In this review, we will be comparing Performa3 F208 and Triton Five, two Passive Floor-standing speakers from Revel and GoldenEar.
Let's have a brief look at the main features
of Revel Performa3 F208 and GoldenEar Triton Five first before getting into our more
detailed comparison.
| Key Specs | Revel Performa3 F208 | GoldenEar Triton Five |
|---|
| Brand | Revel
United States · founded 1996 | GoldenEar
United States · founded 2010 |
|---|
| Design | 3-way | 2-way |
|---|
| Tweeter | 1" Hard-Dome with Acoustic Lens Waveguide | Folded Ribbon |
|---|
| Midrange | 5.25" | — |
|---|
| Woofer | 2 x 8" Aluminum | 2 x 6" Polypropylene |
|---|
| Frequency response | 31Hz- 20kHz | 26-35k Hz |
|---|
| Sensitivity | 88.5 dB | 90 dB |
|---|
| Impedance | 8 ohms | 8 ohms |
|---|
| Power range | 50-350 watts | 15-400 watts |
|---|
| Weight | 36.27kg / 79.8lbs | 18.18kg / 40lbs |
|---|
| Dimensions (H x W x D) | 46-3/4" x 13-5/8" x 15"
1188.0 x 347.0 x 381.0mm | 44-1/2" x 11-1/16" x 16-9/16"
1131.0 x 281.0 x 421.0mm |
|---|
What size room are the Revel Performa3 F208 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* |
Revel Performa3 F208 |
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 Performa3 F208 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.
Revel Performa3 F208GoldenEar 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 |
Revel Performa3 F208 |
GoldenEar Triton Five |
|
Driver Setup
|
3-way
|
2-way
|
|
Tweeter
|
1-inch
|
-inch
|
|
Midrange
|
1 x 5.25-inch |
- |
|
Woofer
|
2 x 8-inch
|
2 x 6-inch
|
Performa3 F208 features a 1" Aluminum Hard-Dome with Acoustic Lens Waveguide Tweeter, a 5.25" Midrange and 2 x 8" Aluminum Woofer with a Crossover frequency at 270Hz and 2200Hz. On the other hand, the Triton Five features a " Folded Ribbon Tweeter and 2 x 6" Polypropylene Woofer.
Frequency Response
Performa3 F208 has a frequency range of 31Hz- 20kHz 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 Performa3 F208's min frequency of 31Hz.
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
Performa3 F208 and Triton Five have the same Impedance of 8 ohms but where they differ is the sensitivity levels. Performa3 F208 sensitivity is rated at 88.5 dB and the Triton Five's is at 90 dB. This 1 dB difference makes the GoldenEar Triton Five a more sensitive speaker compared to Revel Performa3 F208, 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 Performa3 F208 has a max power handling value of 350 watts RMS, 50 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
Performa3 F208 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.
Revel Performa3 F208's Binding post terminals allows Bi-amping or bi-wiring
Cabinet Type and Port Position
Both Performa3 F208 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 Revel Performa3 F208's and GoldenEar Triton Five's external dimensions. Revel Performa3 F208 has external dimensions of 1188.0 x 347.0 x 381.0mm (46-3/4 x 13-5/8 x 15inch) 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).
GoldenEar Triton Five is 66mm narrower and 57mm shorter than Revel Performa3 F208 but it is also 40mm deeper.
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 Revel Performa3 F208 is approximately 1322.1cm2 / 204.9inch2 and base area of the GoldenEar Triton Five is approximately 1183.0cm2 / 183.4inch2. The Performa3 F208 requires 12% 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 Revel Performa3 F208 weighs 36.27kg / 79.8lbs and the GoldenEar Triton Five weighs 18.18kg / 40lbs. This makes the Performa3 F208 100% heavier than the Triton Five.
Here is a comparison of how Performa3 F208 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 Revel Performa3 F208?
Here are the items that are included inside the box of Performa3 F208:
- Floorstanding loudspeaker
- Grille
- 4 Spike feet
- 4 Locking rings
- 4 Washers
- 2 Terminal jumpers (pre-installed)
- Foam port plug
- 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
 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 |
 Max Input Power |
400 watts
vs
350 watts
|
Handle more power from your amplifier |
 Sensitivity |
90 dB
vs
89 dB
|
Play louder with same amount of amplification power |
|
Low Frequency Response |
26 Hz
vs
31 Hz
|
Generates deeper bass |
 High Frequency Response |
35k Hz
vs
20k Hz
|
Generates higher frequency |
 Passive Radiator |
four 8-inch infrasonic planar sub-bass
vs
None
|
Increases the bass performance |
 Height |
1131mm
vs
1188mm
|
Easier to fit in smaller spaces |
 Base Surface Area |
1183cm2
vs
1322cm2
|
Takes less floor space |
 Price per pair* |
2398USD
vs
5500USD
|
costs less (*prices may change depending on the seller, location and time) |
| General |
Revel Performa3 F208 |
GoldenEar Triton Five |
| Brand |
Revel |
GoldenEar |
| Speaker Type |
Floor-standing speaker |
Floor-standing speaker |
| Power Range |
50-350 watts |
15-400 watts |
| Sensitivity |
88.5 dB |
90 dB |
| Impedance |
8 ohms |
8 ohms |
| Frequency Response |
31Hz- 20kHz |
26-35k Hz |
Drivers |
|
|
| Woofer Quantity |
2 |
2 |
| Woofer Size |
8" |
6" |
| Woofer Composition |
Aluminum |
Polypropylene |
| Woofer Surround Material |
Rubber |
Rubber |
| Tweeter Size |
1" |
- |
| Tweeter Type |
Hard-Dome with Acoustic Lens Waveguide |
Folded Ribbon |
| Aimable Tweeter |
No |
No |
| Midrange Driver |
5.25" |
No |
| Crossover Frequency |
270Hz and 2200Hz |
n/a |
| Firing Direction |
rear |
rear |
Physical Specs |
|
|
| Height |
1188.0mm (46.8") |
1131.0mm (44.5") |
| Width |
347.0mm (13.7") |
281.0mm (11.1") |
| Depth |
381.0mm (15") |
421.0mm (16.6") |
| Weight |
36.27kg (79.8lbs) |
18.18kg (40lbs) |
| Enclosure |
Bass Reflex |
Passive Radiator |
| Finish |
Wood/Lacquer |
MDF/Lacquer |
| Available Colors |
Gloss Black |
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 - Revel Performa3 F208 costs roughly 2.3x 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 31Hz. A subwoofer would even that out. |
| Amplifier needs | evenly matched | Similar sensitivity (89dB vs 90dB) - both want much the same power. |
| Headroom | evenly matched | Similar power handling (350W vs 400W). |
| Size | depends | Similar cabinet size - neither is easier to fit. |
| Cabinet | depends | Ported vs Passive Radiator. |
| Expandability | A | Revel Performa3 F208: bi-amping. |
| Price | B | GoldenEar Triton Five is cheaper - $2,398 against $5,500, about 56% less; arguably a different class. |
A Revel Performa3 F208 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 a subwoofer is in your plans, the bass gap largely stops mattering - you would be crossing over above 31Hz anyway, so judge these on the other rows instead. Think about the whole system, not just the speakers: the roughly $3,102 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.