Triangle Borea BR08 vs Triangle Borea BR03 Comparison

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Triangle Borea BR08

Passive Floor-standing | 40 - 22k Hz

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Triangle Borea BR03

Passive Bookshelf | 46 - 22k Hz

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Triangle Borea BR08

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Triangle Borea BR03

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Triangle Borea BR08

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Triangle Borea BR03

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Triangle Borea BR08 vs Triangle Borea BR03 Speaker Comparison

In this review, we will be comparing two different types of speakers by Triangle. Triangle Borea BR08 is a Floor-standing speaker whereas the Borea BR03 is a Bookshelf speaker.

Let's have a brief look at the main features of Triangle Borea BR08 and Triangle Borea BR03 first before getting into our more detailed comparison.

Key Specs	Triangle Borea BR08	Triangle Borea BR03
Brand	Triangle France · founded 1980	Triangle France · founded 1980
Design	3-way	2-way
Tweeter	1" Break_in	1"
Midrange	6"	—
Woofer	2 x 6" fiberglass	6" fiberglass
Frequency response	40 - 22k Hz	46 - 22k Hz
Sensitivity	92 dB	90 dB
Impedance	8 ohms	8 ohms
Power range	up to 150 watts	up to 100 watts
Weight	18.85kg / 41.5lbs	6.26kg / 13.8lbs
Dimensions (H x W x D)	40.1" x 8.1" x 12.3" 1020.0 x 206.0 x 314.0mm	14.9" x 8.1" x 12.3" 380.0 x 206.0 x 314.0mm

Borea BR08 and Borea BR03 are members of Triangle's Borea series of speakers. Below you can find the loudspeakers from this series.

Triangle Borea Series History

Model	Body	Frequency	Sensitivity	Impedance	Woofer
Triangle Borea BR07	Floor-standing	44 - 22k Hz	91 dB	8Ω	1 x 6"
Triangle Borea BR04	Bookshelf	44 - 22k Hz	90 dB	8Ω	1 x 6"
Triangle Borea BR03	Bookshelf	46 - 22k Hz	90 dB	8Ω	1 x 6"
Triangle Borea BR10	Floor-standing	30 - 22k Hz	92 dB	8Ω	2 x 8"
Triangle Borea BR09	Floor-standing	35 - 22k Hz	92.5 dB	8Ω	3 x 6"
Triangle Borea BR02	Bookshelf	51 - 22k Hz	89 dB	8Ω	1 x 5"
Triangle Borea BR08	Floor-standing	40 - 22k Hz	92 dB	8Ω	2 x 6"
Triangle Borea BRC1	Center Channel	57-22k Hz	90 dB	8Ω	2 x 5"
Triangle Borea BRA1	Surround	90-22k Hz	89 dB	8Ω	1 x 6.5"
Triangle Borea BRC2	Center Channel	50-22k Hz	95 dB	8Ω	2 x 6.5"

What size room are the Triangle Borea BR08 and Triangle Borea BR03 speakers good for?

The size of the room in which you are planning to use these loudspeakers is an important decision factor. Here we have compared their suitability to various sizes of environments considering their size and max power parameters:

Listening Environment*	Triangle Borea BR08	Triangle Borea BR03
Near-field	Bad	Average
Small Room	Poor	Good
Mid-size Room	Good	Average
Large Room	Good	Poor
Very Large Room	Poor	Bad

(* Approximate Room sizes: Small < 100sq. ft / 9 m², Mid-size: 100-220 sq. ft / 9-20 m², Large 220-400 sq. ft / 20-36 m², Very Large: > 400 sq. ft / 36 m². Average Floor Height: 9" / 2.7m. Typical room sizes differ from country to country, and the actual listening experience changes depending on floor height, room shape, surface materials, listening position, speaker locations, etc.)

The sections below take each area in turn: drivers, frequency response, physical size and what you get in the box.

Drivers

One of the fundamental differences between these two speakers is that Borea BR08 is a 3-way design whereas the Borea BR03 is a 2-way speaker. 3-way designs utilize a midrange driver in addition to the tweeter and woofer on 2-way designs. Designing a crossover for a 3-way speaker is a complicated process and generally increases the overall cost of the speaker.

Triangle Borea BR08

Triangle Borea BR03

TweeterMidrangeWoofer

Front view, drawn to scale - cabinets and drivers share one scale, so sizes are directly comparable. Hover a driver for its size.

