Hi, I have the Goldenear Triton Ones along with a Marantz 8802a preamp. My current amp quit working

[AcuDefTechGuy]

Despite the GE measurements, my T2 have never sounded bright in the slightest to my ears! I know that my hearing stops around 15-16kHz, so perhaps that rising response is even a good thing for my ears?

Either way, "bright" is not a description that I would use for the T2.

I think a little "brightness" may help a lot of people.

The only reason I even brought that up was because the OP was concerned about the amp being "bright".

Some guys like to blame the Amps for being bright, but the point from most of us here is that if people are going to blame the Amps for being bright or forward, then they should blame the speakers, not the Amps.

 

[slipperybidness]

I think a little "brightness" may help a lot of people.

The only reason I even brought that up was because the OP was concerned about the amp being "bright".

Some guys like to blame the Amps for being bright, but the point from most of us here is that if people are going to blame the Amps for being bright or forward, then they should blame the speakers, not the Amps.

Or, the room acoustics!

 

[Mikado463]

Or, the room acoustics!

agreed ..........

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

Or, the room acoustics!

Absolutely. Room acoustics is significant for sure.

If you have hard floors, you better add a large thick rug and some sofas and plenty of pillows and blankets for good measure.

 

[mtrycrafts]

...
Here is the $8500 Goldenear Reference tower: +4dB from about 10-15kHz. A little "bright".

https://www.soundandvision.com/content/goldenear-technology-triton-reference-loudspeaker-review-test-bench

...

And, let's not forget how that graph was created, averaged. So, it could really be worse where it counts.

 

[Audiophileman]

Despite the GE measurements, my T2 have never sounded bright in the slightest to my ears! I know that my hearing stops around 15-16kHz, so perhaps that rising response is even a good thing for my ears?

Either way, "bright" is not a description that I would use for the T2.

Yes, I agree my Triton Ones have never sounded bright. They are excellent. When I mentioned bright I was referring to what I had read on different forums, about amps. Definitely not the Triton Ones.

 

[slipperybidness]

Yes, I agree my Triton Ones have never sounded bright. They are excellent. When I mentioned bright I was referring to what I had read on different forums, about amps. Definitely not the Triton Ones.

Any modern SS amp should have a ruler-flat FR for the entire audio spectrum. If it does not, then it is either a piece of crap out of the east, or it was intentionally designed with a rising FR.

Either of those situations should be avoided.

Amps are old tech, no magic, all understood, measured and characterized! Getting a "perfect copy of the input to the output" was accomplished long ago.

The only advancements to be made at this point are better efficiency, lighter weight, less heat, etc.

 

[PENG]

Despite the GE measurements, my T2 have never sounded bright in the slightest to my ears! I know that my hearing stops around 15-16kHz, so perhaps that rising response is even a good thing for my ears?

Either way, "bright" is not a description that I would use for the T2.

Have you seen some REW plots lately? You may noticed that the drops in >10KHz from listening positions that are also greatly influenced by the room, though not as much as the low frequencies? Unless you compare those speakers with others that exhibit roll offs in the same frequency band, they may or may not sound bright in a particular room sitting and a particular sitting postion. So much for golden ears who claimed to hear minute difference in the different characteristics between good amps and DACs etc., when those minute differences are nothing compared to the same between rooms and listening positions.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

Yes, I agree my Triton Ones have never sounded bright. They are excellent. When I mentioned bright I was referring to what I had read on different forums, about amps. Definitely not the Triton Ones.

Take certain opinions with a grain of salt., especially if the opinions are not from Audioholics members.

We keep you on a straight path here.

On one side you have pure subjective opinions. It is salient what you hear and think. But the only problem is that pure subjective opinions can be antithetical.

On the other side you have pure objective factual measurements. Numbers don't lie. Pure factual measurements are absolute, not antithetical.

When you put the both facts and opinions together, a lot of these opinions and hearsay seem senseless.

Take the ATI 6000 amp you mentioned that some guy on some other forum say sounded "bright".

The pure actual factual objective measurement shows that the ATI 6005 amp frequency response is 20Hz-20kHz +0.01dB/-0.1dB.

https://www.soundandvision.com/content/ati-at6005-amplifier-test-bench

That is called "ruler flat", which is unequivocally NOT "bright".

So the guy who said the amp sounded bright unequivocally owned bright speakers (that have a 5-7dB BOOST in the treble 9-20kHz) and/or had bright room acoustics.

