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LT: How is Triangle perceived around the world, i.e. outside of France?


RdV: I am very happy to notice that Triangle is considered as a very expressive brand with a true personality. Triangle is considered such for the whole range. It's our identity. And this is what pleases me. Triangle doesn't allow you to be indifferent. You either like it or you don't. It's a fully committed brand. It's clear.


LT: But is that the reaction you wanted?


RdV: Of course. A creator is happy when you discuss his products, good or bad (I prefer good) in a passionate way. What is amazing is how many people have fully understood the way we think about music at Triangle. That is very gratifying for the team. Let me tell you a little story. In the 50s, my father had great mono systems I enjoyed very much. When I was very young, I worked in a big shop. They had just received a Pink Floyd album that they were playing on an integrated full-range leopard-skinned Teppaz. And the sound was simply great on the electric guitar solo. I thought I would buy superb loudspeakers to hear it at home. So months after I bought superb English loudspeakers, very famous ones, I put on the disc and never understood why the guitar solo was so totally flat. I asked myself if the connections were bad but it wasn't that. It was simply that the leopard Teppaz had a truly great midrange. My history began there. The midrange, the most important aspect, had disappeared, a bit like real but ordinary food. You eat to live but sometimes you don't even know the taste of it. The flavor has gone. You eat but you don't taste. Triangle is a history of commitment to taste and flavor.


LT: You need electronics to make your loudspeakers sing.


RdV: It's evident that contrary to you, I haven't the opportunity to hear all the sources and amplifiers. At the factory, we stock some products we are used to and we change out regularly but my philosophy is that a system is a whole. The final result is an alchemy. That said, the loudspeaker is the element that will give the most audible difference at first glance. Good or bad, that difference will dominate.


LT: And at home?


RdV: In a word, to own a system which gives me sound satisfaction. But I don't want to deal with all that for too long. Of course in this domain, we all are a bit like audiophiles - more or less. But my inner nature leads me to the music lover's side every time. So the articulation, the lively side of the sound, its expressivity are fundamental. There are a lot of sources and electronics that tire me quickly while others are great.


LT: What is surprising in your house is that you have systems in all the rooms but your approach is more artistic and convenient than an audiophile's.


RdV: What interests me is the result.


LT: As far back as I can remember, you have always had a lot of very different stuff - valve, solid-state. You are very open-minded, very detached?


RdV: I have the chance to be in a community of people with some friends who, like you, help me discover many different products, cables, accessories. But it's not what is fundamental to me. The most important thing for me is creation. And this
setup at Triangle embodies a trait I appreciate very much. I am amazed by the energy people generate who love our Triangle loudspeakers. But for me, the fundamental research is more important. Perhaps I'm not an audiophile. For me, a great system works great at once. Of course you can optimize it but I'm not into this intellectual research. Yet I am totally convinced.


LT: I understand. When I knew I would visit with you, I prepared a full bag of wires and other accessories. And finally we sat down and listened to music for hours. It sounded so good, we didn't even look at the bag but rather, at the records.


RdV: That's what I like. The circle gets squared, a bit like when you taste a great Armagnac. That moment is fantastic. And if you can listen to music while admiring a painting, that is fantastic. Something is happening.


LT: You clearly don't have an audiophile approach.


RdV: My pleasure is leading the way. It doesn't matter to me whether it's valve or transistors or single-ended or push-pull. I want to have pleasure with music, an organic link to the sound. Still, I couldn't live with bad stuff. And you are completely right when you say that I am not an audiophile. I intellectualize the music but not the sound. For me the music is pure joy.


LT: But your room is truly wonderful - gorgeous I should say.


RdV: It's 50 % of the job yet nobody speaks about that. When I built the house, I thought about it very precisely. Here I spent a lot of time with the room, with the small cavities you see in the ceiling. I worked with an acoustics specialist. And what is good for the sound is good for us. Some more wine?


RdV's system - even better than the real thing...
Before talking about the system, let's talk about Renaud de Vergnette's room. 70 square meters, a 3.30 meter ceiling and very very sweet, without any residual noise (RdV lives in the country). The ceiling is completely treated to avoid all problems with primary reflections yet it is done very elegantly and quasi invisible. You might think it a decorative element.
  • Marantz SA11-S1 CD/SACD player
  • Magnum Dynalab MD 108 Triode tuner
  • Mingda MC - 2A3 valve preamplifier
  • Mingda MC - 300845-AB valve mono amplifiers
  • Triangle Magellan Grand Concert loudspeakers
  • Triangle Magellan subwoofer (very limited and exclusive)
  • Crystal Cable wires

We began to listen to some music after dinner for our first session which brought us to 3:00AM. The sound was so relaxed, I never had any impression of stress. The listening comfort was extraordinary. First, one will notice stratospheric bandwidth with exceptional bass extension (thank you mister sub) - great bass with authority, control, grip, density and a very powerful impact. Nevertheless, the bass never overcharged the message. It was a true collaborator, not a challenger. In fact, the midrange was very natural and elegant. The bipolar array offered great dispersion without confusion. Voices and acoustic instruments were truly and precisely restored. There was a unique feeling of truth and the exceptionally controlled treble energy added a magical touch to the whole. Very evident was how this system offered fantastic energy with true control and a very sweet and transparent tonal balance. But Renaud likes big engines not only in hifi and so his system offers truly responsive power and remarkably fast reflexes to match the most intricate melodies. After four hours of Bach, Patricia Barber, Monteverdi, Louis Sclavis, Mozart and Nightmares On Wax, it was time for a break.


The second session was a bit shorter but I can tell you that with some piano works from Maurice Ravel and the delicate John Surman, the system confirmed its status of supreme elegance and precision. The word serenity naturally came to my mind. In a certain way, I understand completely why Renaud insists that he is no audiophile. This unexpected system is far more the tool of a dedicated music lover that succeeds in the more subtle art of musical testimony...
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