Three of the four Esprit models now have a named successor, so this is a rare thing in speakers: a clean generation change you can line up model against model. I did that, and the pattern that came out was not the one I expected.
Triangle names the successors itself, and each one lands on a specific Esprit model.
The Comete is the one with history. Triangle has been building a stand-mount under that name since the 1980s, so the Solstice 3 is the model most Triangle owners will be comparing against something they already own.
| FEATURE and SPECS COMPARISON | |  |  |
| Model | Triangle Solstice 3 | Triangle Esprit Comete Ez |
| Speaker Type | Passive Bookshelf | Passive Bookshelf |
| Enclosure Type | Ported | Ported |
| Driver Setup | 2-way | 2-way |
| Tweeter | 1" Horn-Loaded Tweeter | 1" Horn-Loaded Tweeter |
| Woofer | 1 x 6.5" Natural cellulose pulp Woofer | 1 x 6.5" Fibreglass Woofer |
| Frequency Range / Low | 48Hz | 49Hz |
| Frequency Range / High | 22kHz | 22kHz |
| Impedance Nominal | 8Ω | 8Ω |
| Impedance Minimum | 5.3Ω | 4.2Ω |
| Sensitivity | 90dB | 89dB |
| Max Power (RMS) | 90w | 80w |
| Crossover Frequency | 2800Hz | 3500Hz |
| Port Position | front | front |
| Grille | Yes | Yes |
| Height | 418.0mm | 400.0mm |
| Width | 221.0mm | 200.0mm |
| Depth | 370.0mm | 324.0mm |
| Weight | 12.90kg | 9.30kg |
| MSRP(pair) | 1349USD | 899USD |
| Check Current Price | Amazon | Amazon |
Every cabinet got bigger
This is the finding. I worked out cabinet volume from the published dimensions for all three pairs, and it went the same way every time.
| Model | Cabinet volume | Change | Weight |
|---|
| Comete Ez | 25,920 cm3 | | 9.3 kg |
| Solstice 3 | 34,180 cm3 | up 32 percent | 12.9 kg |
| Antal Ez | 75,210 cm3 | | 27.1 kg |
| Solstice 8 | 130,453 cm3 | up 73 percent | 30.4 kg |
| Voce Ez | 24,847 cm3 | | 9.5 kg |
| Solstice C3 | 33,764 cm3 | up 36 percent | 11.75 kg |
The Solstice 8 is the striking one. It is not much taller than the Antal Ez, 1,075 mm against 1,090 mm, but it is 308 mm wide against 200 and 394 mm deep against 345. That is a far broader speaker, and it needs a lot more floor.
The Triangle Solstice 8, a three-way floorstander with two 16 cm woofers
What did the extra box buy? Two hertz. The Antal Ez is quoted at 40 Hz and the Solstice 8 at 38 Hz, both to plus or minus 3 dB. Power handling went from 120 watts to 130, and sensitivity actually fell from 92 dB to 91.
Bigger is not automatically deeper. The Solstice 8 has 73 percent more cabinet than the speaker it replaces and reaches 2 Hz lower on paper. Whatever Triangle spent that volume on, it was not raw extension.
The Solstice 3 tells a happier version of the same story. It is 32 percent more cabinet and 39 percent heavier for 1 Hz, but its low end was never the point, and the mass is the sort of thing you can feel when you pick a speaker up.
The Solstice 3 is one of the easiest loads we list
Here is the number I did not expect. Triangle publishes both a nominal impedance and a minimum impedance for every model, which most makers do not. Of the 1,213 passive speakers we hold, only 128 bookshelf models publish a minimum at all.
The Solstice 3's minimum is 5.3 ohms. Only nine of those 128 stay at or above that figure:
Ignore the two budget models at the bottom of the price column and the Solstice 3 is the cheapest speaker on that list by a thousand dollars. It also beats the Comete Ez it replaces, which drops to 4.2 ohms.
Why this matters: a speaker's minimum impedance, not its nominal one, is what decides whether a modest amplifier struggles. Triangle recommends 25 to 130 watts a channel for the Solstice 3, and at 90 dB sensitivity with a 5.3 ohm floor, the bottom of that range is genuinely usable. If you want to check a specific amplifier against it, our amplifier and speaker matcher does the arithmetic.
For context, among the 11 bookshelf speakers we list between 1,000 and 1,600 dollars with a sensitivity of 90 dB or better, only four publish a minimum impedance at all. The Focal Vestia No1 drops to 4.5 ohms, the Wharfedale Linton Heritage to 3.5, and the Klipsch Rebellion to 3.3.
The Solstice 8 from the side. At 394 mm deep it is 49 mm deeper than the Antal Ez it replaces
Triangle Solstice 3 Passive Bookshelf Speaker Key Specs
- 2-way Bass Reflex Design
- 1" Horn-Loaded Tweeter
- 1 x 6.5" Natural cellulose pulp Woofer
- 48-22k Hz Frequency Response
- Crossover Frequency at 2800Hz
- 90 dB Sensitivity
- 8ohms Nominal Impedance
- Power Range: 25-130watts RMS
- Weight:28.44 lbs / 12.90 kg
- Dimensions (H x W x D): 16-7/16" x 8-11/16" x 14-9/16" / 418.0 x 221.0 x 370.0mm
- Replaced Triangle Esprit Comete Ez Compare
- Read the Review
The C3 is the only sealed speaker in the range
Triangle calls the Solstice C3 a sealed-box centre channel. The two stereo models are bass reflex, with a laminar vent hidden in the plinth rather than a port on a baffle. The centre has no port at all.
