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REVIEW: Triangle Comete es Speakers

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Model: Comete es
Category: Speakers
Suggested Retail Price: $950
Description: 2 way monitor
Manufacturer URL: Not Available
Manufacturer URL: Not Available

Review by hairydog ( A ) on January 22, 2005 at 14:16:22
IP Address: 70.18.247.120
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for the Comete es


This review is based on a short audition period of 15 days with the latest version of the the Triangle Comete es speaker, a medium-large size stand mount 2 way with 91db sensitivity, as I only had a certain amount of time to evaluate whether to keep them or not. As such it should be treated as a "first impression". As always, these are my impressions in my system and room. I had never heard a Triangle speaker until I set the Cometes up in my listening room (some experimentation was done to find their best placement also). They were run at moderate levels for 50 hours before I really started to evaluate. The dealer told me about 80 hours to reach their full potential. My last evaluations were done when the speakers had 150 hours on them. For the record I noticed no huge changes in their sound after about 20 hours and thought they performed pretty well right out of the box. The review will also include comparisons with the speaker I have been using for the past seven years- Monitor Audio Studio 2 (list price on this discontinued speaker was $1200 and dropped to $1100 when I purchased mine). Since Triangle speakers have gained a reputation as "giant killers", comparison to a slightly more expensive speaker may help to put things in perspective.

I got the Comete es with the idea of giving my Pass Aleph 30 class A 30 watt amp some more headroom, since they are a higher sensitivity than the Monitor audio. While the Cometes are priced at $950, some of what you are paying extra for is the difference between the dollar and the euro. First off is finish. The current esprit line comes only in wood grain vinyl, just about any speaker at this price point offers a real wood veneer. I think people would pay a little more for the choice of real wood if it was offered. Also on the subject of cabinets, I have read on various forums and reviews that Triangle does not place a high priority on rigid, braced cabinets, with the design philosophy that cabinet resonance can be compensated in the drivers used for a particular model. If you tap the cabinet on the Comete, it sounds hollow. I used all kinds of music to audition. The Cometes are a good speaker for the money. I would'nt say they are "giant killers". The Cometes sound best with classical, good with jazz and fair with classic rock. It is not really an "all around" speaker. The sound quality they give is one that has a very good and natural midrange, the midrange resolution is this speakers strength- smooth and detailed. I found the treble to be slighly "fizzy" at times. It was the overall quality of the treble that was its sticking point. Bass was full down to about 50hz with the upper bass having very good definition, midbass and below lost some of the tightness and refinement that you might get with a sturdy cabinet. In comparison to the monitor audio studio two, the Comete was noticably fuller in the bass, which gave a better foundation to classical music especially, but up in the treble it could not begin to approach the Monitor audio tweeter. The studio 2 has depth and layering in the treble that the cometes could not match. With classical music the cometes were better at the bottom, bringing more weight to cellos, but elsewhere the studio two gave a sense of air and layering to classical program material that I found preferable, particularly with piano concertos. Piano notes on the studio 2 ring out in space and are well placed in the soundstage. By comparison, the Cometes tweeter sounded somewhat "boxy". Both speakers are good with jazz. The Cometes presented a fuller sound on sax than the studio 2, but was thinner and less convincing with trumpet. Drums were given good definition and impact, beating the monitor audio by a small margin. Vocal music such as light pop by the late seventies version of Fleetwood mac, and Rikki Lee Jones was well produced by the Cometes, definitely not nasal, but natural and open. They did lack a certain amount of expresiveness and clarity in the upper midrange (which I might never have noticed if not for a direct comparison with the studio 2). The whole experience really shed light on how speakers, like people, have their own unique character.

With rock music the Comete meets its main weakness. Guitar lacks bite, and being the guitar nut I am, that alone was enough to send them out the door. The "boxy" character of the treble and the smooth midrange working against it. The fizzy quality of the tweeter also reared its head and did'nt help matters. The studio 2 had more bight and impact with Hendrix, Clapton, Mick Taylor etc.

The Cometes image well for a large stand mount speaker, but the smaller studio 2 bested it (as small speakers usually do, maybe Triangle's Titus would have come closer). One thing I noticed in my smallish room concerning the two front ports of the Comete was that I had occaisional bass management issues. The studio two was not as full on the bottom, but it did'nt have some of the room resonance issues of the Comete.

The high sensitivity of the Comete es was definitely apparent, never had to go past nine O'clock on my volume. The downside of the higher sensitivity was accentuated system noise (the power transformer buzz of my amp being louder and the tweeters gave some more hiss). The biggest plus of the Cometes was how good they sound at low volumes, even extremely low volumes. I have never heard a speaker maintain such level of performance in this regard. The comete maintains clarity and definition at whisper sound levels. The monitor studio 2 could not match the performance of the comete at low to very low volumes. At moderate levels, the Studio two had greater clarity and transparency and is a better "all rounder" since it sounds good with all kinds of music. The Cometes could'nt really do justice to rock guitar. However if classical and jazz are your main listening, the Cometes represent an excellent value. They have a superb midrange, good bass, and decent treble at their price. A really good tweeter is hard to come by at this price level. On the other hand a reasonably priced, high efficiency Monitor is hard to come by. Ultimately, the Triangle sound was not my cup of tea. Each speaker has its pluses and minuses at any price point and Triangle is no exception to that. I would suggest if at all possible to hear the Triangle sound before buying (I could'nt because there was no dealer I could get to).Even more so than other speakers, they definitely have a character you either like or you don't. I liked some things about them, but in the end they were gone. Maybe they sound better with tubes. The Cometes could'nt grasp the whole of my music collection as well as the monitor audio studio 2, or another speaker I had for years, the Epos ES 11. Guess I'll stick with UK monitors.


Product Weakness: No wood veneer at $950 list. Slightly boxy and fizzy treble. Ported bass gets a bit untight sometimes.
Product Strengths: High sensitivity, incredible performance at low-very low volumes. Superb midrange. Good image for size.


Associated Equipment for this Review:
Amplifier: Pass Aleph 30
Preamplifier (or None if Integrated): Audio Research LS3
Sources (CDP/Turntable): Rega Jupiter CD & P3 TT
Speakers: Monitor Audio Studio 2
Cables/Interconnects: DH labs spk. wireworld int.
Music Used (Genre/Selections): Classical, Jazz, Rock, Pop vocal
Room Size (LxWxH): 15 x 13 x 8
Room Comments/Treatments: Best sounding room I have had
Time Period/Length of Audition: 15 days
Other (Power Conditioner etc.): Monster
Type of Audition/Review: Product Owner




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Topic - REVIEW: Triangle Comete es Speakers - hairydog 14:16:22 01/22/05 ( 2)