I recently upgraded to the Triton Ones with a SCXXL. This was an upgrade from my 8 year old Axiom M60s. To say this was an upgrade would be a drastic understatement I guess. I've been reading about GoldenEar for a couple years now, deciding what my next upgrade would be. I went to my closest dealer to audition them that's about an hour from me, Audio Advice in Charlotte, NC. I tried out other brands, with Martin Logan sounding the best to my ears among the non-GoldenEar, but they were certainly lacking in bass that the Ones had and would definitely need at least one sub in my room to have a complete sound. I listened to the Fives and the Threes also.

I seriously considered adding an additional 2 channel amp or mono blocks for the Ones but can't justify the cost. The same for a dedicated pre-amp. I currently have a 5.2 system, with a five channel Parasound 5250v.2 amp that's powering the towers and center. Connected to that is a Denon X4000 using it's XT32 auto correction software and powering the surrounds (Axiom QS8s).

Other than installing beefier cables (Blue Jeans) and surge protectors, I haven't upgraded anything else. I feel as though I should given that these are $5k speakers. I had intentions of getting the Parasound A21 with the P7 pre-amp, but due to already having a rather substantial dedicated quality amp at 250 W per channel I decided to save the money. What I am considering is the source. Currently I'm using my PC with Windows 10 connected via HDMI to the Denon, and a PS3 for Blu-ray. The Oppo 105D seems like a good candidate for upgrade with the audiophile DAC and many other features, SACD that I'm curious on how sounds. Though with this I would lose the auto correction software that my irregular room most likely needs. Also looking at possibly an upgraded separate DAC from the one the Denon uses

Lots of experimentation to be done to obtain the best sound I can get. The room is just under 3000 cu ft. More room treatments, tower positions, bass settings on each tower, etc all things to look at, but I don't think I'm going to spend anymore money. I have, however started using TIDAL HiFi and have noticed a noticeable improvement in the quality of the music I listen to. This might have been a change much greater than any amp or pre-amp upgrade could have made.

For music, it definitely seems the Triton Ones are best without the use of an additional sub (of which I have two PSA XS30). For movies, though I may decide to keep one sub going. The bass seems either too much or not enough depending on the position of knobs on the back. Lots of playing around to do. Almost wish I got the Triton Fives (almost).

Kabob,

Congrats and welcome to the forum! Sounds like great gear. Have you considered adding the Halo Integrated amp by Parasound? That would likely be a great addition. It should mate well with your other Parasound amp and give you a significant boost in SQ for stereo music.

Cheers,

T Cobe

Kanob wrote: I recently upgraded to the Triton Ones with a SCXXL. This was an upgrade from my 8 year old Axiom M60s. To say this was an upgrade would be a drastic understatement I guess. I've been reading about GoldenEar for a couple years now, deciding what my next upgrade would be. I went to my closest dealer to audition them that's about an hour from me, Audio Advice in Charlotte, NC. I tried out other brands, with Martin Logan sounding the best to my ears among the non-GoldenEar, but they were certainly lacking in bass that the Ones had and would definitely need at least one sub in my room to have a complete sound. I listened to the Fives and the Threes also.

I seriously considered adding an additional 2 channel amp or mono blocks for the Ones but can't justify the cost. The same for a dedicated pre-amp. I currently have a 5.2 system, with a five channel Parasound 5250v.2 amp that's powering the towers and center. Connected to that is a Denon X4000 using it's XT32 auto correction software and powering the surrounds (Axiom QS8s).

Other than installing beefier cables (Blue Jeans) and surge protectors, I haven't upgraded anything else. I feel as though I should given that these are $5k speakers. I had intentions of getting the Parasound A21 with the P7 pre-amp, but due to already having a rather substantial dedicated quality amp at 250 W per channel I decided to save the money. What I am considering is the source. Currently I'm using my PC with Windows 10 connected via HDMI to the Denon, and a PS3 for Blu-ray. The Oppo 105D seems like a good candidate for upgrade with the audiophile DAC and many other features, SACD that I'm curious on how sounds. Though with this I would lose the auto correction software that my irregular room most likely needs. Also looking at possibly an upgraded separate DAC from the one the Denon uses

Lots of experimentation to be done to obtain the best sound I can get. The room is just under 3000 cu ft. More room treatments, tower positions, bass settings on each tower, etc all things to look at, but I don't think I'm going to spend anymore money. I have, however started using TIDAL HiFi and have noticed a noticeable improvement in the quality of the music I listen to. This might have been a change much greater than any amp or pre-amp upgrade could have made.

For music, it definitely seems the Triton Ones are best without the use of an additional sub (of which I have two PSA XS30). For movies, though I may decide to keep one sub going. The bass seems either too much or not enough depending on the position of knobs on the back. Lots of playing around to do. Almost wish I got the Triton Fives (almost).

