Triangle Magellan Duetto 40th Anniversary Speaker Review
By Steve Huff
My Video Review of the Triangle Magellan 40th Duettos!
So no, I was not paid to write this review or do a video review. I am doing this only because I feel these Triangle Duetto 40th Anniversary speakers are truly sone of the worlds finest bookshelf style speakers. I also feel many reading this may just feel the same if they heard them.
The Magellan line from Triangle is reserved for their all out, cost no object designs. Speakers in this line are the best the brand makes. The 40th Duettos is indeed the brads flagship two way bookshelf style speaker. So just how good is it?
The Triangle 40th Anniversary Magellan Duetto with stands.
WEEKS..MONTHS…
I have had the Magellan 40th Duettos here for many weeks now, maybe a couple months or so. I have tried them with a couple of integrated amps as well as a few power amps and preamps. I have listened to them next to powerhouse speakers from Borressen such as the X1 and X2. I have also heard them side by side with my reference Closer Acoustics OGY and BOB speakers.
No matter what I compared them to during my time with them the 4oth Duettos always impressed with a special sound that is unique to this speaker/brand.
I have been lucky in my audio life as I have heard hundreds of speakers in my lifetime. Over the last four years I have had maybe 40 sets in my home/listening space. My faves have always been the smaller two way speakers as I find them to be easiest to place and they always manage to disappear from the room much easier than a larger speaker. This disappearing act is quite nice as it allows you to listen without hearing the speaker boxes. This is when the sound becomes one with the room and it appears sound is just emanating from the air in the room. It’s not always easy to achieve but when it happens, with some well recorded music, it is spectacular.
This is not always easy to replicate as it requires speakers that can do this (these cam) as well as a source and amplifier that mates well with said speakers. When it does happen though it always, at least for me, brings forth a special musical treat. These Duetto speakers do disappear in my room and the resulting sound experience is among the finest I have had with a 2 way speaker, but these do have a house sound so let me talk about that as well.
FIRST IMPRESSIONS
So when Triangle sent me a set of these to review I pulled them from the box and I was a bit breathless at first. These are some drop dead gorgeous speakers. Over the last few years I have had speakers here from Focal, Fleetwood Sound, Borresen, Closer Acoustics, Daniel Hertz, Galion, Dynaudio, Buchardt and others. The Triangle 40tth Duettos are some of the finest looking speakers I have experienced in this room to date. They are beautiful in the flesh and look like great pride was taken in making the pair.
Being their flagship top of the line series, the Magellan line is all made by hand in France. Then run in, checked and double checked. This is the brands high end offering in a 2 way speaker and you can tell as soon as you lift it out of the box that this is the case. For me, they kill most others I have had here in the build and design aspect. Then again, this is a personal preference kind of thing. I love the design and looks of these speakers and in the flesh they are truly remarkable looking.
They not only look like a million bucks, they feel it as well. Just look at the speaker biding posts on the back which are without question the finest I have seen on a speaker regardless of cost. These are built to last a lifetime it seems.
The speakers ship with spikes and if you go all out and pick up the stands with these the spikes can fit right into the stand, locking the speakers in place. They also have the option of screwing into the stands. I have the S08 stands here for the 40th Duettos and they are a perfect fit in looks and style. I also tested them with a set of Dynaudio Stand 6 with good results but the purpose built stands really finish off the look and SOUND of these speakers.
The FIRST LISTEN
My first test was to connect them to the Yamaha A-S 3200 integrated I have here. Added to this amplifier is a HiFi Rose RS130 Streamer and a LAIV Harmony DAC. This is my favorite all time digital front end as the combo of these two pieces (the 130 and LAIV) go together so so well. The DAC punches well above its price and the streamer, for me, is end game. It has been in my system since it launched and for me there is no going back to previous streamers I used to own, and have now sold. This streamer is so good I once sold it, then missed it so much I had to acquire another. For me, it’s that good.
When I hooked up the beautiful Triangle Duetto 40th Anniversary Magellan (man, that’s a long title for a speaker) to this setup the resulting sound was NOT at all what I was expecting it to be. In fact, I was expecting a dry, forward, leaner sound with details galore and a splashy excited top end. Everyone has told me that Triangle speakers are bright so I had this built in feeling about them, which turned out to be wrong. Thankfully.
WHAT I HEARD was a full throated sound that had some warmth in the mids with a super tight big bottom end. The treble was pure silk and also quite (very) airy. The tweeters are horn loaded but forget what you know about most horn loaded tweeters. These here are among the finest I heard when it comes to recreating that top end. Sometimes horn loaded tweeters can sound forward and dry, but not here.
The treble is so very important within an audio system and when it is done right the results can be mind blowing heavenly. When done badly, it can also blow your mind with harshness and bright sound. A bad treble can ruin a speaker but the 40th Duettos do not have this problem. In fact it’s the opposite of “bad” as it’s so so good. I have never tired of hearing these speakers, rather I just want to hear more and more from them.
The 40th Duettos treble is simply sublime. It’s the star of this show and it really takes these speakers to the next level for these ears. I also love that these speakers are designed in a way to deliver amazing sound even when sitting out of the sweet spot. These create a daily wide sweet spot and this is great for listening with more than one person.
