Triangle Titus EX review

Successor to the Titus ES, the EX is the smallest and one of just two standmounts in Triangle's least-costly Esprit EX range.

Regrettably, following the strengthening of the Euro against the pound, the price has recently increased to £450 per pair from £370 per pair.

The Titus' design

Very much a variation on the theme of the range as a whole, the Titus EX shares the same unusual horn-loaded tweeter and the same rather individual styling, alongside a smaller enclosure and smaller cone driver - a 130mm bass/mid driver and a ported enclosure volume of around 11 litres.

The styling remains rather prosaic, with a slightly convex front panel painted a metallic charcoal grey, while the rest is covered in a rather undistinguished vinyl woodprint.

Large gold-coloured grille mounting lugs provide a measure of decoration, but the new and quite large badge attached to the grille seems to overlap the mouth of the tweeter horn slightly.

Inside Triangle's latest speaker

Although there has been plenty of prejudice against horn-loaded tweeters in the past (they do have some potential drawbacks) they have several advantages over conventional direct radiating domes.

First, the diaphragm is well away from potential damage by prying fingers; secondly, high inherent efficiency confers considerable dynamic headroom; thirdly - and this is main reason Triangle favours their use - the horn mouth more closely matches the size of the bass/mid driver cone, which is claimed to smooth the crossover transition.

The small 130mm bass/mid driver now has a 95mm paper cone with a soft central phase plug and a conventional rubber surround (as distinct from the unusual 'double-S' fabric surround used in the previous model).

This crosses over to the tweeter at around 2.5kHz. Twin terminal pairs adorn the back panel and a port is mounted on the front.

Balanced sound

Barring a touch of nasal coloration, the little Titus EX sounds quite smooth and well-balanced when operating clear of walls, though the lack of any real bass weight and power is rather obvious.

Placing the speakers back against the wall proves very effective in improving midbass output.

However, this positioning also interferes somewhat with the midrange, introducing a sometimes aggressive and over-projected character to voices - a slightly 'shouty' quality that tends to exaggerate detail, but which isn't quite in the true sprit of hi-fi neutrality.

A fun loudspeaker

That said, this is unquestionably a fun loudspeaker. It might be a bit coloured and edgy, but it's always lively and involving.

And whilst it's not particularly smooth or muscular, it delivers the vital midrange dynamics with the sort of enthusiasm that always leaves one searching for the next disc to spin.