Triangle Borea BR03 Review (bookshelf speaker)

[Gatordaddy]

in all these look pretty serviceable. The main flaws are port resonances (which plague most ported bookshelf speakers), and a combination of too shallow a woofer crossover slope and too high a crossover point.

I think this is a decent showing for a brand marketed around subjective internet hype videos and differentiating industrial design.

 

[MZKM]

Preference Rating
SCORE: 4.2
SCORE w/ sub: 6.5

Sensitivity: 88.0dB (300Hz-3kHz ; spec: 90dB)
Frequency response: +/-5.1dB 46Hz-20kHz ; +/-3.2dB 80Hz-20kHz

 

[MZKM]

Some kind of discontinuity exists around 1190 Hz

And since that port resonance is on the front, it contributes quite a good deal, we can see in the vertical off-axis how going lower in height results in a lot of energy:

As usual, actual impedance is lower than advertised

They spec it as 8ohm nominal with a min impedance of 4.2ohm. It looks like the min impedance is right on the money. The 2034 standard doesn't state how to calculate nominal impedance, only that it should be an integer, the IEC standard though states to multiply the min impedance by 1.25 (so min is 80%), and then round up to 4/6/8, well 4.2•1.25= 5.3ohm, so this indeed should be rated as 6ohm.

 

[Vini darko]

Seems the measurments are fairly representive of the bloggers (Sean) thoughts. With the speakers performance sitting between elac and klipsh and would appeal to lots of people.
Thanks for the measuments Amir I have been curious about these.

 

[Helicopter]

Thanks Amir. I have been considering these as tube amp speakers to play around with in a quaternary system. If only the minimum impedance were another 2 ohms higher, this could be a really good speaker for that application with its efficiency and decent performance. Also not a bad choice for a very budget system, though the Focal Chorus at A4L would be my first choice at this street price. Performance of the Borea doesn't look great, but at $350 its not a hard pass either. The resonances make sense with the classic cabinet having boxy shape, recessed baffle, likely thin walls, etc. I prefer real wood veneer, but at this price, cheap vinyl seems OK to me. They sort of remind me aesthetically of some Pioneer CS-F series speakers my parents used to have that I got to demolish for a trip to the dump in the 1990s. I'll probably just DIY something with really bad spin data and exactly the impedance and efficiency I want or get focal Aria 906s for more money though. If I were in Europe, this wouldn't even be a contender.

 

[respice finem]

Often somewhat confusing with loudspeakers: Is the price for a pair or a single speaker?

 

[fredoamigo]

Often somewhat confusing with loudspeakers: Is the price for a pair or a single speaker?

HERE is for the pair.... only Obedience" Pro " speakers are displayed at the units

 

[respice finem]

Thanks. Funnily, many speaker prices in webshops are hard to distinguish as pair vs. unit, I once almost bought two pairs of Atmos speakers thinking the price is per unit, it was only possible to find out in the comments.

 

[joentell]

I thought they were ok, but not my favorite in this price range. They looked cool, but like @amirm said, the sound signature confused me. So odd. After using them for a few weeks, I decided I liked them enough, but I could tell they weren't neutral. I have a review up on YT from a while back. The phase plug in front of the tweeter causes the narrow dip at 16khz. I measured it on the center channel too.

 

[panther]

I had a headache for a day after listening to these for about an hour. But I loved them so much still. Great to see the measurements done.

 

[HonestSonics]

Slightly nerve racking to see something I own come in for the Amir treatment! If the Elac DBR62's were the same price, I probably would have gone for them off of their favourable review here, but they were just beyond my budget.
Have lived with these speakers for around 6 months now, upgraded from the Mission LX2. In that sense they are the best speakers I have owned and I really like 'em, but they do have a certain character that your measurements help to articulate.
One thing they are exceptional for, I feel, is conveying scale and dynamic shifts. Music swells and subsides as if from a much larger source. They are fairly large for bookshelf speakers.
Again, coming from entry-level Missions, micro-details, texture and placement of elements are a step up from that.
I mainly listen to vinyl through these speakers with a system that leans towards warmth. I think that achieves a happy medium with the sightly forward, bright nature of these speakers.

