In this review, we will be comparing Epicon 8 and Triton Five, two Passive Floor-standing speakers from DALI and GoldenEar.
Let's have a brief look at the main features
of DALI Epicon 8 and GoldenEar Triton Five first before getting into our more
detailed comparison.
| Key Specs | DALI Epicon 8 | GoldenEar Triton Five |
|---|
| Brand | DALI
Denmark · founded 1983 | GoldenEar
United States · founded 2010 |
|---|
| Design | 3-way | 2-way |
|---|
| Tweeter | 1.14" Hybrid dome + planar | Folded Ribbon |
|---|
| Midrange | 6.5" | — |
|---|
| Woofer | 2 x 8" Wood fibre | 2 x 6" Polypropylene |
|---|
| Frequency response | 35-30k Hz | 26-35k Hz |
|---|
| Sensitivity | 89 dB | 90 dB |
|---|
| Impedance | 5 ohms | 8 ohms |
|---|
| Power range | 50-500 watts | 15-400 watts |
|---|
| Weight | — | 18.18kg / 40lbs |
|---|
| Dimensions (H x W x D) | 48.23" x 10.39" x 19.09"
1225 x 264 x 485 mm | 44-1/2" x 11-1/16" x 16-9/16"
1131.0 x 281.0 x 421.0mm |
|---|
The sections below take each area in turn: drivers, frequency response, physical size and what you get in the box.
Drivers
One of the fundamental differences between these two speakers is that Epicon 8 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.
DALI Epicon 8GoldenEar Triton Five
TweeterMidrangeWoofer
Front view, drawn to scale - cabinets and drivers share one scale, so sizes are directly comparable. Hover a driver for its size.
| Driver |
DALI Epicon 8 |
GoldenEar Triton Five |
|
Driver Setup
|
3-way
|
2-way
|
|
Tweeter
|
1.14-inch
|
-inch
|
|
Midrange
|
1 x 6.5-inch |
- |
|
Woofer
|
2 x 8-inch
|
2 x 6-inch
|
Epicon 8 features a 1.14" Hybrid dome + planar Tweeter, a 6.5" Midrange and 2 x 8" Wood fibre Woofer with a Crossover frequency at 550 / 3100 / 15000Hz. On the other hand, the Triton Five features a " Folded Ribbon Tweeter and 2 x 6" Polypropylene Woofer.
Frequency Response
Epicon 8 has a frequency range of 35-30k 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 Epicon 8's min frequency of 35Hz.
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
Epicon 8 is a 5 ohms speaker compared to the Triton Five which has a nominal impedance of 8 ohms.
These two speakers also have different sensitivity levels. Epicon 8 sensitivity is rated at 89 dB and the Triton Five's is rated at 90 dB. This 1 dB difference makes the GoldenEar Triton Five a more sensitive speaker compared to DALI Epicon 8, 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.
Epicon 8 can handle a max power of 500 watts RMS, whereas Triton Five has a max power handling value of 400 watts RMS, 100 watts less than the Epicon 8.
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
Epicon 8 features Binding post posts which make bi-amping or bi-wiring possible. Triton Five has a 5-way Post which doesn't 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 DALI Epicon 8's and GoldenEar Triton Five's external dimensions. DALI Epicon 8 has external dimensions of 1225 x 264 x 485 mm () 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 94mm shorter and 64mm less deeper than DALI Epicon 8 but it is also 17mm wider.
Size, drawn to scale
Both speakers and both views share one scale, so everything here is directly comparable. Hover a box for its dimensions.
One scale for both, standing on the same surface and pushed back to the same wall, so the deeper one visibly sticks out further.
DALI Epicon 8 needs about 8% more floor or shelf area. DALI Epicon 8 is 64mm deeper, so it stands that much further out from the wall. DALI Epicon 8 is 94mm taller.
Base Surface Area Comparison
Base surface area of a loudspeaker may become a determining factor when the space in your room or desk is limited.
The base surface area of the DALI Epicon 8 is approximately 1280.4cm2 / 198.5inch2 and base area of the GoldenEar Triton Five is approximately 1183.0cm2 / 183.4inch2. The Epicon 8 requires 8% more surface area than the Triton Five which gives it a small disadvantage on placement in tight spaces.
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