TAS issue 370 just reviewed two pairs of speakers a working man can aspire to afford. Since most of what the mags review these days is so expensive that it’s insanity, I give TAS credit for thinking of us peons out here.

The reviews essentially say both speakers are good values for the money. Yet, there’s no comparison between them. They don’t give you real help in sorting out which is a better investment for YOU. As always, I’m Mr Diminishing Returns and don’t dodge comparisons. Let’s go!

The Speakers

Atohm Sirocco 2.24, $3800 Per Pair: France

Golden Ear T44, $4900 Per Pair in black: China

These speakers represent the “best of” what they are from each country for their reasonable price points. Here’s the difference in what you get for your money.

Atohm

The Atohms, which ARE actually made in France, have a 7 year warranty and letter grade A level definition. Their resolution in the middle and top end are as good as you get. Put on Neil Young’s “Old Man” or Joan Armatrading’s “Love & Affection.” You’ll hear in SECONDS that the Atohms have crystalline definition.

The drivers are manufactured within a quarter of a dB from the reference of that driver. Nobody else builds to this level of accuracy. The transient attack is lightning, even with an affordable amplifier. The reviewer used an Atoll mid level priced amplifier which I know let the 2.24s shine.

The bass is taut and ideal for purveying the true color of acoustic instruments. Hearing the lower level of a piano without ringing, a stand up bass where the strings aren’t bloated, or a drum kit that lets you appreciate the chops of a great percussionist are all characteristics of Atohm. There is no endemic murky fog with Atohm.

Golden Ear

Golden Ear from China can only achieve C+ clarity from an affordable amplifier. To wake up the T44s so they can sound their best, requires a gigundo amp. Why’s that? It’s because to wake these boys up through a boat load of electronics, you’ve gotta have the Niagara Falls coursing through its veins. Not so with Atohm.

The fellow who reviewed the T44s ran them with (are ya ready?!) his $85k monoblock power amps. Yikes! Really? Along with the matching preamp/DAC… $60k. Yup, $150k for the pair- before you connect anything else! Oh, that something else was a server for $15k along with wiring that costs more than the server. How does it make any sense to review $5k speakers with $200k before the speakers? We move on…

I can tell you from my GE experience that you might step up to B resolution with a price no object amp. Their strength is smoothness, not clarity.

GE is sage to offer a powered 5×9 woofer driver with loads of EQ and DSP. In short, that’s how they get a “full” bass response out of the speaker. By putting a manual volume control on the back of the speaker for the sub, they let the buyer choose his desired level of bass. The catch is, if you like rich bass it will end up being muddled. Yet, GE has learned that the classic rock listener is just fine with that.

The BIG elephant in the room with any speaker that has powered woofs, is that the internal amp has a high proclivity to fail within 5 years. Here’s where you will sit. Your amp just died. The repair price of the amp will be roughly $800. The warranty is then 90 days. And of course, the mating tower has a sub / amp that’s soon to go too. Do you bite the bullet and pay $1600 to have two repaired amps with 90 day warranties? Oh, did you know that when you get replacement amps from any Chinese company they are repairs? Yep. It’s like your old cable TV box. When yours went down you got a replacement. It wasn’t a NEW box. It was a repair from someone else’s house where it went down. And so it is with replacement sub amps from Chinese speaker companies.

Further, the warranty on the amp portion of the T44 is 3 years. They’re quickly into your pocket.

France Wins!

No matter how you slice it, the Atohm is a better choice. It sounds more clear. It is more reliable. It won’t sting you with a big repair cost later. The GoldenEar has a darker sound with a more heavy, murky bass response. To be fair, a customer is entitled to the sound he prefers, even if the bass is more rumbly than taut. The Atohm is made in its own house in France as opposed to a job house in China.