It’s not often that a speaker shows its true colors even before you set it up properly. But that's exactly what happened when I auditioned three of Triad’s In-Room Gold Monitors a few weeks ago. My first impression was, wow, these are killer speakers. That’s saying a lot, because the first room I placed them in has the worst residential acoustics you could possibly imagine.

My great room is a work in progress, as we, little by little, try to overcome its acoustic shortcomings. It’s a big open space about 35 feet long by 20 feet wide, by 20 feet tall. The back of the room is made up of mostly bookcases. The floors are stone, the right side of the room is predominantly glass, and the furniture is leather. The only non-reflective surface is a small area rug in the seating area. The room would certainly be improved with acoustic panels and draperies, but the fact that the Triad In-Room Gold Monitors sounded so good in such a challenging environment says a lot. The duration of the audition took place in a much more acoustic friendly room.

It should be noted that the monitors ($3400 each), like all Triad speakers, are hand made. At 45 pounds each, they’re also quite heavy for their size: 9-7/8 W x 19-3/8 H x 12-7/16 D.

Speaking of cabinets, you don’t want to place these speakers into millwork. Like any high-end speaker, the resulting sound will become muddy. Some speaker brands remedy this situation by incorporating a "boundary compensation switch" on the back of the speaker, but true audiophiles consider this a kludge of sorts. Triad took a different approach for in-wall or in-cabinet placement. The company makes essentially the same speaker with the same drivers, and the same air volume, but specifically designed for in-wall/cabinet use. The trick in keeping the same air volume involved making the width and height larger. The crossover is also different to prevent the muddiness in the first place.

Triad buys among the best drivers available for its Gold Monitor series, including their Gold Mini-Monitors which I used for the surround channels. In fact, the European drivers used in the In-Room Monitors can be found in other audiophile speakers that cost in the tens of thousands of dollars.

I auditioned the Triad monitors with both music CDs and movie DVDs. The speakers are extremely flat, with no detectable coloration at any specific frequency. The mid-range is wonderfully accurate and velvety smooth, and the bottom end very tight sounding with not even a hint of boominess. You don’t need a subwoofer for smaller rooms when playing music, but you’ll want a sub for movie material. I tested a couple of different subwoofers with the Gold Monitors, including the Triad Silver Subwoofer. The speakers were fairly forgiving and you can dial in a crossover anywhere from 60-80 Hz depending on your room and the subwoofer you’re using.

As far as the top end goes, it’s extremely detailed. I know you’ve probably heard this a thousand times, but I really did hear instruments and nuances in music that I’ve never heard before -- especially on well made SACD and DVD audio titles such as Steely Dan’s "Two Against Nature" and Elton John’s "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road." Even standard CDs became more open and revealing. In this case, revealing can be a good thing or a bad thing. Poor or compressed recordings sounded worse than usual, but on the other hand, the good recordings were reproduced beautifully.

I was even more impressed with the Gold Monitors on movie material. One of the most ubiquitous problems in home theater is center channel dialogue, or rather the inability to hear the dialogue clearly. The detailed high-end on the In-Room Monitors made movie dialogue much more intelligible, and easier to follow, and the full range low end extension was readily apparent with action titles such as "Spiderman 1 and 2" and "The Patriot." The slam factor was a huge surprise when I turned off the subwoofers. These monitors can really kick -- all by themselves.

To get the most out of these speakers I recommend at least 130 watts per channel. The Denon AVR-5803 receiver I used with the Triads topped out at 170 WPC, yet I had the feeling that the speakers would have liked even more power.

For all the interior designers out there, I have some welcome news. Like all Triad in-room speakers, virtually any paint or wood veneer finish is available, including optional custom matched veneers to blend into your decor. You can practicably make these speakers look like furniture if you like.

I wish I had more room to go into more detail on these speakers. If you are considering a high-end listening room, or a home theater, the Gold Monitors deserve your undivided attention. Bring your favorite music and movies to a local Triad dealer, and be prepared to be blown away.

For additional information: Triad Speakers   

Dawn Gordon Luks is a veteran consumer electronics journalist. In addition to her writing schedule, Dawn also designs home audio, home theater, and home automation installations in South Florida. Send an email to Dawn Gordon Luks.