Driver	Triangle Borea BR08	Triangle Borea BR03
Driver Setup	3-way	2-way
Tweeter	1-inch	1-inch
Midrange	1 x 6-inch	-
Woofer	2 x 6-inch	1 x 6-inch

Borea BR08 features a 1" silk Break_in Tweeter, a 6" Midrange and 2 x 6" fiberglass Woofer with a Crossover frequency at 215Hz and 3500Hz. On the other hand, the Borea BR03 features a 1" silk Tweeter and 1 x 6" fiberglass Woofer with a Crossover frequency at 3600Hz.

Frequency Response

Borea BR08 has a frequency range of 40 - 22k Hz whereas Borea BR03 has a frequency range of 46 - 22k Hz. With a minimum frequency of 40Hz, the Borea BR08 can go significantly deeper on the low side and provide stronger bass compared to the Borea BR03's min frequency of 46Hz.

The graph below depicts how these two speakers compare with the max, min and average Low Frequency values of other speakers in the Floor-standing class in our database.

Low Frequency

Floor-standing Speakers

Borea BR08

Borea BR03

Min

Average

Median

Neither pair reaches down to 20Hz, the usual definition of full-range, which is normal for speakers of this size. If you want the bottom octave for movies or bass-heavy music, add a subwoofer to whichever you choose. Visit our Powered Subwoofers section to find out more about the available options.

Impedance and Sensitivity

Borea BR08 and Borea BR03 have the same Impedance of 8 ohms but where they differ is the sensitivity levels. Borea BR08 sensitivity is rated at 92 dB and the Borea BR03's is at 90 dB. This 2 dB difference makes the Triangle Borea BR08 a more sensitive speaker compared to Triangle Borea BR03, hence will play louder with the same amount of watts.

Sensitivity

Floor-standing Speakers

Borea BR08

Borea BR03

Min

Average

Median

Power Range

Power range is the range of input power in watts RMS that a loudspeaker is designed to handle. Staying within that range gives nominal performance; driving the speaker beyond its maximum wattage can damage it.

Borea BR08 can handle a max power of 150 watts RMS, whereas Borea BR03 has a max power handling value of 100 watts RMS, 50 watts less than the Borea BR08.

Note that higher power handling does not make a speaker louder: that depends mainly on sensitivity and impedance. The calculator below shows how loud each of these actually plays on a real amplifier.

Which plays louder on your amplifier?

Starting with a popular amplifier - change it to the one you own, or any you are considering, and watch both numbers move.

Amplifier - change this

Distance

Playing as

Triangle Borea BR08

Triangle Borea BR03

Input Type and Bi-Amping / Bi-Wiring

Borea BR08 features Binding post type posts and Borea BR03 has a Binding post type posts. None of these speakers feature bi-amping/bi-wiring.

Triangle Borea BR08's Binding post terminals

Triangle Borea BR03's Binding post terminals

Cabinet Type and Port Position

Both Borea BR08 and Borea BR03 have front firing ports. front ported speakers offers more flexibility in placement in regards to proximity to walls&surfaces compared to rear ported speakers.

Physical Specs

The size of a speaker can sometimes be an important decision factor due to space constraints or in some cases purely for esthetic reasons. In this section, we are going to compare Triangle Borea BR08's and Triangle Borea BR03's external dimensions. Triangle Borea BR08 has external dimensions of 1020.0 x 206.0 x 314.0mm (40.1 x 8.1 x 12.3inch) whereas Triangle Borea BR03 has external dimensions of 380.0 x 206.0 x 314.0mm (14.9 x 8.1 x 12.3inch).

Below you can see the front view size comparison of Triangle Borea BR08 and Triangle Borea BR03 in scale.

Comparison image of Triangle Borea BR08 and Triangle Borea BR03 Size and External Dimensions

Base Surface Area Comparison
Base surface area of a loudspeaker may become a determining factor when the space in your room or desk is limited. The base surface area of the Triangle Borea BR08 is approximately 646.8cm² / 100.3inch² and base area of the Triangle Borea BR03 is approximately 646.8cm² / 100.3inch².

What's in the Box of Triangle Borea BR08?

Here are the items that are included inside the box of Borea BR08:

2 x Borea speakers
2 x protections grids
2 x pedestals
8 x screws
8 x adhesive rubber plots
8 x decoupling spikes
1 x user manual

What's in the Box of Triangle Borea BR03?

