Triangle Antal 40th Anniversary loudspeaker

Think of French speakers and you may tend to think of the other guys, based in Saint-Étienne. Triangle, however, is based on the outskirts of Paris and has been for over 40 years, hence this

Anniversary Edition. Triangle has a similar pedigree too, established with the 1180 floorstander that was released in 1980, offered by founder, designer and music lover, Renaud De Vergnette.

Triangle’s 40th Anniversary is celebrated with two models, the Comète standmounted loudspeaker and these Antal floorstanders, they are both sumptuously presented with a lovely smoothed lacquer finish. The first Antal loudspeaker, called Antal TZX was brought out in 1994, it looks similar, with one less bass driver, but it has evolved and is now fronting these 40th Anniversary celebrations.

Design

This Triangle Antal 40th Anniversary loudspeaker has 4 drivers, driven 3 ways in a heavy 20-23mm thick MDF cabinet that is veneered and varnished; there is significant bracing inside the cabinet to make it as inert as possible. The design offers a claimed frequency range of 37Hz – 22kHz at a sensitivity of 91 dB/W/m. The speakers are rated at a nominal impedance of 8 Ohms.

The horn loaded style tweeter is made from a gold anodised magnesium dome. Magnesium is light and rigid, it’s fast, recovering quickly for the next beat and it is of higher efficiency. The midrange builds on Triangle’s historic more vocal paper cone model, upgraded to a 100% natural cellulose paper fibre without any surface treatment. Finally, the two bass drivers are made of a wood pulp and flax construction with carbon fibre that provides a rigid construction with limited distortion. The voice coils are oversized to power the low-end response.

Quality

Out of the Box, the Triangle Antal 40th Anniversary loudspeakers are weighty at nearly 27 kilos and really quite hard to pick up given their size being over a meter tall and a good 35 cm deep. They are easily movable and adjustable, however, with gloves, once in the right area. The Antals have a very beautiful gloss lacquer finish, soft to the touch, with soft edges and smooth corners, the pair here is Santos rosewood, with the red tint offsetting the rose gold tweeter in the specifically designed compression chamber.

The Antal binding posts at the rear are substantial on an anodised aluminium rose gold terminal block, the binding posts have a locking screw mechanism, though it is a tight fit anyway with banana plugs. The speakers can be bi-wired or otherwise and there is a metal connector between the two frequency inputs. There is a fitted pedestal that screws in pretty easily with the enclosed Allen keys.

Finally, the speakers come with a full-length soft clamping magnetic grille that is black and looks particularly classy.

Dimensions, etc.

Dimensions (w x h x d) 200 x 1090 x 345mm, with pedestal (w x h x d) 300 x 1128 x 424mm

Weight (each) 26.8kg

Finishes available include Santos rosewood and blond sycamore.

The Triangle Antal 40th Anniversary loudspeaker is retailing at £3,000 a pair.

Performance

Review Equipment

I’m using the Moor Amps Angel 6 power amplifier with the matching preamplifier connected together using Tellurium Q Ultra Black II XLR cables. The speakers have Tellurium Q Ultra Black II speaker cable to them. Sources include an OPPO Blu-Ray Disk Player (BDP105) as a CD player that is analogue to the Angel preamplifier RCA input and the streaming iFi Pro iDSD DAC.

There is the Pro-ject Debut Carbon EVO here too, which is fine with my rather modest Musical Fidelity phono stage.

Physically

The speakers are very, very, lovely to look at…

The speakers are very, very, lovely to look at; I gather some may prefer the flush 40th Anniversary plaque to be on the back, but I like it prominent and front-facing, reminding me I have a limited-edition version of these terrific speakers. I happen to have pair 31 out of 1000 of the Antal range, this edition number is on the binding post rear terminal, though I may have preferred it on the front, why not?

The speakers are big, I’ve been gradually shifting them away from the rear wall despite the front-facing bass-reflex porting to reduce the bass extension that the Angel 6 is shoving out of the Antals. This is all fine and a matter of taste and expectation, it indicates the speakers have plenty of flexibility in respect of getting the sound you want. They are now 30cm away from the rear wall. I have not toed in the loudspeakers at all. I’m about 3.5 meters away and they are 3 meters apart on a carpeted floor with the supplied decoupling spikes.

Emotions

…they can sit you down too and make you stop what you are doing.

I find these speakers to be really rather smooth and neutral in the round, the treble is understated which is good. There is no sense of harshness or aggression here, which is fine. The speaker has a substantial feel to it, it is not too bright. Having sat with these for several weeks, with several amplifiers, they are very liveable; they are background when needed, but they can sit you down too and make you stop what you are doing.

All of this is very positive, indeed. Take The National’s Bloodbuzz Ohio (Qobuz 16-bit 44.1kHz), a deep and affecting song (I still have no idea what it is about; prison, debt, who know, comments below?). With the Angel and Triangle combination, the track is relentless, the offset drum intro is one of those that stops you in your writing track. I have stumbled across a cover of Bloodbuzz Ohio by death metal band Thanatos (Qobuz 24-bit 96kHz); what a version, it is acoustic with incredible guitar detail, and it is a worthy piece of art (I still have no idea what the track is about though!).

Returning to the Antal, I often listen to Fleet Foxes’ Helplessness Blues (Qobuz 24-bit 96kHz), a complex and layered song just to hear if the speakers can handle the myriad of vocals and guitars. Here, the soundstage is imposing and legible. I’m very happy with it, I have listened to the same track version from the acoustic album A Very Lonely Solstice and there is a real feel for the cavernous church where it is recorded in that track. Speaking of being in the room, Ryan Adams’ wonderful track Sylvia Plath Live at the Carnegie Hall (Qobuz 24-bit 96kHz) gives you that scale and the residual dynamics and reflections that offer the sense of the size of the theatre.

Again, I stumbled across Tiny Dancer (Qobuz 16-bit 44.1kHz) and the Triangle Antal loudspeakers made me stop. The clarity of the guitars was notable, and the later orchestration was delightful, dynamic, and clear.

Since we are all listening to McCartney’s Band on the Run (Qobuz 24-bit 44.1kHz) now, I thought I would have a good listen. Here the guitars again are clean, not too edgy, and otherwise, the track has great bounce and rhythm. I’m really enjoying the midrange presentation and energy here.

Rega Elicit Mk5

As you may have read in the Rega Elicit Mk5 review there was a Triangle Antal plot spoiler, the Rega was certainly a nice partner for these Triangle Antal 40th Anniversary loudspeakers. Also revealing the low end with these speakers and a bundle of resolution, the Class A/B 105W/ch Rega did seem to be a good and easy match.

Overall

There is a proper sense of scale and refinement here with a substantial delivery that excites and thrills the emotions

These are just a very, very nice pair of speakers with no quirks or issues at any point. They are very good-looking, and very classic in shape, size, and finish. They just look like what a big proper floorstanding loudspeaker should look like. This is one of the few times I really prefer having the grilles on, for some strange reason. Aurally, these speakers are nicely smooth and neutral. The treble is accurate yet understated, there is plenty of bass when commanded. There is a proper sense of scale and refinement here with a substantial delivery that excites and thrills the emotions.

Specification

Full details are on the company’s site.