It is truly THAT simple!

So the take home message is that Amps may sound differently and not all Amps are created equal. But if 2 HIGH QUALITY HIGH POWER Amps both have ruler flat frequency responses, both Amps will unequivocally sound NEUTRAL and AWESOME, unless the speakers and/or room acoustics are bright.

If you don't think your speakers and room sound bright, then you have absolutely nothing to worry about with the ATI 6000 amp.

 

[Audiophileman]

Yes, I agree sometimes when you read things you need to take them with a grain of salt. Whichever amp I choose should sound good with my speakers. Between the three that I mentioned do you have a preference? I kept it to these three amps because when I started searching I read all the great reviews on the ATI-6002. Then I read about all the great reviews on the JC1 monoblocks. I even talked with Parasound, and they told me that Sandy Gross from Goldenear uses their Parasound amps whenever he goes to different trade shows. In fact they told me he just borrowed their amps, for the recent show in San Diego C.A. last week. Then I spoke with PS Audio they told me Sandy uses the BHK 300 in his system at home. So that says a lot, and that is what has got me to this point. So I appreciate any help you can give. Thanks again Audiophileman.

 

[Pogre]

Yes, I agree sometimes when you read things you need to take them with a grain of salt. Whichever amp I choose should sound good with my speakers. Between the three that I mentioned do you have a preference? I kept it to these three amps because when I started searching I read all the great reviews on the ATI-6002. Then I read about all the great reviews on the JC1 monoblocks. I even talked with Parasound, and they told me that Sandy Gross from Goldenear uses their Parasound amps whenever he goes to different trade shows. In fact they told me he just borrowed their amps, for the recent show in San Diego C.A. last week. Then I spoke with PS Audio they told me Sandy uses the BHK 300 in his system at home. So that says a lot, and that is what has got me to this point. So I appreciate any help you can give. Thanks again Audiophileman.

Honestly, whichever one catches your eye, or your budget. They're all reputable amplifier manufacturers. I'm partial to ATI myself (I own one). I can't recall reading anything negative about their amps aside from "too heavy" and mine is nice and neutral, and has gobs of clean power.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

Yes, I agree sometimes when you read things you need to take them with a grain of salt. Whichever amp I choose should sound good with my speakers. Between the three that I mentioned do you have a preference? I kept it to these three amps because when I started searching I read all the great reviews on the ATI-6002. Then I read about all the great reviews on the JC1 monoblocks. I even talked with Parasound, and they told me that Sandy Gross from Goldenear uses their Parasound amps whenever he goes to different trade shows. In fact they told me he just borrowed their amps, for the recent show in San Diego C.A. last week. Then I spoke with PS Audio they told me Sandy uses the BHK 300 in his system at home. So that says a lot, and that is what has got me to this point. So I appreciate any help you can give. Thanks again Audiophileman.

Yeah, whichever one catches your eye.

It makes no difference which amp Sany Gross uses because any of these high quality Amps will sound great with all these passive speakers. That's what makes them high quality.

Now if you own fully active speakers (like the Linkwitz Orion I used to own) that use external active crossovers and Amps, then it would make a world of difference which high quality Amps you buy.

When I was amp shopping, I made a list of all the features I wanted. So you should make a list.

Some of the features I wanted included:

1. Big metal front handles. In my search, it came down to Bryston, McIntosh, and ATI, but the comparable Bryston and McIntosh Amps cost way too much.

2. Built in USA, UK, Canada, Japan.

3. Fully truly balanced. It makes no sense to me why Amps that cost this much are not fully balanced. No sense.

4. Fuse-less protection circuit. I've had to replace fuses in Amps in the past. I don't have to worry about that now because ATI Amps have fuse-less circuits.

5. Excellent warranty. Bryston wins here with 20YR warranty, but they cost too much. ATI has 7YR warranty, which is still better than most companies who offer 5YR.

6. Great specs and built quality.

 

[Audiophileman]

Excellent, it is all making sense now. I agree with everything you said, especially that all amps should be fully truly balanced today. That was my fear on the JC1, because it is not balanced from input to output like the Ati and PS Audio. I am going to make a list as you suggested. Now I know what I need to do. Thanks again for all the help. Audiophileman.