 

[lizhuoyin]

Thank you very much, Amir for the great measurements and review. I have a pair of these paired with IOTAVX sa3. They were my entry to this fascinating music listening hobby. The whole system sounds muffled and lack of clarity for my untrained ears. I have no idea what's going on. I think your measurements shed light on it.
Since I move on to Gustard X16/Genelec 8030C as my main setup for desktop, Triangle/IOTAVX were moved to my bedroom for casual listening which serves well.

 

[Arc Acoustics]

The phase plug in front of the tweeter causes the narrow dip at 16khz.

Well, it's not.
You can confirm by cutting them away.

 

[Ismapics]

Ahha, one of the darlings of the YT Adjective speaking reviewers. Every reviewer in YT has gotten a pair, there are reviewers that have gotten complete systems from the brand. No wonder they all, no exceptions, like the speaker. umm. Yes unbiassed opinions. If you have to equalize, is it worth our time and money in lieu of another that you don't need to?

 

[dorirod]

Thank you Amir for the review! Regarding some of the other possibilities mentioned, those are usually back ported, which again for *bookshelf* speakers doesn't really work for many. The 530 are huge, DBR62 also somewhat on larger side (would take them over these but would prefer something smaller). Still on the lookout for front ported, smaller size speakers that aren't too expensive...

 

[thegeton]

I have a pair powered by the IOTAVX stack. They're in a modest sized sitting space with a comfortable distance between them and the listening position.

I'm using a Rega P2, my old Nak CR-2A, and a Yamaha CD player as sources. We play my old vinyl and CDs mostly, but I have a fine collection of self recorded cassettes on Maxell metal tapes that round things out.

I think this setup sounds pretty good. No, it is not transparent nor neutral. It sounds more like you're in a small club. I think this suits the setting perfectly. Tight, punchy, with clear enough treble response. It's nice.

I like sitting with family and friends in that space, having a few beers, and really listening to the music. We share stories and talk about music, musicians, and concerts we've seen. Can't beat it.

I have 2 other streaming systems for more transparency and neutrality. Sometimes I just want to be in a club with my friends sans the club.

 

[More Dynamics Please]

After all the social media Hot! Hot! Hot! it seems here to be more like lukewarm. Tough competition in this price range. Along with competitors already mentioned the Infinity R162 could be added to the mix, especially when on sale at 50% off msrp as it frequently is.

 

[michaelahess]

I have the 08's and the center channel. I replaced my aging JBL Studio S312's and S-Center with them.

My girlfriend and I did semi blind tests between single JBL and 08 on a varied range of music. Then multi channel.

Our take aways after swapping notes:

1. JBL was a "fuller" sound.
2. Triangle was much clearer on the treble and highs.
3. JBL was slightly better on guitar, shocked that both of us noticed that.
4. Triangle was less fatiguing.
5. Triangle had cleaner, tighter bass but nowhere near the extension as the 12's on the JBL's.

I then listened non blind with one of my Pioneer AJ 5 1/4 towers. The Borea blew them away on every count. Biased to my new purchase? Sure, but I honestly think I could truly tell they sounded more even, with better tighter bass, and I seriously liked the midrange.

With my subs, the fuller JBL advantage died off.

I'm very pleased with these for the price, and they fill up my large open living room without trouble.

I would love to try some M106's but there isn't a dealer within many many hours of where I live.

 

[lmaobrah]

Thanks Amir and the donor.

I've been waiting for the review on this one.
Looks like a decent speaker. $400 at my place. (Elac DBR62 is $800 here)

 

[Arc Acoustics]

I have the 08's and the center channel ... and I seriously liked the midrange.

Yep, 3way can get rid of the messy midrange leakage from the port.
You are listening to a rather different sound from (probably) the same midwoofer drivers.
BRC1 (centre channel) could have the same sort of problem but the location of the ports are different so I guess it could be less pronounced.