CES 2017 – GoldenEar’s New Flagship
Robert Deutsch – Stereophile
The introduction of a new speaker from GoldenEar Technology is always an event, especia-
lly so when it’s a new flagship speaker. The Triton Reference is intended to „joust with the
best,“ but still maintain the company’s „Making High-End Affordable“ orientation. At $8,500
per pair, in today’s audiophile market, the Triton Reference can be described as affordable
-and, from what I heard at this year’s CES, the Triton Reference presents a serious
challenge to speakers in the multi – $10k range. Sandy Gross has done it again!
The GoldenEar CES 2017 Demo of the New Triton Reference
Top Tech of CES 2017 Award Winner Home Audio
Ryan Waniata – Digital Trends
This year at CES, GoldenEar has done it again with its uncompromising new flagship tower,
the Triton Reference. Calling its new speakers „an evolution of everything that we have
achieved with the Triton One,“ GoldenEar has spared no expense, and left no instrumental
timbre unturned with the new Reference speakers. In our listening session, the speakers
bowled us over with the same tight and powerful bass we gushed over from the Triton One,
now with even more power and expansive rigidity. The newly re-designed ribbon tweeters
and six-inch midrange woofers massaged our ears with near-live reproductions of brass,
piano, guitar, and cymbals. Trumpets soar with the Triton Reference, while piano cuts
through with a luscious touch of creamy ivory that seems to only sound better as the
notes move up the keyboard. The soundstage seemed to expand like an ocean before us
in the small Las Vegas suite in which we auditioned the speakers, while still accurately
placing each instrument in space. While the Triton Reference’s price of $8,500 per pair
price isn’t for the timid, you’ll have a hard time finding a better ride in a tower speaker at
this price point or above.
Residential Systems
John Sciacca
For me, no trip to the Venetian audio suites is complete without stopping in to visit with
GoldenEar Technology founder, Sandy Gross. For the past several years, Gross has been
using CES as the springboard to launch his latest affordable high-end audio offering. Just
a couple of years ago, Sandy released the flagship Triton One which received mass acclaim
both from critics and consumers. This year he decided to up the ante even further with
the new Triton Reference. Visually, the speakers are far more refined, eschewing the black sock-wrapped design of other Triton models and going with a one-piece cabinet boasting
a hand-rubbed lacquer finish. The result is a far sleeker, more modern, more finished look
that truly speaks high-end, even while the speakers are sitting silent. To push the sonic
boundaries of the Reference into actual reference territory, all of the model’s components
are new. From the opening notes of „Fanfare for the Common Man,“ Sandy’s first demo
track, it was apparent the new Reference delivered low-frequency depth and extension
that played deeper and fuller than the Triton Ones. The horn and trumpet blasts sounded
intimate and live, full of detail and energy. Another demo track featuring a pipe organ
proved the Reference could reach down to sub-20Hz frequencies and activate all of the
air in the large demo suite, while another featured standing bass with string plucks so
taught and powerful you could feel the airwave punching your chest. All of this bass
energy didn’t come at any expense of speed and detail, as the upper end remained light-
ning quick and responsive. At $8,500/pair, GoldenEar is reaching a new price level with
the Reference, but sonically, they easily rise to the challenge.
CES 2017 Show Report
Carlo Lo Raso – Secrets of Home Theater and High Fidelity
And for the record, I have to agree with my colleagues that these speakers are stunning
piano black columns of stunning awesomeness. Check out this video below of Sandy
Introducing the new Triton Reference to Carlo.
Stars of CES 2017: The Best Audio Products of CES
Andy Clough – WHAT HI-FI?
