RMAF 2013

I've been kicking myself for not making it out to Brooklyn to hear YG Acoustics' flagship Sonja 1.3 loudspeakers while they were in John Atkinson's system, so I was especially pleased to see and hear the smaller Sonja 1.2s ($72,000/pair), driven by four compact Mola-Mola Kaluga monoblocks ($15,000/pair) and Mola-Mola's similarly cute Makua preamp ($10,000). (Like the Sonja 1.3, the 1.2 comprises the 1.1 tweeter/midrange module and interlocking bass module, but lacks the 1.3's second bass module.) Music was sourced from a laptop through Luxman's DA-06 DAC ($4990) and everything was tied together with Kubala-Sosna cabling. The sound was crystal clear with great impact and an outstanding sense of scale. Listening to "Ben's Blues" from Ben Webster's Gentle Ben, I was blown away by the system's combination of effortless power and poise.