YG Anat Listening Impressions

Yesterday evening I had the opportunity to spend a couple of hours with the YG Anat, above, as advertized in a lavish double-page spread in your favourite audio magazine (pp 86-87 in the September issue). Since they don't appear to have been reviewed yet in any major publication I thought I would post some impressions as I am sure some of you, like me, are curious about these speakers which are being marketed with consummate modesty as "The best loudspeaker on Earth. Period".

Firstly, a word of background. The listening took place at Audio Concept in their acoustically treated listening room, below.

The room has been designed by Svan

September 17, 2008 - 6:33am

dcstep

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Re: YG Anat Listening Impressions

Thanks for the report. Somehow it doesn't surprise me that the "world's finest speakers",or whatever their ad copy says, might have a flaw or too.

Given the deadness of the room and the noted chestyness, I'm suspecting that despite your efforts they weren't set up to their best advantage. For example, my Vienna Acoustic Beethoven Baby Grands had a good bit of "shout" in them until they were properly set with a Sumiko Master Set.

It amazes me how often we run across rediculously priced systems that sound marginal due to improper placement.

BTW, a Rowland Continuum 500 integrated would have easily driven those speakers.

Boulder and YG are both local brands in CO. Those in the US will be able to hear both at the Rocky Mountain Audio Fest next month.

Dave

September 17, 2008 - 7:43am

Elk

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Re: YG Anat Listening Impressions

Great report and the pictures add a lot.

September 17, 2008 - 8:43am

smejias

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Re: YG Anat Listening Impressions

Great report, Struts. Thank you. Have you read Wes Phillips' YG Factory Tour?

September 17, 2008 - 2:54pm

Jim Tavegia

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Re: YG Anat Listening Impressions

I have always been surprised at how much the anechoic response differs from the "in-home" position that can really change the character of the sound remarkably so. I have never really paid much attention to room treatments ever, but I would never say they are not important if you want to extract the last gram of performance out of a Class A system or product. Even the "Puppies" in WP's room were...what they were, and different in everyone's house that is lucky enough to own a pair.

What is clear in most of this is that generally "nutty" money spent on components does not always translate into the "best" performance. It is always interesting for me to look at the reviewer's systems and watch the slow transformation to their personal gear changes and their justification for the moves. This, to me, is the fasinating part of Stereophile. Once I see a reviewer buy into something with his own money, even at an accomodation price (something which I have never had a problem with...ever) I can feel fully confident that it is a remarkable piece of equipment at whatever that price-point is. It is also fun to watch the changes in what each reviewer is finding important as their lives move forward.

Great job in supplying us this info.

September 17, 2008 - 5:27pm

mrlowry

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Re: YG Anat Listening Impressions

Struts-

Thank you for keeping us in the loop. I'm always amazed when a company at this ratified price point seemingly comes out of nowhere. If you go in for a second listen please update us.

September 18, 2008 - 2:27am

struts

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Re: YG Anat Listening Impressions

Quote:
Have you read Wes Phillips' YG Factory Tour?

Oops, no, I had missed that one . Have now!

It was interesting to note Yoav Geva's admiration for Dave Wilson and his use of the Alexandrias as a performance benchmark. I had an opportunity to (briefly) hear the Alexandria X-2 Mk IIs (driven by Krell Evolution electronics) as recently as last Friday as they were being set up for an outlier event to the Gothenburg show. Peter McGrath was still dialing them in so they weren't optimally set up but what I heard reminded me very much of my first encounter with Wilson X-1 Grand SLAMMs, from which I presume they are somehow descended, some fifteen-odd years ago.

On that occasion, ironically, it was also Peter McGrath at the controls at his(?) dealership in Coral Gables, FL. He demoed the X-1s driven by Levinson No.33s (Levinson No.30/31 front-end) and then the B&W Nautilus "snails" quad-amped with lesser Levinsons. Back then I knew nothing about products at this level so had no idea what the relative prices of these systems were or if there was some supposed pecking order. I did however know that these were big dogs and that if I didn't think they sounded great there was probably something wrong with me. That said, the big Wilsons still did nothing for me but the sound through the B&Ws left an absolutely indelible impression. Shape of My Heart from Ten Summoners' Tales wafted forth as if Sting were sitting there right in front of us; utterly mezmorizing. That day was one of my formative experiences in high-end audio. Without knowing it, with that demo Peter McGrath set me on a path that has lead to me donating healthily to the high-end cause over the years.

