Hi all. First post here. This is going to be long so if you bear with me, thanks in advance.

I have been in the A/V game for a long time now and have had systems at various price points over the years. I peaked from a price perspective 5-7 years ago when I had Anthony Gallo Reference 3.1s and an Eastern Electric pre-amp and an old Forte (Nelson Pass design) amp. I filled in with the Gallo balls which were underwhelming (IMO) as surrounds. In the earlier years I owned Paradigm, Mirage, Magnepan, Phase Technology, Omega Hemptones and probably a few other speakers to give you some flavor.

At some point I got a little frustrated with the audio game and sold everything off to pursue my other hobby, photography. A few years later I bought a much more modest system consisting of Klipsch Reference speakers (RF-82ii mains with accompanying surrounds and center) and a mid level Onkyo AVR. I'm basically pretty happy with this system for movies but it is not satisfying my itch for music.

I don't think I'm extracting everything out of the Klipsch speakers due to my mid-tier AVR. But if I upgrade that, I'm going to hit some kind of cap with my Klipsch speakers. In my research process I've come up with some ideas on how to upgrade my whole system over time and hopefully end up happier with both stereo music AND home theater.

So I was going to upgrade my subs (I currently have a pair of Klipsch subs that are just OK). I was about ready to drop $2k on a pair of Power Sound Audio subwoofers. But I realize that is only going to help one component of my system and probably would be a bigger impact on HT. I often play music in "Pure" mode which doesn't even use the subs.

I've always had an eye for GE speakers at my local dealer. So I got to thinking, what if I bought a pair of GE Tritons and didn't buy any subs for now. Continue using the Klipsch center and surrounds for the time being while I save up to expand the system. Ultimately I'd buy a matching GE center speaker. For surrounds I'd like to go with Super Sat 3s to keep them wall mountable with a single screw and keyhole mount. Eventually I'd add subs. To improve the front end, I want to buy a higher end AVR at some point, possibly something from NAD or Anthem.

I know I'm speaking to a biased crowd here but I'm trying to get a reality check on my plan. If I bought say the Triton 2s or 3s, it would probably take me several months to swing the center and surrounds. Then I'd have to decide on buying a new AVR or subs first. I'm partially waiting for Anthem and their peers (Cambridge, NAD, Rotel, etc.) to come out with HDCP 2.2 and Atmos. Not because I HAVE to have them but I just don't want to buy an AVR today and have these companies announce new models at CES in January.

So after all of that, my question is, what are your thoughts on swapping out my mains and subs for Tritons and then building the rest of the system out slowly around that?

Hi Imahawki,
Welcome to the forum!!! Great question.
But it is VERY late here, so just a note right now.
I have the Triton 2s and 3s, and I love my T 2s. The 3s are only pulling surround duty.
I need bass and a sub, but you probably could live with the T 2s for a LONG time with out a sub, for only music, you might never need a sub.
They are that good!!!!! I always say get the best speaker you can afford, you will keep them for a long time, much longer than AVRs and such. The T 2s rock!!!!!

Thanks for the feedback. I'm trying to figure out some options. One thing I'm curious about is if I hook up say the T2s the right way, can I boost the bass a little for movies but not for music? What I'm envisioning is hooking up the T2s via speaker inputs and the LFE input. For movies, I'll tell my AVR I have a sub and can experiment between setting the speakers to large or small. For music I'll use pure direct mode which disables the crossover and doesn't send anything out the LFE channel. So if I did that, I could set the speakers to be flat and they would be flat for music. Then in my AVR, I could go in after I calibrate the subs and boost them by 2-3dB. Would that work? This kind of flexibility is one of the reasons I'm interested in these speakers.

Imahawki,

Welcome to the forum. You're on the right track here. I have my Triton Ones hooked up precisely how you describe and I have plenty of bass for both movies and music. I'm not entirely sure how much additional bass I get with the T1s versus the T2s, but I have a lot of gain to go on the knob of the T1 amp and in my receiver settings. I'm at the 13:00 position for the amp gain on the T1 and at about -8 dB in my receiver. I suspect your T2s would also be quite sufficient.

I will note that I added a rear sub to provide better dispersion but I certainly didn't need it. Your also on track with the receivers. No point in buying an obsolete model now. As another option, you may want to consider the Triton Fives and a subwoofer or two. You have a lot of options with GET and as a former Klipsch owner, I think the sound is way better. This, of course, is just my opinion. Thanks for joining us. Let us know how you get on. Happy hunting.

Cheers,

T Cobe

Depending on youre room size, Bass preference for movie effects. You may be happy with the T1s and not going with a separate sub. I initially thought I was going to add a sub latter on down the line, but after setting up my T1s I don't feel a need for a separate sub.The 1s can hit hard enough for me when called upon to do so. Also the having them integrated in the speaker itself is a major plus in my book as I could never seem to get a separate sub as perfect, and my last sub was a Rel which have loads of adjustment possibilities.

Not sure I can swing the T1 with my other goals for the system. T2 is probably my max budget.