Benchmark AHB2 for $3500 is the winner here for sound quality/cost ratio. Belief in spending more only results in depletion of funds!
Best AMP for GE Triton Reference Speakers
Now that it’s my turn for Christmas, I’m asking for advice on what AMP users would suggest using with GoldenEar Triton Reference speakers? My budget is 10k, I have a local dealer who will let me bring home and test the amps they carry for a few days each - which include: Parasound JC5, Anthem STR, McIntosh MC312 and MC462, and Rotel’s Michi S5. Are there any other brands/ manufactures you would suggest checking out?
For more details: This is a dual-purpose room; listening room/ home theater but with an emphasis on music over movies. The room is well treated to reduce echo, but far from "dead sounding." The dimensions are 12 ft wide, 20 feet deep, and 8.5ft ceilings. I am looking for a neutral, resolving and detailed amp over warmth or musicality without sounding too lean esp in the midrange. I also don’t want to go below 200 watts for home theater purposes, so I believe that a tube amp is out of the question. I’m hoping to make a purchase decision on or around January 10th. I appreciate everyone’s input in advance. I also listen to a variety of music, but lean towards rock music and usually at mid listening levels (70 to 80 SPL) but with movies that can go quite a bit louder with explosions/ etc.
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I heard these speakers a few times at different dealers and at the AXPONA audio show chatting with Mr. Gross. By far the best sound (and the only time I actually liked their sound) was at AXPONA driven by a PrimLuna EVO 400 tube amp (70 watts / channel). The sound was really nice with a variety of music. I would suggest you strongly consider this option and bear in mind- 1) They have powered, active lower bass woofers (100 Hz and below) 2) The tube amp would drive the tweeter and two 6 inch woofers above 100 Hz only and they are 93db super efficient. 3) The sonics with the Primaluna were exemplary, very musical and easy on the ears. Hearing the Triton Refs with BAT and McIntosh solid state perviously they sounded awful for some reason. 4) The room at AXPONA was a small banquet room, not a hotel room. With a good sized crowd and doors open to the lobby the volume level was impressive and the bass response was incredible- better than most subwoofers. Your home theater explosions will be handled by the internally powered bass drivers. For your reference. Based on what I heard a good robust tube amp is a no brainer. |
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McIntosh is out. I stopped at the dealer today and listened to them paired with a couple of MCs. They were great at a lot of things, but string instruments sounded off to me especially in the mid to higher range. The sales guy said something about McIntosh eliminating harmonic distortion? I don’t know, but strings in particular sounded off to me. Tons of power, great dynamics, great bass, but slightly depleted midrange from what I’m used to. Good detail, musical but not analytical. They were far from fatiguing, slightly warm. But, just not as accurate as I would like. (And great sound stage/ imaging…)
Avanti, I see and understand your point. And, I will check out premaluna. (Gross has used everything from PS Audio, to Peachtree to Firstwatt, to Prema too… I’m wondering if going with a solid state amp with a prema preamp could be the ticket?) These are sensitive speakers, but they do seem to do better with more power. The sales guy said for what I’m looking for, the Anthem would be my best bet. But, I’ll go in over the next week or so and judge for myself and keep this posted. (They also don’t have Parasound, but Classe instead…) so, we will see. Thank you everyone!
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@noromance What do you not like about them? (Not trying to argue, just curious of what your thoughts are.) |
The PS Audio BHK 250 also a good hybrid alternative along with Atlas. You can try the BHK 260 in your home with your gear for 30 days too. I've owned one for over five years and driven over a half dozen different speakers with it. I owned Triton 5's for a while and a lean amp is not what you want with Triton speakers long term. I would stick with a hybrid amp and a tube preamp based on my experience if you need to run it for long periods of time. |
I should have said this to start too - but my current Anthem P2 was 1) purchased used and 2) isn't working correctly. And while this is silly, the looks leave a bit to be desired. It still works, and I really like the sound of it, but I notice one channel "blanking" out / distorting at times. Usually, resetting the power fixes it but there have been times I need to reset it 2 to 5 times to get it working right again. Or, in other cases, I have to toggle the balanced/ single ended switch to make it work right. After I get the new amp I'll have it fully serviced and then resell it after making certain it's working correctly. The Benchmark amps look interesting, but I don't like their small size. But, that is an excellent suggestion and I might want to try that out with my office system. Thank you! And the Aesthtix is out because of their warranty. (3 years and non-transferable?) The PS Audio route is an interesting one... I'm really considering ordering in their M1200 monoblocks and testing those out for a bit. And for the price difference the 250 may not be a bad option either. 2 very different amps, but I'd really like to sample them both and see how they sound. And Stereo5 - I listened to the MC312 - I really liked it (so please don't think that I was discounting your system or sound there.) There was more, really good bass, but the top end just sounded a bit warmer than I prefer. I could totally see loving it over time, but I like a slightly less warm, more forward top end than the McIntosh was giving me. (I hope that I'm using the right terms.) There is another dealer nearby that sells Parasound, so I'll go down to that outfit soon to hear that. (I was wrong in my original post, my dealer does not have them.) They also don't have the STR in stock but they said they would order one in asap.
