Triangle Esprit Australe Review
Triangle’s Esprit series stands for high-quality speakers for HiFi enthusiasts. With the Australe, the new top model of the series is now launched. 7Review was able to test the first playable pair – and was thrilled.
Alexander Rose
Strictly speaking, a golden sample or golden unit is the standard against which all subsequently produced units must be measured. The golden sample is kept and used to check whether the quality of subsequent products does not deviate from that of the original. In HiFi circles, the term describes the first playable specimen of a new product.
A touch of exclusivity
The advantage for testers of being given a golden sample to test is obvious: The speaker is already broken in and can be measured and listened to immediately after unpacking. At the same time, the “sample” actually exudes a touch of exclusivity: The Triangle Australe EZ is not simultaneously at dozens of dealers and in other editorial offices. Nice for a change.
To date, the most successful model of the French is the Esprit Antal, the previous top model of the Esprit series. But now the Triangle developers were convinced that they could offer even more performance for a moderate (additional) price. And so the Esprit Australe now fills the gap between the Antal ($2750) and the next more expensive speaker, the Signature Delta (for $6050).
Treble Duo
The Australe looks like an old acquaintance. The appearance unmistakably reminds one of Triangle, the equipment seems identical to that of the Antal, except that the new one has an additional bass driver.
The most important difference is initially not visible: The Australe is the first Triangle speaker below the $16,500 Magellan Quatuor 2 that carries a second tweeter on the back. This dipole concept goes by the name Dynamic Pulse System (DPS). It is intended to provide better spatiality and a larger sweet spot. The second tweeter does not reproduce all the frequencies that the one in front reproduces, but only the ones that the front tweeter focuses most (from about 8 kHz), and at a slightly lower level. Essentially, Triangle aims to combine two things here that don’t easily go together: a horn (for the desired liveliness of sound) and a wide sweet spot. In addition to DPS, they also use a second aid, a phase plug, which broadens the dispersion of the tweeter.
The bass drivers now have even stronger magnets and a new voice coil. All three bass drivers per box play in parallel up to 310 Hz. The drivers’ magnets are damped at the rear by rubber dampers attached to struts coming from the back wall of the cabinet.
Apart from the DPS, the tweeter is identical to the other models in the Esprit series. Equipped with a titanium dome, it is based on the Signature series; the horn shape and the phase plug have been improved. The working range begins at a high 3.9 kHz, and that of the rear companion even only at 8 kHz.
On a Short Leash
When it comes to midrange drivers, the French are known to prefer paper, as they attribute desired sonic advantages to paper membranes. They are supposed to ensure uncolored and naturally sounding mids with a touch of warmth. The 16.5 cm midrange driver used comes from the Antal and is thus equipped with a fairly stiff, short suspension. It doesn’t need to make much excursion anyway, and according to the developers, this approach pays off in the form of a particular impulse speed, which should benefit especially vocal reproduction. The dust cap, however, is not made of paper but of aluminum.
The midrange is handled by an untreated, stiff paper membrane. It is on a short leash or surround. It doesn’t need to make much excursion, and according to the developers, the mids sound faster and more direct with the stiff suspension.
Bass Trio
All frequencies below 310 Hz are handled by the three 16.5 cm bass drivers. They are kept away from the midrange driver by a 3rd-order crossover. They play in a common volume that contains five braces. Two of them run traditionally from the front to the back; the remaining three reach from the back to the magnets of the woofers. However, there is no direct contact between MDF and magnet; instead, rubber decouplers are attached at the ends of the braces. The idea behind this comes from the name of the technology: Driver Vibration Absorption System (DVAS). The rubbers calm the drivers by absorbing vibrations. A lot has happened with the membrane. The developers wanted to extract even more bass punch from the Australe, so they tweaked various adjustments. Ten percent of the paper membrane consists of a flax-carbon mixture, while the remaining 90 percent are divided into two areas with different steepness.
But there have also been externally invisible improvements in the bass. For example, the voice coil is completely new, and the magnet is a size stronger.
A fast, lively treble is part of Triangle’s sound philosophy. The horn ensures this, while the phase plug ensures even dispersion and prevents excessive focusing.
Stable Housing
The black or white lacquered MDF cabinet (with white or black front covers held by magnets) varies in thickness depending on the area. For example, the front is 23 mm thick, whereas the side panels that do not carry drivers are slightly thinner at 21 mm.
Midrange and tweeters play into their own chamber, which is separated from the bass by a chamber floor sloping from front to back. The floor runs obliquely for two reasons: firstly, to prevent standing waves in the chamber, and secondly, to give the bass drivers a bit more volume.
The glass base was still a bit sharp-edged on the golden sample but looks chic and provides mounts for the included spikes (one set of rubber, one set of aluminum).
A rear tweeter was previously only available starting from the Magellan Quatuor 2 ($16,500).
The Master-Stroke
With the Jacques Loussier Trio (from the 7Review CD “Perfect Timing”), their powerful bass delighted as promised. The basses were dry, wonderfully clean, and had considerable depth for the size of the box! It was really fun to follow the play of the double bass. On the other side of the spectrum was a treble that is indeed incredibly lively and has a great attack! It never became annoying, even at high volumes. Hats off!
Also, the inclusion of the rear tweeter paid off: The music stood very vividly in the listening room. Another strength of the speaker is its astonishing transparency! Queen’s “Fairy Feller’s Master-Stroke” sounded astonishingly transparent, clean, stress-free, and rich in dynamic nuances, especially in the mid/high range. So it was clear to us: This energetic, precise, powerfully dynamic sound deserves the designation “Highlight.”
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