From Montis to Salon 2's to Goldenear Triton One's (My speaker journey is here)

Hi there guys,
As you know i had originally owned a pair of Montis which helped me voice a lot of different amplifiers (see my other thread where i comment on these) and so i had a great opportunity to grab a pair of Salon 2s at a great price so i decided to jump on these based on pure reviews out there and i was fortunate to have a buyer for my Montis.
With that said, i brought the salon 2's home and it has been a bit of a "struggle". Why you may ask? Well, the Salons have the power sucking ability that i have never seen EVER on any speaker. Harman does not even disclose their power handling capabilities which pretty much makes you wonder how much power do they really need?
Well, i first tried my current Classe CT-M600S which are rated at 600 watts into 8ohms and 1200 watts into 4ohms. I proceeded to play music at many different levels and simply put, the salons simply DO NOT produce the bass output i was expecting from such huge cabinets. i played with their positioning, and even placed them inches away from the front wall and put my couch up against the back wall which did improve the bass, but i recall the montis having much better bass in my room.
So one day, i came home and decided to close all windows, doors, etc and made sure my neighbors were not home. I went ahead and proceeded to literally BLAST THEM at EAR SPLITTING levels. I must have had the room at 112 Decibels. IT WAS SCARY to say the least how these speakers sound when pushed. They sound like a horse is racing and stomping the ground as it gets closer and closer to you. Just simply downright scary.
however, when played at normal levels, i felt they fall flat on their face. They lose all their magic and "thin out". i finally concluded, after weeks of playing with them that they are a speaker for a HUGE ROOM where you are going to be cranking them up. My room is 20 ft x 15ft and i am about 15ft away from the speakers and it was not big enough for them. I am telling you, the bass was such a disappointment even after i went ahead and decided to buy a KRELL 402E which is known for its bass control. Nope, that was not enough either. Although the speaker does have detail, i have to be honest, they are either too analytical or they just need to be played LOUD to be enjoyed. This is NOT the speaker for the average size room or just someone who wants to listen to music at low volume levels. You are wasting your hard earned money.
With that said, i decided to sell the salons (my friend will be buying them from me next month) and went ahead to listen to multiple other speakers before i decided to just buy another pair of montis.
i went to different stores, listening to magnepan 3.7s, focals, and lastly the Goldenear Triton Ones.
i am pretty familiar with the electrostatic signature sound. I was aware that i might have been spoiled by the montis' soundstage and clarity plus the benefit of a powered subwoofer which REALLY helps in those rooms that need that extra ounce of OOMPH.
I went and auditioned the Triton Ones and i wasn't really impressed because i was listening to material that i am not familiar with. I decided to go on and buy them (at a good price) and thought, well let me take them home and if i don't like them then i will just unload them and go back to the montis.
With with that said, i brought them home. Plugged them in and just threw them in the room ( i spoke to Sandy Gross on the phone before i even connected them so i followed his advice). From the minute i threw them in the room and played them, i KNEW right then and there, i had something magical. What i heard was UNBELIEVABLE!. I had played them MAYBE 30 minutes and i knew i had a speaker i wanted to keep. So much that i returned to the store THE NEXT DAY and bought the matching center XXL.
Guys, being a former electrostatic guy, i gotta tell ya, I don't miss my Montis one bit. These are OUTSTANDING. I get better bass than the Montis had (it has 4 woofers for bass and 1600 watts of power) and i STILL get that crazy detail, but with SUCH BUTTER SMOOTH silky high frequencies that i found myself tapping my foot on the floor as i listened to songs that i am familiar with.
These speakers have such an outstanding amount of detail, driver coherence, and the one thing that it does better is the MASSIVE SWEETSPOT which wasn't the case with the Montis. They also have one key thing, they are EASY TO POSITION. They sound good in just about anywhere in the room. i have even heard things in movies that i never even knew was there before. They are such a joy to listen to AT ANY VOLUME LEVEL.
Bass output? check, huge soundstage? check, imaging? check, easy to position? check, and at a fraction of the cost from many other high end speakers.
If i were to be honest with myself here, i would go as far as to say that they do it more for me than the montis or even the summits did. Why? because these speakers sound good WITH ANY type of material (electrostatics struggle with rock).
If you are thinking of trying something else outside of the electrostatic realm, i urge you to try the Goldenear triton ones. You will remember my words :rocker:

Thanks for sharing the story.

The GoldenEar line is definitely one of the better ones out there. Like ML's non-ESL line, the use of an AMT (folded motion) tweeter is part of the magic. Did you try one of ML's products like the Motion 60?

BTW- Electrostatics can and do rock, it just takes a slightly different design than the typical ESL hybrid.

The big question is what sticks for over a year after the new wears off.

Based on history odds would suggest the half-life of any component in this system is pretty short.

Agreed Mark.

