The first setup I listened to was Triangle Celius 202, Sugden
integrated A21a amp, and a Musical Fidelity CD player.

First impression: even though the Sugden was rated at only 25watts,
this amp could play LOUD! Hmm... why is there no remote control for
this amp? Okay, fine ...that's probably my low/mid-fi background
showing.

It"s because the Triangle has enough efficiency to need reasonable
power.

The Triangle sound very clear and detailed in the mid-range and upper
bass, but the treble sounded unusually harsh. Violins and soprano
female vocals were almost unbearable. I later learnt that these
speakers needed an extended break-in period but I never found out if
the demo unit had been properly broken in.

IMO it's impossible that Triangle (or any other manufacturer) should
put on the market a speaker which makes violin and sopranos almost
unbearable. Some speakers have more treble than others but not up to
that level. I suspect bad set up, i've heard very good speakers (801
Nautilus, Martin Logan,....) sound very badly in shops. For example i
bought some years ago a pair of Quests (Martin logan) after listening
at some person's home, they always sounded awful in the stores; and
they were very good. The same with 801s which sounded nasal and
muffled in a store, i could go on............



Next, we swapped in a pair of Devore Fidelity gibbon 8s with the same
setup, but my friend and I both agreed that they were not as clear and
detailed as the Triangle, but the treble was much tamer, without the
same harshness. Lesson learned: you can't have your cake and eat it
too.

Don't jump too quickly to conclusions, wer'e talking about Hig End, it
seems, and detailed and clear without harshness is not too hard to
obtain.



The owner recommended B&W right off the bat. "There are more B&W in
recording studios than any other speaker", he said.

IMO a little bit exaggerated, so buy studio monitors.


The speaker search continues!

Good hunting, keep posting the episodes.
Jean