Give him time…upgrades will ensue commensurate to the level of his Brinkmann. In the meantime he will enjoy the tactile gratification of using a very fine instrument on which to play what could be an amassing record collection for his Brinkmann. Hobbyists generally do not stumble into purchases at the level as a Brinkmann stupidly. Devore is a local maker to NYC audiophiles and dealers and gets local support that I have experienced. I have heard Devore in two dealers who both actively promoted Devore when I visited them and informed them I was seeking speakers. Both of these Manhattan dealers were located south of 14th Street and they both represented Devore well. But I never got the plot of these speakers and had no interest. I heard Triangle at the last NY Audio show in Winter 2019 before COVID. Triangle were the best I’ve heard in however many NY audio shows they’ve held at the Parklane hotel. Sure, audio shows are terrible places to hear speakers but it is bad for everyone so it is not like Magico, Wilson, Harbeth or any speaker is not all presented on an equal, albeit bad or difficult, playing field. Triangle sounded good to me and back then I was a Harbeth owner which makes everything sound good. Here in Manhattan I don’t know of any audiophile who gets to audition speakers on trial in their home. Heck, I don’t know of any audiophiles in Manhattan. Maybe the global wealth class get this service but I wouldn’t know ‘cos I can’t run in that crowd. Enjoy those speakers. I can understand why.
You've painted Focal w/a pretty broad brush. I would suppose ALL your Focal experiences have dwelt on the tweeter. That's a fairly common, SHMF experience => ear-wrenching Focals. IMHO, there must be a # of Focal dealers who've mismatched amplification, < optimum watts/current. The impedance dips were not being adequately powered. Your lengthy endorsement of listening in YOUR ROOM, was also denied any Focals. Your statement about # of Focals on Audiogon might correlate with your experience. It does not match mine. Today, there are 39 Focal products on Audiogon; 22 Triangle (well, TriangleART is included, for what apparent reason, IDK.) ~ 1/3 of the Focal listings are for headphones. I've been following Focal on Audiogon for several years, hoping to score surrounds to pair w/my 1038bes. SR900s would do. There have been ~ 3 listings on eBay, but @ near retail. The higher end Focals you mentioned on the 'Gon are usually those of long-term owners, wishing to downsize/upgrade. I don't think your A'gon "research" really indicates anything pertinent to Focals. Man, do I wish I had an Audio-Dealer friend. Vinyl Renaissance & Audio Midwest Finest In Audio Equipment and Records is the closest, carrying: Dali, Induction Dynamics, Phase Technology, PSB, That would be 1.5 hr drive, for nothing I'm really interested in. Other than that ONE shop, BestBuy is really the only "dealer" within commuting distance. I can't imagine finding speakers in Omaha & getting free home trials. YOU ARE A VERY LUCKY MAN! As for your cautions of reviews, I really never read any on my Focal 1038bes, until after purchase. Then I found Michael Fremer's review of the previous model, 1037be => Focal Electra 1037 Be loudspeaker I've enjoyed you review, but car analogies? I've owned a '70 MG Midget & a 2019 Land Cruiser. Not sure there's anything pertinent to audio discussions. Enjoy the music!
I've been able to home audition audio components in the past, but never speakers. Of course, I am using floor standers. Perhaps smaller book shelf speakers can be taken home for audition. Taking big speakers with expensive finishes home would be too expensive, and I don't know of any store here that will do it either.
I would love to try Sopra 2 or 3 in my space!! Especially in Ferrari red! Many say Triangle speakers are bright and fatiguing….not the case here!
You will end up with expensive speakers that offer sound far from satisfying - to buy them, many drain their retirement accounts. You will end up selling them at substantial loss….i will never understand how one can buy a speaker without in-house audition…but hey- we are all different! P.S. My Triangle sounded terrible at the dealer and if I have based my purchase decision at that moment - Cello would have never made to my listening room!
