In this review, we will be comparing XR100 and Triton Five, two Passive Floor-standing speakers from McIntosh and GoldenEar.
Let's have a brief look at the main features
of McIntosh XR100 and GoldenEar Triton Five first before getting into our more
detailed comparison.
| Key Specs | McIntosh XR100 | GoldenEar Triton Five |
|---|
| Brand | McIntosh
United States · founded 1949 | GoldenEar
United States · founded 2010 |
|---|
| Design | 4-way | 2-way |
|---|
| Tweeter | 2" dome (x2) | Folded Ribbon |
|---|
| Super tweeter | 0.75" super tweeter | — |
|---|
| Midrange | 8 x 2.0" | — |
|---|
| Woofer | 4 x 6.0" Polypropylene | 2 x 6" Polypropylene |
|---|
| Frequency response | 30-45k Hz | 26-35k Hz |
|---|
| Sensitivity | 87 dB | 90 dB |
|---|
| Impedance | 8 ohms | 8 ohms |
|---|
| Power range | 75-600 watts | 15-400 watts |
|---|
| Weight | 31.14kg / 68.5lbs | 18.18kg / 40lbs |
|---|
| Dimensions (H x W x D) | 49-13/16" x 11-5/8" x 17"
1266.0 x 296.0 x 432.0mm | 44-1/2" x 11-1/16" x 16-9/16"
1131.0 x 281.0 x 421.0mm |
|---|
What size room are the McIntosh XR100 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* |
McIntosh XR100 |
GoldenEar Triton Five |
| Near-field |
Are you nuts? |
Are you nuts? |
| Small Room |
Poor |
Poor |
| Mid-size Room |
Average |
Average |
| Large Room |
Good |
Good |
| Very Large Room |
Good |
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.
Drivers
One of the fundamental differences between these two speakers is that XR100 is a 4-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.
McIntosh XR100GoldenEar 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 |
McIntosh XR100 |
GoldenEar Triton Five |
|
Driver Setup
|
4-way
|
2-way
|
|
Super Tweeter
|
0.75-inch |
- |
|
Tweeter
|
2-inch
|
-inch
|
|
Midrange
|
8 x 2.0-inch |
- |
|
Woofer
|
4 x 6.0-inch
|
2 x 6-inch
|
XR100 features a 2" titanium tweeter with neodymium-iron-boron alloy magnet dome (x2) Tweeter, a 0.75" Supertweeter , a 2.0" Midrange and 4 x 6.0" Polypropylene Woofer with a Crossover frequency at 300Hz, 2000kHZ and 8000kHZ. On the other hand, the Triton Five features a " Folded Ribbon Tweeter and 2 x 6" Polypropylene Woofer.
Frequency Response
XR100 has a frequency range of 30-45k Hz whereas Triton Five has a frequency range of 26-35k Hz. With a minimum frequency of 26Hz, the Triton Five can go slightly deeper then the XR100's min frequency of 30Hz.
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
XR100 and Triton Five have the same Impedance of 8 ohms but where they differ is the sensitivity levels. XR100 sensitivity is rated at 87 dB and the Triton Five's is at 90 dB. This 3 dB difference makes the GoldenEar Triton Five a more sensitive speaker compared to McIntosh XR100, 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.
XR100 can handle a max power of 600 watts RMS, whereas Triton Five has a max power handling value of 400 watts RMS, 200 watts less than the XR100.
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
XR100 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.
McIntosh XR100's Binding post terminals allows Bi-amping or bi-wiring
Cabinet Type and Port Position
Both XR100 and Triton Five 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 McIntosh XR100's and GoldenEar Triton Five's external dimensions. McIntosh XR100 has external dimensions of 1266.0 x 296.0 x 432.0mm (49-13/16 x 11-5/8 x 17inch) 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).
McIntosh XR100 is clearly the larger of the two speakers. Its body is 15mm wider, 135mm taller and 11mm deeper than GoldenEar Triton Five.
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 McIntosh XR100 is approximately 1278.7cm2 / 198.2inch2 and base area of the GoldenEar Triton Five is approximately 1183.0cm2 / 183.4inch2. The XR100 requires 8% more surface area than the Triton Five 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 McIntosh XR100 weighs 31.14kg / 68.5lbs and the GoldenEar Triton Five weighs 18.18kg / 40lbs. This makes the XR100 71% heavier than the Triton Five.
Here is a comparison of how XR100 and Triton Five'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 McIntosh XR100?
