In Barn for Review: GoldenEar Triton Reference Tower Speakers

The shipping cartons containing the GoldenEar Triton Reference Tower Speakers are about the same size as the hotel room I used to occupy in Paris.

that’s Stephen Mejias, AudioQuest’s Director of Communications, who, along with Chris Volk, Regional Sales Manager for GoldenEar and AudioQuest, did all of the heavy lifting (I had minor surgery a few weeks ago and cannot lift anything > 25lbs.) (conveniently)

The GoldenEar Triton Reference speakers house a total of 10 drivers that includes a powered subwoofer coupled to an 1800 Watt DSP-Controlled Class D Digital Amplifier. For each tower. Frequency response is a claimed 12 Hz – 35 kHz. which translates into RFR (real full range). Batten down the hatches, full range.

In addition to the single pair of speaker binding posts and RCA input, each tower also has an IEC inlet for the included power cords. [footnote 1] There’s also a dial around back for adjusting the Built-In Powered ForceField Subwoofer’s level.

As I hope you can tell from my photos, the Triton Reference, while being big speakers, don’t look imposing due to their slim face and 18″ width at their widest point.

The cabinet sides, top, and back are covered in a Piano Gloss Black Lacquer Finish that aides in the Triton’s disappearing act, while the front-facing drivers are covered by a black curved grille cloth. Think sleek.

The Barn has a large garage door, which made the lift-gate delivery a breeze — the super-friendly FedEx Freight driver had the Tritons off the truck and into the Barn in a few minutes. It’s almost like I planned for this scenario.

Seeing as the T Ref weigh in at 110lbs., they are already set up in their ideal position for listening, which has commenced. I’ll dig into more details in the review proper. Stay tuned.


  1. We repeated a similar A/B “test” as the one we performed with the Manger S1 Active Loudspeakers back in 2019, first using the included power cords direct into the wall, then replacing those with the AQ Blizzard Low-Z / Noise-Dissipation 3-Pole AC Power Cables which made things sound better. We then inserted an AudioQuest PowerQuest 3 AC Power Conditioner in between the Triton’s and the wall outlet which made music sound even better, clearly better.

GoldenEar Triton Reference Tower Speakers
Price: $9998/pair

Specifications

Frequency Response: 12 Hz – 35 kHz
Efficiency: 93.25 dB
Nominal Impedance: Compatible with 8 ohms
Driver Complement: Three 6″ x 10″ long-throw quadratic Reference subwoofers, coupled to: Four 9-1/2″ x 10-1/2″ quadratic planar infrasonic radiators, Two 6 ̋ high-definition cast-basket Reference mid/bass drivers, One high-gauss Reference High-Velocity Folded Ribbon (HVFR™) tweeter
Rec. Amp: 20 – 750 Watt/channel
Built-In Subwoofer Power Amplifier: 1800-Watt ForceField digital/56 bit DSP subwoofer amplifier
Power Requirements/Consumption: Low voltage version – 120 V at 60Hz / 1800 Watts. High voltage version – 240 V at 50Hz / 1800 Watts (approved for NA (TUV) and the CE market)
Dimensions: Speaker: 9-1/4″ W x 18-3/4″ D x 58″ H (w/ base) Base:13-5/8″ W x 22-1/4″ D
Weight: 110 lbs

Company Website: GoldenEar