In this review, we will be comparing Triton Seven 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 Seven and B&W 603 first before getting into our more
detailed comparison.
| Key Specs | GoldenEar Triton Seven | B&W 603 |
|---|
| Design | 2-way | 3-way |
|---|
| Tweeter | Folded Ribbon | 1" |
|---|
| Midrange | — | 6" |
|---|
| Woofer | 2 x 5.25" Polypropylene | 2 x 6.5" Paper |
|---|
| Frequency response | 29-35k Hz | 48-28k Hz |
|---|
| Sensitivity | 89 dB | 88.5 dB |
|---|
| Impedance | 8 ohms | 8 ohms |
|---|
| Power range | 10-300 watts | 30-200 watts |
|---|
| Weight | 14.55kg / 32lbs | 24.14kg / 53.1lbs |
|---|
| Dimensions (H x W x D) | 40-1/2" x 10-1/2" x 14-1/2"
1029.0 x 267.0 x 369.0mm | 38.7" x 7.4" x 13.3"
985.0 x 190.0 x 340.0mm |
|---|
What size room are the GoldenEar Triton Seven 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 Seven |
B&W 603 |
| Near-field |
Bad |
Bad |
| Small Room |
Poor |
Poor |
| Mid-size Room |
Average |
Good |
| Large Room |
Good |
Good |
| Very Large Room |
Average |
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.)
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 Triton Seven 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.
GoldenEar Triton SevenB&W 603
TweeterMidrangeWoofer
Front view, drawn to scale - cabinets and drivers share one scale, so sizes are directly comparable. Hover a driver for its size.
| Driver |
GoldenEar Triton Seven |
B&W 603 |
|
Driver Setup
|
2-way
|
3-way
|
|
Tweeter
|
-inch
|
1-inch
|
|
Midrange
|
- |
1 x 6-inch |
|
Woofer
|
2 x 5.25-inch
|
2 x 6.5-inch
|
Triton Seven features a " Folded Ribbon Tweeter and 2 x 5.25" 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 Seven has a frequency range of 29-35k Hz whereas BW 603 has a frequency range of 48-28k Hz. With a minimum frequency of 29Hz, the Triton Seven can go significantly deeper on the low side and provide stronger bass compared to the BW 603's min frequency of 48Hz.
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
Triton Seven and BW 603 have the same Impedance of 8 ohms but where they differ is the sensitivity levels. Triton Seven sensitivity is rated at 89 dB and the BW 603's is at 88.5 dB.
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 Seven can handle a max power of 300 watts RMS, whereas BW 603 has a max power handling value of 200 watts RMS, 100 watts less than the Triton Seven.
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
BW 603 features Post posts which make bi-amping or bi-wiring possible. Triton Seven has a 5-way Post which doesn't feature bi-amping/bi-wiring.
Cabinet Type and Port Position
Both Triton Seven 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
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 GoldenEar Triton Seven's and B&W 603's external dimensions. GoldenEar Triton Seven has external dimensions of 1029.0 x 267.0 x 369.0mm (40-1/2 x 10-1/2 x 14-1/2inch) 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 Seven is clearly the larger of the two speakers. Its body is 77mm wider, 44mm taller and 29mm 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 Seven is approximately 985.2cm2 / 152.7inch2 and base area of the B&W 603 is approximately 646.0cm2 / 100.1inch2. The Triton Seven requires 53% 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 Seven weighs 14.55kg / 32lbs and the B&W 603 weighs 24.14kg / 53.1lbs. This makes the BW 603 66% heavier than the Triton Seven.
Here is a comparison of how Triton Seven 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 Seven?
