In this review, we will be comparing Lumina III and Triton Five, two Passive Floor-standing speakers from Sonus faber and GoldenEar.
Let's have a brief look at the main features
of Sonus Lumina III and GoldenEar Triton Five first before getting into our more
detailed comparison.
| Key Specs | Sonus Lumina III | GoldenEar Triton Five |
|---|
| Brand | Sonus faber
Italy · founded 1983 | GoldenEar
United States · founded 2010 |
|---|
| Design | 3-way | 2-way |
|---|
| Tweeter | 1.15" high definition DAD | Folded Ribbon |
|---|
| Midrange | 6" | — |
|---|
| Woofer | 2 x 6" paper cone | 2 x 6" Polypropylene |
|---|
| Frequency response | 40-24k Hz | 26-35k Hz |
|---|
| Sensitivity | 89 dB | 90 dB |
|---|
| Impedance | 4 ohms | 8 ohms |
|---|
| Power range | 50-250 watts | 15-400 watts |
|---|
| Weight | 15.90kg / 35lbs | 18.18kg / 40lbs |
|---|
| Dimensions (H x W x D) | 38.9" x 9" x 10.9"
989.0 x 228.0 x 278.0mm | 44-1/2" x 11-1/16" x 16-9/16"
1131.0 x 281.0 x 421.0mm |
|---|
What size room are the Sonus Lumina III 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* |
Sonus Lumina III |
GoldenEar Triton Five |
| Near-field |
Bad |
Are you nuts? |
| Small Room |
Poor |
Poor |
| Mid-size Room |
Average |
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 Lumina III 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.
Sonus Lumina IIIGoldenEar 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 |
Sonus Lumina III |
GoldenEar Triton Five |
|
Driver Setup
|
3-way
|
2-way
|
|
Tweeter
|
1.15-inch
|
-inch
|
|
Midrange
|
1 x 6-inch |
- |
|
Woofer
|
2 x 6-inch
|
2 x 6-inch
|
Lumina III features a 1.15" high definition DAD Tweeter, a 6" Midrange and 2 x 6" paper cone Woofer with a Crossover frequency at 350 and 3500 Hz. On the other hand, the Triton Five features a " Folded Ribbon Tweeter and 2 x 6" Polypropylene Woofer.
Frequency Response
Lumina III has a frequency range of 40-24k 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 Lumina III's min frequency of 40Hz.
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
Lumina III is a 4 ohms speaker compared to the Triton Five which has a nominal impedance of 8 ohms. Lower impedance speakers, especially the ones that are rated at 4 ohms may put more pressure on the amplifier unit especially when played at high volume levels, so make sure the amp you pair with the Lumina III can provide this impedance level.
These two speakers also have different sensitivity levels. Lumina III sensitivity is rated at 89 dB and the Triton Five's is rated at 90 dB. This 1 dB difference makes the GoldenEar Triton Five a more sensitive speaker compared to Sonus Lumina III, 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 Lumina III has a max power handling value of 250 watts RMS, 150 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
Lumina III 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.
Cabinet Type and Port Position
Lumina III has a bottom firing port whereas Triton Five has a rear firing ports. Sonus Lumina III's bottom-firing port gives more flexibility in placement in regards to proximity to walls compared to GoldenEar Triton Five with its rear-firing port.
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 Sonus Lumina III's and GoldenEar Triton Five's external dimensions. Sonus Lumina III has external dimensions of 989.0 x 228.0 x 278.0mm (38.9 x 9 x 10.9inch) 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 clearly the larger of the two speakers. Its body is 53mm wider, 142mm taller and 143mm deeper than Sonus Lumina III.
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 Sonus Lumina III is approximately 633.8cm2 / 98.2inch2 and base area of the GoldenEar Triton Five is approximately 1183.0cm2 / 183.4inch2. The Lumina III requires 46% less surface area than the Triton Five 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 Sonus Lumina III weighs 15.90kg / 35lbs and the GoldenEar Triton Five weighs 18.18kg / 40lbs. This makes the Triton Five 14% heavier than the Lumina III.
Here is a comparison of how Lumina III 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 Sonus Lumina III?