Our encounter apparently failed to make the same indelible impression on him. Last Friday he barked "who the hell are you?", "would you mind leaving, you're distracting me". Sitting still and quiet at the back of the room as five or six other people flew around fixing room treatments, flowers, drinks, dressing cables and generally chatting, I could clearly see how I was causing a massive distraction. Nevertheless I beat a hasty retreat to spare the local distributor, at whose invitation I was there, any further embarrassment. I guess Peter has earned his prima donna status but it did remind me of some great advice my grandfather once gave me: Try to be nice to people on the way up, you're bound to meet them again on the way back down.

I look forward to reading Wes's review of the Anats. I guess I want to believe that they can produce a better sound than I have so far experienced.

September 18, 2008 - 8:11pm

rvance

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Re: YG Anat Listening Impressions

Great posts, struts.

I was underwhelmed by the ad claims for these speakers. I guess it's important for some people to have "the best in the world" and it is usually a function of ego, not appreciation for the finest of anything. Those who cater to this mentality are banking on the vanity of the wealthy. The fitted aluminum shipping cases are over the top dumb, IMO, but it befits the "world's best," I suppose.

McGrath sounds like a real dick. When he's in a rest home and needs an attendant to wipe his ass, you can bet he won't ask them to leave. Death is the Great Equalizer. Too bad some don't wake up to their humanity until it's just about over.

September 19, 2008 - 4:15am

bifcake

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Re: YG Anat Listening Impressions

Quote:
Great posts, struts.
McGrath sounds like a real dick. When he's in a rest home and needs an attendant to wipe his ass, you can bet he won't ask them to leave. Death is the Great Equalizer. Too bad some don't wake up to their humanity until its just about over.

That explains why Wilson isn't carried by Sound by Singer. There's not enough room to accommodate the two overblown egos.

Great post, Struts!

September 19, 2008 - 8:55am

#10

struts

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Re: YG Anat Listening Impressions

Great to hear that people found the post interesting; I really appreciate the feedback.

I just wanted to say that I may have conveyed a misleading impression in my comment about Peter McGrath and don't want to see it spin out of proportion. It wasn't a conscious attempt to 'get even', although there was evidently a small bee I needed to let out of my bonnet so on reflection there certainly was a cathartic element to it.

I genuinely don't think Peter is a 'dick' although in my view he did act like a bit of one on this occasion (but hey, we all do things we regret occasionally, especially when we're under pressure - right?) His attitude came across as that of a prima donna but I would hope this was completely out-of-character and have no reason to believe otherwise - it is certainly not how I remember him from our first encounter. He is without doubt a bit of an industry 'rock star' and that status is undoubtedly well-earned. I clumsily mixed these two thoughts together in my post creating a somewhat misleading impression. My apologies.

September 19, 2008 - 3:50pm

#11

Jim Tavegia

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Re: YG Anat Listening Impressions

Thanks for the reply, but as a person who has made selling a career...you do not treat potential customers badly in any manner, and often, you do not know who your next customer might be.

Often appearances can be deceiving. I once had an acquaintance selling high-end grand pianos for Steinway treat a customer like he was pushing used cars. The person was very wealthy and on the way out he said, "Why didn't he just let me buy the Steinway?" He went to another dealer and paid cash for a used, beautifully rebuilt Steinway for his wife for their anniversary. It has always been a tenant of my marketing experience and this just reinforced it.

Today

October 22, 2008 - 1:23pm

#12

ncdrawl

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Re: YG Anat Listening Impressions

anybody that talks that way to ANYONE doesnt deserve respect. I dont give flying damn if they are the bridegroom of jesus christ, yanni, or joe sixpack.

thanks for the warning, Strut..

the only thing I dont understand is the mentioning of price.(not with the speakers, but with the talk about 11,000 components ahead of it).. I fail to see how that is relevant? I mean at 11,000.00... mentioning as if that were somehow a handicap? this is where my problems with "hifi" start.

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