Here are the items that are included inside the box of Triton Seven:
- Floorstanding loudspeaker
- 4 Rubber feet (pre-installed)
- 4 Spikes
- 4 Locking nuts
- Owners 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
 Max Input Power |
300 watts
vs
200 watts
|
Handle more power from your amplifier |
 Low Frequency Response |
29 Hz
vs
48 Hz
|
Generates deeper bass |
 High Frequency Response |
35k Hz
vs
28k Hz
|
Generates higher frequency |
 Passive Radiator |
dual 8-inch infrasonic planar sub-bass
vs
None
|
Increases the bass performance |
 Driver Setup |
3-way
vs
2-way
|
Have a dedicated mid-range driver |
|
Woofer Size |
6.5 inches
vs
5.25 inches
|
Larger woofer |
 Bi-Amping and Bi-Wiring |
Yes
vs
No
|
Allows bi-amping and bi-wiring connections |
 Height |
985mm
vs
1029mm
|
Easier to fit in smaller spaces |
 Base Surface Area |
646cm2
vs
985cm2
|
Takes less floor space |
| General |
GoldenEar Triton Seven |
Bowers & Wilkins 603 |
| Brand |
GoldenEar |
Bowers Wilkins |
| Speaker Type |
Floor-standing speaker |
Floor-standing speaker |
| Power Range |
10-300 watts |
30-200 watts |
| Sensitivity |
89 dB |
88.5 dB |
| Impedance |
8 ohms |
8 ohms |
| Frequency Response |
29-35k Hz |
48-28k Hz |
Drivers |
|
|
| Woofer Quantity |
2 |
2 |
| Woofer Size |
5.25" |
6.5" |
| Woofer Composition |
Polypropylene |
Paper |
| Woofer Surround Material |
Rubber |
Rubber |
| Tweeter Size |
- |
1" |
| Tweeter Type |
Folded Ribbon |
n/a |
| Aimable Tweeter |
No |
No |
| Midrange Driver |
No |
6" |
| Firing Direction |
rear |
rear |
Physical Specs |
|
|
| Height |
1029.0mm (40.5") |
985.0mm (38.8") |
| Width |
267.0mm (10.5") |
190.0mm (7.5") |
| Depth |
369.0mm (14.5") |
340.0mm (13.4") |
| Weight |
14.55kg (32lbs) |
24.14kg (53.1lbs) |
| Enclosure |
Passive Radiator |
Bass Reflex |
| Finish |
MDF/Lacquer |
MDF/Vinyl |
| Available Colors |
Gloss Black |
Black, White, Oak |
| Grille |
n/a |
Yes |
| Moisture Resistancy |
No |
No |
Connections |
|
|
| Biamp Inputs |
No |
Yes |
Other |
|
|
| Parts Warranty |
5 Years |
5 Years |
| Labor Warranty |
5 Years |
5 Years |
A generation apart: B&W 603 is the newer design, against a 2013 model. Newer is not automatically better, but the older one is more likely to be discounted or near run-out.
| Area | Better | Why |
|---|
| Bass |
A |
GoldenEar Triton Seven digs deeper - 29Hz against 48Hz. |
| Amplifier needs |
evenly matched |
Similar sensitivity (89dB vs 89dB) - both want much the same power. |
| Headroom |
A |
GoldenEar Triton Seven takes more power (300W vs 200W) - more in hand in a big room. |
| Size |
depends |
B&W 603 is easier to place; GoldenEar Triton Seven is bigger, which usually goes with fuller bass. Your room decides. |
| Cabinet |
depends |
Passive Radiator vs Ported. |
| Expandability |
depends |
B&W 603: bi-amping. GoldenEar Triton Seven sits in a wider range (7 models), so a matched surround system is easier later. |
A GoldenEar Triton Seven
B B&W 603
depends neither is better in the abstract - it turns on your room, placement or how you will use them.
Only specs published for both speakers are judged; anything missing on either side is left out rather than guessed.
Which should you choose?
GoldenEar Triton Seven has the edge on paper, though the margin is not large. The rows marked "depends" may matter more to you than the score does. If a subwoofer is in your plans, the bass gap largely stops mattering - you would be crossing over above 48Hz anyway, so judge these on the other rows instead. Match it to your room: we rate GoldenEar Triton Seven the better fit for a very large room, and B&W 603 for a mid-size room.
And remember what a spec sheet cannot show: how each looks in your room and whether the finish suits it, what dealer support and warranty are like where you live, and how they actually sound to you. If you can hear them first - ideally with your own music - that will tell you more than any number above.