In this review, we will be comparing Ultra Evolution Tower and Triton Seven, two Passive Floor-standing speakers from SVS and GoldenEar.
Let's have a brief look at the main features
of SVS Ultra Evolution Tower and GoldenEar Triton Seven first before getting into our more
detailed comparison.
| Key Specs | SVS Ultra Evolution Tower | GoldenEar Triton Seven |
|---|
| Brand | SVS
United States · founded 1998 | GoldenEar
United States · founded 2010 |
|---|
| Design | 3-way | 2-way |
|---|
| Tweeter | 1" Dome | Folded Ribbon |
|---|
| Midrange | 2 x 4.5" | — |
|---|
| Woofer | 4 x 5.25" Composite glass-fiber | 2 x 5.25" Polypropylene |
|---|
| Frequency response | 30-40k Hz | 29-35k Hz |
|---|
| Sensitivity | 87 dB | 89 dB |
|---|
| Impedance | 6 ohms | 8 ohms |
|---|
| Power range | 20-300 watts | 10-300 watts |
|---|
| Weight | 27.00kg / 59.4lbs | 14.55kg / 32lbs |
|---|
| Dimensions (H x W x D) | 44.5" x 8.58" x 16.7"
1130 x 218 x 424mm | 40-1/2" x 10-1/2" x 14-1/2"
1029.0 x 267.0 x 369.0mm |
|---|
What size room are the SVS Ultra Evolution Tower and GoldenEar Triton Seven 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* |
SVS Ultra Evolution Tower |
GoldenEar Triton Seven |
| Near-field |
Bad |
Bad |
| Small Room |
Poor |
Poor |
| Mid-size Room |
Average |
Average |
| Large Room |
Good |
Good |
| Very Large Room |
Average |
Average |
(* 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 Ultra Evolution Tower is a 3-way design whereas the Triton Seven 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.
SVS Ultra Evolution TowerGoldenEar Triton Seven
TweeterMidrangeWoofer
Front view, drawn to scale - cabinets and drivers share one scale, so sizes are directly comparable. Hover a driver for its size.
| Driver |
SVS Ultra Evolution Tower |
GoldenEar Triton Seven |
|
Driver Setup
|
3-way
|
2-way
|
|
Tweeter
|
1-inch
|
-inch
|
|
Midrange
|
2 x 4.5-inch |
- |
|
Woofer
|
4 x 5.25-inch
|
2 x 5.25-inch
|
Ultra Evolution Tower features a 1" aluminum Dome Tweeter, a 4.5" Midrange and 4 x 5.25" Composite glass-fiber Woofer with a Crossover frequency at 170HZ and 1800Hz. On the other hand, the Triton Seven features a " Folded Ribbon Tweeter and 2 x 5.25" Polypropylene Woofer.
Frequency Response
Ultra Evolution Tower has a frequency range of 30-40k Hz whereas Triton Seven has a frequency range of 29-35k Hz. With a minimum frequency of 29Hz, the Triton Seven can go slightly deeper then the Ultra Evolution Tower'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
Ultra Evolution Tower is a 6 ohms speaker compared to the Triton Seven which has a nominal impedance of 8 ohms.
These two speakers also have different sensitivity levels. Ultra Evolution Tower sensitivity is rated at 87 dB and the Triton Seven's is rated at 89 dB. This 2 dB difference makes the GoldenEar Triton Seven a more sensitive speaker compared to SVS Ultra Evolution Tower, 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.
Both handle the same maximum of 300 watts RMS, though Ultra Evolution Tower is rated 20-300 watts and Triton Seven 10-300 watts.
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.
SVS Ultra Evolution Tower
Input Type and Bi-Amping / Bi-Wiring
Ultra Evolution Tower features Gold-plated 5-way posts which make bi-amping or bi-wiring possible. Triton Seven has a 5-way Post which doesn't feature bi-amping/bi-wiring.
SVS Ultra Evolution Tower's Gold-plated 5-way terminals allows Bi-amping or bi-wiring
Cabinet Type and Port Position
Both Ultra Evolution Tower and Triton Seven 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 SVS Ultra Evolution Tower's and GoldenEar Triton Seven's external dimensions. SVS Ultra Evolution Tower has external dimensions of 1130 x 218 x 424mm (44.49 x 8.58 x 16.69”) whereas 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).
GoldenEar Triton Seven is 101mm shorter and 55mm less deeper than SVS Ultra Evolution Tower but it is also 49mm wider.
Size, drawn to scale
Both speakers and both views share one scale, so everything here is directly comparable. Hover a box for its dimensions.
