Not the most sophisticated performer, but so much fun
The Duetto 40th is the smallest model from the Triangle’s high-end Magellan range, but these stereo speakers still pack in a full dose of the company’s technologies.
This is a two-way standmount design with a pair of front-mounted reflex ports to augment the speaker’s low-frequency output. A sensitivity of 88dB and a nominal impedance of 8 ohms (minimum 4.6 ohms) is pretty much par for the course. Look behind these conventional numbers and you will find something of a maverick design that offers a distinctive performance with plenty of charm.
The tweeter is the ultimate expression of Triangle’s long-running love affair with horn-loaded designs. This is a distinctive and nicely engineered unit that seeks to improve efficiency, control dispersion and reduce distortion. The central pointy phase plug draws all the attention, but great care is also taken behind the 25mm magnesium-alloy dome to ensure that the rear-radiating sound doesn’t impact the unit’s clarity and transparency.
The 16.5cm mid/bass unit is similarly unusual with its carefully profiled paper cone and light polypropylene dust cap. This is a driver designed to produce high output levels, low distortion and dynamic peaks without compressing. To that end, much care is taken over the motor system and thermal cooling, along with having a rigid, open-chassis design. The two drive units cross over at 3.1kHz; the filter network works at a relatively steep 24dB/octave.
The Duetto 40th are a bit of a mixed bag when it comes to compatibility. They are relatively easygoing when it comes to the room and placement. Triangle specifies that they work best in spaces that are 30 metres squared in area. Given that kind of room, and placed around 0.5 to 1.0 metres from the rear wall, you will get a well-balanced sound.
Ideally, you should position the speakers well away from the side walls too, in order to maximise their capable stereo imaging. Do this and they generate an expansive presentation that locates instruments and sounds in a precise and stable way. Triangle’s claims around the tweeter’s dispersion ring true as the Duetto 40th don’t prove particularly fussy over exact angling towards the listening position.
Things are a little more demanding when it comes to partnering equipment. Triangle speakers tend to be energetic and direct in the way they present music, and the Duetto 40th are no different. That horn-loaded tweeter design has many strengths but it isn’t