Here is what Triangle says about the tweeter within the 40th Anniversary Duettos:
“A major innovation of this 40th anniversary edition, the TZ2900PM tweeter is equipped with a next generation dome in magnesium alloy providing a significant improvement in terms of linearity and consistency.
Its horn is shaped to limit directivity, i.e., off-axis drop in high frequency level. Together with the phase plug, this pairing allows the frequency response to be linearized. We also added a counter-cap to the motor to reduce rear waves reflections, limit distortion and control the upper end of the sound spectrum. The TZ2900PM-MG tweeter provides an exceptionally smooth and fluid musical quality whilst ensuring accurate sound reproduction.”
Some speakers require such meticulous setup and they only sound magical when sitting in that single spot made for one. The 40th Duettos sound fantastic in that sweet spot as well but they also sound 98% as good off axis. This is part of the design and I love this as now when my wife sits in on a listening session she gets the same effects as I do. So I give the treble here a 9.5 out of 10. I’d say it is among the best I have heard if not the best. As I think back to some other high end speakers treble like the Hertz, the Focal, the Borresen and so on, the Triangle, IMO, bests them all in the treble/tweeter area. With that said, a beefier amp will allow these to sound better than is using a weak, thin sounding amp. These demand quality all the way around.
The tweeter here is silky, a little sweet and very airy and expansive. There is no harshness nor do these ever sound dry.The tweeter here also bings out the details in the upper range with an effortless flow. Never harsh or hard but rather just right.
The 40th Duettos also have another trick up their sleeve.
COMPLETE BALANCE AND CLARITY.
The 40th Duettos are not bright, not edgy and not splashy. Rather they are very balanced from top to bottom if not a touch forward in the sound projection, which I love. We already talked of the incredible tweeter here but what about that mid bass and bass driver? I am happy to report that the driver here that does mid and bass duties is quite spectacular as well. Now these will not pump the bass like the Borresen X2’s I have here (they are towers) nor will the mids ever obscure details (as some do). There is no big fluffy warm and willy bass here.
The midrange is silky, sweet and reminiscent of the tweeter performance. Meaning, it’s smooth, clear as a bell but also has life to it that wakes up my brain while listening. The voices/vocals are so clear but do have a solidity to them and again, never ever dry, bright or hard. The midrange is clear yet silky, full but not bloated. Just right.
The lower bass is very impressive here. While not the biggest bass from a 2 way bookshelf I have heard (would be the Buchardt Active A10’s) it is the biggest cleanest bass I have heard. There is absolutely zero bass slop here yet there is still a solid quick hitting foundation. These go under 40hz in the bass which is quite impressive yet the bass never obscures the mids or top end. Rather it flows with the rest of the frequency range and sounds almost as one big driver delivering all of the music in a well composed, clear and wide open fashion.
Here is what Triangle says about the Bass driver in the 40th Duettos:
“With a cellulose pulp diaphragm and its “progressive” suspension, the midrange/bass driver has that rich, natural sound the brand is known for. Thanks to its suspension, there is no clear separation at the cone attachment, resulting in a seamless mid-range. The diaphragm houses an ultra-light anti-vortex polypropylene cone covered with a latex damping material to limit end of band irregularities. Featuring a powerful motor and a perfectly matched voice coil, this driver is capable of reproducing firm and dynamic low frequencies while maintaining remarkable clarity and finesse in the vocal register.”
I agree that the mid bass is very rich and low frequencies are very well detailed.
These speakers also image very well but they are not as pinpoint as some of the more analytical designs. With the great off axis performance these image in more of a natural way. I do hear the vocals where they should be as well as the instruments but the soundstage is not as deep as say the similar priced Borresen X1. With that said, the treble here is even nicer than the X1 and X2”s ribbon tweeter for my tastes. The 40th Duettos have more energy in the top and while not as all out smooth as the X1, the 40th Duettos have more pop and realism in that treble area.
THEY SOUND BEST WITH
I have listened to the 40th Duettos with the Yamaha A-S 3200 and that integrated amplifier, which is the flagship from Yamaha, brought a smooth warmer vibe, but this is how this amp sounds. Big, clear, warm and full. I found this to be an almost perfect match for my tastes as it kept the treble smooth but extended and the bass was really punching well with the Yamaha. This may have been my fave combo in the integrated amp realm. Well, no…IT WAS my favorite for the speakers when it comes to using an Integrated amp. Of course I only could go by what I have on hand. I believe there are tons of amps out there that will sound killer with these speakers. They are a somewhat easy drive as well but I have found them to sound best with at least 50-100 great watts per channel.
I also listened to these with the giant killer Galion TS A75 amp along with a Pass Labs X-10 and this sounded more alive, more sparkly and more open than the Yamaha. Some would prefer this without question as the sound was more 3D and expansive, more clarity as well. The bass was tighter and more composed than with the Yamaha as well. The word “Silky” kept popping in my head during the XP10 audition with the Galion amp. This setup brought a leaner midrange with the Duettos.
