Stephen Mejias

The girl was the thing. At my first CES, all I did was follow them around. But this is how I first became familiar with YG Acoustics. At that demo, I was impressed by Yoav Gonczarowski's bold talk and love of music. His speakers, he said, approached perfection and were perhaps the most accurate in the world. He would demonstrate this, of course, with music. We were asked to follow as the speakers brought us closer to the essence of each musical piece. It can be a very effective demo technique. I've since become familiar with it.

While I was impressed by the sound, I couldn't quite describe what I heard. Beyond everything, I simply couldn't shake my skepticism over Mr. Gonczarowski's bold claims. And when I learned the price of these speakers, I was completely floored. A year later, Wes Phillips reported that the YGs offered a sound that was "coherent and phenomenally dynamic; precise, without a hint of etchiness." Memory tells me that that's probably what I heard the first time, too. And, having now seen $100,000 turntables and $350,000 amplifiers up close, I'm no longer shocked by $90,000 speaker systems.

Anyway, I bring this all up because I recently heard from YG. They've got news: The company has just begun to market their products in the US. While they have no dealers, yet, they'll be looking to make some connections this September at CEDIA.

A visit to the YG website shows that the bold assertions are still very present:

Bottom line — in today's high-end loudspeaker world, an audiophile has two choices: either to choose a YG Acoustics product and enjoy the most advanced technology available, or to opt for a loudspeaker likely designed with off-the-shelf tools and produced in methods that have not changed much over the past decade.

What's new, however, is that US distribution is being handled by Computerized Loudspeaker Labs. Yoav explains, "I have separated our operation into 2 companies — YG Acoustics in Israel is responsible for the technology, whereas Computerized Loudspeaker Labs in USA is responsible for sales and manufacturing. The brand name remains YG Acoustics."

Though I can't imagine spending so much on a loudspeaker, I can't help but be intrigued by the YG Acoustics Anat Reference. I'll continue to follow them and listen closely when I can.