rjohn79395 wrote: I'm glad to see others playing with adding other, including rear, speakers to listen to stereo music!

I usually play front/center/rear with the same objective: keep the soundstage in front, and use the center and rear channels to enhance, but not distract from the front soundstage.

I started with T2's fronts,SuperSat 50c center and Invisa 525's rears, and progressed in stages to T1's front. SC XL center and T2's rear. The way GE speakers merge their tonality has always amazed me. I doubt you could achieve similar merging of sounds with speakers of differing manufacturers. I've never been unhappy with any of the combinations of GE speakers I've listened to. (I just keep auditioning new GE products and loving them.)

I think the better the rear speakers, the more they add to sound quality (there's a lot more content in stereo music sent to rear speakers than 5.1 inputs). I like the idea of getting T2's for the fronts and moving the T7's to rears.

Re T2's.. they are truly great speakers.

I doubt there's a combination of GE speaker's you wouldn't love listening to!

Rick

Hi Rick,

Thanks for your reply. Since I last posted, I have had an opportunity to audition T1s and, breifly, T2s. Since you own both T1s and T2s, please comment upon why you upgraded to T1s for your front speakers. Next week, I hope to have an opportunity to audition both T1s and T2s "side by side". My lsitening area is about 20 x 18 with my listening spot about 12 feet away from my front speakers. Also, I am able to bi-amp the "rear-front" speakers. As both a T1 and T2 owner, I would value your "side by side" comments.

Thanks,

Art

Hi, Art

I, like Wayne, LOVE clean, pure bass (see my "NAD T757 driving Triton 2 Cinema system" posts). I eventually solved most of my bass management issues by adding an LFE connection to the T2's, and by adding an NAD 275BEE amp to power the front T2's to take the load off of an NAD T757 AVR trying to power 7 channels.

I loved the T2's from the start, but wanted bass in spades in addition . I auditioned the T1's shortly after they came out, out of curiosity. I couldn't believe the bass! Or the detail, nuance, smoothness. The moderator at some point said the 2 T1's can produce more bass than 2 FF5 subwoofers. All I know is that two T1's and two T2's produce more bass in music or 5.1 or 7.1 mode than I could ever have wanted improved. I'm bass satiated in any mode I play! I have no desire whatsoever to add any subwoofers... 4 is all I want or need from the 4 Triton towers.

I'd recommend auditioning both the T1's and T2's side by side, same power source and same listening room, with CD's you like and are familiar with. I don't think you can go wrong with either!

Re selling the T7's vs. keeping them.. I considered selling the T2's when I got the T1's, but finally decided they were a better addition to the rear channel than any discounted value I could have gotten by selling them.

The beauty of all this is that no matter what decision you make, you'll love the sound! I listen to my system hours per day for music (streamed, CD) , tv, movies, DVD, and can't imagine a better investment. Years of enjoyment coming up.

Rick

rjohn79395 wrote: Hi, Art

I, like Wayne, LOVE clean, pure bass (see my "NAD T757 driving Triton 2 Cinema system" posts). I eventually solved most of my bass management issues by adding an LFE connection to the T2's, and by adding an NAD 275BEE amp to power the front T2's to take the load off of an NAD T757 AVR trying to power 7 channels.

I loved the T2's from the start, but wanted bass in spades in addition . I auditioned the T1's shortly after they came out, out of curiosity. I couldn't believe the bass! Or the detail, nuance, smoothness. The moderator at some point said the 2 T1's can produce more bass than 2 FF5 subwoofers. All I know is that two T1's and two T2's produce more bass in music or 5.1 or 7.1 mode than I could ever have wanted improved. I'm bass satiated in any mode I play! I have no desire whatsoever to add any subwoofers... 4 is all I want or need from the 4 Triton towers.

I'd recommend auditioning both the T1's and T2's side by side, same power source and same listening room, with CD's you like and are familiar with. I don't think you can go wrong with either!

Re selling the T7's vs. keeping them.. I considered selling the T2's when I got the T1's, but finally decided they were a better addition to the rear channel than any discounted value I could have gotten by selling them.

The beauty of all this is that no matter what decision you make, you'll love the sound! I listen to my system hours per day for music (streamed, CD) , tv, movies, DVD, and can't imagine a better investment. Years of enjoyment coming up.

Rick

Hi Rick,

Again, thanks for your quick and detailed reply. I appreciate your comments about desiring as much bass as you could muster. I listen primarily to classical music - both choral and orchestral. I also listen to combo jazz (Brubeck, Tommy Flanagan, and the like). When I'm listening to jazz I like clean acoustic bass, deep but not overly "thumpy". When I listen to orchestral classical music, I like clean tonal deep bass, especially with regard to double basses being bowed. I also like clean deep tonal bass with pipe organ recordings. My large powered Paradigm subwoofer supplies plenty of bass. However, I also like the concept of the powered subs incorporated into the T1s and T2s. I was especially impressed with the T1s ability to handle mid bass and deep bass smoothly without an apparent "crossover" between the sounds. But, just adding more rumble is not what I am seeking. One of the delights of my T7s is their mid and upper range clarity. The T1s mirrored this capability - I was not able to listen to the T2s long enough to draw any conclusions about their mid and upper range performance. I am not an audiophile - not by choice, but by budget. But, like you, I listen to music for hours most days. So, if the T2s perform nearly as well as the T1s in the mid and upper ranges, they may very well suit me - especially with my T7s then moved to the rear of the room and driven by my separate amplifier in the "pure direct" listening mode.