Here are the items that are included inside the box of XR100:
- Floorstanding loudspeaker
- Grille
- 4 Feet
- 4 Glides
- 4 Tiptoes
- 4 Screws
- Owners Manual
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
 Max Input Power |
600 watts
vs
400 watts
|
Handle more power from your amplifier |
 Driver Setup |
4-way
vs
2-way
|
Have a dedicated mid-range driver |
 Number of Woofers |
4
vs
2
|
More woofers |
 High Frequency Response |
45k Hz
vs
35k Hz
|
Generates higher frequency |
 Bi-Amping and Bi-Wiring |
Yes
vs
No
|
Allows bi-amping and bi-wiring connections |
 Sensitivity |
90 dB
vs
87 dB
|
Play louder with same amount of amplification power |
|
Low Frequency Response |
26 Hz
vs
30 Hz
|
Generates deeper bass |
 Passive Radiator |
four 8-inch infrasonic planar sub-bass
vs
None
|
Increases the bass performance |
 Height |
1131mm
vs
1266mm
|
Easier to fit in smaller spaces |
 Base Surface Area |
1183cm2
vs
1278cm2
|
Takes less floor space |
 Price per pair* |
2398USD
vs
11000USD
|
costs less (*prices may change depending on the seller, location and time) |
| General |
McIntosh XR100 |
GoldenEar Triton Five |
| Brand |
McIntosh |
GoldenEar |
| Speaker Type |
Floor-standing speaker |
Floor-standing speaker |
| Power Range |
75-600 watts |
15-400 watts |
| Sensitivity |
87 dB |
90 dB |
| Impedance |
8 ohms |
8 ohms |
| Frequency Response |
30-45k Hz |
26-35k Hz |
Drivers |
|
|
| Woofer Quantity |
4 |
2 |
| Woofer Size |
6.0" |
6" |
| Woofer Composition |
Polypropylene |
Polypropylene |
| Woofer Surround Material |
Rubber |
Rubber |
| Tweeter Size |
2" |
- |
| Tweeter Type |
dome (x2) |
Folded Ribbon |
| Aimable Tweeter |
No |
No |
| Midrange Driver |
2.0" |
No |
| Crossover Frequency |
300Hz, 2000kHZ and 8000kHZ |
n/a |
| Firing Direction |
rear |
rear |
Physical Specs |
|
|
| Height |
1266.0mm (49.8") |
1131.0mm (44.5") |
| Width |
296.0mm (11.7") |
281.0mm (11.1") |
| Depth |
432.0mm (17") |
421.0mm (16.6") |
| Weight |
31.14kg (68.5lbs) |
18.18kg (40lbs) |
| Enclosure |
Bass Reflex |
Passive Radiator |
| Finish |
Real wood veneer |
MDF/Lacquer |
| Available Colors |
Red Walnut, Black, Pear Maple |
Gloss Black |
| Grille |
Yes |
n/a |
| Moisture Resistancy |
No |
No |
Connections |
|
|
| Biamp Inputs |
Yes |
No |
Other |
|
|
| Parts Warranty |
5 Years |
5 Years |
| Labor Warranty |
5 Years |
5 Years |
These sit in different price classes - McIntosh XR100 costs roughly 4.6x what GoldenEar Triton Five does. Expect it to lead on paper; the question is whether the gap is audible enough in your room to be worth it.
| Area | Better | Why |
|---|
| Bass | B | GoldenEar Triton Five digs deeper - 26Hz against 30Hz. A subwoofer would even that out. |
| Amplifier needs | B | GoldenEar Triton Five is more sensitive (90dB vs 87dB), so it goes louder on the same amplifier. |
| Headroom | A | McIntosh XR100 takes more power (600W vs 400W) - more in hand in a big room. |
| Size | depends | Similar cabinet size - neither is easier to fit. |
| Cabinet | depends | Ported vs Passive Radiator. |
| Expandability | A | McIntosh XR100: bi-amping. |
| Price | B | GoldenEar Triton Five is cheaper - $2,398 against $11,000, about 78% less; arguably a different class. |
A McIntosh XR100 B GoldenEar Triton Five
depends neither is better in the abstract - it turns on your room, your system 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?
Neither runs away with it - they trade advantages. Let the "depends" rows and your own room settle it. If your amplifier is modest, vintage or valve-based, GoldenEar Triton Five is the safer partner - the other will want more current or more watts to sound its best. Think about the whole system, not just the speakers: the roughly $8,602 saved by taking the cheaper pair would buy a subwoofer or a better amplifier, and either usually does more for the sound than the difference between these two.
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.