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In collaboration with this publication and our own Joël Chevassus, we herewith present a translated syndication of his original French report published in November 2013 here. All images are the property of Audiophile Magazine or Triangle Electroacoustique - Ed.


I was recently invited to visit the premises of Triangle Industries on the outskirts of Soissons in Villeneuve-Saint-Germain to be precise. A little more than one hour's drive from Paris, here Triangle have manufactured and assembled loudspeakers for over 30 years. From CEO Marc Le Bihan and recently hired project manager Sébastien Miquel I received a warm friendly welcome in the style of since departed company founder Renaud Vergnette.


Soon after the usual morning coffee we started the tour at the small museum set up to capture the main awards and successes of Triangle's history. Their first models date back to the early 80s. From left to right...

... there is the 1180, their first ever model, then the CX2 and CX3. Already at the very beginning the concept of a mid/tweeter head unit atop a separate woofer cab was the zeitgeist. The CX2 was a two-way bass-reflex with a Siare 21cm widebander and an Audax TW8B freestanding tweeter. The wooden cabinet was enclosed in black Plexiglas.

Between the Octan and Comet models the all-black Altaïr with its curved sides was quite unprecedented for 1993. So was the first Magellan Grand Concert of the early 2000s. The first Altaïrs were actually coated in a glossy black skin of Altuglas acrylic resin to achieve the most glamorous effect. For economic reasons later versions were finished in simpler black lacquer.


At left is an Octan panel without its grille. This was one of the last EZX models, a 5-driver 3-way electrodynamic panel speaker.


In the right half below we see the first version of the Comet monitor bestseller with the Stratos Australe 260 tower next to it. The latter employed a rear-firing tweeter for better HF diffusion and a more focused soundstage.


In the left half we see the first iteration of the Magellan Grand Concert, the flagship and top demonstrator of this Soisson firm's combined know-how. Here it was displayed next to a rarely seen Magellan subwoofer. Terrific!


Visiting the warehouse revealed huge storage capacity far removed from the small garages many competitors devote to the same function.

The premium Magellan models benefit from wooden crates to underscore their peak ambitions...


... which was followed by aisles and aisles of cardboard-packed models.

Here we see Sébastien Miquel explain the design of a Magellan woofer. The composite diaphragm consists of cellulose pulp core sandwiched between two fiberglass skins referred to as the new SVA diaphragm. The rigid die-cast aluminum basket is fitted with a rear-cover heatsink. The motor is equipped with a special steel-alloy pole piece to create an extremely powerful magnetic field.

Next we looked at some raw driver stock awaiting assembly.




Next we looked at the offices and assembly plant. Here's a quick glance at the upscale 3D printer used for the production of small parts like port tube flares, tweeter horns, binding posts and other small bits.


Triangle Industries were one of the first to embrace this advanced technology for production, favoring it over the more common CNC routers. The main advantage is the time saved during rapid prototyping. Obviously this was no entry-level 3D printer but a top industrial model with a significant capital investment for the firm.


One employee is in full-time charge of repair and after-sales maintenance. This work requires mighty versatility and skills as Triangle over their storied history have made and sold many different products. After 30 years in business they take pride in maintaining and servicing all of them without exception.


The assembly line of the new Signature Theta monitor and Signature Gamma centre channel was next. The Signature range uses the famous in-house built bullet-mounted Titanium dome tweeter with new phase plug and cast aluminum horn in the special satin finish inherited from the range-topping Magellan series. This more sophisticated horn tweeter has better dispersion both horizontally and vertically to improve off-axis response of the treble.


The assembly line of Signature Alpha and Delta models followed. Their overall finish level remains close to the flagship Magellan series whilst retaining more affordable pricing. The Signature cabinets are made from seven 3mm high-density fiber boards steam-bent in a press for an overall thickness of 21mm. This high-density structure helps considerably in the reduction of box talk.

To embellish the enclosures with a luxurious seen, seven or ten coats of paint are built up to achieve a 'piano gloss' type finish depth. A new midrange driver was enhanced with a 185mm aluminum basket for better ventilation and a new treated paper cone to increase clarity whilst top-quality parts elsewhere pursue greater transparency and a more refined tonal balance.

Inside Sébastien Miquel's office I saw various prototypes from the R&D period of the Signature range.


Next we entered the Holy of Holies, the driver assembly room.

This machine magnetizes the driver motors.

Next came the voice-coil winder for dual-layer internal and external windings over a Kapton former.



As already mentioned, the composite diaphragm of a Magellan woofer consists of a honeycomb cellulose core sandwiched between two fiberglass skins. The new profile is slightly shallower than before and the central dust cap has become aluminum.

An ultraviolet ray bonds voice coil former to diaphragm for faster drying and optimized adhesion.

This glue station adds rubber surrounds and spider suspensions.

Driver testing with a low-frequency generator detects any voice coil friction or other unwanted noise sources caused by assembly errors or poor centering.


CLIO test gear validates compliance of each drive unit to the logged reference specifications for impedance, frequency response and harmonic distortion.

We now entered a small padded cell dedicated to break-in. Each speaker in the Magellan range undergoes burn-in at the factory, here a pair of Magellan Concerto face to face.

The anechoic chamber for final speaker inspection was next. This space is equipped with both CLIO and MLSSA acoustical measurement systems. Since its 1987 introduction, MLSSA—pronounced Melissa—has become the effective industry standard as used by the world's leading speaker designers and manufacturers.


Just behind the anechoic chamber is a control room. Screens connected to a laser-sighting system allow among other things very precise positioning of the measuring mic on the speaker.

The same room doubles as technical workshop to work on various parts and sub assemblies making up a Triangle speaker. It's mostly used to generate supplementary measurements to those obtained in the anechoic chamber.


Here we see the Klippel system for driver optimization and development. Klippel technology with laser inferometry simulates actual music signal unlike conventional measuring methods which rely on low-level static test signal. This gear allows for every-day acoustical tests, small and large signal parameter confirmation including T/S parameters, distortion measurements, accelerated life and power testing, simulation and more.


Here a driver is analyzed for excursion distortion.

This test rig measures spiders and surrounds.


Here is a test jig for crossover optimization. It is used for both measurement and listening tests whilst bypassing any PCB to accommodate rapid parts swaps.


I also had opportunity to listen to the new Signature series inside the two factory audition rooms. One is heavily treated to simulate typically overstuffed home theater décors, the other has a clearer more reverberant acoustic to duplicate average living rooms. These listening sessions ended my factory tour organized on the premises of a company whose mid and top models are still produced entirely in France to control the manufacturing process beginning to end. Not too shabby I'd say.

Triangle Industries website