I would appreciate any additional comments you would care to provide regarding your T1s versus your T2s. Since you started with T2s, then upgraded to T1s, wee there sonic factors other than deeper and stronger bass in that decision?

I couldn't reply sooner because I needed some time for some critical listening with the T 2's.

I don't listen to choral music-sorry but vocals are superb with T 2's! Very life like but I'm sure T 7's are wonderful too.
Mid bass /string bass -Yo Yo Ma as realistic to live as I've heard. Those built in subs make a difference!
Classical string sections-A+ they have the dynamics of live volume you probably can't get with your T 7's-again I've never heard the T 7's. Tympani almost there but the downside in my opinion is: For me to get performance equal to a stand alone sub {and I have plenty!} I need to turn up the sub control on the T 2's to the 2o'clock position and play them loud-95-100dB. If you don't mind cranking a little I feel they equal the performance of a single FF5. Listen to Sandy's test track Copland Fanfare for The Common Man-The T 2's have the dynamics/power I don't believe you can get with the T 7's. That brass is loud in a live performance! {Especially if you have a medium to large space to fill.} Pipe organ:A- My go to test is Saint-Saens Symphony #3. Even at this volume the T 2's do not get the room lock that physical feeling in the gut the wall/window shaking bass a high level stand alone sub can achieve. Now I'm a rocker and I need this performance for electronic synth music! For your purposes choral/classical I don't think you need to go down that road. But you say you set your sub at 40 hZ. You might want to kick it up to 60 hZ for a little more mid bass slam. I looked up your sub: ported-14" 300 watts-sounds great for movies but not as tight as a sealed sub which is optimal for music. I'm talking JL Audio or REL quality. Looking forward to GE's new subs coming this summer. Of course now we're talking $2,000 for a really high quality sub.

So if $ is not the deciding factor sounds like the Triton 1's do it all!

Looking forward to see which way you go????

Art,

You're on the right track. Audition both for yourself and see which you find the best fit. I'm currently transitioning from a Paradigm Monitor series set up and have the DSP-3400 as well and have had a difficult time integrating it with my Aons, so I concur with wweiss 100%. The 3400 is just not as musical as the Triton's built in subs.

I recently auditioned both the T1s and T2s with a trusted advisor that has a much more experienced ear than I hoping we would come to the conclusion that the T1 was not worth the $2,000 premium over the T2s. Long story short, I'm saving up for the T1s... Both are great but to me, the T1s are worth the step up. I will say that the bass on either is very well integrated and way more than you would need for music. I think I listened to both around the 10 o'clock position and they were well balanced at that level. I have not heard either in a theater set up.

Try to find a dealer that can switch between the two models quickly and you will most definitely hear the difference. Ultimately, it's up to you to decide on what works best for you. Each of the Triton's are a great value! One word of warning, if you do not want to or cannot spend $5k on a pair of towers, don't taunt yourself by listening to the T1s. Good luck and please share your findings.

Cheers,

T Cobe

Hi Rick and T Cobe,

Thanks to both of you for your very insightful replies. I am looking forward to my hoped-for T1/T2 side-by-side auditioning opportunity next week. I hope to do exactly as you have recommended - listen to both speaker systems with music of my choice and frequent switching between them. Among my several test discs will be my Telarc recordings of the Copland Fanfare for the Common Man and the Saint-Saens "Organ" Symphony # 3. I will use Brubeck's "Dave Digs Disney" for combo jazz with acoustic bass. For vocal, I plan to use my CD reissue of an 1950s recording of the Respighi "Laud to the Nativity" by The Roger Wagner Chorale.

My home system configuration for music listening will be to drive the T1s or T2s in the front with my Onkyo NR 3009 set to the "Pure Direct" mode and to drive the T7s in the rear with my Denon AVR-790, also set to the "Pure Direct" mode. My Paradigm DSP 3400 sub is already located in the center rear of my room, sitting on a furniture dolly on 3" casters, so I'll connect it to the Denon' LFE output. I expect to experiment with the T1s or T2s with the sub sections being either driven separately from the Onkyo's LFE output, or connected directly to the Onkyo's front L/R outputs.

Rick - as a "Rocker", you might be interested to know that I grew up in Memphis in the 1950s and that I knew both Steve Cropper and Donald "Duck" Dunn - both guys were both in my high school home room for three years (1957-1959). I worked in the music business part time during college in Memphis (a record store) and one of my jobs was to visit local record distributors to pick up records for the store. Along the way, I met Elvis, Carl Perkins, and Jerry Lee Lewis. Elvis brought his combo to my high school for a show in 1958.

From a business opportunity in the mid 2000s before I retired, I had the good fortune to spend some time with Hartley Peavy. Hartley is my age (73), so we had some common interests to discuss, other than our business relationship.

My interest in choral music stems from my being a choral singer since the early 1990s. I have had the good fortune to sing with very good choral groups in Huntsville Alabama, Racine Wisconsin, and Johnson City Tennessee. Through these groups, I have also had the opportunity to sing a number of major classical works with full symphony orchestras - Carmina Burana, Beethoven 9th, Brahms Requiem, Verdi Requiem, Vaughn Williams Hodie, etc.

Enough for now. I have enjoyed this dialogue and look forward to more of the same.

Best to you both,

Art