Congrats on the purchase of the T1s! Yeah, I love the Martin Logan sound, it's one of my favorite all time speakers. But the T1s would have more bass for sure. That said, I like the way my T1s sound WITH subwoofers, which I know sounds crazy, but I like TONS on bass, so my dual 18" subs are able to achieve things that even the T1s cannot do (115dB from 16-60Hz @ under 1% THD for example).

Not sure why you would need an additional 2-channel power amp? That Parasound you have should be quite enough of an amp in 2-channel mode.

You say you almost with you got the T5s. Funny you say that - I wonder the same thing but haven't heard the 5s. Since I cross my T1s at 60Hz, I wonder if the 5s could pull that feat off comparable to the T1s. Oh well, I have T1s, and never going to be unsatisfied.

Your Denon X4000 - I'm surprised you aren't able to dial-in your room and bass without extensive tweaking? I assume you did the sub crawl or used REW and a microphone to confirm your subwoofer locations? That AVR has Audyssesy and should be able to get everything dialed in. My Marantz SR7010 sounded great without room correction, but after I ran Audyssey, I was amazed at how the main listening position transformed into a sweet spot that was truly amazing. It sounded good before, but when I sit in the sweet spot, all 11 channels are pointed right at me and the whole 3,000 cu ft room (same size as yours) opened up into the scene that was playing on the TV. Even 2-channel music is better when the subs are on. That said, the trick to room correction software is to flatten all bass setting to 0dB gain, run the audyssey, and then adjust your bass settings up or down from there.

Kabob,

Does your Denon have dual sub outs? If so, I would run a splitter out of each and hook up both of your T1 subs to one output and both PSA subs to the other. That would be some crazy bass! Maybe even close to what Murphyslaw197 has...

From there, the calibration will be a little tricky and there would be multiple ways of doing it. With four subs, you'd want each sub around 66dB with the calibration tone. At that point, four subs running at 66dB should put out about 75dB. 69dB with 3 subs. Connecting one sub at a time should do the trick. After that is accomplished, you should be able to run Audessey. After the calibration is accomplished, you can adjust to taste, as Murphyslaw1978 indicated. I'd start by bumping the T1s gain know up to where you enjoy the bass for stereo music.

If Denon has a direct mode for music with no sound processing, that would likely be best for music. I think an integrated amp like the Parasound Halo would give you the bump you would want for better music playback. It also has a pretty solid DAC and phono stage. With the DAC on the Integrated, you may not need an upgraded disc player. That said, the Oppo would be great as well, but you would still be limited by your Denon. In my opinion, Denon's are great for surround sound but are not the most musical sounding receivers.

I recently auditioned an A21 and it sounded fantastic. Combined with the P5 or P7, you would likely get quite a bump for music. Then you could move to a 7.4 or 5.2.4 setup. Bottom line: you've got options! Once you get the T1s dialed in, you won't regret your decision. Patience and persistence will pay huge dividends. Good luck and let us know how things proceed.

Cheers,

T Cobe

I did consider the Parasound Integrated, but again can't justify the price of an additional amp after getting the Ones just yet. The Parasound five channel should be sufficient for now. Audyssey XT32 is still configured for the older Axioms, so the sound is probably way off. Right now dialog in movies is horrible from the SCXXL, I can barely hear the voices so I'll turn it up but then the Ones are blasting way too loud at that point.

I currently only have speaker wire connected to the Ones, and not the LFE. Will Audyssey be best ran with the LFE connections from the Ones to the Denon, or with just the speaker wire connections? Also, is there a default setting to have the bass settings on he ones when setting up Audysses? The manual says start at 12 o'clock and take it up or down from there when using them for the first time, but going at or above that setting proves to be way too much bass.

Kanob,

Rome wasn't built in a day. Adding an integrated amp with home theater bypass can certainly be a later add on. There's no need to rush. It sounds like your more pressing issue is your AVR.

My first advice is to go to Sandy's Setup tips and get your T1s hooked up and positioned properly, as well as your SCXXL. Then, turn off Audessey and perform a good manual calibration with a sound level meter or app on a mobile phone to act as a sound meter. There is no way that your SCXXL should sound like that. You may want to make sure that it is hooked up in phase. After you perform a manual calibration, let us know how it sounds.

Several of us here are not Audessey fans. When I was running my Integra AVR, I left Audessey off. If you want to use it, you may need to run the calibration several times to get the sound right.

Don't get discouraged. Patience will pay off! Start from square one and redo your settings. BTW, I have my gain knob for the T1s at the 12:00 position and use LFE and speaker level inputs. I have my processor set to sub yes and my T1s set to full range. The SCXXL should probably be crossed over somewhere between 60 and 80 Hz. I'd pick a scene with some great dialogue and adjust the crossover up and down until you get it right where you want it. Please let us know how things proceed and if you have any more questions.

Cheers,

T Cobe