Goldenear Aon 2 and 3 at Kelly's in Salem, OR: Speaker/Store Reviews by Marshall Part 2

[Marshall_Guthrie]

Intro and all review links are gathered in this thread:

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--The Store--

Next up was a trip to Kelly’s Home Center Audio and Video in Salem, Oregon. Yep, a big box, but it’s the closest local dealer for GoldenEar. Upon entering the store, Tom, the sole employee on the floor was otherwise engaged, so I headed to my first pleasant surprise of the visit: a large, darkened, dedicated theater room complete with the Triton 2 and SuperSat, as well as a projector. Most of the time, you’ll see big boxes cram a room like this with dozens of different speaker models and as many AVRs, but here we had just 2 setups sharing this great space.

Tom greeted me warmly and, since we were in the dedicated room, we fired up the Tritons to give me a sense of what GoldenEar was all about. I had Tom cue track 1 from my test disc, which he ran from a PS3 to a Denon AVR in Direct mode. The track was a great discovery from one of our listening parties called Tamacun from Rodrigo y Gabriela. It also made an appearance on Breaking Bad. After a few seconds, Tom asked “Is this Rodrigo y Gabriela”. Tom knew his music, and you could tell he had a real love for good audio.

Unfortunately, the listening space for the Aon 2 and 3 wasn’t as ideal, though better than many. A corner setup of shelves boxed in about 12 different speaker pairs, including towers, and a few subs. These cramped conditions don't work for getting the best performance from speakers. That said, there was a comfy chair and professional switching system with a full compliment of gear to choose from. Tom knew well how to use the equipment, so he was able to switch tracks and speakers with minimal fuss making the shopping experience a very good one.

--The Speaker--

One thing that excites me about the GoldenEars is that their trademark High-Velocity Folded Ribbon tweeter is used throughout the line, from the $1500 Triton 2 all the way down to the $300 Aon 2. The Aon 2 were positioned as an inside pair, about 5 feet apart, but right against a back wall and corner-loaded, which made them very inarticulate in the mid-bass. By moving my listening position inward, I was able to get a very good separation and a good sense of the clarity and good off-axis response of the tweeter. Switching to the outside pair Aon 3 was a noticeable improvement the tightness of the mid-bass and a bit more extension, but I would still say they were trying a bit too hard to convince me that they had a big speaker sound. Perhaps the setup was still to blame for the boominess, but at least the bass was there. I could run the Aon 3 without a sub for music, no problem.

I'll leave it to you to check out the unique design of these speakers on the GoldenEar website, but I will comment that the grill cloth completely covering 3 visible sides didn't do the appearance any favors. The angled sides add some interest, and there was a hint of high gloss black on the top and bottom, but redesigning the grill to allow for a gloss frame all around, or offering something seriously lux like a cherry would balance out the aesthetics. Of course, considering the price, and the fact that, for home theater folks, the lights will likely be dim, it's more important that these speakers sound good than look good.

Setup faults aside, I thought the Aon 2 and 3 were great speakers for the money and did a good job of showcasing how far we come in getting audiophile gear into big box shopping at a fantastic price point. While I wouldn't put them over the more expensive Paradigm Studio 20 without more critical listening in a more fair setup, these are a safe bet for anyone looking to spend $300-400 per speaker to get a full-spacious sound in a small package. Don't be afraid to recommend these to friends and family.

--The Takeaway--

This is the way a big box experience should be; a knowledgeable staff and nice use of all that square footage to provide a great room for listening. Even though my chosen model wasn’t ideally displayed, it was an overwhelmingly positive experience.

Visit Kelly’s if: You’ve become jaded about what the big-box experience could be.

Avoid if: You’re going to want to hear every speaker in the ideal setup. Though I probably could have talked Tom into pulling the Tritons and putting the Aons in their place, that would have been far above the call of duty.

 

[Marshall_Guthrie]

One note I forgot to add: I did think the high-frequency detail on the GoldenEar was great. In another audiophile worthy recording to spring from our listening parties, Be Brave by My Brightest Diamond, the "finger bells" had the most clarity and natural decay that I've heard on almost any system. Of course that track sounds good on everything, but still, it is more than noteworthy. Probably not enough to bump the GoldenEar to the top of my list, but a fine quality of this speaker.

 

[cpp]

One note I forgot to add: I did think the high-frequency detail on the GoldenEar was great. In another audiophile worthy recording to spring from our listening parties, Be Brave by My Brightest Diamond, the "finger bells" had the most clarity and natural decay that I've heard on almost any system. Of course that track sounds good on everything, but still, it is more than noteworthy. Probably not enough to bump the GoldenEar to the top of my list, but a fine quality of this speaker.

We have the 2's supporting our HDTV in the family room. The pair has a LOTS of hours on them and actually sound pretty good. The only fault we can see, is we wish they were 6" shorter.

 

[Marshall_Guthrie]

The Triton or the Aon? The Aon is already pretty compact.

Edit: never mind, I see from your Sig that you have the Triton. Yes, I didn't spend much time listening to them as I was there for the Aon, but what I heard was good.

We have the 2's supporting our HDTV in the family room. The pair has a LOTS of hours on them and actually sound pretty good. The only fault we can see, is we wish they were 6" shorter.

 

[cpp]

The Triton or the Aon? The Aon is already pretty compact.

Edit: never mind, I see from your Sig that you have the Triton. Yes, I didn't spend much time listening to them as I was there for the Aon, but what I heard was good.

What I did find at pretty much every "stereo" store I went to, nobody had their speakers set up for listening to suit the listener, just demoing. I found this shop in Augusta Ga, that had the Triton 2's and the owner would pair them with any equipment he had ( tubes/SS) and move them wherever I wanted. My music, my time which made the experience really nice. Plus he already had up to 1000 hours on the speakers... Purchased the speakers on the floor.

 

[Marshall_Guthrie]

Yep, it's great to find a shop like that, and while Kelly's might not be able to switch out amps, I was very impressed that they had the Triton 2 in an uncluttered, dedicated room. Definitely not was I was expecting given that, typically, every square inch of a big box is crammed with inventory on display (and the rest of the store was, admittedly, a bit like this).

What I did find at pretty much every "stereo" store I went to, nobody had their speakers set up for listening to suit the listener, just demoing. I found this shop in Augusta Ga, that had the Triton 2's and the owner would pair them with any equipment he had ( tubes/SS) and move them wherever I wanted. My music, my time which made the experience really nice. Plus he already had up to 1000 hours on the speakers... Purchased the speakers on the floor.