Here are the items that come with the Borea BR03:

2 x Borea speakers
2 x protections grids
8 x adhesive rubber plots
1 x user manual

Reasons to choose Triangle Borea BR08 over Triangle Borea BR03

Max Input Power	150 watts vs 100 watts	Handle more power from your amplifier
Driver Setup	3-way vs 2-way	Have a dedicated mid-range driver
Sensitivity	92 dB vs 90 dB	Play louder with same amount of amplification power
Number of Woofers	2 vs 1	More woofers
Low Frequency Response	40 Hz vs 46 Hz	Generates deeper bass

Reasons to choose Triangle Borea BR03 over Triangle Borea BR08

Minimum Impedance	4.2 ohms vs 3 ohms	Very low impedance levels puts more pressure on amplifier
Height	380mm vs 1020mm	Easier to fit in smaller spaces
Price per pair*	629USD vs 1600USD	costs less (*prices may change depending on the seller, location and time)

Triangle Borea BR08 vs Triangle Borea BR03 Specs Table

Detailed comparison of specifications

General	Triangle Borea BR08	Triangle Borea BR03
Brand	Triangle	Triangle
Speaker Type	Floor-standing speaker	Bookshelf speakers
Power Range	up to 150 watts	up to 100 watts
Sensitivity	92 dB	90 dB
Impedance	8 ohms	8 ohms
Impedance	3 ohms	4.2 ohms
Frequency Response	40 - 22k Hz	46 - 22k Hz
Drivers
Woofer Quantity	2	1
Woofer Size	6"	6"
Woofer Composition	fiberglass	fiberglass
Tweeter Size	1"	1"
Tweeter Type	Break_in	n/a
Aimable Tweeter	No	No
Midrange Driver	6"	No
Crossover Frequency	215Hz and 3500Hz	3600Hz
Firing Direction	front	front
Physical Specs
Height	1020.0mm (40.2")	380.0mm (15")
Width	206.0mm (8.1")	206.0mm (8.1")
Depth	314.0mm (12.4")	314.0mm (12.4")
Weight	18.85kg (41.5lbs)	6.26kg (13.8lbs)
Enclosure	Bass Reflex	Bass Reflex
Available Colors	Light Oak, Walnut, Black, White	Light Oak, Walnut, Black, White
Mounting Bracket	No	No
Grille	Yes	Yes
Moisture Resistancy	No	No
Connections
Biamp Inputs	No	No
Other
Parts Warranty	5 Years	5 Years
Labor Warranty	5 Years	5 Years

Verdict

Siblings in Triangle's Borea series, so they share a family sound. It comes down to size, output and price.

Area	Better	Why
Bass	A	Triangle Borea BR08 digs deeper - 40Hz against 46Hz. A subwoofer would even that out.
Amplifier needs	A	Triangle Borea BR08 is more sensitive (92dB vs 90dB), so it goes louder on the same amplifier.
Headroom	A	Triangle Borea BR08 takes more power (150W vs 100W) - more in hand in a big room.
Size	depends	Triangle Borea BR03 is easier to place; Triangle Borea BR08 is bigger, which usually goes with fuller bass. Your room decides.
Type	depends	A Passive Floor-standing against a Passive Bookshelf - a different job rather than a better one.
Price	B	Triangle Borea BR03 is cheaper - $629 against $1,600, about 61% less; arguably a different class.

A Triangle Borea BR08 B Triangle Borea BR03
depends neither is better in the abstract - it turns on your room, your system or how you will use them. Only specs published for both speakers are judged; anything missing on either side is left out rather than guessed.

Which should you choose?

The usual trade-off: Triangle Borea BR08 measures better, Triangle Borea BR03 costs about about 2.5x the price% less. Whether that gap is worth the money is the call only you can make - and in a normal room it is often smaller than the numbers suggest. If a subwoofer is in your plans, the bass gap largely stops mattering - you would be crossing over above 46Hz anyway, which makes the cheaper Triangle Borea BR03 much easier to justify. Match it to your room: we rate Triangle Borea BR08 the better fit for a mid-size room and a large room, and Triangle Borea BR03 for near-field listening and a small room.

And remember what a spec sheet cannot show: how each looks in your room and whether the finish suits it, what dealer support and warranty are like where you live, and how they actually sound to you. If you can hear them first - ideally with your own music - that will tell you more than any number above.