First Listen: Triangle Capella Wireless Loudspeaker

Posted on 29th June, 2024
First Listen: Triangle Capella Wireless Loudspeaker

Jay Garrett gets a sneak peek at an impressive new active wireless speaker system…

French audio manufacturer Triangle has joined the current trend of offering all-new active wireless speaker systems. I went to the company's headquarters in Soissons, ninety minutes outside Paris, to hear one for myself ahead of its official unveiling. The Capella integrates hi-res wireless music streaming into a pair of active standmounters. This is ideal for those in smaller spaces or those who can do without the hassle of buying a separate amplifier, audio streamer, and the necessary cabling to connect it all. Instead, it's said to offer a compact stereo hub for music, home theatre and gaming.

Triangle Capella First Listen Review

The 2-way speakers incorporate Triangle's signature horn-loaded tweeter – here using a 25mm magnesium alloy dome – alongside a downwards ported 165mm cellulose pulp membrane mid/bass unit, hence the stylish aluminium standoff rail along the cabinet's bottom.

Triangle Capella First Listen Review

Each driver gets its own 50W amplifier, bringing the total power output to 200W (100W per side) of Class D bi-amplification. Triangle's digital signal processor (DSP) monitors driver behaviour to optimise the system's performance, while a digitally controlled crossover aims for a "perfectly linear frequency response." According to Triangle, the goal is deeper, better-controlled bass married to a more precise, balanced soundstage.

Triangle Capella First Listen Review

You can stream music from your smartphone, tablet, or laptop wirelessly via Bluetooth and Wi-Fi using UPnP, AirPlay, Chromecast, and Spotify Connect. It's Roon Ready and supports hi-res files up to 24-bit/192kHz. The Capella boasts a set of RCA stereo ports, single coaxial and USB type B inputs, a trio of optical inputs, and HDMI ARC, letting you hook up your TV as a neat soundbar alternative and do away with another box.

Triangle Capella First Listen Review

While this sounds standard stuff for anyone familiar with the likes of the KEF LS50 Wireless II or Sonus faber Duetto, the aforementioned hard-cabled connections are found in a small, separate hub where all the number-crunching and physical connections happen. The hub transmits wirelessly to the speakers over WiSA (Wireless Speaker and Audio Association) at 24-bit/96kHz. While this does introduce a tiny black box into the mix, it does remove the irksome issue of making sure your physical sources are on the same side as the 'master' speaker.

Triangle Capella First Listen Review

Sebastien Miquel, Head of R&D, in Triangle's anechoic chamber

Furthermore, it has the added bonus of room acoustics calibration using a mobile app, and your smartphone's microphone, to calculate and analyse the room where you have the speakers. The app then corrects and optimises the measurements, producing better sound. You can customise things even further by controlling the response curve and tweaking the EQ settings to your preference within the same app. If you want to get serious about optimising the Capella system, you can add an optional Zen microphone for more accurate measurements.

Triangle Capella First Listen Review

Hugo Decelle, Triangle's MD, and Sebastien Miquel

Hiding the rather 'work-a-day' hub away leaves you with a pair of rather lovely bookshelf speakers – the Astral Blue finish is breathtaking in real life. The rounded, high-density cabinets are wrapped in a lacquered walnut exterior.

THE LISTENING

Triangle is renowned for its crisp horn-loaded tweeters and bass drivers that can stop and start without any sense of flabbiness or overhang. This wireless speaker system doesn't depart from the formula, and really likes to make its presence felt.

Triangle Capella First Listen Review

A wide range of programme material was chosen to audition – everything from GoGo Penguin's Murmation to Yookie's Sunshine of Your Wub, via Joyce DiDonato and Orchestre de l'Opera National de Lyon's performance of I Capuleti e i Montecchi, Act 2: Tu sola, o mia Giulietta... Deh! tu, bell'anima under the baton of Riccardo Minasi. The Capellas did an outstanding job, given the circumstances.

Triangle Capella First Listen Review

The speaker retains the Triangle signature sound of its passive stablemates while offering the convenience of wireless streaming and the option to connect wired sources such as a TV, CD player and turntable via a hub that can be positioned nearby to said sources. It will also appeal to those who like the ability of KEF's alternative but would rather have a more classic, wonderfully finished wood-cabineted speaker on show than the ultra-modern aesthetic of the Brit boxes. As such, I look forward to spending more time with this exciting speaker system, which is available in Australia from late September 2024 in four finishes – Black Star, Astral Blue, Space White, and Brown Nebula – and priced at $5,500 RRP.

Visit Triangle for more information

Jay Garrett's avatar
Jay Garrett

StereoNET’s resident rock star, bass player, and gadget junkie. His passion for gadgets and Hi-Fi is second only to being a touring musician.

Posted in: Hi-Fi | Loudspeakers | Active | Bookshelf / Standmount

JOIN IN THE DISCUSSION

Want to share your opinion or get advice from other enthusiasts? Then head into the MessageForums where thousands of other enthusiasts are communicating on a daily basis.
CLICK HERE FOR FREE MEMBERSHIP

applause awards

Each time StereoNET reviews a product, it is considered for an Applause Award. Winning one marks it out as a design of great quality and distinction – a special product in its class, on the grounds of either performance, value for money, or usually both.

Applause Awards are personally issued by StereoNET’s global Editor-in-Chief, David Price – who has over three decades of experience reviewing hi-fi products at the highest level – after consulting with our senior editorial team. They are not automatically given with all reviews, nor can manufacturers purchase them.

The StereoNET editorial team includes some of the world’s most experienced and respected hi-fi journalists with a vast wealth of knowledge. Some have edited popular English language hi-fi magazines, and others have been senior contributors to famous audio journals stretching back to the late 1970s. And we also employ professional IT and home theatre specialists who work at the cutting edge of today’s technology.

We believe that no other online hi-fi and home cinema resource offers such expert knowledge, so when StereoNET gives an Applause Award, it is a trustworthy hallmark of quality. Receiving such an award is the prerequisite to becoming eligible for our annual Product of the Year awards, awarded only to the finest designs in their respective categories. Buyers of hi-fi, home cinema, and headphones can be sure that a StereoNET Applause Award winner is worthy of your most serious attention.

00003398