YG's Carmel Loudspeaker

Colorado manufacturer YG Acoustics, led by the energetic Yoav Geva, achieved notoriety by proclaiming its Anat Reference II Professional the "Best Loudspeaker on Earth. Period. " Stereophile reviewer Wes Phillips didn't disagree with that characterization, though it is fair to note that at $107,000/pair, the Anat Reference II Professional is also one of the more expensive speakers on Earth. Making its debut at CES, YG's two-way Carmel is relatively more affordable, at $18,000/pair, but shares with its sibling an enclosure constructed from slabs of aluminum CNC-machined in-house.

A ring-radiator tweeter, recessed within a conical waveguide, is combined with a modified 7" woofer from Scanspeak in a sealed cabinet. Driven by a dCS Scarlatti 4-box SACD player and Krell Evolution amplification, the Carmel had problems filling the very large Show room with high-level sound, but at a more reasonable playback volume, excelled at clarity and transparency, with an uncolored midrange and relatively generous lows.

COMMENTS
JJK's picture

YG coming out with a bottom of the line 18k 2-way to meet our economic times finally! WOO HOO! (Tounge planted firmly in cheek).I've been to the last 3 CES(es), and I've yet to hear these speakers sound anywhere near "best loudspeaker on earth", that's for sure. A tad too bright and "metallic" sounding in the upper mids and treble. The Scanspeak drivers cannot be at fault, as I know and use them myself, so it has to be that "crazy" metal cabinet at fault---and/or the "special" xover.

John Atkinson's picture

At least, "suits_me," you don't have a "Tounge planted firmly in cheek." Sounds _very_ uncomfortable. On the subject of price, one of 1987's best-selling high-end speakers was the original B&W 801 Matrix at $5000/pair. Adjusting for inflation, the 801 would cost around $20,000/pair in 2010, but I don't recall people complainlng about its price in 1987 the way they do now about other high-performance loudspeakers. Remember: nothing in a loudspeaker has gotten cheaper over time. It still must be large and heavy to perform at the highest level and that takes money.

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