Given Silver's preponderance for "box swapping" and an apparent member of the "flavor of the month" club (no offense intended), I'd give em three months max.

He would be a good manufacturer's rep.

GG

Gordon Gray said:

He would be a good manufacturer's rep.

GG

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If he could get a bunch of people caught up in his journey and buying new equipment all the time to keep up with him, the manufacturers would LOVE him!

Guys,
there is no real need to flame me for trying different stuff. Let's face it, if you guys had the financial means or no wife, or kids as i do, you probably would be trying new stuff all the time as long as you enjoy it. (some of you are more content with one thing and that is it)
i don't keep the same car for more than 3 years. i am telling you that the goldenear triton ones are SPECTACULAR. I don't need anyone to verify it for me. I know first hand that they are amazing and i am right now switching between the salon 2s and the goldenears and i simply like the goldenears better. This is a subjective sport and therefore it becomes a man's opinion (clearly this is my own) so i am not telling you to go out and buy something. i am sharing my thoughts, and journey and that's it. what you do with what i share is all up to you, but i am not here trying to convince anyone to buy anything.

We are not flaming you. We were just commenting that whatever you are loving this very moment may not be here later. That's all.

Sometimes when someone else's priorities are very different from your own it seems funny to you. That is not to say that there is one thing wrong with it!

I used to play on the lake and had a large houseboat and a custom built tournament ski boat. That houseboat was a black hole in the water. One year I dropped a small fortune on it not including the slip fees, fuel, insurance and I still kept it for years despite that. So you could argue that was a huge waste of money, but I have a lot of great memories on the lake. I'm also into photography, videography, have 7 bicycles, and just blew thousands over the Winter tooling up my wood shop.

BTW I just sold a very expensive limited edition RC Helicopter and will be building two other very nice RC Helis this year that are each worth enough for me to replace my stereo system.

We all play in our own way. If swapping out components on your stereo is what you do for fun that is no different than a lot of things that I'm sure many of us do.

Silver,

I agree with Rich's assessment.

I trust you can understand that your comments are a bit hyperbolic and over the top. Almost comes across as an "infomercial" to me.

"You will remember my words". Oh please.

But I'm glad you are happy for the moment.

And I think you would be a good sales person. Some folks do respond to your type of narrative.

GG

Silver,

I enjoy reading about your adventures in audio and I'm interested in your opinions. I'm sure others are too. Enjoy your Krell/Triton combo and please keep us updated on your continuing impressions and any changers you make.

Tom

Is the attached an accurate FR of the Triton One? I found it here: http://www.soundandvision.com/content/goldenear-technology-triton-one-speaker-test-bench

When I started looking for new speakers this spring, the Tritons were the first thing I auditioned. I did listen to the Triton 2's not 1's though. I thought they were really good, but to me at least sounded too much like the Anthony Gallo Ref 3.1s I was looking to replace (MTM with exotic tweeter, maybe a little more bass with the Tritons, but I was using a 4 ch amplifier with active crossover to drive the extra voice coil on the Gallo woofer, claimed LF response into the low 20's). Anyway a very similar sound so I looked elsewhere and ended up with Ethos. I also read your posts and reviews with interest...wish I could swap out equipment as often as you...I'm nat actually married, but the other half does pay attention to what shows up in the listening room. If she new what I paid for the Ethos and the Pass Int-150 I'm driving them with, her head would explode (fortunately she would never think to browse this forum)...Good luck with the triton's...keep us posted.

silver305 said:

If you are thinking of trying something else outside of the electrostatic realm, i urge you to try the Goldenear triton ones. You will remember my words :rocker:

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This is a very interesting to me. I have been a long time Martin Logan customer - first with a pair of Aerius i's and currently with a pair of Vantages plus ML center channel and Grotto i sub. I also have another room which is two channel only where I switch between a number of monitors including Ascend's Sierra 2's (with Raal ribbon tweeter), Polk LSiM703's, and Goldenear's Aon 3's. I have a long history with Sandy Gross speakers including a pair of Polk Model 10's I had when I was a teenager in the Seventies.

I've been thinking what would be my next speaker as my Vantage's age. The next step would be the Montis at about $10k list price. I listened to them many moons ago but put off a purchase decision. I think the Montis is about as big as I can go in my room.

I really like the Aon 3 which shares driver components that are common across the Goldenear line. The Triton One has universally gotten high praise. I believe it. For a list of $5k I think I would be very happy. I would probably get a Goldenear center channel as well to keep things consistent in the front. I'd probably keep the Grotto sub for the moment but would most likely look at the Goldenear sub as well.

In many ways I seem to be like "silver305" since I live alone and can pretty much buy anything I want but prefer to buy the "best value for the money" as opposed to just buying the most expensive thing.

It is interesting to me that I am not the only one who considers the Triton One a worthy speaker to own after owning Martin Logan speakers.

