In this review, we will be comparing SourcePoint 888 and Triton Five, two Passive Floor-standing speakers from MoFi and GoldenEar.
Let's have a brief look at the main features
of MoFi SourcePoint 888 and GoldenEar Triton Five first before getting into our more
detailed comparison.
| Key Specs | MoFi SourcePoint 888 | GoldenEar Triton Five |
|---|
| Brand | MoFi
United States · founded 2016 | GoldenEar
United States · founded 2010 |
|---|
| Design | 3-way | 2-way |
|---|
| Tweeter | 1.25" wide roll soft dome | Folded Ribbon |
|---|
| Midrange | 8" | — |
|---|
| Woofer | 2 x 8" Paper-pulp | 2 x 6" Polypropylene |
|---|
| Frequency response | 32-30k Hz | 26-35k Hz |
|---|
| Sensitivity | 87dB | 90 dB |
|---|
| Impedance | 6 ohms | 8 ohms |
|---|
| Power range | Up to 200 watts | 15-400 watts |
|---|
| Weight | 43.00kg / 94.6lbs | 18.18kg / 40lbs |
|---|
| Dimensions (H x W x D) | 42.1" x 12.6" x 16.1"
1070 x 320 x 410mm | 44-1/2" x 11-1/16" x 16-9/16"
1131.0 x 281.0 x 421.0mm |
|---|
What size room are the MoFi SourcePoint 888 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* |
MoFi SourcePoint 888 |
GoldenEar Triton Five |
| Near-field |
Poor |
Are you nuts? |
| Small Room |
Poor |
Poor |
| Mid-size Room |
Good |
Average |
| Large Room |
Good |
Good |
| Very Large Room |
Average |
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 SourcePoint 888 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.
MoFi SourcePoint 888GoldenEar 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 |
MoFi SourcePoint 888 |
GoldenEar Triton Five |
|
Driver Setup
|
3-way
|
2-way
|
|
Tweeter
|
1.25-inch
|
-inch
|
|
Midrange
|
1 x 8-inch |
- |
|
Woofer
|
2 x 8-inch
|
2 x 6-inch
|
SourcePoint 888 features a 1.25" wide roll soft dome Tweeter, a 8" Midrange and 2 x 8" Paper-pulp Woofer with a Crossover frequency at 130Hz and 1.6kHz . On the other hand, the Triton Five features a " Folded Ribbon Tweeter and 2 x 6" Polypropylene Woofer.
Frequency Response
SourcePoint 888 has a frequency range of 32-30k 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 SourcePoint 888's min frequency of 32Hz.
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
SourcePoint 888 is a 6 ohms speaker compared to the Triton Five which has a nominal impedance of 8 ohms.
These two speakers also have different sensitivity levels. SourcePoint 888 sensitivity is rated at 87dB and the Triton Five's is rated at 90 dB. This 3 dB difference makes the GoldenEar Triton Five a more sensitive speaker compared to MoFi SourcePoint 888, 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 SourcePoint 888 has a max power handling value of 200 watts RMS, 200 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
SourcePoint 888 features 5-Way 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 SourcePoint 888 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 MoFi SourcePoint 888's and GoldenEar Triton Five's external dimensions. MoFi SourcePoint 888 has external dimensions of 1070 x 320 x 410mm (42.1 x 12.6 x 16.1 inch) 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).
MoFi SourcePoint 888 is 61mm shorter and 11mm less deeper than GoldenEar Triton Five but it is also 39mm wider.
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 MoFi SourcePoint 888 is approximately 1312.0cm2 / 203.4inch2 and base area of the GoldenEar Triton Five is approximately 1183.0cm2 / 183.4inch2. The SourcePoint 888 requires 11% 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 MoFi SourcePoint 888 weighs 43.00kg / 94.6lbs and the GoldenEar Triton Five weighs 18.18kg / 40lbs. This makes the SourcePoint 888 137% heavier than the Triton Five.
