Review: Jamie Biesemans

Historically, the city of Soissons in the north of France played a major role in the First World War. But for the last 40-plus years, to hi-fi buffs it's been better known as the home base of Triangle, one of France's major loudspeaker brands. It's a company that decidedly loves to celebrate birthdays, as after launching limited Anniversary models of the Antal [HFN Sep '21] and Comète last year, it has yet another festive offering – this time a complete range encompassing four loudspeakers and two dedicated stands. Strictly speaking, Triangle was founded in 1980, which makes it nearly 43 years old. Yet with the last few years being what they were, the brand has had to wait patiently before unpacking all its anniversary cadeaux.

Although Auralic (promoted as AURALiC) only launched the Altair G1 in 2020, the Chinese brand already has its G1.1 update available. It appears together with the Aries G1.1 as the new and more affordable options within their respective tiers, with the Altair and Aries G2.1 [HFN Oct '21 & Feb '21] being the more expensive models. However, as all Auralic products share a very similar chassis design and carry names that aren't very descriptive, it's sometimes difficult to discern which box does what.

Launching new turntable models as regular as clockwork is part-and-parcel of Pro-Ject's business model, but say what you will: its approach of incrementally improving and tweaking proven designs has certainly not done the Austria-based manufacturer any harm. Lacking accurate market numbers, it's hard to say conclusively, but there seems little doubt the company founded by Heinz Lichtenegger in 1991 is surely the largest turntable manufacturer on the planet, both for the in-house Pro-Ject brand and as an OEM supplier for third parties.

Although UK readers might not recognise the EarMen moniker, it's certainly not a newcomer to the world of hi-fi. Its back story is quite convoluted, for although EarMen is based in Chicago, it's funded by the owner of Serbia's Auris Audio, Milomir Trosic, and most products are produced in the same Serbian factory. Auris is aimed at the premium market, with products including the Euterpe and the Nirvana – both headphone amplifiers lavishly adorned in wood and even leather – plus a neat line of luxurious-looking tube amps and even some turntables on offer.