GoldenEar Technology has taken the wraps off its flagship speakers at CES: the Triton
Reference. These new speakers sit above the Triton One, the company’s previous range-
toppers which were launched at CES 2014. They aren’t ordinary speakers, though, as
they have multiple drivers and an active subwoofer built into each cabinet. The Triton
References consist of 10 drivers in total. All the components and drivers in the Reference
speakers have been specially developed for its flagship status. To add to the list of accomplishments, these floorstanders use one-piece cabinets, and are only available with
a piano, gloss black lacquer finish. For all the drivers and technology on show, you’d think
the Triton Reference would have an eye-watering price tag. But, true to GoldenEar’s philo-
sophy of making „high-end affordable“, the speakers are priced at a reasonable $4250/each
and go on sale in April. To watch a short video about the „Star of CES 2017“ Triton Refe-
rence, taken at the GoldenEar CES exhibit, Click Here.
Audioholics
Tony Leotta
With a slogan of „We make high end affordable“ and some great engineers, speaker com-
pany Goldenear hit the market three years ago with their acclaimed Triton One Tower
speaker. Over the last three years they have come out with different albeit smaller ver-
sions of the Triton One. All extraordinarily well built speakers designed for great sound at
a great price. This week Goldenear won the prestigious and coveted CES Innovations
Design and Engineering Award when they introduced their Triton Reference edition speaker
at CES in Las Vegas. A bigger, badder, redesigned Triton tower speaker to give you even
more bang for your buck. We heard the Triton Reference at CES 2017 with GoldenEar
founder Sandy Gross playing DJ/Ringmaster. With back to back Brian Wilson tracks, an
older, Beach Boys-era preceded a more recent solo track, the Triton Reference were
articulate in revealing the slightly more feeble presentation of Wilson’s modern voice,
spacious in their stereo presentation (with the speakers positioned in a standard
equilateral triangle configuration from the sweet spot). They looked great in gloss black
without giving up their modern, understated GoldenEar trademark look. Check out the
video interview below with Sandy Gross describing the goals and process in designing
the Triton Reference speakers.
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| Sandy Gross Audioholics CES 2017 Interview: The Triton Reference |
Part Time Audiophile – CES 2017 Day 3
Rafe Arnott
Sandy Gross of GoldenEar Technology has been very busy. He was showing his latest
Flagship speaker design, the Triton Reference this weekend in Vegas, and there was a inconsiderable amount of buzz in the hallways of the Venetian among show goers who
had either heard a demo of the loudspeaker, or were planning to go hear them. The 12 Hz
– 35 kHz capable, and 93.25 dB efficient Reference has already bagged a CES Innovations
Design and Engineering Award, I’m assuming because: A) They look good in a room (despi-
te their size, they actually blend into the background somehow). B) They have an absolu-
tely sobering amount of deep, controlled bass, fantastic imaging (even in the near field,
and off-axis), tick all the boxes for clean, dynamic portrayal of instruments, and espe-
cially voices, and C) Cost all of $8,500/pr USD. Getting juiced by a pair of Pass Labs
XS150 monoblocks, and a PS Audio Directstream Memory Player, this was a sound I wish
I had more time to spend listening to.
Best High Fidelity Speaker of CES 2017
Gary Merson – HD Guru
At the suggested retail of $4249 each, the Triton Reference is a veritable bargain in the
very high end space. We were highly impressed with the authenticity of sound generated
by the Triton Reference speaker system. The midrange for vocals was neutral while the
top-end made vibraphones and cymbals come alive. From our brief demo, it sounded as
if we were seated stage left at the Village Vanguard.
Triton Reference Sets New Performance Benchmark
Robert Archer – CEPro
Few people understand the consumer audio market like GoldenEar’s co-founder Sandy
Gross. Throughout his career, the long-time consumer electronics veteran has remained
lockstep in line with the balance most consumers demand from speaker companies and
their desire for sound quality at reasonable prices. At CES 2017, the company has intro-
duced its new flagship Triton Reference loudspeaker. Building upon the success of its
Triton One, which was announced back in 2014, GoldenEar is setting a new performance
bar that also provides dealers with a competitively priced product they can provide to
their customers. Using the Triton One as a starting point, the new flagship Triton Refe-
rence loudspeaker utilizes a completely new set of drivers, and GoldenEar emphasizes
the drivers are specifically designed for the Reference product.
