TRITON ONE.R vs Martin Logan ESL 13A or 15A ??

[henryeng]

Hello fellow audio nuts! Has anyone ever compared the Goldenear Triton One.R speakers to Martin-Logan ESL 13A or ESL 15A speakers?
I have Tritons, and I'm very happy with them. But my listening room has reflective side walls, which cause imaging issues. The ESLs have almost no side radiation, and would probably prevent this. That's why I'm looking into the MLs. Any thoughts?? The Tritons are incredible btw....I drive them with a McIntosh MA8900 amp.

 

[ddude003]

Mmm... The renowned McIntosh Autoformer is a match made in heaven for ESL speakers... My little MC152 effortlessly drives my ESLs... ESLs are a little finicky when it comes to room placement... And with tools like REW pretty easy get them placed well...

 

[henryeng]

Yes, and McIntosh amps are so conservatively rated that even if the speaker impedance drops at hi freqs, the amp can still deliver plenty of current. If you use the lowest tap on the autoformer, you'll get the best performance (though maybe not the most power).

 

[ddude003]

My little MC152 has 2,4 & 8 ohm taps... I have tried all three... These ESLs run at 6 ohms diving down to 1.6 ohms @ 20 kHz... In my system the 8 ohm taps sound the best and still perform great with no rise in temps... If I had ESL 15s I would most likely run on the 4 ohm set, as the ESL 15s can dip to 0.5 ohms at 20kHz...

 

[henryeng]

The MC152 was the first McIntosh amp I had. It drove the One.Rs very well...it'll actually put out well over 200 watts per channel.
Any amp will be most efficient when the speaker impedance matches the amp (source) impedance.....it's a great sounding amp..

 

[Todd Anderson]

I’ve never done a head to head comparison of these speakers. They’re undoubtedly different beasts. ML owners are some of the most passionate owners out there, and for good reason.

Sounds like it’s time for you to do a shootout! Do you think you could swing bringing a pair in for comparison?

 

[Ian Eales]

Another option is the Eminent Technology LFT-8b. Full dynamic and easily Triamped. New version is more efficient. With DSP XO, room correction filters and time-correction, they are outstanding on everything from Miles to Queen to the London Philharmonic. Subs are Martin-Logan 800x.

 

[w_sizer]

Hello fellow audio nuts! Has anyone ever compared the Goldenear Triton One.R speakers to Martin-Logan ESL 13A or ESL 15A speakers?
I have Tritons, and I'm very happy with them. But my listening room has reflective side walls, which cause imaging issues. The ESLs have almost no side radiation, and would probably prevent this. That's why I'm looking into the MLs. Any thoughts?? The Tritons are incredible btw....I drive them with a McIntosh MA8900 amp.

Why not use acoustic room treatments to dampen the reflections? No speaker will perform at its optimum level in a room with poor acoustics; I’m guessing you would have a similar problem with the MLs.

 

[Ian Eales]

Acoustic treatment is a whole 'nother can of worms and not for the faint of heart. Perhaps the OP can post dimensions and images so we can better assist.

 

[henryeng]

Yeah....acoustic treatment would be a challenge on a large glass door (and fireplace!)...see the pic of my room. Large sliding glass door on the left, concrete fireplace on the right. The MLs have very little side-radiation, compared to any conventional "cone" speaker. It's the midrange where the imaging gets confused. Piano solos seem to jump back-and-forth between the speakers, depending upon which note is being played.... probably due to side reflections. Take a look...the imaging is better if I open the glass door on the left...so I
know that's the culprit!

 

[w_sizer]

Yeah....acoustic treatment would be a challenge on a large glass door (and fireplace!)...see the pic of my room. Large sliding glass door on the left, concrete fireplace on the right. The MLs have very little side-radiation, compared to any conventional "cone" speaker. It's the midrange where the imaging gets confused. Piano solos seem to jump back-and-forth between the speakers, depending upon which note is being played.... probably due to side reflections. Take a look...the imaging is better if I open the glass door on the left...so I
know that's the culprit! View attachment 54272

I see what you’re saying…that’s a nice room, but you’d be pretty limited with acoustic treatments. Looks like it may be time for a new pair of speakers!

