In this review, we will be comparing Triton Five and BW 603, two Passive Floor-standing speakers from GoldenEar and Bowers Wilkins. Let's have a brief look at the main features
of GoldenEar Triton Five and B&W 603 first before getting into our more
detailed comparison.
GoldenEar Triton Five Key Specs
- 2-way Design
- " Folded Ribbon Tweeter
- 2 x 6" Polypropylene Woofer
- 26-35k Hz Frequency Response
- 90 dB Sensitivity
- Impedance: 8ohms
- Power Range:15-400watts
- Weight:18.18kg
- Dimensions (H x W x D): 1131.0" x 11-1/16" x 16-9/16"( 1131.0 x 281.0 x 421.0mm )
B&W 603 Key Specs
- 3-way Design
- 1" Tweeter
- 6" Midrange
- 2 x 6.5" Paper Woofer
- 6" Midrange
- 48-28k Hz Frequency Response
- 88.5 dB Sensitivity
- Impedance: 8ohms
- Power Range:30-200watts
- Weight:24.14kg
- Dimensions (H x W x D): 985.0" x 7.4" x 13.3"( 985.0 x 190.0 x 340.0mm )
What size room are the GoldenEar Triton Five and B&W 603 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* |
GoldenEar Triton Five |
B&W 603 |
| Near-field |
Are you nuts? |
Bad |
| Small Room |
Poor |
Poor |
| Mid-size Room |
Average |
Good |
| Large Room |
Good |
Good |
| Very Large Room |
Good |
Poor |
(* 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.)
In the following sections, we will get into more detail in order to better understand how the GoldenEar Triton Five and B&W 603 compare and hopefully end up with enough arguments to decide which one of these loudspeakers is the better choice for you.
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Drivers
One of the fundamental differences between these two speakers is that Triton Five is a 2-way design whereas the BW 603 is a 3-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.
| Driver |
GoldenEar Triton Five |
B&W 603 |
|
Driver Setup
|
2-way
|
3-way
|
|
Tweeter
|
-inch
|
1-inch
|
|
Midrange
|
- |
1 x 6-inch |
|
Woofer
|
2 x 6-inch
|
2 x 6.5-inch
|
Triton Five features a " Folded Ribbon Tweeter and 2 x 6" Polypropylene Woofer . On the other hand, the BW 603 features a 1" Tweeter , a 6" Midrange and 2 x 6.5" Paper Woofer .
Frequency Response
Triton Five has a frequency range of 26-35k Hz whereas BW 603 has a frequency range of 48-28k 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 BW 603's min frequency of 48Hz.
Below graphs depict how these two speakers compare with the max, min and average values of the Min and Max Frequencies of other speakers in the Floor-standing class in our database.
Low Frequency
Floor-standing Speakers
High Frequency
Floor-standing Speakers
None of these speakers achieves full range experience which is commonly agreed as 20Hz-20kHz. In order to achieve lower lows / deeper bass, we recommend you pair these with a subwoofer. Visit our Powered Subwoofers section to find out more about the available options.
Impedance and Sensitivity
Triton Five and BW 603 have the same Impedance of 8 ohms but where they differ is the sensitivity levels. Triton Five sensitivity is rated at 90 dB and the BW 603's is at 88.5 dB. This 1 dB difference makes the GoldenEar Triton Five a more sensitive speaker compared to B&W 603, 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. While using an amplifier within this range ensures the nominal performance , inputting a power that is higher than the max wattage can result in a damaged speaker.
Triton Five can handle a max power of 400 watts RMS from the amp the whereas BW 603 has a max power handling value of 200 watts RMS, 200 watts less than the Triton Five.
Keep in mind that a higher max power handling value doesn't necessarily make that a louder speaker
compared to a lower max handling speaker. Loudness or the sound level is also impacted by parameters
such as Impedance, sensitivity and system efficiencies.
Input Type and Bi-Amping / Bi-Wiring
BW 603 features 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.
Cabinet Type and Port Position
Both Triton Five and BW 603 have rear firing ports. Rear ported speakers generally need more room between the backside of the speaker and the wall compared to sealed and front/bottom ported speakers. Placing the speakers too close to the walls may cause the bass to sound boomy.
If you are limited in space and can't get the speakers away from the backwall, check our Speakers with Front Firing Ports page.
Physical Specs
Size of a speaker can sometimes become an important decision factor due to space constraints or in some cases purely for esthetic reasons. In this section, we are going to compare GoldenEar Triton Five's and B&W 603's external dimensions. 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) whereas B&W 603 has external dimensions of 985.0 x 190.0 x 340.0mm ( 38.7 x 7.4 x 13.3inch) .
GoldenEar Triton Five is clearly the larger of the two speakers. Its body is 91mm wider, 146mm taller and 81mm deeper than B&W 603.
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 GoldenEar Triton Five is approximately 1183.0cm2 / 183.4inch2 and base area of the B&W 603 is approximately 646.0cm2 / 100.1inch2. The Triton Five requires 83% more surface area than the BW 603 which gives it a small disadvantage on placement in tight spaces.
Weight Comparison The weight of a loudspeaker can become an important factor if you need to move and reposition the unit often. Weight of a speaker can also "sometimes" be an indicator of the rigidity of the enclosure and the quality of the internal components used. The GoldenEar Triton Five weighs 18.18kg / 40lbs and the B&W 603 weighs 24.14kg / 53.1lbs. This makes the BW 603 33% heavier than the Triton Five.
Here is a comparison of how Triton Five and BW 603's weights compare with the average, max and min weights in Passive Floor-standing class.
Weight
All Floor-standing Speakers
What's in the Box of GoldenEar Triton Five?
Here are the items that are included inside the box of Triton Five:
Floorstanding loudspeaker4 Rubber feet (pre-installed)4 Spikes4 Locking nutsOwners Manual
What's in the Box of B&W 603?
Here are the items that come with the BW 603:
Floorstanding loudspeaker Grille Plinith (base) 2 Jumper-straps (pre-installed) 4 Rubber feet 4 Spike feet 4 Hex-nuts 4 Screws 4 Washers 4 Lock-washers Two-piece foam port plug Hex-key Manual Bowers & Wilkins brochure Warranty Information