Supported by local brick and mortar dealer Holm Audio, Antal Audio Group (Triangle, Electrocompaniet and Soullines) featured the Triangle Magellan 40th Anniversary Duettos ($7,000/pr) that our Editor-in-Chief Marc Phillips just recently reviewed–and loved. The Duettos were placed along side the 40th Anniversary Esprit Antals ($4,700) which I thought were a banging value back when I reviewed them. Finally, the 40th Anniversary Esprit Cometes ($2,500) bookshelves were on display on the counter along the opposite wall, mated with the Rena SA-2 amp/DAC/streamer ($1,799). All the Anniversary edition speakers had a similar finish and I gotta hand it to Triangle the fit and finish is truly stunning at this price point.
Words and Photos by Graig Neville
Electronics in the Holm Audio room were from Norwegian company Electrocompaniet, with AW 300M dedicated monoblocks ($29,000/pair) an EC 4.8 MkII preamp ($4,900), EMC 1 MkV CD player ($6,800), ECM 1 MkII streamer/DAC ($5,700), and ECP 2 MkII phono preamp ($2,900). The Soullines flagship TT42 turntable was on display as well ($14,500 without arm and cart). (Soullines’ flagship is a reference to the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, if any of you folks were looking for Easter eggs.) I don’t know if Holm Audio used the Soullines during the show, but vinyl was more prevalent at this AXPONA 2024 than any other I can remember – super cool.
I spoke with Frank Gazzo, the Antal Audio distributor, about future products at Triangle while I was in the Holm Audio exhibit room. I was curious–with the Magellan line sounding so good, were there were even more upscale aspirations for Triangle in the future? Frank mentioned that Triangle did have an even higher reference line that had been discontinued some time ago. Triangle was also developing a new flagship, perhaps in the $75,000 range, but that wouldn’t be on the market for some time; perhaps 2025. I’ll have to regulate my drool production until that time gets closer.
If you would like to hear even more coverage from AXPONA 2024, check out our recap report and highlights from our audiophile-oriented show The Occasional Podcast. You can stream the episode direct from the embed below, or from your favorite podcast platform including iTunes, Android, Google, Deezer, Spotify, iHeartRadio and more.