 

[henryeng]

I'm gonna listen to the ESL 13s and 15s soon. The only dealer is a Magnolia store (inside Best Buy), though their demo room is usually very large and very "dead" acoustically. But if I like them, feel free to send me funding!

 

[Ian Eales]

You might try asymmetric positioning which might tame the 'note' problem at the expense of the overall imaging

 

[ddude003]

The photo already shows them asymmetrically positioned... What would be interesting to me would be to see some REW charts (.mdat) of the speakers in the room...

 

[Ian Eales]

By asymmetric I meant relative to the whole room and shifting the MLP. It appears now that the speakers fire down the room. Perhaps swinging the speakers 30° CCW and moving the sub[?] between them. This assumes the mains are not part of the HT system. A floor plan would help immensely. It difficult to get a sense of scale from the exaggerated perspective.

 

[cdwin]

You might want to take a look at the Sanders Sound System ESL. Check out the reviews.

 

[willygevans]

And I have the 11a's and Triton 1's sitting next to each other in my living room. Just got he 11a's, and they are a perfect match for my Marantz 9's.....I could tell within 30 seconds that this was realism heaven. I love the Tritons, and after the honeymoon is over the new Martin Logans, I will reassess, but this is the first time in 60 years of audiophiling that I have had an instant response to a new piece of equipment like this. Is it the speakers, the room, the amps,,,,,,not sure, but I cannot imagine a more realistic sound than this, and I am an orchestral cellist. Its crazy, but I actually hear the bow contacting the string on recordings I have had for 49 years......amazing. No finicky placement problems and have not yet done the ARC bass thing, yet imagining is scary good and the bass is tight---that is a problem with these tube amps working with built-in subs. Will keep you posted if you wish.

 

[henryeng]

Hi Willy…..you’re exactly the guy I was hoping to hear from! I’ve heard 13As twice, both times at Magnolia/BestBuy. And both times I was underwhelmed, probably because the Magnolia demo room had sound absorption panels behind the speakers. Zero reflection off a back wall like how they’re supposed to be used. I know stat speakers should be amazing and I keep wanting to be blown away by the MLs. So I will be very interested to hear your evaluation after a few weeks of listening and comparing them to the Tritons. Let’s keep in touch!
Thanks again for responding to my post…

 

[Todd Anderson]

@willygevans definitely don't be a stranger... would love to read some updates. Can you describe the room situation, or provide pics? Just curious to get a feel for the environment.

@henryeng, you're absolutely right to be skeptical of the Magnolia listening room. Do they allow free returns?

 

[henryeng]

The Magnolia demo room is about 20’ x 20’ with carpeting and LOTS of acoustic panels on the walls. It’s very dead, not really like a typical residential listening area. And they had the ELS13s about 12’ apart. The listening position was barely 12’ in front, so not really ideal. The ARC was not in use….so not a very good demo. I keep expecting to be awed by the ML electrostatics but that didn’t happen at Magnolia. So any input from Willy will be very helpful ….

I don’t know if Magnolia allows returns.
My Triton One.Rs are a hard act to follow!

 

[Todd Anderson]

The Magnolia demo room is about 20’ x 20’ with carpeting and LOTS of acoustic panels on the walls. It’s very dead, not really like a typical residential listening area. And they had the ELS13s about 12’ apart. The listening position was barely 12’ in front, so not really ideal. The ARC was not in use….so not a very good demo. I keep expecting to be awed by the ML electrostatics but that didn’t happen at Magnolia. So any input from Willy will be very helpful ….

I don’t know if Magnolia allows returns.
My Triton One.Rs are a hard act to follow!

I hear ya - I have the One.Rs too. They are magnificent speakers.

The room plays such a significant role in how something sounds - you really need to get them (MLS) in your home and see how they interact with your space.

It looks like Magnolia has a 14 day return window… possibly a restocking fee. Fee might be worth it for a demo week. You’d get a chance to have the speakers on your home turf!

 

[henryeng]

Yep….I might do that. Got little to lose and maybe lots to gain !….

 

[Todd Anderson]

Triton One.R's are going on close out in the US. 40% off!

 

[henryeng]

WOW....that's an incredible deal! They're less than the 2+.

 

[henryeng]

Hey Willy.....any thoughts about the 11As...now that you've had them for a while??

Thanks,