The Solstice C3, the only sealed cabinet in the Solstice range
That makes it unusual but not rare: 44 of the 195 centre channels we list are sealed. What is more interesting is that the Voce Ez it replaces is ported, and the sealed C3 still goes 10 Hz deeper, 50 Hz against 60. Its power handling doubled too, from 60 watts to 120, and Triangle says a redesigned phase-alignment part took 3 cm off the height so it clears a television stand at 20.5 cm.
The trade is the load. The Voce Ez never drops below 5.3 ohms and the C3 goes to 4.5.
The prices, and why two different numbers are both correct
This one needs care, because Triangle's own shop and its US dealers do not agree.
| Model | Triangle's own store | US dealers |
|---|
| Solstice 3 | 1,184 dollars a pair | 1,349 dollars a pair |
| Solstice 8 | 2,368 dollars a pair | 2,799 dollars a pair |
| Solstice C3 | 681 dollars each | 749 dollars each |
Our rows carry the dealer figures, because three US dealers list the same numbers to the dollar and so does the first US review. That is the price you would actually pay.
It does mean you cannot simply divide the new price by the old one. Our Esprit rows carry Triangle's own store prices, since that is where they came from, and the Esprit Ez models have gone from the US dealers we checked. Compared like for like on Triangle's own store, the Comete Ez was 899 dollars and the Solstice 3 is 1,184, which is 32 percent more. The Antal Ez was 1,980 and the Solstice 8 is 2,368, up 20 percent. The Voce Ez was 525 and the C3 is 681, up 30 percent.
Whichever list you use, everything went up, and the stand-mount went up most.
The Solstice 3 straight on. The bass reflex vent is the slot in the plinth, not a port on the baffle
Where the Solstice range is hard to recommend
Four things, and none of them is about the sound, which I have not heard.
The range stops lower than the Esprit did. There is no successor to the Australe Ez, which is 3,180 dollars, reaches 35 Hz and is the most sensitive Esprit at 93 dB. The Solstice 8 tops out at 2,799 and 38 Hz. If you were shopping at the top of the old range, Solstice does not have an answer for you yet.
The Solstice 8 costs a lot of floor. 308 mm wide and 394 mm deep, against 200 by 345 for the Antal Ez. In a small room that is a real difference, and the reward on paper is 2 Hz.
Triangle contradicts itself on the Solstice 3's power handling. The feature strip on Triangle's own product page says 80 watts. The specification block further down the same page says 90, and the first review agrees. We have stored 90, because a specification table beats a marketing headline, but it is Triangle's own page disagreeing with itself.
Triangle does not say where these are built. The Esprit and Signature ranges are described as French-built. Nothing on the Solstice pages says so, and reviews put it between the entry-level Borea line and the French-built ranges. Our rows leave the country of manufacture empty rather than assuming.
One more thing worth knowing if you are pricing a system. The Solstice 3 is a stand-mount and Triangle's matching S05 stands are sold separately, at 325 dollars a pair on Triangle's own store and 499 at US dealers. Budget for them.
Questions answered
Which Esprit model does each Solstice replace?
The Solstice 3 replaces the Comete Ez, the Solstice 8 replaces the Antal Ez, and the Solstice C3 replaces the Voce Ez. The Australe Ez has no announced replacement.
Is the Solstice 3 easy to drive?
Yes, by the two figures that decide it. 90 dB sensitivity and a minimum impedance of 5.3 ohms, which only nine of the 128 bookshelf speakers we list with a published minimum can match. Triangle recommends 25 to 130 watts a channel.
How much bigger is the Solstice 8 than the Antal Ez?
73 percent more cabinet volume. It is fractionally shorter, 1,075 mm against 1,090, but 308 mm wide instead of 200 and 394 mm deep instead of 345.
Why do I see two different prices for the Solstice 3?
Triangle's own store sells it for 1,184 dollars a pair. US dealers list 1,349. Our rows use the dealer price, because three of them agree and it is what you would pay in a shop.
Is the Solstice C3 ported?
No. It is the only sealed cabinet in the range. The Solstice 3 and Solstice 8 are bass reflex, with the vent hidden in the plinth.
Do I need the Triangle stands for the Solstice 3?
Not necessarily, but the S05 is designed for it and the speaker sits in cutouts in its own rubber feet rather than bolting down. The stands are 325 dollars a pair from Triangle and 499 from US dealers, so a full pair with stands is roughly 1,850 dollars.
When a maker replaces a speaker with a bigger, heavier, dearer version that reaches 2 Hz lower, is that an upgrade you would pay for, or would you go looking for the old model while it is still on shelves?