Triangle AIO3 Review | Trusted Reviews

Verdict

A very good moderately than distinctive multi-room speaker, the Triangle AIO3 options the hallmarks of the French speaker model’s sound with its energetic and punchy efficiency (a minimum of on a Wi-Fi connection). It’s in need of the category leaders by way of readability and element, in addition to being restricted by way of multi-room assist too.

Introduction

Triangle is a French model famend for making thrilling, energetic-sounding hi-fi audio system. With the AIO3 it appears to attain the identical for its vary of wi-fi audio system.

The AIO3 is a part of Triangle’s AIO sequence, a speaker with multi-room capabilities that additionally helps Bluetooth, Web radio and Hello-res audio streaming, serving as an all-in-one speaker.

It’s not in need of competitors, particularly in an area the place it’s rubbing shoulders with Sonos and Bluesound audio system. What does Triangle have up its sleeves to entice potential patrons? Right here’s my verdict.

Design

• Stylish appears
• Pretty huge footprint
• Array of bodily connections

The Triangle AIO3 measures at 19cm tall, 37cm vast and 15cm deep, tipping the scales at 5kg. This isn’t the kind of speaker you’d transfer from one place to a different just like the Sonos Period 100 or Denon Dwelling 150, moreso a speaker you’d discover a devoted house and maintain there.

It is available in a number of completely different colourways: Inexperienced Forest, Crimson Ocher, Powder Pink, Frost White, Slate Black, Blue, Inexperienced, and Gray. There’s loads of choices to suit the décor of your room, and it’s a pleasant change from wi-fi audio system arriving in a black or white end.

The colourway for this evaluation pattern is Inexperienced Forest, its midriff wrapped in a cloth from Scandinavian outfitters Gabriel that covers the inner wood housing. On high and on the backside is a brushed aluminium materials in champagne gold, and when the sunshine shines it offers the speaker a lovely golden glow. Not like among the extra on the market designs such because the Bowers & Wilkins Zeppelin, the AIO3 is basically an oblong field, but it surely’s a sublime one.

Again to the underside of the speaker and there are a sequence of buttons that covers energy, supply, and quantity management, with an LED indicator that indicators energy on/off and which supply is in use. There’s additionally an LED for quantity management above, hid behind the material mesh. That’s a sensible strategy to combine it, however each time I’m to the aspect of the speaker, it turns into more durable to see it.

Across the again is a vent for reinforcing the AIO3’s bass ranges. Place it close to a wall and it’ll give low frequencies a lift, pull it away and you may anticipate a much less highly effective efficiency. There are numerous bodily connections that embody a 3.5mm aux enter, USB 2.0, Ethernet, and a digital optical if there’s a need to attach it to a supply resembling a TV.

The Triangle AIO3 comes with a zapper too, which feels a bit plasticky within the hand, whereas the button inputs are stiff and clicky to press, and it depends on line of sight. Level it in one other course and nothing occurs. There’s playback and quantity management by way of a D-pad, supply choice together with treble and bass changes. It’s a satisfactory distant, and given the standard of the speaker’s aesthetics, it’s the one facet that should be classier.

Options

• Solely works in a AIO multi-room setup
• App assist
• Audio assist as much as 24-bit/192kHz

The Triangle AIO3 is positioned as a multi-room speaker but it surely needs to be made clear this isn’t a wi-fi speaker that performs good with different multi-room setups. If you happen to’re going to purchase this speaker, it’ll ‘converse’ to different fashions inside Triangle’s AIO sequence (as much as 12 gadgets are supported). There’s no Chromecast, AirPlay 2, Tidal Join, or Alexa Multi-Room however it’s suitable with Spotify Join.

There’s an app to play with (Triangle AIO) and this affords built-in integration with the likes of Deezer, Qobuz, Tidal, and Amazon Music, in addition to Wangyiyun, which I’ve not heard of however is a Chinese language ‘freemium’ music service also referred to as NetEase Cloud Music. Having these music providers built-in means they are often operated by the AIO app alone moderately than leaping from one app to a different.

Different options embody entry to music saved in your cellular system, including favourites (this solely applies to songs in your system), creating presets (of which there are six), choosing sources, establishing multi-room playback, and adjusting the EQ (together with a 3D Sound choice which I’d advocate avoiding) and enabling an alarm clock.

The app is virtually the identical because the Audio Professional app, and it’s responsive sufficient by way of navigation, although there are occasions I’m left seeing a spinning wheel as I enter a menu or a bit lag when the album artwork refreshes after skipping a monitor. Visually there’s a primary vibe to the app’s appears but it surely will get the job achieved. It’s possible you’ll discover different Wi-Fi enabled gadgets seem within the AIO app but when they’re not AIO audio system they gained’t be part of up in a multi-room system.

The Triangle AIO3 helps Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connections, the latter has assist for audio as much as 24-it/192kHz, whereas the previous registers as aptX HD Bluetooth. File format assist contains APE, FLAC, WAV, Apple Lossless, AAC, AAC-LC, HE- AAC, HE-AAC v2, MP3, and CBR/VBR.

Sound High quality

• Heat Bluetooth efficiency
• Sharper, detailed, livelier Wi-Fi sound
• Crushed for sharpness and readability by rivals

Beginning with Bluetooth and the Triangle AIO3 takes on a heat sonic character. It initially comes throughout a bass heavy – this is also attributed to its placement near a wall – however there’s a heat and smoothness to the Triangle’s stereo setup (two 1-inch tweeters, two 3.9-inch woofers) that doesn’t converse so nicely to its claims of excessive constancy.

Proper by the frequency vary, the Triangle AIO3’s efficiency is suffused with heat that makes it a not notably vibrant hear on the high finish. On the very least, the impression of the bass doesn’t have an effect on midrange readability. Vocals are easily described however the remainder of the soundstage isn’t as nicely outlined. As is widespread with wi-fi audio system, the quantity for Bluetooth is way decrease than the comparative stage for Wi-Fi, requiring a number of nudges upwards.

Change to Wi-Fi and there’s extra credence to the AIO3’s excessive constancy claims. The heat fades for what I’d describe as a extra impartial efficiency. Listening to Rick Smith’s Bullet Minimize and evaluating over Bluetooth and Wi-Fi, the latter reproduces excessive frequency notes with extra readability and brightness than the Bluetooth sign can handle.

The stereo impact is clearer on Wi-Fi too, there’s a a lot better sense of scale and dimension to its sound, helped by the speaker’s Wi-Fi efficiency being louder than the Bluetooth from the get-go. It’s a sound that might simply fill a medium-sized room. Inserting it in opposition to a wall will help beef up and cargo the low frequencies with extra energy too.

Wi-Fi listening sees a bounce up in high quality in just about each space. It’s a sharper, clearer and extra spacious hear with improved ranges of element and dynamism when listening to Ludwig Göransson’s Oppenheimer soundtrack by way of Tidal. The low finish has presence with respectable punchiness, the speaker finds a greater stability than it might probably with a Bluetooth connection.

Tonally it might probably sound fairly sparse – there’s a hoariness to its presentation that may result in the treble getting a bit sparkly and peaky at increased quantity ranges. Although it’s improved over Wi-Fi, the Triangle AIO3 isn’t essentially the most detailed or outlined efficiency I’ve ever heard, missing a bit sharpness, definition and additional few ounces of readability that will give it extra of a preventing probability in opposition to a worth rival such because the Sonos Period 300.

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