I then swapped the Pass Labs XP10 with a Burson Voyager preamp, which is also a very powerful Class A headphone amp. I love the Burson as the preamp runs in Class A as well. It does run VERY hot but it’s such a great sound. It opens up the sound even more than the Pass Labs XP10 did. The Burson sounds electric, open and offers up the most clarity from the 40th without over doing it. I decided to settle on this conbo until a set of new amps showed up even though with the Burson the bass was tightened up even more, resulting in a slightly leaner sound vs the Pass Labs. Even so, it gained in midrange purity and the top end so pick your poison here. All sounded great.
Moving out the Galion TS A75 ($1500) I replaced it with a set of mono blocks from AGD (Audio MKIII) that come in for around $8k. WHOA! What an impressive set of amps and yes, they do beat the Thomas TS A 75 but heck, they cost $6500 more so I would expect this, though I wasn’t sure as the TS A75 is so impressive. I then tried the newest amps from AGD, the Duettos. Hey, they even have the same name as the speakers so this had to be good right?
Holy Hell! I wasn’t prepared for what these amps did to the system and the 40th Speakers but needless to say I kept this setup going for the rest of the review period. Magic indeed. I then asked myself “WHY OH WHY?!?!”, lol. What I mean is I am trying my best to NOT buy more audio gear but I am a sucker for really great stuff and now I WANT these amps so badly. Arg.
YES, I BOUGHT A SET OF THESE SPEAKERS
After many weeks with the Duettos I decided they had to stay. I couldn’t stop listening and I enjoyed their clarity, wide open sound, amazing off axis performance, easy placement and they allowed me to hear everything within any recording. I preferred them to the Daniel Hertz Ambers, the Focal Diablo (more meat on the bones/mids with Triangle) and I had them tied with Borresen X1’s but I much prefer the style of the Triangle. The X1’s are amazing for the money but have a more bass centric sound vs the more open airy sound of the Triangle. Again, pick your poison.
The 40th Duettos sound so good with almost all music though metal heads may want to add a sub for more of that punch to the gut but that depends on the amp you use to power them. The 40th Duettos are refined as higher end speakers are but they also have a great energy, sounding as if they are lit up from within and this results in a unique performance. I love ’em. I sold a couple sets of speakers to buy these. They are replacing my Daniel Hertz Amber speakers as I feel that look nicer and bring forth even more musical information from each track, whether I am streaming or playing vinyl.
They also cone with some pretty serious grilles that are tall, magnetic and have the Magellan logo on them. For most listening I preferred these grilles to be off as I found when they are on the top end is a touch more subdued.
CONCLUSION
The Triangle 40th Anniversary Magellan Duetto Speakers sit in my top three bookshelf speakers of all time, and I mean for my personal taste.
There is no “best” in audio, only what YOU love and what touches your heart and soul. For me, these offer up such fantastic clarity, such an open sound. Sometimes instruments jet out in a 3D way and it’s startling, in a good way. Makes listening to music an exciting experience at times and other times, allows me to sit back and just soak it all in.
The 40th Duettos sound huge as well, they fill my 13X18 room with ease and still seem to have more on tap. These are not for very large rooms though, as they may sound bass weak in a large room. This is why Triangle suggests a small to medium room for these. The Duettos are front ported so will not bring boomy bass if you move them closer to the wall. This is also a great thing because it makes them super easy to place in the room. They are not super picky about this due to their design.
At the end of the day these speakers are some of the finest made, looking and sounding 2 ways I have experienced to date. I enjoyed them with Jazz, Vocals, Strings, Classical, Reggae, EDM and some rock and roll. When the Yamaha was powering them they did fantastic with metal as well because the Yamaha’s mid bass is so powerful, one of its best traits. These have been all out fantastic speakers for my room and have given me many nights of listening enjoyment into the wee hours of the mornings on some nights.
With the AGD Audio MKIII were in the mix they did well with any and all music. I was even doing some head banging though the Borresen X2’s that I have here do that with more gusto and balls.
These are special speakers and if you are looking for clarity, detail and a wide opens sound without brightness or hardness and still plenty of big very tight fast bass, take a look at these. They are some of the sweetest sounds I have had through this room and anytime I take these out I miss them. When they go back in I am once again wowed by the performance and style of these.
These are also very wife friendly as they look gorgeous in whatever color one chooses, I chose Zebrano but they offer up other finishes as well as black and white. The Zebrano has a cool effect where it fades to black at tieback ion the speaker. So nice looking.
These are not cheap at $7,000 for the speakers only. With that said they do things I have not heard other speakers do nearly as well. These are composed and sound as balanced as they come. They image well but in a natural real way rather than an artificial hifi way. They offer up clarity and beef in the mids and a tight fast bass that goes down to 38hz. These will not fill your space with warm gooey bass, so if that is your goal look elsewhere. These will not sound romantic and smoky, rather they will sound clean and full but with a big wide open transparent sound. Never thin though, never overly done and never ever dull.
These are some of the finest I have heard and it is why I bought them. They also are great to have for review comparisons. The Triangle 40th Magellan Duettos blew me away, big time. I am proud to own a set.
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