The Triangles’ primary goal is to amuse you. They are not unaware of the principles of accuracy and fidelity; they just do not prioritize them. Instead, the BR03 focused on the drive, vibrancy, punch, and all the characteristics of music that can turn any song into a party starter.
Big sound from little enclosures is a nice trick in loudspeaker design, and Triangle’s goal with the Borea BR03 – a bookshelf speaker with the size of a floorstander – is to do just that.
The term “small boxes” may be a little misleading, as the BR03 measures 31.4cm x 20.6cm x 38cm (hwd), which is very huge for a standmount speaker these days, so while Triangle markets this model as a bookshelf speaker, you’ll need a wide shelf to keep them from falling off.
If you are interested in this model, keep reading our Triangle Borea BR03 review for more information below.
Triangle Borea BR03
Description: The Triangles have a significantly broader feeling of scale than competitors like the fearsome B&W 607s. They also have excellent separation and accuracy.
About: The BR03s is the larger of two standmounter pairs in the Borea lineup. They’re 31cm tall and have a 25mm silk dome tweeter atop a 16cm midrange/bass paper driver.
Pros
- The sound is sophisticated and detailed
- A wonderful feeling of scale
- Excellent, agile bass
Cons
- The aesthetic will not be suitable for everyone
Sound
Treble was significantly overexposed without the grilles, boosting hi-hat cymbals for example, and making Kate Bush’s voice much frostier than normal.
Some listeners, particularly those who value ‘detail’ above all else, may prefer this presentation, but the smoother tonal balance supplied by the grilles delivered a more natural and balanced sound with stunning depth across all genres.
There is detail and insight across the frequency range, and the amount of bass is totally appropriate given their size. The very basic, yet powerful bassline that accompanies Eminem’s No Regrets carries a lot of weight according to this Triangle Borea BR03 review.
Some may want a more musclebound delivery, but it’s the detail and richness of bass that puts the Triangles above many competitors in this price range. There’s a lot of texture here.
The Boreas has an amazing sense of timing as well. Nina Simone’s My Baby Just Cares For Me moves ahead with lots of accuracies and no lag. The snare drum and keyboard sound like they’re having a great time together.
Compatibility
As with any new set of speakers, it’s important to get to know the Triangle Borea BR03s and their preferred placement. Triangle advises a minimum distance of 2m between speakers as well as between speakers and your listening position. It also recommends that they be placed at least 40cm away from a rear wall and 50cm away from a side wall.
And we must all agree. Despite being front-ported, these Triangles don’t glow as brightly when set against a wall. They will undoubtedly do the job, but overall balance and stereo imaging will suffer.
The Borea BR03s can perform at their peak because they have enough area to breathe and a little toe-in to keep things stable according to this Triangle Borea BR03 review.
Build
The twin-pronged diffuser looks to be squeezing the silk dome, but upon closer inspection, it’s only hanging over – it’s there to aid minimize directivity and boost high-frequency dispersion. A pair of bass reflex ports are located beneath the mid-bass driver.
In-person, our black review pair stands out because of the contrasting color of the mid-bass cone, the silver trim that runs through the driver’s surround, and that eye-catching diffuser according to this Triangle Borea BR03 review.
Some may find the front of the speakers imbalanced, with the ports, crammed adjacent to the mid-bass driver. There is, however, the option of concealing up the magnetic speaker grilles.
Ports
And, upfront, the bottom of the baffle is dominated by a couple of forward-facing tubular reflex ports, which should provide a little more freedom in situating the BR03s, but with less ability for fine-tuning low-frequency response than the more common rear-firing design according to this Triangle Borea BR03 review.
Above them is a 165mm mid/bass driver with a natural cellulose paper diaphragm, bulleted in the center for obvious reasons. Triangle is 40 years old this year, and for the last 35 of them, it has been inventing and constructing its own drivers – this specific driver technology has trickled down from Triangle’s more premium Esprit Ez series.
A 25mm silk dome ‘Efficient Flow System’ tweeter sits on top, hidden behind a phase plug that makes the highest frequencies less directional, making the speaker (once again) simpler to place according to this Triangle Borea BR03 review.
The speaker grilles are magnetically connected, but the BR03s’ grille-off appearance is so tastefully vintage that a quartet of grille holes would also seem suitable. Aside from the 38 21 31cm cabinet dimensions, the BR03 has a few more figures worth noting.
The Triangles’ claimed frequency response is 46Hz-22kHz, which is outstanding even by ‘chunky stand mounter standards, while sensitivity of 90dB/W/m and a minimal 8 Ohms impedance shouldn’t make them too onerous a load. Kerb weight of 7kg per speaker is also crucial according to this Triangle Borea BR03 review.
Conclusion: Triangle Borea BR03 [2022 Review]
We cheerfully drove these fairly efficient speakers with both 70W Naim Nait XS3 and 14W from both old Leak TL12 Plus monoblocks, since they deserved top-grade electronics upstream. We could live with these speakers, which is more than we can say for the majority of speakers.
Fans of the ‘loudness button’ approach to speaker balancing – blazing treble and one-note bass – should go elsewhere according to this Triangle Borea BR03 review.
The BR03’s honesty will appeal to fans of naturally recorded music, while pop music is reproduced as recorded, warts and all. These are excellent speakers who deserve your attention. We hope you liked our Triangle Borea BR03 review and it was helpful.