Best AMP for GE Triton Reference Speakers

@noromance,

your statement of the speakers being dull, undynamic and just plain bad contradicts my own experience since I own them, and every reviewer from many print and online magazine’s experiences.  Are you sure about your statements or is it you just don’t like GE?  They are the best sounding speakers I have ever owned over my 50+ years in this hobby. The best thing is I bought mine new which was in the first production run for 8K a pair.  They now go for 11K a pair.  Your statements do not make any sense to me or the countless others that own them.   

I used to own a pair of Triton 2+ speakers. Not quite the References, for sure, but they were in a fairly small room and were a good fit for the situation. 

When I got them, I had a Krell FPB-300 that I had owned for about 20 years. This amp was certainly overkill regarding power, but really made the speakers sound quite good. Excellent dynamics, tone and imaging.

Unfortunately one channel crapped out on the amp. I had already had it fixed several years earlier, and I took the advice of my local dealer to sell it for parts instead of investing in another repair. 

I tried a few other amps including a Levinson 383 I owned, Nord NCore monoblocks (with both Sparkos and Sonic Imagery discrete op amps in the buffer board), and finally a Parasound JC5. The JC5 was by far the best with these speakers, although I think it still fell short of the Krell in the warmth and richness of tone. 

Ultimately, I moved on to different speakers in a different room (and may other subsequent upgrades), but I still feel the Triton 2+ speakers with the Krell was quite satisfying. 

@stereo5 I heard what I heard. Maybe it was just a coincidence that both times were poor experiences.  The main thing is you like them.

@stereo5 @noromance 

I can see where Noromance is coming from to an extent - the speakers can be dull and not very dynamic, but I think it depends on the music being played. If it's fun, dynamic, music, GE's just faithfully reproduce that, no more and no less. They're analytical speakers and pick up on every little tidbit within the music. And, if you're not used to hearing those details - they almost jar you out of enjoying the music at times, I can see and totally understand how people wouldn't like that! And, they have to be setup perfectly within the listening room to get the best from them. (And yes, the room does matter. So, at a show, I can understand them not being that hot. 

And Stereo5 - you paired your TRefs with a McIntosh. That wasn't my cup of tea from my audition a few days ago. But, I can see and understand why a LOT of people would really like that combo! The bass and lower midrange is great. The top end just seems rolled off to me / what I'm used to. But it's a warm, dynamic, rich sound that isn't harsh at all. It's just not as analytical at the top end as I prefer.  

I think that the big thing is this. Almost all speakers and electronics that get up over that 1k mark, very few of them sound "bad." B&W 800 series aren't my cup of tea. I really don't like the way that they sound. BUT, they have great detail, pinpoint accuracy within the soundstage, as you go up that line their bass gets better and better, they are very dependent on the electronics being used, but if you get that right, they're really good, and yet, I still don't like their tone. They're GREAT speakers, but just not my taste. Brass sounds off to me a bit with B&W's. But I can totally understand why so many love them and get that. 

​​​​@yogiboy - I get people not liking TRef speakers. They, just like all speakers, aren't for everyone. But, how is it helpful to tell me to dump the speakers, when I'm asking about an amplifier for them? Do you think you're offering anything of value? Or help? Did you even mention another brand of speaker to check out? How is that helpful? 

Well, there you have it.  I do not like analytical, but the top end isn't rolled off in my system at all.  I wish member "johnto" would chime in as he has heard my system a couple of times and he liked what he heard.   To each his own.

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