One scale for both, standing on the same surface and pushed back to the same wall, so the deeper one visibly sticks out further.
Near-identical footprints. SVS Ultra Evolution Tower is 55mm deeper, so it stands that much further out from the wall. SVS Ultra Evolution Tower is 101mm taller.
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 SVS Ultra Evolution Tower is approximately 924.3cm2 / 143.3inch2 and base area of the GoldenEar Triton Seven is approximately 985.2cm2 / 152.7inch2. The Ultra Evolution Tower requires 6% less surface area than the Triton Seven which gives it a small advantage 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 SVS Ultra Evolution Tower weighs 27.00kg / 59.4lbs and the GoldenEar Triton Seven weighs 14.55kg / 32lbs. This makes the Ultra Evolution Tower 86% heavier than the Triton Seven.
Here is a comparison of how Ultra Evolution Tower and Triton Seven's weights compare with the average, max and min weights in Passive Floor-standing class.
Weight
All Floor-standing Speakers
SVS Ultra Evolution Tower
What's in the Box of GoldenEar Triton Seven?
Here are the items that come with the Triton Seven:
- 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 |
 Number of Woofers |
4
vs
2
|
More woofers |
 High Frequency Response |
40k Hz
vs
35k Hz
|
Generates higher frequency |
 Bi-Amping and Bi-Wiring |
Yes
vs
No
|
Allows bi-amping and bi-wiring connections |
 Base Surface Area |
924cm2
vs
985cm2
|
Takes less floor space |
 Sensitivity |
89 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 |
29 Hz
vs
30 Hz
|
Generates deeper bass |
 Passive Radiator |
dual 8-inch infrasonic planar sub-bass
vs
None
|
Increases the bass performance |
 Height |
1029mm
vs
1130mm
|
Easier to fit in smaller spaces |
 Price per pair* |
1798USD
vs
2999USD
|
costs less (*prices may change depending on the seller, location and time) |
| General |
SVS Ultra Evolution Tower |
GoldenEar Triton Seven |
| Brand |
SVS |
GoldenEar |
| Speaker Type |
Floor-standing speaker |
Floor-standing speaker |
| Power Range |
20-300 watts |
10-300 watts |
| Sensitivity |
87 dB |
89 dB |
| Impedance |
6 ohms |
8 ohms |
| Frequency Response |
30-40k Hz |
29-35k Hz |
Drivers |
|
|
| Woofer Quantity |
4 |
2 |
| Woofer Size |
5.25" |
5.25" |
| Woofer Composition |
Composite glass-fiber |
Polypropylene |
| Woofer Surround Material |
Rubber |
Rubber |
| Tweeter Size |
1" |
- |
| Tweeter Type |
Dome |
Folded Ribbon |
| Aimable Tweeter |
No |
No |
| Midrange Driver |
4.5" |
No |
| Crossover Frequency |
170HZ and 1800Hz |
n/a |
| Firing Direction |
rear |
rear |
Physical Specs |
|
|
| Height |
1130.0mm (44.5") |
1029.0mm (40.5") |
| Width |
218.0mm (8.6") |
267.0mm (10.5") |
| Depth |
424.0mm (16.7") |
369.0mm (14.5") |
| Weight |
27.00kg (59.4lbs) |
14.55kg (32lbs) |
| Enclosure |
Bass Reflex |
Passive Radiator |
| Finish |
n/a |
MDF/Lacquer |
| Available Colors |
Piano Gloss Black,Piano Gloss White,Black Oak Veneer |
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 - SVS Ultra Evolution Tower costs roughly 1.7x what GoldenEar Triton Seven 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 | evenly matched | Much the same reach (30Hz vs 29Hz). |
| Amplifier needs | B | GoldenEar Triton Seven is more sensitive (89dB vs 87dB), so it goes louder on the same amplifier. |
| Amplifier match | B | GoldenEar Triton Seven is the easier load at 8 ohms. |
| Headroom | evenly matched | Similar power handling (300W vs 300W). |
| Size | depends | Similar cabinet size - neither is easier to fit. |
| Cabinet | depends | Ported vs Passive Radiator. |
| Expandability | A | SVS Ultra Evolution Tower: bi-amping. |
| Price | B | GoldenEar Triton Seven is cheaper - $1,798 against $2,999, about 40% less; arguably a different class. |
A SVS Ultra Evolution Tower B GoldenEar Triton Seven
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 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 your amplifier is modest, vintage or valve-based, GoldenEar Triton Seven 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 $1,201 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.