Triangle Borea BR08

Superb performers capable of thrilling results

- 

₹POR

Triangle's Borea BR08 floorstanders exist in a tough and crowded market. There's no shortage of talented rivals at this level, with something of quality available from pretty much every serious manufacturer out there. Yet having spent some time in the company of the BR08, we feel they offer something special.

Their 102cm-tall cabinets look a little basic from the outside, due to flat parallel sides and a lack of adornment, but take a closer look and you'll find them to be solid, well made and neatly finished. They come in four finishes - black ash, white, walnut or the recently introduced (and rather nice) light oak.

As would be expected at this price, these enclosures are carefully braced internally to aid rigidity. There's been some invention in the way the drive units are mounted, with a piece of high-density EVA foam holding the back of the driver firmly against the internal brace for extra stability.

Once their plinths are bolted on, the BR08 feel nice and stable, though floor spikes that are more piercing would be useful. The ones supplied aren't really sharp enough to get through thick carpets, and so won't be able to make firm contact with the floor underneath.

Impressive drive units

It's clear that a large chunk of the engineering budget has gone into the drive-unit array. The BR08 are a three-way design with two 16cm fibreglass-coned bass units and a 25mm silk-dome tweeter, aided by a front-firing reflex port to augment the low frequency output.