I wanted to know the height of the tweeter in the TREFs.

I am currently in the process of upgrading the feet to the IsoAcoustics GAIA I which will also add some height.

My concern is making sure my ears in my current seating position are somewhat in line with the TREFs tweeter.

Thanks

Hi grg1120, the center of the tweeter used in the Triton Reference is 40.31" from the bottom of its base/plinth. (Please add the height of the feet or spikes to this 40.31" measurement.) Happy Listening!

Hi grg1120,

I'm using the Gaia IIs on my TRefs (and they are fantastic). Those are designed for the weight of these speakers. If you haven't already done so, look on the IsoAcoustics website, and you'll find that information. The Gaia Is are designed for much heavier speakers.

isoacoustics.com/home-audio-isolation-pr...4kT667BoCR7IQAvD_BwE

Charlie

@Charliehatch

Charlie I'm considering the gaia's myself. Question for you as you mentioned that you have the II's. The ice or acoustics website product finder indicates that they recommend the Gaia I's. They further state that the two will work fine , but again , they're recommending the ones (which I understand cost basically double the price). Thoughts?

Also what do you say about the installation procedure , where they recommending that their logo face forward . Are you able to put the feet on with all of the logos facing forward towards the listener? and how would you do that on the reference because if they're towed in for example which mine are , they would then be pointed in the direction of the toe as opposed to straight ahead?

Lastly , I love the height of the Tweeter right now in relation to my primary listening position. by adding these Gaia feet, it's going to raise the speaker off the floor I would guess two inches or so . what are your thoughts on that?

Thank you.

charliehatch wrote:

Hi grg1120,

I'm using the Gaia IIs on my TRefs (and they are fantastic). Those are designed for the weight of these speakers. If you haven't already done so, look on the IsoAcoustics website, and you'll find that information. The Gaia Is are designed for much heavier speakers.

isoacoustics.com/home-audio-isolation-pr...4kT667BoCR7IQAvD_BwE

Charlie

Charlie, according to the isoacoustics website, the gaia 1 is the preferred model for the TRef. Isoacoustics state once you're within 10% of the weight limit, you should use their next level up model.They do state the gaia 2's will work though.

I'm considering the 1's. Can you please describe the improvement you've experienced? Also, do the gaia feet protrude beyond the actual base of the speaker or do the fit underneath (essentially concealed)? Lastly, how would you describe the effect the additional height (albeit less than 2 inches) has had on the tweeter listening position, which ideally is ear level?

Thank you.

Hi GDHAL,

Thanks for correcting me. I haven't been to the IsoAcoustics site in a while. As I recall I selected the Gaia IIs based on their weight range charts or data, and at that time the IIs seemed a better fit. Sounds like they've added a speaker lookup, which is a good idea. I'm quite happy with the Gaia IIs, which, as you point out, are significantly cheaper.

On to your questions...

I had been using the TRef spikes and disks, with a thin layer of felt on the bottom of the disks to protect my floors. There was a small height change relative to those supports, but not a lot. I don't know exactly how much it was. Certainly, relative to the original "nubbin" feet, it's a bigger change.

On toe in, my speakers are toed so that the tweeter axes intersect a small distance behind my head. I aligned the logo with the front of the speaker so the logos point along the tweeter axis. I think that is the intent of the manufacturer. You just rotate the Gaias to screw them in and out. One rotation of the logo is a small distance vertically.

I would not say they're "concealed". They (the Gaia IIs anyway) are visible from the side, but they are well tucked under the plinth when viewed from above. They come with several thread adapters, and I used the one that fit the TRefs. I was able to adjust the height of the speakers by screwing them in and out, and I was able put in a bit of forward tilt to aim the tweeters more directly at my listening position. Obviously, the amount of adjustment is limited as you want to keep a substantial amount of screw inside the hole in the plinth for strength and stability. But the range of adjustment is similar to that of the TRef's spike feet.

By the way, the Gaias have thin rubber bottoms that are grippy and make sliding the speaker on a hardwood floor difficult. I tilt the speakers to the side and place towels under the feet, which allows them to slide more easily.

On tilt, if you're a math person, you can measure the distance from your listening position to the tweeters and your ear height. Then, measure the height to the tweeter with the Gaias. If necessary, you can calculate a speaker tilt angle to adjust for the height difference and relate that to how much to back out the rear Gaias or drop the fronts. If your tweeters were originally level with your ears, I think you'll find that the angle from your ears to the tweeter will be quite small. (I've often wondered how much that affects the sound. There is probably an interference pattern caused by vertical misalignment of the two d'Appolito midrange drivers, but I've been too lazy to calculate that one! There can also be small time arrival differences for impulse sounds from the two midrange drivers. I think that's potentially more of a sound quality issue than the slight change in the tweeter orientation.)

To get an idea of how sensitive the speakers are to tilt, find the Stereophile review. In that review, John Atkinson measures the changes in the sound with vertical misalignment. Search for "Triton Reference Stereophile". I think a small vertical misalignment is probably not a big deal. (Jeeze, and after you did all that math!)

The improvement. I had expected no difference, but there was an immediate sense of improved upper midrange clarity. I was surprised that they made that much of a difference. Of course, your mileage may vary.

Good luck! And please let us know how your experience is.

Charlie