GoldenEar Triton Reference Speakers at CES 2017
Mark Henninger – AVS Forum
By introducing the Triton Reference at CES 2017, GoldenEar Technology is taking on the stratospherically priced five-figure super-systems that define high-end audio with a spea-
ker that’s available for four figures. Priced at $4249 each, the company’s new flagship
seeks to raise the performance bar without forcing audiophiles into bankruptcy. First up,
Pictures at an Exhibition: by Jean Victor Arthur Guillou. Orchestral, delivering extreme low
notes that show off the bass prowess of these impressive towers thanks to the pipe
organ. Really clean and ethereal, it fills the modest hotel room with concert hall-like
sound. The rendition of Rutter’s Requiem: Pie Jesu featuring the Turtle Creek Choral,
which I have heard many times on numerous systems, delivered 20 Hz and 16 Hz organ
with deftness and gravity that typically requires very competent subwoofers to pull off
properly. The choir showed that these speakers can render an impressive soundfield that
is deep, wide, and of proper scale. Next up was The Beach Boys In My Room. Frankly,
I did not know the recording would sound that good, delivering an impressive soundstage.
The harmonies were expertly rendered by the system, which was powered by a pair of
beastly Pass Labs Xs 150 amps.
GoldenEar Wins Award at CES
Greg Borrowman – Australian Hi-Fi
GoldenEar has released a new flagship at CES 2017: the Triton Reference, which has
already been awarded a CES Innovations Design and Engineering Award. Like previous
Triton models, the new Reference is a hybrid model, combining an active subwoofer with
passive drivers for the higher frequencies. „We knew that our Triton One would be a very
hard act to follow,“ said Sandy Gross, of GoldenEar. „We even thought about producing
a speaker that would cost over $100,000 to compete with the most esoteric and expen-
sive loudspeakers on the planet. However, after much soul-searching, rational minds
won out, and the decision was made to create a new GoldenEar flagship that would
joust with the best, but would still stick to our trademarked slogan, ‚We Make High-End Affordable‘.“
The Absolute Sound CES 2017 Show Reports
Jonathan Valin – Best of Show (for the money): Sandy Gross‘ GoldenEar Triton Reference.
A whole lot of loudspeaker for $8500/pair.
Robert Harley – Best Sound (for the money): GoldenEar Triton Reference ($8500/pr)
driven by Pass Labs electronics.
Julie Mullins – Best Sound (For the Money): GoldenEar Triton Reference speakers
($8500/pr) driven by Pass Labs Xs 150 monoblocks with a PS Audio DirectStream Memory
player digital source.
Neil Gader – The Five Most Significant CES 2017 Introductions
What loudspeaker line would be complete without a reference model? GoldenEar unwrap-
pedits effort at CES, and to say it merely succeeded does not do the Triton Reference
justice.Looming at a height of nearly five feet and equipped with 1800W of digital DSP amplification, the hybrid design features new components throughout including two 6″
upper/bass/midrange drivers and three 6″x10″ active low-frequency drivers (plus four
passive planar radiators) for the built-in powered subwoofers. Also new is a „Focused
Field“ magnet structure, which better directs the magnet flux to the voicecoil gap. The High-Velocity Folded-Ribbon tweeter has also been reworked and incorporates 50% more
rare-earth neodymium magnet material. Driven by Pass Labs monoblocks and a PS Audio
Memory Player, the Ref’s scaling of images and ambience retrieval make it reminiscent of
many planar or electrostatic designs. Dynamics from pipe organ or Kodo drummers were
deep and explosive, but it was the overall delicacy and detail of low-level voices that won
the day for me. (Neil also honored the Triton Reference with „Best Sound for the Money“
Giving us 4 for 4 with The Absolute Sound Show Report posters!)