Here is a comparison of how SourcePoint 888 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 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
 Driver Setup |
3-way
vs
2-way
|
Have a dedicated mid-range driver |
 Woofer Size |
8 inches
vs
6 inches
|
Larger woofer |
 Bi-Amping and Bi-Wiring |
Yes
vs
No
|
Allows bi-amping and bi-wiring connections |
 Height |
1070mm
vs
1131mm
|
Easier to fit in smaller spaces |
 Max Input Power |
400 watts
vs
200 watts
|
Handle more power from your amplifier |
 Sensitivity |
90 dB
vs
87 dB
|
Play louder with same amount of amplification power |
 Nominal Impedance |
8 ohms
vs
6 ohms
|
Less selective with amplifiers |
|
Low Frequency Response |
26 Hz
vs
32 Hz
|
Generates deeper bass |
 High Frequency Response |
35k Hz
vs
30k Hz
|
Generates higher frequency |
 Passive Radiator |
four 8-inch infrasonic planar sub-bass
vs
None
|
Increases the bass performance |
 Base Surface Area |
1183cm2
vs
1312cm2
|
Takes less floor space |
 Price per pair* |
2398USD
vs
4999USD
|
costs less (*prices may change depending on the seller, location and time) |
| General |
MoFi SourcePoint 888 |
GoldenEar Triton Five |
| Brand |
MoFi |
GoldenEar |
| Speaker Type |
Floor-standing speaker |
Floor-standing speaker |
| Power Range |
Up to 200 watts |
15-400 watts |
| Sensitivity |
87dB |
90 dB |
| Impedance |
6 ohms |
8 ohms |
| Impedance |
4.5 ohms |
n/a |
| Frequency Response |
32-30k Hz |
26-35k Hz |
Drivers |
|
|
| Woofer Quantity |
2 |
2 |
| Woofer Size |
8" |
6" |
| Woofer Composition |
Paper-pulp |
Polypropylene |
| Woofer Surround Material |
Rubber |
Rubber |
| Tweeter Size |
1.25" |
- |
| Tweeter Type |
wide roll soft dome |
Folded Ribbon |
| Aimable Tweeter |
No |
No |
| Midrange Driver |
8" |
No |
| Crossover Frequency |
130Hz and 1.6kHz |
n/a |
| Firing Direction |
rear |
rear |
Physical Specs |
|
|
| Height |
1070.0mm (42.1") |
1131.0mm (44.5") |
| Width |
320.0mm (12.6") |
281.0mm (11.1") |
| Depth |
410.0mm (16.1") |
421.0mm (16.6") |
| Weight |
43.00kg (94.6lbs) |
18.18kg (40lbs) |
| Enclosure |
Bass Reflex |
Passive Radiator |
| Finish |
real wood veneer |
MDF/Lacquer |
| Available Colors |
Black, Walnut, Satin White |
Gloss Black |
| Grille |
Yes |
n/a |
| Moisture Resistancy |
No |
No |
Connections |
|
|
| Biamp Inputs |
Yes |
No |
Other |
|
|
| Parts Warranty |
|
5 Years |
| Labor Warranty |
|
5 Years |
These sit in different price classes - MoFi SourcePoint 888 costs roughly 2.1x 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 32Hz. 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. |
| Amplifier match | B | GoldenEar Triton Five is the easier load at 8 ohms. |
| Headroom | B | GoldenEar Triton Five takes more power (400W vs 200W) - more in hand in a big room. |
| Size | depends | Similar cabinet size - neither is easier to fit. |
| Cabinet | depends | Ported vs Passive Radiator. |
| Expandability | depends | MoFi SourcePoint 888: bi-amping. GoldenEar Triton Five sits in a wider range (7 models), so a matched surround system is easier later. |
| Price | B | GoldenEar Triton Five is cheaper - $2,398 against $4,999, about 52% less; arguably a different class. |
A MoFi SourcePoint 888 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?
GoldenEar Triton Five is the easier recommendation: it leads on most of the measured areas and costs less. Take MoFi SourcePoint 888 if its size, looks or fit in your room suit you better. If a subwoofer is in your plans, the bass gap largely stops mattering - you would be crossing over above 32Hz anyway, so judge these on the other rows instead. Match it to your room: we rate MoFi SourcePoint 888 the better fit for a mid-size room, and GoldenEar Triton Five for a very large 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.