In this review, we will be comparing SCM100PSL and Triton Five, two Passive Floor-standing speakers from ATC and GoldenEar.
Let's have a brief look at the main features
of ATC SCM100PSL and GoldenEar Triton Five first before getting into our more
detailed comparison.
| Key Specs | ATC SCM100PSL | GoldenEar Triton Five |
|---|
| Design | 3-way | 2-way |
|---|
| Tweeter | 0.98" | Folded Ribbon |
|---|
| Midrange | 2.95" | — |
|---|
| Woofer | 12.36" | 2 x 6" Polypropylene |
|---|
| Frequency response | 65-17k Hz | 26-35k Hz |
|---|
| Sensitivity | 88 dB | 90 dB |
|---|
| Impedance | 8 ohms | 8 ohms |
|---|
| Power range | 100 to 1500 Watts watts | 15-400 watts |
|---|
| Weight | — | 18.18kg / 40lbs |
|---|
| Dimensions (H x W x D) | — | 44-1/2" x 11-1/16" x 16-9/16"
1131.0 x 281.0 x 421.0mm |
|---|
What size room are the ATC SCM100PSL and GoldenEar Triton Five speakers good for?
The size of the room in which you are planning to use these loudspeakers is an important decision
factor. Here we have compared their suitability to various sizes of environments considering their size
and max power parameters:
| Listening Environment* |
ATC SCM100PSL |
GoldenEar Triton Five |
| Near-field |
Poor |
Are you nuts? |
| Small Room |
Average |
Poor |
| Mid-size Room |
Good |
Average |
| Large Room |
Average |
Good |
| Very Large Room |
Poor |
Good |
(* Approximate Room sizes: Small < 100sq. ft / 9 m2,
Mid-size: 100-220 sq. ft / 9-20 m2, Large 220-400 sq. ft / 20-36 m2, Very Large: >
400 sq. ft / 36 m2.
Average Floor Height: 9" / 2.7m. Typical room sizes differ from country to country, and the actual
listening experience changes depending on floor height, room shape, surface materials, listening
position, speaker locations, etc.)
The sections below take each area in turn: drivers, frequency response, physical size and what you get in the box.
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Drivers
One of the fundamental differences between these two speakers is that SCM100PSL is a 3-way design whereas the Triton Five is a 2-way speaker. 3-way designs utilize a midrange driver in addition to the tweeter and woofer on 2-way designs. Designing a crossover for a 3-way speaker is a complicated process and generally increases the overall cost of the speaker.
ATC SCM100PSLGoldenEar Triton Five
TweeterMidrangeWoofer
Drivers drawn to scale and directly comparable. Cabinet outlines are indicative: full dimensions are not published for both. Hover a driver for its size.
| Driver |
ATC SCM100PSL |
GoldenEar Triton Five |
|
Driver Setup
|
3-way
|
2-way
|
|
Tweeter
|
0.98-inch
|
-inch
|
|
Midrange
|
1 x 2.95-inch |
- |
|
Woofer
|
1 x 12.36-inch
|
2 x 6-inch
|
SCM100PSL features a 0.98" Tweeter, a 2.95" Midrange and 1 x 12.36" Woofer with a Crossover frequency at 380Hz & 3.5kHz. On the other hand, the Triton Five features a " Folded Ribbon Tweeter and 2 x 6" Polypropylene Woofer.
Frequency Response
SCM100PSL has a frequency range of 65-17k Hz whereas Triton Five has a frequency range of 26-35k Hz. With a minimum frequency of 26Hz, the Triton Five can go significantly deeper on the low side and provide stronger bass compared to the SCM100PSL's min frequency of 65Hz.
The graph below depicts how these two speakers compare with the max, min and average Low Frequency values of other speakers in the Floor-standing class in our database.
Low Frequency
Floor-standing Speakers
Neither pair reaches down to 20Hz, the usual definition of full-range, which is normal for speakers of this size. If you want the bottom octave for movies or bass-heavy music, add a subwoofer to whichever you choose. Visit our Powered Subwoofers section to find out more about the available options.
Impedance and Sensitivity
SCM100PSL and Triton Five have the same Impedance of 8 ohms but where they differ is the sensitivity levels. SCM100PSL sensitivity is rated at 88 dB and the Triton Five's is at 90 dB. This 2 dB difference makes the GoldenEar Triton Five a more sensitive speaker compared to ATC SCM100PSL, hence will play louder with the same amount of watts.
Sensitivity
Floor-standing Speakers
Power Range
Power
range is the range of input power in watts RMS that a loudspeaker is designed to handle. Staying
within that range gives nominal performance; driving the speaker beyond its maximum wattage can damage it.
Triton Five can handle a max power of 400 watts RMS, whereas SCM100PSL has a max power handling value of watts RMS, 400 watts less than the Triton Five.
Note that higher power handling does not make a speaker louder: that depends mainly on
sensitivity and impedance. The calculator below shows how loud each of these actually plays
on a real amplifier.
Which plays louder on your amplifier?
Starting with a popular amplifier — change it to the one you own, or any you are
considering, and watch both numbers move.
Input Type and Bi-Amping / Bi-Wiring
SCM100PSL features 5-way Post type posts and Triton Five has a 5-way Post type posts. None of these speakers feature bi-amping/bi-wiring.
Physical Specs
The size of a speaker can sometimes be an important decision factor due to space constraints or in some cases purely for esthetic reasons. In this section, we are going to compare ATC SCM100PSL's and GoldenEar Triton Five's external dimensions. ATC SCM100PSL has external dimensions of () whereas GoldenEar Triton Five has external dimensions of 1131.0 x 281.0 x 421.0mm (44-1/2 x 11-1/16 x 16-9/16inch).
GoldenEar Triton Five is clearly the larger of the two speakers. Its body is 281mm wider, 1131mm taller and 421mm deeper than ATC SCM100PSL.
What's in the Box of GoldenEar Triton Five?
Here are the items that come with the Triton Five:
- Floorstanding loudspeaker
- 4 Rubber feet (pre-installed)
- 4 Spikes
- 4 Locking nuts
- Owners Manual