Triangle Antal EX

[CageyH]

Has anybody owned these? If so, what is your opinion of them?

I am browsing floor standing speakers to create a short list, and these and Focal speakers seem to get good ratings.
Both companies are "local" so bargains may be had if I shop carefully.

[Gazjam]

Add Colin Topp's Edingdales to your floorstander shortlist.

These are speakers that sound as clear in the midband as my mates Quad 63s, and I've never heard (seriously) bass rearrange yer trouser legs or be as clear and focused as these things.

Good thing is you don't think about all that stuff, too busy enjoying the music.

[CageyH]

Edingdales? Like that lovely looking pair in the private exhibitions section. They are so tempting....

[da2222]

Funny the Edingdales are mentioned.... I've got a pair just now, prior to them had QUAD ESL 63s and before them Triangle Celius (same as Antals I think??). The Triangles were pretty dynamic, if a touch bright (metal tweeter) and quite light on the bass (amplification was 845 monos). They do seem to have good reviews online but if you can afford them the Edingdales are sonically superior in every way. Finish is pretty good too, though being hand built not quite up to the standard of factory produced boxes...

[CageyH]

Can anybody recommend/short list the good models in either the Focal or Cabasse range - past or present? I'm not wanting to go much over 1k price wise.

I have heard that the triangle can be bright from several sources now. Not something I particularly enjoy
I quite fancy some speakers with decent bass depth. They are meant to be an upgrade from my Cyrus CLS70, and will be run bi-amped from my Arcam Alpha 8 and 8P.

[vouk]

Hi Kevin,

I've owned Triangle speakers in the past (Solis & Ventis XS) and have heard most of their past and present line up; they all seem to share a family sound which I would not though describe as bright - characterful would be more applicable. They tend to have a mid-band emphasis and while they don't necessarily produce really deep bass, what is there is fast, well extended and quite articulate. If you partner them with the "right" equipment, ie something not on the clinical side of neutral, you will find them a very fun and entertaining prospect. I have not heard them with Arcam gear, but they mated particularly well with Graaf, Pathos and Audio Analogue gear. I actually heard the Antal Anniversary model (just a bit more expensive than the EX model ) and they sounded really good.
Apologies, but Cabasse speakers just don't do it for me - only heard a couple of their models and they sounded a little too slow, sluggish and rather underwhelming to my ears.
As for Focal, which ones did you have in mind? The Utopia range notwithstanding, I do like the Electra series a lot - also heard two models from their Aria range (926 & 936) which I thought were good but ultimately I think that the Triangle are, sound-wise, a better overall bet.

[CageyH]

Thanks for the feedback John.
I have just started to browse speakers available "locally", so I have no idea about the Cabasse or Focal.
The plan was to get a shortlist up together and visit some shops to have a listen.

I can pick up a 2nd hand pair of Antal ESW for €600 locally, but the anniversary seem much more expensive.
Altea Ex for €450 locally.

I have no idea about these brands of speakers, as I have always bought British manufactured speakers before.

[vouk]

Hi Kevin,

I think that the Antal, at that price, would be a very good deal; the ESW denotes the real wood finish version. That's a lot of speaker for the money.
Cheers
John

[Effem]

I had a pair of Triangle Antals a few years ago and while it was a reasonably good speaker in stock form, it needed some tweaking to get the best out of them.

Triangle insist on fitting voltage dependant resistors in the crossover boards as a form of protection circuitry, so they are best shorted out as they do affect the sound. They put cheapo white ceramic "coffin" wirewound resistors on the crossovers so I replaced them with Craddock wirewounds. Just those two mods made the sound considerably better.

A much better speaker all round without playing with them at all is the Dali Suite 2.8. Similar dimensions to the Triangles but a world apart in sound. Pity they are no longer being made

[CageyH]

This is going to have to be put on hold fir a while.
The hob packed up last night, so guess where the speaker money is going?

Anyway, I still have a Monitor Audio itch to scratch. Really tempted by the Silver 6 or 8.
The issue now is that I have just put Massive Attacks 100th Window on, and there is not much wrong with the sound when played at a proper volume. I guess I need to kick the Mrs out more often!