakers were designed at Goldenears Arnprior Engineering Facility, utilizing their full-size anechoic chamber. Some specific components that were changed include new upper bass/midrange drivers, which incorporate a new cone, surround, spider and voice coil.  Additionally, a completely new balanced crossover with polypropylene capacitors, similar to the one developed for the Triton One, is incorporated.

Additionally, the DSP low-level control unit is, in effect, new, as it has been completely reprogrammed. The goal of all this reengineering was to have the Triton Two+ and Three+ sound more like the Triton 1 at a lower cost and a smaller size.

The complex crossover to the powered bass section of both speakers, which critically controls both the phase and amplitude transition, was optimized by utilizing the DSP software to as closely match the Triton One in acoustic presentation and characteristics as possible. Special focus was placed on enhancing the soundstage and clarity to more closely match the Triton One. The DSP software was rewritten using the methodology developed with the Triton One project. This reduced the number of filter stages in the signal path, yet at the same time, flattened the low frequency response, especially in the important sub-woofer/mid-range crossover area between 100 and 250 Hz, as well as in the lower bass and sub-bass regions.

The two new speakers are scheduled for availability in February 2016 with the retail Price for Triton Two+ and Three + are $1749/ea and $1249/ea respectively.

Unless otherwise indicated, this is a preview article for the featured product. A formal review may or may not follow in the future.