I had Triton Ones and upgraded to the Triton Reference. The Triton Ones reside in my secondary system now. I have not heard the Triton One R in my room but did at the dealer in which I will comment at the end. With the References, you get much more sound. The bass in the Reference goes lower and deeper with better definition. The midrange is much more defined and seems much clearer. The highs are a little sweeter and they do not break up at any volume. The speakers image like nobody’s business and the soundstage is wider, deeper and has more height as well. As good as the Triton Ones are, the Reference is in a much higher league.
As an example, today I was playing Pink Floyd’s “Welcome To The Machine” at quite a high volume level and the bass and synthesizer was quite astounding. On my McIntosh amp, the meters were past the 30 watt range and the amp was probably peaking around 150wpc which is way below its 300wpc threshold. The entire room was pressurized and using my trusty Radio Shack sound level meter put the sound at almost 103 dB. I would NEVER listen that loud but this was an experiment. The Triton Ones always broke up on this song at a much less level but not the Triton Refs, they just went about their business. I did notice the items inside my wife’s curio cabinet which is in the room to be vibrating like crazy.
The point I am making is that although the sound was insanely loud, the speakers did their job perfectly. Everything in the Reference is better and presented in a better way. I have heard the Triton One R speaker at my dealer and had they been available in early 2015, I would have bought them. The sound again was much more refined but still the Triton One house sound. As this was in the dealers showroom and I was unfamiliar with the electronics (Anthem & Rotel), it wasn’t a serious audition and I only spent 10 minutes or so listening. I wasn’t a fan of the music being played (Billy Joel) and it was a spur of the moment audition. I didn’t feel it was worth trying to sell the Triton Ones as I would have taken a loss to buy the Triton One R. If I heard them in my home, I may have thought different.
If you can swing the Triton Refs, that would be the thing to do however it’s double the price of the Triton Ones. Whatever you choose, enjoy the audition process and take your time to decide.