I heard Devore speakers connected to very expensive Japanese hand made amps( Shindo) at a lower Manhattan dealer. I brought a couple of Emil Gilels LPs with me and they sounded superb.
I tried Shindo amplification back when I had 0/96 in my room - did not work well for me. Out of 20-some amps that I tried, Luxman L509x gave me the most satisfying sound. All acoustic spaces are different AND our tastes differ….if speaker sounds really good at dealer, it does not mean it will sound same in your room…thats the most underrated assumption people are making. Like I said above - my Cello sounded really bad at dealer - no low end, hard and forward. I did not give up on them because I looked at the measurements, did extensive research and talk to several international individuals from industry. Aesthetics played important role as well - I simply loved the way they look!
"to buy them, many drain their retirement accounts." Where's this information come from? Define "many." Sounds far fetched to me.
Based on MANY discussions with customers through the years - them admitting it with proudness! Also, I am not sure how your post is constructive to the discussion…it amazes me how many people saying something just to start argument…hey - happy listening!
Not sure how your ridiculous claim is constructive to the discussion. I've never anyone who "drained" their retirement account to purchase audio gear. I'd say if they did, they didn't have much of a retirement account to begin with. That said, enjoy your new speaks.
The gentleman who purchased $50k Brinkman TT set up did that…he was proud of it at the same time! I know at least 3 DeVore 0/96s owners who did same - purchased whole - Shindo based systems, using their retirements fund….
Speakers, the final frontier in terms of the vast unknown for audiophiles to have knowledge of sounding in their own space. The enormous hassle and risk of moving speakers around makes it a practical impossibility at any retail level IMO. Speakers, or equipment for that matter, might do the rounds in the audiophile journalism tour in garnering review coverage so that gear is sacrificed to get publicity for the maker. But for audiophile commoners like me, there is no loaner speaker in my future from anybody anywhere. But if anyone can get loaner speakers to audition, good on you you lucky stiff. I know the place. And from not far nearby I also heard O/96 fed by McIntosh. I didn’t compute with either setup but I’m sure it was me. But either way I glad to see & hear stuff made in Brooklyn by a fellow New Yorker be out there and making audiophiles happy. Drawing down a retirement account (draining is colorful language) is not unreasonable. Access a 401k while employed as a hardship withdrawal for discretionary purchases is clearly unwise. However once a person no longer has current employment income where else is money gonna come from? How is buying a piece of audio equipment different than buying an Oldsmobile to drive 30MPH in the left lane? Details matter and nobody knows the details. Deplete a 401k? Assets can be held across multiple investment institutions each with a 401k FBO Joe-audiophile. So to deplete an account is not to say there are no assets remaining. And most importantly, total net worth is the only number that matters. If there’s enough balance to meet expenses and pay the taxman for the anticipated time horizon, then, for example, buying a Brinkmann is no big deal.
I agree, that an in house audition would be the best way to choose speakers. With all due respect, however, it just isn't feasible with large speakers. Why would my dealer allow me to audition my Sasha DAW's at home? I know for a fact it would cost me over a thousand dollars to return the speakers, even if the dealer agreed to do such a thing. If you are talking about something like a 30 day customer return, it would still cost me over a thousand bucks, and the dealer would be stuck with an extra pair of speakers to go with their demo model. Why would they want to do that? Perhaps you are home auditioning with used speakers? I think with a properly treated room, most speakers will sound they way they sound. I knew the demo room at the dealer wasn't my room, and any speaker would sound better in my room, with my equipment. The dealer and I talked about my set up and room size. They came as close as they could to emulate what I have at home, so at least I had some reference. While at the dealer, I heard B&W, Focal, Magico, and Wilson speakers in a side by side scenario. Remember, if I do a home audition, big speakers come in crates. They have to be removed from the crates brought into the listening room and set up properly. That's a lot of work. I went back to the dealer twice and did extensive listening for hours, with my records and cds. I could tell what would sound good in my room. Every speaker I have ever bought sounded the way I thought it would sound in my room. In the case of the Wilson's even better than I thought. I have never had buyers remorse from a speaker purchase, and I was thorough. So, unless one is a multi-millionaire and can afford to buy large speakers, listen at home, and then trade them back to the dealer at a significant loss, home auditions are pie in the sky.