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jpeters568 I’ve heard them a few times at different shows and while, that’s not necessarily the best place to judge any component, it can give a hint at the general capability. On both occasions they were dull, undynamic, and downright bad. On one occasion, the guy giving the demo was making excuses about the room while other rooms sounded great.
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your statement of the speakers being dull, undynamic and just plain bad contradicts my own experience since I own them, and every reviewer from many print and online magazine’s experiences. Are you sure about your statements or is it you just don’t like GE? They are the best sounding speakers I have ever owned over my 50+ years in this hobby. The best thing is I bought mine new which was in the first production run for 8K a pair. They now go for 11K a pair. Your statements do not make any sense to me or the countless others that own them. |
I used to own a pair of Triton 2+ speakers. Not quite the References, for sure, but they were in a fairly small room and were a good fit for the situation. When I got them, I had a Krell FPB-300 that I had owned for about 20 years. This amp was certainly overkill regarding power, but really made the speakers sound quite good. Excellent dynamics, tone and imaging. Unfortunately one channel crapped out on the amp. I had already had it fixed several years earlier, and I took the advice of my local dealer to sell it for parts instead of investing in another repair. I tried a few other amps including a Levinson 383 I owned, Nord NCore monoblocks (with both Sparkos and Sonic Imagery discrete op amps in the buffer board), and finally a Parasound JC5. The JC5 was by far the best with these speakers, although I think it still fell short of the Krell in the warmth and richness of tone. Ultimately, I moved on to different speakers in a different room (and may other subsequent upgrades), but I still feel the Triton 2+ speakers with the Krell was quite satisfying. |
@stereo5 I heard what I heard. Maybe it was just a coincidence that both times were poor experiences. The main thing is you like them. |
I can see where Noromance is coming from to an extent - the speakers can be dull and not very dynamic, but I think it depends on the music being played. If it's fun, dynamic, music, GE's just faithfully reproduce that, no more and no less. They're analytical speakers and pick up on every little tidbit within the music. And, if you're not used to hearing those details - they almost jar you out of enjoying the music at times, I can see and totally understand how people wouldn't like that! And, they have to be setup perfectly within the listening room to get the best from them. (And yes, the room does matter. So, at a show, I can understand them not being that hot. And Stereo5 - you paired your TRefs with a McIntosh. That wasn't my cup of tea from my audition a few days ago. But, I can see and understand why a LOT of people would really like that combo! The bass and lower midrange is great. The top end just seems rolled off to me / what I'm used to. But it's a warm, dynamic, rich sound that isn't harsh at all. It's just not as analytical at the top end as I prefer. I think that the big thing is this. Almost all speakers and electronics that get up over that 1k mark, very few of them sound "bad." B&W 800 series aren't my cup of tea. I really don't like the way that they sound. BUT, they have great detail, pinpoint accuracy within the soundstage, as you go up that line their bass gets better and better, they are very dependent on the electronics being used, but if you get that right, they're really good, and yet, I still don't like their tone. They're GREAT speakers, but just not my taste. Brass sounds off to me a bit with B&W's. But I can totally understand why so many love them and get that. @yogiboy - I get people not liking TRef speakers. They, just like all speakers, aren't for everyone. But, how is it helpful to tell me to dump the speakers, when I'm asking about an amplifier for them? Do you think you're offering anything of value? Or help? Did you even mention another brand of speaker to check out? How is that helpful?
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