Test of the hollow-shelf speaker system 2.0 Triangle Esprit Comete Ex

One of the largest French companies producing acoustic systems Triangle Electroacoustique celebrated its thirtieth birthday in 2010, and more than half of this period in the model lineup of the company is present line Esprit, launched in the mid-90s. Acoustic systems Comete EX belong to the fifth generation of the popular line of Esprit, as the “older” shelf models of its series. Since founder Renaud de Vergnette, Triangle has used only its own components in the design and manufacture of its speakers. De Vernier said: if our speakers aren’t our speakers, they’re not our speakers. Although de Verniet has been gone for years, his principles live on, Esprit speakers still use Triangle speakers – even the internal cabling and decoupling filter capacitors bear the Triangle “brand”.

CONSTRUCTION

When the French engineers upgraded our Esprit lineup last time in 2007, they added a whole new set of speakers. For the range of tweeter now responsible compression tweeter with a 25-millimeter titanium dome, placed in a horn with a circular cross section and the walls, made of PVC polyvinyl chloride . At the mouth of the horn is an elongated “phase” insert made of copper and a wide rubber ring eliminates sound diffraction from the outer edge of the bell. To increase the power of the squeaker the designers used a magnetic system made of neodymium, iron and boron alloy.

The Comete EX subwoofer/bass driver has a diameter of 160 mm and is equipped with a die-cast metal chassis, hard rubber center cap and a paper diaphragm with bellows. For the distribution of the two speaker bands a 4th order crossover is used slope 24dB/octave tuned to 2.5kHz.

The cabinet of the shelf speakers has classical outlines and is assembled from MDF panels. The front of the speakers is slightly curved and painted black, the remaining surface is finished in cherry or black ash colors that the French dubbed Cognac and Black. The Comete EX midrange/midrange driver is acoustically loaded with two small phase-inverter ports facing forward.

On the rear panel there is a terminal box with gold-plated, universal connectors, the number of which is suitable for dual cable connection. Shield profile has a signature Z-shaped design for easy access to acoustic terminals.

Triangle experts recommend using the Comete EX loudspeakers in rooms with an area of 15-30 square meters. meters.

SOUND

Comete EX acoustic systems have an original sound with a wide frequency range. The speakers bring a solid low-frequency foundation to the sound, including providing a tangible contribution in the mid-bass region. The upper bass is well articulated and somewhat emphasized in the overall plan, the mid-bass is slowed down, but still has good looking relief. Some tightness in the aftershocks of the bass notes gives the bass instruments an exaggerated dimension on the music stage.

The disco is, in the old tradition, a staple of the Triangle show, and the top is conveyed festively, with honed dynamics and plenty of detail, though such sharpness of playback can be tiresome at high volume or during orchestral crescendos. The midrange of the Comete EX varies, depending on genres and conditions.

At moderate volume, the midrange is smooth, with good timbre legibility, but a little melancholic. The louder the sound, the more expressive the vocals and instruments sound, but the tonal coloring becomes more noticeable. In general, the loud sound is better for popular music, electronics and rock, medium power – for classical and jazz, but this style looks very logical, coinciding with the preferences of most audiophiles.

The nature of the construction of the musical scene is another feature of the Comete EX. Bass patterns, treble and vocal parts tend to be enlarged or pushed to the foreground, accompaniment instruments are relegated to the background echelons, with depth of scene seen but not very deep. The introduction of a new solo into a piece of music leads to a smooth transformation of the scene and shifts the “focus” to a new source, moving closer to the listener.

SUMMARY

The Triangle Comete EX speakers in the Esprit lineup exhibit a distinctive temperament throughout. Although there is something to criticize about their sound, they have plenty of undeniable merits. You can not see their obvious genre preferences, they can play decently everything – from rock to classical, but in their own way. In general, the Comete EX are interesting loudspeakers, which many will like and some will be disappointed, the sound of which will greatly depend on the room and the selection of partners in a stereo system.

43,600 Dollars.