Designed in partnership with Pro-Ject, the Triangle Lunar 1 marks the French loudspeaker manufacturer’s entry into the world of vinyl, combining ease of use with strong sonic performance. This manual turntable, assembled in Europe, comes with a pre-mounted cartridge and a factory pre-set tonearm, enabling immediate setup without compromising quality. Priced competitively at 400 euros and offered in 6 elegant finishes, it’s an ideal match for the brand’s active speakers, particularly the recent Borea Connect range.
The high-density particleboard plinth (25 kg/m³) forms the foundation of this turntable, delivering optimal absorption of unwanted vibrations to ensure great sonic purity. This high density, unusual at this price point, creates a stable, inert platform—essential for preserving the integrity of the musical signal.
The ABS polymer platter, reinforced with ribs, provides an anti-resonant surface perfect for vinyl records. This material choice, a technique borrowed from Pro-Ject’s higher-end models, offers an ideal balance of lightness and rigidity. The flat belt drive, concealed beneath the circular platter, ensures smooth, consistent motion transfer, minimizing the motor’s mechanical vibrations.
The 8.6-inch (218.5 mm) aluminum tonearm, lightweight and low-friction, has been specifically optimized for the Ortofon OM-5E cartridge. This pairing, born of Pro-Ject’s expertise, ensures precise groove tracking while preserving record longevity. The absence of anti-skating compensation, a deliberate technical choice on this entry-level model, simplifies the design while maintaining satisfactory performance for home use.
The bundled Ortofon OM-5E features an elliptical diamond stylus, ensuring detailed, balanced playback. This tip profile, more sophisticated than a standard spherical stylus, better follows the groove’s contours and extracts more musical information, especially in the high frequencies. The cartridge is pre-mounted and factory-set by experienced operators, eliminating the uncertainties of installation and calibration that often intimidate newcomers.
The supplied phono cable, featuring HP-OFC (High Purity Oxygen-Free Copper) conductors and gold-plated RCA plugs, ensures optimal signal conductivity. These quality materials, typically reserved for higher-end models, reflect careful attention to detail and guarantee faithful transmission of the audio signal from the cartridge to the amplifier.
Speed switching between 33 and 45 RPM is done simply via a side switch, allowing you to change formats quickly. While less sophisticated than an electronic system, this manual control offers rock-solid reliability and aligns with the device’s minimalist philosophy.
An acrylic dust cover with adjustable hinges effectively protects the turntable from dust. These adjustable hinges let you fine-tune the lid’s tension to your preference, preventing it from slamming shut or being too stiff to handle. The transparent cover preserves visibility of the mechanism while maintaining the system’s clean aesthetic.
The absence of a built-in phono preamp means you must connect the turntable to an amplifier with a phono input or to an external phono preamp. Far from being a drawback, this technical choice lets users select their preferred preamplification stage and upgrade their system over time. Triangle has designed this turntable to pair perfectly with its amplified speakers from the Borea Connect, Active Series, and AIO Twin ranges, all of which include a phono preamp.
The Lunar 1 comes in six trendy colors: Black, White, Blue, Green, Cream, and Bordeaux. This color palette, unusual in the often austere world of turntables, allows perfect visual harmony with Triangle’s various speaker ranges, creating cohesive-looking systems. The matte finishes lend understated elegance that fits naturally into contemporary interiors.
Its compact dimensions of 420 × 112 × 330 mm and modest 3.5 kg weight make integration into small spaces easy, without sacrificing the stability needed for optimal playback. This compactness makes it particularly suitable for urban setups where space is at a premium.
Does this turntable require an external phono preamp?
Yes, the Lunar 1 does not include a built-in phono preamp. It must be connected either to an amplifier with a phono input, to an external phono preamp, or to powered speakers with an integrated phono preamp such as Triangle’s Borea Connect, Active Series, or AIO Twin ranges.
Is the cartridge truly ready to use?
Absolutely. The Ortofon OM-5E cartridge is pre-mounted and the tonearm is factory pre-set by experienced operators. No adjustment is needed; the turntable is ready to play right out of the box.
How do you change the speed?
A simple switch on the side of the turntable lets you toggle between 33 and 45 RPM. Switching speeds is quick and easy, in a single motion.
What’s the difference compared to an automatic turntable?
The Lunar 1 is fully manual: you must lift the tonearm, place it on the record, lower it to start playback, then lift it and return it to its rest at the end of listening. This manual approach, favored by purists, minimizes mechanisms that could introduce unwanted vibrations.
Anthony
3 “feet”... 4 would have been better for stability. No automatic return of the tonearm at the end of the record, unlike my turntable I had 50 years ago!
Comment from March 05, 2026 — Experience from February 22, 2026
Robin
The lid is unstable, it doesn’t close completely (raised on the left side).
Otherwise, nothing to complain about regarding the sound quality and the turntable, top-notch!
Comment from March 05, 2026 — Experience from February 22, 2026
Jacek
Very good turntable. Fast and safe delivery.
Comment from May 05, 2025 — Experience from April 24, 2025