I will say that Martin Logan is still excellent to work with. My less than year old Grotto developed a power supply problem and they very helpfully just sent me replacement boards that I installed myself instead of going to the hassle of shipping a heavy speaker back to them.

Right now Martin Logan seems to focusing on the uber high end that could not physically fit in my house. I wonder if there are any new products in the works in the Vantage to Montis price range?

-CB

I've read some very impressive reviews on the Triton 1's as well. In fact some great comparisons to Martin Logan speakers.

"The smoothness of the transition from driver to driver is absolutely exceptional. In this case, the performance of the Triton One is much akin to what you hear with a great MartinLogan electrostatic speaker where there is no crossover from a tweeter to a mid range driver. "

However, the non-removable cloth sock covering the speaker that has been described as a cat magnet that would get shredded is a deal breaker for me along with the high gloss platistic fingerprint magnet on top.

Aesthetically Martin Logan speakers look much better to my eyes, but the seed for this was planted while I was young and in college.

That said, it looks like the Triton 1's put all the money towards creating high quality sound and not into expensive wood finishing etc..

If I didn't have 4 cats, and the speakers were not so prominent a feature in my den, I could have seen trying a pair.

The current generation of ML electrostats does seem to be cat proof...I've got two.

I have heard Triton 2s and must admit they sound very good. Triton 1s are Motion 60s on steroids. But as most of us agree on this site, no speaker can match MLs when it comes to reproducing human voices and string instruments. And this is precisely why I bought my Theos.

Some people prefer spam over steak.

Hola. Here are some benefits that make the ML electrostatic speaker a clear winner:
1) Big radiating area.
2) There is no need for tweeters
3) The crossover point is very important. The coherence is outstanding due to this crossover point. No phase problems with the mid range and the tweeter speakers. Only one crossover point. The blend with the woofer and the stat panel is near perfect.
4) The panel's diaphragm weights less than the air that it moves!!! Its the fastest driver on Mother Earth.
5) The sense of like live music on your room is palpable.
6) No ear fatigue
7) The heart of the musician(s) is projected in your room with a lifelike performance.
8) The most transparent, crystal clear highs, with the right amount of energy on every musical instrument.
9) Silky strings, with air at the brass, with right timbre at the percussion, good bass response, the best speaker for what you paid and what you got!!!! Usually, speakers costing 4 times more, do not offer the quality of what ML is providing in general terms.
10) The stage is outstanding too.
I really love ML sound! Happy listening!

This thread is a bit old but I found it an interesting read.

I had ML Vantages for a long time and recently upgraded to Montis. A local shop carried Golden Ear and I did audition the Triton 1s. They threw a solid sound stage and image but perhaps I am just too used to the ML sound. I brought my own music and listened to a couple of tracks that I was very familiar with and some of the details that were clear on the Vantages were just missing from the T1s. It may be speaker setup. Or perhaps too many crossovers, which may cause detail to be lost. Either way, some people don't care for all the details that MLs can reveal. I for one really like all the details and nuances that ML brings. I think the T1 is a solid speaker and have a lot of respect for Sandy Gross, so much so that I bought 5 Golden Ear in ceiling Invisa HTR7000 speakers for my home theater room. These HTR7000s were really awesome sounding in-ceilings.

Just seen this thread and read it with interest; some here will know of my exploits with ML's, my current Spire's in particular, which I am still very fond of, to the point that I am often left underwhelmed when hearing many other speakers at shows etc, and don't often expect to be bowled over by something else..

Well, holy cow, I spent some time with the Triton 1's. I'm not interested in what make/ look / price, just sonic excellence, and these have it. I genuinely did not know the retail of them here in the UK until later that day, and went back for another listen in case I was imagining things, no, they certainly have it, remarkable. I will have some here at my place in the spring time for a test period, and i'll take my time and see if they deliver what I think they can with my CF/MBL and my vinyl set up. I'll say nothing until then.

Reds,
Paul.

SCDude said:

This thread is a bit old but I found it an interesting read.

I had ML Vantages for a long time and recently upgraded to Montis. A local shop carried Golden Ear and I did audition the Triton 1s. They threw a solid sound stage and image but perhaps I am just too used to the ML sound. I brought my own music and listened to a couple of tracks that I was very familiar with and some of the details that were clear on the Vantages were just missing from the T1s. It may be speaker setup. Or perhaps too many crossovers, which may cause detail to be lost. Either way, some people don't care for all the details that MLs can reveal. I for one really like all the details and nuances that ML brings. I think the T1 is a solid speaker and have a lot of respect for Sandy Gross, so much so that I bought 5 Golden Ear in ceiling Invisa HTR7000 speakers for my home theater room. These HTR7000s were really awesome sounding in-ceilings.

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The T1 are just blazing banging speakers but they are not very good for critical listening. I would not mind a pair if I was only interested in listening to something like spotify.