CES 2015

After achieving success with 2013's passive Triton Seven mini-tower ($700 each) and last year's powered Triton One flagship ($2,500 each), GoldenEar Technology has plans to introduce another affordable passive tower, the Triton Five.

Scheduled for release this spring, the Five is something of a Seven on steroids: a similar but larger speaker that delivers better dynamics and deeper bass that is said by the manufacturer to only begin rolling off below 30 Hz.

Additionally, some refinements carried over from the Triton One are said to provide better imaging.

Company founder Sandy Gross was on hand at CES 2015 to demo the system in a stereo pair, using (as always) extremely expensive high end electronics and plenty of high quality digital and vinyl content to prove how the speaker stands up to more expensive models. They did sound spectacularly open and transparent, with a wide and deep soundstage on a variety of orchestral, jazz, and pop tracks. Among them was a CD rip-from-vinyl of a 1958 Buddy Holly recording of "True Love Ways" that was trotted out by our colleague Michael Fremer and nearly brought me to tears thanks to the tremendous detail the Five's redendered in Holly's close-miked vocal.

Price? $1,000 each, or $2,000 per pair versus the $1,400 pairing for the Triton Sevens. They are undoubtedly a worthwhile step up if you can afford the premium. A number of showgoers and even reviewers were observed leaving GoldenEar's room shaking their heads in disbelief that a speaker sounding this good could cost so little. Keep an eye out for Sound & Vision's upcoming review.