Saturday afternoon I put on my platter an excellent – quiet and flat, Impex pressing of “Friday Night in San Francisco” by Al DiMeola, John Mc Laughlin, and Paco De Lucia. First opening chords brought uncontrolled smile on my face and overall excitement. Three guitar virtuosos playing live in San Francisco’s Warfield Theatre back in 1981, make for a memorable spectacle. The interesting part about this - all analog recording, is that all three guitar players are using different strings in their instruments. Cello transducers let me differentiate among Spanish de Lucia’s guitar, steel string on Di Meola acousticinstrument and nylons on McLaughlin. All three musicians were switching positions throughout the concert and Triangle Cello is the ONLY speaker so far that let me follow these changes. Harbeths were all dark and muddy so that all three guitars sounded the same with no hues, harmonics and note decays. I cranked the volume up to a 90dB (A-weighted) at my listening spot - The dynamism, speed and force were obvious through Cellos – enthusiastic crowd framed a performance and gave the beautiful ambience. I could easily follow Paco’s finger picking technique as well as hear musician’s breaths. Not only this album is the best acoustic guitar live production I have ever heard, but also it sounds AMAZING on my system. Close to 41 minutes of thunderous guitar work that gives goosebumps anytime it is played. If you own high resolving system, you should definitively have this album in your LP library.
I think we get it now. your speakers are quite spectacular. Maybee i should replace them with the ones I have now. Hmm...
Hi guys, I’m recently bought the Triangle Cello. My amp is Primaluna EVO 400, with 8 KT150. It give 88wpc. Is this enough power to drive the Cello?
I saw Triangles at the first and second Florida Audio Expos. First year it was the Esprit Australe EZ, and the second year it was the Signature Delta. Both were impressive. I'm not surprised that you love yours. I've also read many good things about Triangles except for occasional mismatches with certain amps. Both years that I heard them they compared to speakers three and four times their price. I know I want a pair!! Good luck.
I would not pair Cellos with any tube amp. Look at that link where the impedance graph is shown: Test: Triangle Magellan Cello 2 - connect Looking at the right side of the graph, one can see elevated level that begins around 5kHz and it goes all the way to the 40kHz. This speaker when paired with amp that has a high output impedance (tube amp) will emphasis high frequencies. Magellan Cello will become hard, bright and the over all sound signature will move significantly to the right side of spectrum. I listened to Cellos at the dealer for an hour or two on Primaluna Dialogue HP with 8 EL34s and, as I explained above, sound was fatiguing without drive and low end base. Not my type of signature....Also, remember that Cello reaches 2.5 Ohm minimum around 5KHz and 3 Ohms at 100Hz with major phase angles having EDPR value close to 1 OHM!!!!. Most of the audio band lies around 4 Ohms making this speaker a bad choice for tube amp. As you see, the power is totally different topic. This will depend on your music taste, size of your room and listening habits. Honestly, I would borrow powerful Solid State integrated from your local dealer, try it at home and see what you prefer. I would vouch for Hegel H590, Gryphon Diablo 300, Accuphase E480, to name a few...Hegel H390 would be also nice - "budget" alternative.... I strongly suggest this reading from Atkinson: Heavy Load: How Loudspeakers Torture Amplifiers P.S. I am using 650W into 4 Ohms Simaudio Monoblocks and Cellos make them very warm to touch after nice (85-90db) listening session. This did not happen with any other speakers I tried (see the list in the initial post). Its a bummer that Luxman America often pairs Cellos with their low powered tube amps at audio shows giving people totally wrong impression as to how pair these French beauties. BTW, I had rather informative conversation about that issue with Jeff Sigmund and John Pravel....I truly believe that the Luxman 900u is a much better choice...... Happy Listening!