 

[slipperybidness]

Yes, I agree sometimes when you read things you need to take them with a grain of salt. Whichever amp I choose should sound good with my speakers. Between the three that I mentioned do you have a preference? I kept it to these three amps because when I started searching I read all the great reviews on the ATI-6002. Then I read about all the great reviews on the JC1 monoblocks. I even talked with Parasound, and they told me that Sandy Gross from Goldenear uses their Parasound amps whenever he goes to different trade shows. In fact they told me he just borrowed their amps, for the recent show in San Diego C.A. last week. Then I spoke with PS Audio they told me Sandy uses the BHK 300 in his system at home. So that says a lot, and that is what has got me to this point. So I appreciate any help you can give. Thanks again Audiophileman.

Yeah, if you poke around on the GE website, I recall reading that Sandy uses a SET amp for his T2

Take all that with a grain of salt too.

 

[PENG]

3. Fully truly balanced. It makes no sense to me why Amps that cost this much are not fully balanced. No sense.

Since you mentioned cost, it actually makes sense for the lower models of say, Bryston and parasound to be not fully balanced. It is in fact all about the final cost of the product. So given a budget and profit margin expectation, they all have to do their cost benefit analysis in order to make their final choices in what feature/specs to keep, and what to give, something has got to give. For Bryston, in order to get the input to output differential feature you have to go with their monoblock models that starts at USD12K (list price) a pair, or about half that for the Parasound Halo JC1 monblock that may not even be fully differential as they seemed to prefer full complementary symmetry at that price range.

ATI and Emotiva, especially Emotiva, managed to sell their fully balanced input to output power amps at much more affordable prices. So what gave, hopefully just profit margin, for the sake of higher sales volume?

 

[slipperybidness]

Since you mentioned cost, it actually makes sense for the lower models of say, Bryston and parasound to be not fully balanced. It is in fact all about the final cost of the product. So given a budget and profit margin expectation, they all have to do their cost benefit analysis in order to make their final choices in what feature/specs to keep, and what to give, something has got to give. For Bryston, in order to get the input to output differential feature you gave to go with their monoblock models that startst at USD12K (list price) a pair, or about half that for the Parasound Halo JC1 monblock that may not even be fully differential as they seemed to prefer full complementary symmetry at that price range.

ATI and Emotiva, especially Emotiva, managed to sell their fully balanced input to output power amps at much more affordable prices. So what gave, hopefully just profit margin, for the sake of higher sales volume?

Yeah, the Halo line is the top level from Para, and I'm pretty sure those JC1 are not fully differential designs.

The Classic line is the Para entry level, no differential inputs even on those (but still fine amps).

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

For Bryston, in order to get the input to output differential feature you have to go with their monoblock models that startst at USD12K (list price) a pair...

Wow. So an $11K Bryston Stereo amp is single-ended, not fully balanced.

 

[PENG]

Wow. So an $11K Bryston Stereo amp is single-ended, not fully balanced.

For stereo amps, I am sure the 14BSST3 can be had for much less, and yes then you will get your handles and fully balanced input to output feature as well.

http://www.audioadvisor.com/ssearch.asp?txtsearch=bryston+amplifier

Sorry I forgot their stereo amp is cheaper than two of their entry level monoblocks .

By the way, I was also told by a reliable source that none of their preamps are "fuily" balanced input to output. No doubt ATI amps appear to be a great deal, besides the fully balanced feature, you still get those big handles.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

For stereo amps, I am sure the 14BSST3 can be had for much less, and yes then you will get your handles and fully balanced input to output feature as well.

http://www.audioadvisor.com/ssearch.asp?txtsearch=bryston+amplifier

Sorry I forgot their stereo amp is cheaper than two of their entry level monoblocks .

By the way, I was also told by a reliable source that none of their preamps are "fuily" balanced input to output. No doubt ATI amps appear to be a great deal, besides the fully balanced feature, you still get those big handles.

I know it's funny, but big Front metal handles were my top priority.

When I bought the ATI6012 for my Linkwitz Orion, they didn't come with front handles, so I ordered the AT2000 amp handles for them anyway.

I was looking at the Bryston website and Stereophile review of the 14B amp. I didn't see any mention of Balanced I/O circuit. When Stereophile measured the SNR (78dB unweighted wide-band), they didn't say anything about the XLR/balanced SNR.

 

[PENG]

I was looking at the Bryston website and Stereophile review of the 14B amp. I didn't see any mention of Balanced I/O circuit. When Stereophile measured the SNR (78dB unweighted wide-band), they didn't say anything about the XLR/balanced SNR.

I got my answer right from their president so hopefully it is accurate.