# GoldenEar Unveils Its New Flagship Speaker: Triton Reference



## Todd Anderson (Jul 24, 2009)

GoldenEar Technology’s slogan is “We Make High-End Affordable.” It’s a relatively simple statement of fact that, fortunately for the masses, rings true to its core. Take GoldenEar’s longstanding flagship floorstander the Triton One. Over the last several years, Triton One has grabbed significant attention at its price point, wowing reviewers and listeners alike. Speaking from experience, it’s a speaker that dazzles the ears with potent bass, razor sharp imaging, and balance across frequencies. 

By all accounts, the fine folks at GoldenEar have enjoyed the successes of Triton One, but have also been plotting to develop something even better. Internal discussions originally touched on developing an ultra-high-end speaker to challenge competition in the six-figure realm. But, ultimately, the company settled on redefining quality and performance at a cost more in line with what typical buyers find realistic. Today, GoldenEar is unveiling its new creation by introducing the world to Triton Reference.

On the outside, Triton Reference carries forward physical styling cues that GoldenEar fans love. What’s missing is the thin external sock that exists on other Triton models. Reference, instead, features an eye-catching hand-rubbed piano gloss black lacquer finished monocoque cabinet. It’s a stately look that certainly makes Reference standout from other floorstanders in the Triton series.

On the inside, Triton Reference is loaded with innovation, sporting brand new components specifically designed for the speaker. That means new active bass drivers with advanced amp and 56-bit DSP control units, new upper bass/midrange drivers, and a new high-velocity folded ribbon tweeter designed with 50-percent more rare-earth neodymium magnetic material than other GoldenEar HVFR tweeters. In addition, Triton Reference carries a redesigned balanced crossover specifically engineered to Triton Reference’s needs. This is topped off by other refinements including newly designed internal wiring and cabinet bracing, a proprietary mix of long-fiber lamb’s wool and Dacron damping material, a 3/32-inch thick steel plate built into the medite base for better stability, and new stainless steel floor spikes and cups. 













GoldenEar says its new 6-inch upper bass/midrange drivers are cast-basket units that pair a low-mass voice coil to a new cone with unique low-mass bonding to a butyl rubber surround. The driver’s “Focused Field” magnetic structure provides better direction of magnet flux to the voice coil gap. On the low end, Reference’s 6-inch x 10-inch active low bass drivers have a whopping 40-percent greater surface area than those found on the Triton One. That additional size is tuned by the same Focused Field technology found on the upper bass/mid-range drivers. 

All of this design and refinement results in a speaker that offers bass extension flat to 20 Hz, high frequency performance to 35 kHz, and an amp-friendly sensitivity of 93.25 dB. GoldenEar says “tremendous time and energy has been put into the voicing of the speaker [with] seamless blending of the drivers” for an experience that matches the needs of any sourced material. If Triton One's performance characteristics are any indication, GoldenEar most likely has a gem on its hands.

GoldenEar will begin shipping Triton Reference during Spring 2017 for $8,500 per pair. The speaker is making its world debut, today, at CES 2017 (Venetian, Suite 30-120).

For more information, visit GoldenEar.com.

_Image Credits: GoldenEar Technology_


*Triton Reference Specifications:*
Dimensions: Speaker: 6-3/4" W (front) x 9-1/4" W (rear) x 18-3/4" D x 58" H (with base)
Base: 13-1/2" W x 22-1/4" D.
Frequency Response: 12 Hz – 35 kHz.
Efficiency: 93.25 dB; Rec. Amp: 20 – 750 Watts/channel.

Nominal Impedance: Compatible with 8 ohms.
Built-In Subwoofer Power Amplifier: 1800-Watt ForceField digital/DSP amplifier 
Driver Complement:

Three 6" x 10" long-throw quadratic sub-bass drivers coupled to 
Four Inertially-Balanced 10-1/4" x 9-1/2" planar infrasonic radiators
Two 6" high-definition cast-basket MVPP mid/bass drivers
One High-Gauss Neodymium High-Velocity Folded Ribbon (HFVR™) Tweeter


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## Tonto (Jun 30, 2007)

Very nice looking speaker. But then again, a quality company! I bet they sound great. Are we planning a review?


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## Todd Anderson (Jul 24, 2009)

I'll certainly be asking! ;-)


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## Dwight Angus (Dec 17, 2007)

They look stunning. Already told my dealer I would like an audition when available. They are expected sometime during 1st qtr 2017.


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## willis7469 (Jan 31, 2014)

Drool.....
Those look fantastic, as do the specs. Dream dream dream...


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## kevin360 (Oct 4, 2012)

willis7469 said:


> Drool.....
> Those look fantastic, as do the specs. Dream dream dream...


I hear ya! Of course, I may as well just wipe my chin - ain't gonna happen. I bought my last pair of speakers a year ago. They are similar to these and have aircraft aluminum enclosures, but they don't have a folded ribbon for a tweeter and the bass engine in this unit is definitely more impressive, although Definitive's ST-L is no slouch in the bass dept. Then again, one can just distribute an array of dedicated subs. :wink2: Regardless, that looks to be a fine loudspeaker, and I'd love to have a pair (as long as I could obtain a matching center), or two.


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