In this review, we will be comparing Rubikore 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 Rubikore 8 and GoldenEar Triton Five first before getting into our more
detailed comparison.
| Key Specs | DALI Rubikore 8 | GoldenEar Triton Five |
|---|
| Brand | DALI
Denmark · founded 1983 | GoldenEar
United States · founded 2010 |
|---|
| Design | 2-way | 2-way |
|---|
| Tweeter | 1.14" Hybrid dome + planar | Folded Ribbon |
|---|
| Woofer | 3 x 6.5" Wood fibre | 2 x 6" Polypropylene |
|---|
| Frequency response | 38-34k Hz | 26-35k Hz |
|---|
| Sensitivity | 90.5 dB | 90 dB |
|---|
| Impedance | 4 ohms | 8 ohms |
|---|
| Power range | 40-250 watts | 15-400 watts |
|---|
| Weight | — | 18.18kg / 40lbs |
|---|
| Dimensions (H x W x D) | 43.31" x 8.66" x 17.48"
1100 x 220 x 444 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
Both Rubikore 8 and Triton Five are 2-way speakers.
DALI Rubikore 8GoldenEar Triton Five
TweeterWoofer
Front view, drawn to scale - cabinets and drivers share one scale, so sizes are directly comparable. Hover a driver for its size.
| Driver |
DALI Rubikore 8 |
GoldenEar Triton Five |
|
Driver Setup
|
2-way
|
2-way
|
|
Tweeter
|
1.14-inch
|
-inch
|
|
Midrange
|
- |
- |
|
Woofer
|
3 x 6.5-inch
|
2 x 6-inch
|
Rubikore 8 features a 1.14" Hybrid dome + planar Tweeter and 3 x 6.5" Wood fibre Woofer with a Crossover frequency at 500 / 800 / 2400 / 14000Hz. On the other hand, the Triton Five features a " Folded Ribbon Tweeter and 2 x 6" Polypropylene Woofer.
Frequency Response
Rubikore 8 has a frequency range of 38-34k 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 Rubikore 8's min frequency of 38Hz.
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
Rubikore 8 is a 4 ohms speaker compared to the Triton Five which has a nominal impedance of 8 ohms. Lower impedance speakers, especially the ones that are rated at 4 ohms may put more pressure on the amplifier unit especially when played at high volume levels, so make sure the amp you pair with the Rubikore 8 can provide this impedance level.
These two speakers also have different sensitivity levels. Rubikore 8 sensitivity is rated at 90.5 dB and the Triton Five's is rated at 90 dB. This 1 dB difference makes the DALI Rubikore 8 a more sensitive speaker compared to GoldenEar Triton Five, 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 Rubikore 8 has a max power handling value of 250 watts RMS, 150 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
Rubikore 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 Rubikore 8's and GoldenEar Triton Five's external dimensions. DALI Rubikore 8 has external dimensions of 1100 x 220 x 444 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).
DALI Rubikore 8 is 61mm narrower and 31mm shorter than GoldenEar Triton Five but it is also 23mm deeper.
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.
GoldenEar Triton Five needs about 21% more floor or shelf area. DALI Rubikore 8 is 23mm deeper, so it stands that much further out from the wall. GoldenEar Triton Five is 31mm 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 Rubikore 8 is approximately 976.8cm2 / 151.4inch2 and base area of the GoldenEar Triton Five is approximately 1183.0cm2 / 183.4inch2. The Rubikore 8 requires 17% less surface area than the Triton Five which gives it a small advantage 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