Triangle AIO 3 review: French fancy

On the hunt for an all-in-one speaker that doesn’t put style ahead of audio performance – but still looks spiffy enough to take pride of place in any room of your house? The Triangle AIO 3 might fit the bill.

The first fully wireless speaker from French audiophiles Triangle (wireless in that it’ll stream songs over Wi-Fi, not because it’s got a built-in battery) originally landed a few years back, but the firm has given it a refresh for 2022. Beyond a wider choice of on-trend colours, the AIO 3 also gets wider support for streaming services, and OTA updates to keep it current for longer than the OG version.

Multiroom, support for all the major streaming services and built-in Bluetooth should make it a one-stop shop for music lovers – which is also the case for rivals like Sonos, Naim and Audio Pro. Can a brand best known for bookshelf speakers and floorstanders compete with the all-in-one establishment?

Design & build: look hue’s talking

A shoebox-sized rectangle might not be the most exciting speaker shape, but Triangle has sharpened up the AIO 3’s looks with brushed aluminium trim around its bottom edge. There’s a matching metal plate up top, and both are finished in a fetching rose gold to compliment the Red Ochre fabric speaker grille on our review unit.

It’s one of four new colours for 2022, picked with help from Scandi fabric specialist Gabriel. There’s now seven to choose from, including new additions Powder Pink, Frost White and Green Forest. It sure beats the black or white options found on most mainstream alternatives when choosing tech to match your decor.

Whichever you go for, the AIO 3 looks suitably premium, with machined metal buttons on the front and precisely milled ports on the back. The power and volume indicators lurk beneath the grille fabric so as not to clutter the look, with a single LED next to the power button indicating which sound source is active.

The black plastic remote control isn’t quite so easy on the eye. It doesn’t overwhelm with buttons, at least, but the ones it does include are quick to collect dust. It’s more a ‘nice to have’ than anything, given you can control the speaker entirely with your phone.

At a little over 5kg the AIO 3 is fairly weighty, which should ensure there’s no nasty resonance when cranking the volume. You’ll need to set aside a decent amount of space for it, too: it’s fairly deep, so won’t necessarily fit on a windowsill or narrow shelf.

Features: stream-powered

Wired connections are all found on the back, with optical and 3.5mm auxiliary inputs, an Ethernet port and USB. The latter can charge your gadgets, but we couldn’t get it to play tracks from a memory stick. That’s hardly a dealbreaker, though: this is first and foremost a wireless speaker.

Setup is handled through Triangle’s minimal companion app, helping you connect to a Wi-Fi network and sign in to your streaming services with just a few taps. Spotify, Tidal, Qobuz, Deezer and TuneIn are all on-board, and the 2022 edition adds Amazon Music to the mix as well. It’ll manage 24bit/192kHz playback on supported services.

The other big new addition is a customisable EQ. The original model forced you to tweak treble and bass using the remote control, with no visual indicator for each level. Now, the app has six presets to choose from, plus a custom option. It’s still limited to bass and treble, with no control over individual frequencies, but is a welcome improvement nonetheless. You can also set sleep timers and alarms, rename your speakers and install over-the-air updates.

Multiroom setups are handled through the app as well. Triangle supports five AIO 3s over Wi-Fi, and a further five wired in over Ethernet. We only had one unit in for testing, so can’t say whether it’s as slick as a Sonos setup – still the gold standard for multiroom streaming as far as we’re concerned. It’s a proprietary system, so the only way to mix and matching with your other kit is with an optional AIO C network player.

Sound quality: floor-filler

The AIO 3 relies on two 10cm woofer drivers and two 25mm tweeters for its sound, with twin 45W amplifiers delivering the power. That’s enough to fill most rooms with tunes, if not quite on the level of pricier wireless speakers like the Bowers & Wilkins Zeppelin or Naim Mu-So Qb.

Overall clarity is very good. Burial and Four Tet’s Moth is delicate in all the right places, but builds confidently and maintains a clean treble once the beat kicks in. It’s worth nudging the treble just a little for a bit of extra precision at the top end, but there’s no need to constantly swap between EQ presets.

There’s a decently spacious soundstage here, too, even before you turn on the 3D sound setting within the app. The powerful drums on Royal Blood’s Honeybrains aren’t drowned out by the aggressive guitars, and the vocals have plenty of room to breathe. The mid-range is suitably impactful, while not dominating the mix. Individual elements avoid tripping over each other too.

Bass is the one area where things are perhaps a little lacking. Even after a trip to the EQ presets, there was a feeling low-end punch could have been a little stronger. There’s enough here that bass-heavy genres still sound meaty, it’s just a little vague.

Don’t think that detracts too much from the overall listening experience, though: this speaker very much delivers for what it costs.

Triangle AIO 3 verdict

The AIO 3 sounds great. Looks great too. Could you ask for more? If you’re sold on the looks, then perhaps not. This is a speaker you put proudly on show, rather than hide out of sight, and style-conscious music lovers will probably forgive a bit of low-end bite.

It’s not the only game in town, though. A similarly-priced Sonos Move is just as well connected, and also has a battery good for 11 hours of listening away from the mains. Denon, Ruark and Audio Pro all have sub-£400 options, and the attractive Bowers & Wilkins Formation Flex will turn just as many heads.

If colour choice means as much to you as audio clarity, though? The Triangle might just earn a place in your hi-fi setup.

Triangle AIO 3 technical specifications

Drivers	2x 25mm tweeter, 2x 10cm woofer
Power	2x 45W
Connectivity	Bluetooth, optical, 3.5mm auxiliary
Dimensions	195x360x150mm, 5.1kg