People often ask us, "How do we get such great bass from GoldenEar speakers?" And we often respond, "We can't tell you, 'cause it's a secret". (It's not really a secret ... It's actually magic.) OK. It's not magic either. So we'll tell you now, because you own or are considering owning our speakers ... 

 

So how do we do what we do?

 

The Triton One with Built-In Powered Sub.Uses Three Active Drivers and Four Planar Radiators COMING SOON - IN DEALER's SHOWROOMS IN THE NEXT 45-60 DAYS!

The vast majority of high quality speaker systems capture the woofer's rear pressure wave in some sort of sealed or vented enclosure. The vented ones are designed to enhance the woofers' in room performance by utilizing the rear pressure waves while others are designed to completely trap the rear waves within the enclosure. (We are leaving out some other variations on enclosure design because they are rarely used in residential applications and/or very expensive to construct.) Every GoldenEar speaker employs a modified, highly optimized version of what's generally referred to as a passive radiator system design. This type of woofer/enclosure system uses a precision built diaphragm in addition to the woofer cone to increase system efficiency and generate deep, tuneful bass response. There are similarities between this design and ported systems, but in our experience we've found that advanced design passive radiator systems like ours,which are actually tuned more like an elaborate transmission line, deliver an ideal balance of powerful, clean and tuneful bass along with ideal loading of the active driver(s). 

 

In typical passive radiator systems the auxiliary diaphragm (the passive radiator) moves in and out in response to the internal pressure waves generated by the system's woofer(s). These radiators usually consist of a woofer frame, a cone and associated suspension parts, but no magnetic motor system. We have taken this type of system to the next performance level by applying advanced Finite Element Analysis, computer modeling techniques and the latest advanced test procedures to the GoldenEar designs.

 

But before we get there ... 

 

Let's talk a bit about the GoldenEar drivers that excite the Planar Radiators (and the ForceField amps that drive them in the powered products). GoldenEar's proprietary midrange/woofer and subwoofer drivers are all computer optimized and designed to produce powerful, deep, musical bass with exceptionally low distortion. In the powered product, they have tremendous power handling capacity to handle the very high output (up to 1600 watts) of the ForceField amps. These drivers are the "engines" that cause the Planar Radiators to move. They employ powerful vented magnetic motors, stiff yet well damped cones and long-throw rubber alloy surrounds. These drivers can create substantial bass pressure with ease and when necessary can certainly "rock the house". (In the built-in sub Triton models, the oval "racetrack" shape of the drivers has the advantage of letting us keep the speaker's front baffle narrow, which results in enhanced mid-range and high frequency imaging.) 

 

Now, on to the Planar Radiators

 

In order for a system design like ours to perform optimally, the physical characteristics of the radiator diaphragm must be precisely controlled and its suspension components must perform consistently from unit to unit. We use carefully chosen materials for the Planar Radiators including rubber alloy surrounds, precisely machined Medite diaphragms and rigid frames, just like in the subwoofer drivers. This results in spectacular, extended deep bass response from very compact enclosures that you have to hear to believe. And you'll never hear the nondescript, boomy kind of bass so common with poorly designed and executed ported or passive radiator systems. 

 

GoldenEar's ForceField Quadratic Planar Infrasonic Radiator

In the built-in sub Tritons, by using relatively small bass/midrange and subwoofer drivers to energize the Planar Radiators we gain several advantages, including "speed" as the smaller drivers can respond quite rapidly to amplifier input. Overall, the GoldenEar bass systems exhibit low distortion output and excellent integration from deep bass through the lower mids.

 

GoldenEar dedicated ForceField subwoofers take advantage of our advanced design processes too, offering spectacular, room shaking bass from compact, affordable models. In addition to their powerful amplifiers, heavy duty drivers and Planar Radiators they also exploit the laws of physics by using the area directly under the enclosure, below the Planar Radiator, to improve their bass performance even further.

 

This "slot loading" technique uses the air located directly below the enclosure, which is pressurized by the Quadratic Radiator. Because the trapped air's movement is restricted by the enclosure above and the floor below, air speed is increased as it exits to the sides. The Radiators' energy, imparted to the moving air is increased by this loading technique and is proportional to the mass of the air times the velocity squared. (We're sorry. We've Geeked out here. If you feel a little dizzy have a nice sit down for a moment.) The result is the air velocity exiting around the "slot" is tripled which gets us nine times as much energy, or about a 9 dB increase in output! This dramatically raises the efficiency of the system and improves its transient response as the apparent mass of the air moved is lower in relation to the cone mass of the drivers. So GoldenEar subs will always produce high levels of great sounding, low distortion bass from relatively compact enclosures. 

 

The Bottom Line (pun intended) 

 

GoldenEar bass systems deliver high efficiency and exceptional bass accuracy along with substantial output and low distortion. This design philosophy has allowed us to ensure that every GoldenEar speaker provides excellent, satisfying bass performance. 

 

Whether you're listening to jazz, classical, rock, hip-hop or the latest action adventure flick, GoldenEar speakers and subwoofers will provide you with a solid, enjoyable bass foundation that will continually bring a smile to your face. Enjoy.