Here are the items that are included inside the box of Lumina III:
- Floorstanding loudspeaker
- 1 Manual
- 2 Jumpers
- 2 Grilles
- 2 Fabric dust guards
- 4 Spikes
- 4 Under spikes
- 4 Spikes locks
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 |
 Bi-Amping and Bi-Wiring |
Yes
vs
No
|
Allows bi-amping and bi-wiring connections |
 Height |
989mm
vs
1131mm
|
Easier to fit in smaller spaces |
 Base Surface Area |
633cm2
vs
1183cm2
|
Takes less floor space |
 Price per pair* |
2199USD
vs
2398USD
|
costs less (*prices may change depending on the seller, location and time) |
 Max Input Power |
400 watts
vs
250 watts
|
Handle more power from your amplifier |
 Sensitivity |
90 dB
vs
89 dB
|
Play louder with same amount of amplification power |
 Nominal Impedance |
8 ohms
vs
4 ohms
|
Less selective with amplifiers |
 Low Frequency Response |
26 Hz
vs
40 Hz
|
Generates deeper bass |
 High Frequency Response |
35k Hz
vs
24k Hz
|
Generates higher frequency |
 Passive Radiator |
four 8-inch infrasonic planar sub-bass
vs
None
|
Increases the bass performance |
| General |
Sonus faber Lumina III |
GoldenEar Triton Five |
| Brand |
Sonus faber |
GoldenEar |
| Speaker Type |
Floor-standing speaker |
Floor-standing speaker |
| Power Range |
50-250 watts |
15-400 watts |
| Sensitivity |
89 dB |
90 dB |
| Impedance |
4 ohms |
8 ohms |
| Frequency Response |
40-24k Hz |
26-35k Hz |
Drivers |
|
|
| Woofer Quantity |
2 |
2 |
| Woofer Size |
6" |
6" |
| Woofer Composition |
paper cone |
Polypropylene |
| Woofer Surround Material |
n/a |
Rubber |
| Tweeter Size |
1.15" |
- |
| Tweeter Type |
high definition DAD |
Folded Ribbon |
| Aimable Tweeter |
No |
No |
| Midrange Driver |
6" |
No |
| Crossover Frequency |
350 and 3500 Hz |
n/a |
| Firing Direction |
bottom |
rear |
Physical Specs |
|
|
| Height |
989.0mm (38.9") |
1131.0mm (44.5") |
| Width |
228.0mm (9") |
281.0mm (11.1") |
| Depth |
278.0mm (10.9") |
421.0mm (16.6") |
| Weight |
15.90kg (35lbs) |
18.18kg (40lbs) |
| Enclosure |
Bass Reflex |
Passive Radiator |
| Finish |
real multilayer wood |
MDF/Lacquer |
| Available Colors |
Black, Wenge, Walnut |
Gloss Black |
| Grille |
Yes |
n/a |
| Moisture Resistancy |
No |
No |
Connections |
|
|
| Biamp Inputs |
Yes |
No |
Other |
|
|
| Parts Warranty |
|
5 Years |
| Labor Warranty |
|
5 Years |
A generation apart: Sonus Lumina III is the newer design, against a 2014 model. Newer is not automatically better, but the older one is more likely to be discounted or near run-out.
| Area | Better | Why |
|---|
| Bass | B | GoldenEar Triton Five digs deeper - 26Hz against 40Hz. |
| Amplifier needs | evenly matched | Similar sensitivity (89dB vs 90dB) - both want much the same power. |
| Amplifier match | B | GoldenEar Triton Five is the easier load at 8 ohms; the other is 4 ohms and wants an amplifier rated for it. |
| Headroom | B | GoldenEar Triton Five takes more power (400W vs 250W) - more in hand in a big room. |
| Size | depends | Sonus Lumina III is easier to place; GoldenEar Triton Five is bigger, which usually goes with fuller bass. Your room decides. |
| Cabinet | depends | Ported vs Passive Radiator. |
| Expandability | A | Sonus Lumina III: bi-amping. |
| Price | evenly matched | Much the same money ($2,199 vs $2,398 a pair). |
A Sonus Lumina III 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 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 40Hz anyway, so judge these on the other rows instead. Match it to your room: we rate GoldenEar Triton Five the better fit for a very large room; elsewhere the two are rated the same.
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.