YG Acoustics Carmel 2

wizard · Feb 13, 2015

Carmel 2

wizard · Feb 13, 2015

c1ferrari · Feb 13, 2015

Thanks Wizard and Peter.

Barry2013 · Feb 14, 2015

My thanks too.
Does anybody know the cost of upgrading Carmel 1s to the Carmel 2 specs?

MiTT · Apr 11, 2015

Barry2013 said:
My thanks too.
Does anybody know the cost of upgrading Carmel 1s to the Carmel 2 specs?

I have a set of original Carmels inbound. Visited the factory last fall and got a preview of the Carmel 2, it is a significant upgrade. I'd love to get the Carmel 2, but the original is more aligned with my current funds. Cost to upgrade the crossover and drivers to Carmel 2 status is $13,500 USD.

Barry2013 · Apr 11, 2015

MiTT said:
I have a set of original Carmels inbound. Visited the factory last fall and got a preview of the Carmel 2, it is a significant upgrade. I'd love to get the Carmel 2, but the original is more aligned with my current funds. Cost to upgrade the crossover and drivers to Carmel 2 status is $13,500 USD.

Thanks for the reply.
I did check it out with YG and decided against it given the cost and the shipping costs because it has to be done at the factory. They are a really great speaker.
Happily,however, I was able to find a pair of YG Kipod II Studio Signatures passive which I was just about able to afford. As YG say the sound is the same but more of it and the 9 inch woofers make a big difference as you would expect, but the Carmel 1s are still a great speaker.
If anyone in Europe is interested my silver Carmels, which are in mint condition, are looking for a new home. PM me if you are interested.

slcaudiophile · May 14, 2015

my 2's arrived last week and i have ~ 150 hours on them thus far and they are a significant step up. deeper and wider sound-stage, lower and slightly fuller bass are the main differences I notice in 1 vs 2. They also come with a aluminum bound owners manual ... I swear YG thinks of everything!

asiufy · May 14, 2015

Congratulations on the new speaker!
What is the amp you're using to drive them?

alexandre

slcaudiophile · May 15, 2015

well ... right now im using an audio research vsi-60. i need to get a new amp bad, especially with the 2s. im thinking about moving to ss and getting something like the ypsilon phaethon (or maybe wait for their new one to come out but who knows when that will be) or the dartzeel. there are no real dealers in my area anymore so its such a pain in the ass to buy anything. got any suggestions?

scouter · May 15, 2015

slcaudiophile said:
well ... right now im using an audio research vsi-60. i need to get a new amp bad, especially with the 2s. im thinking about moving to ss and getting something like the ypsilon phaethon (or maybe wait for their new one to come out but who knows when that will be) or the dartzeel. there are no real dealers in my area anymore so its such a pain in the ass to buy anything. got any suggestions?

I had Carmel 1s in the past, and played 3 amps through them. ARC solid state was very good, nice soundstage and pleasant. Could listen for hours.
Odyssey Khartago Extreme was superb. Very transparent, excellent soundstage, but upfront presentation, say row E.
Spectral 260 was the bomb, though. Incredible bass, deeeeep soundstage, presentation around row M. You won't believe how deep the Carmels can play with an amp of this caliber. Listening sessions of 8 hours with friends and family on a few Friday nights. Music just flows through with this amp. Bottom line- Carmels are a reference caliber speaker that give up just the little bass. I much enjoyed my 3 years with them, and still miss some of the things they did. I bet the series 2 is crazy good.

slcaudiophile · May 15, 2015

yeah ... the real issue i am hearing with the vsi60 is it tends to run out of power and bass isnt as sharp as i know it can be with a good ss or even better tube amp. but vocals and things like that are very good.

does spectral still make the 260? that is not a bad idea actually. i would prefer to have an integrated amp just because of my room and i like to keep it simple as possible. but maybe doing a pre/amp or dac / amp is the way to go with these.

just as an FYI, i am using kimber select 6063 speaker and recently changed to their 1016 interconnect and i really like this good combo with both the 1s and 2s.

the physical details on the carmel 2 are just stunning. aside from the drivers the machining they do is just so cool. i took some more pics from iphone 6.

LL21 · May 15, 2015

slcaudiophile said:
well ... right now im using an audio research vsi-60. i need to get a new amp bad, especially with the 2s. im thinking about moving to ss and getting something like the ypsilon phaethon (or maybe wait for their new one to come out but who knows when that will be) or the dartzeel. there are no real dealers in my area anymore so its such a pain in the ass to buy anything. got any suggestions?

Congrats on the new speakers...was mighty impressed with the Anat IIs and Ypsilon Ref monos when i heard them a number of years ago.

scouter · May 15, 2015

Spectral mandates an all Spectral system with MIT, so if happy with Kinber, that is not an option. Try Hegal or Devialet- neither would run out of room, though you may give up some mid range palpability.
Good luck- you have an outstanding speaker of reference quality!

slcaudiophile · May 15, 2015

thanks. yeah i hear ypsilion and yg make a good match.

asiufy · May 15, 2015

Yeah, the machining on the YGs is really cool

The jumpers, speaker connectors, everything is made in house!

We tried the Carmel 2s first with the big darTZeel integrated, and it was *amazing*. Then we tried the beefy Hegel integrated, also quite good and punchy.
And yesterday, we hooked it up to our 50W Audiopax M50 tube monoblocs, and, surprisingly, they sang! We didn't expect them to, given that YGs are notoriously difficult to drive...

alexandre

asiufy · Jun 27, 2015

I understand reviewers are not held in very high esteem here

But here's a new YG Carmel 2 review, from Enjoy the Music:

http://www.enjoythemusic.com/superi...Carmel_2_Floorstanding_Loudspeaker_Review.htm

He liked them so much, he became the 11th reviewer to buy a YG after reviewing them.

There's also a cool interview with Yoav Geva here: http://www.enjoythemusic.com/magazine/manufacture/0715/An_Interview_With_YG_Acoustics_Yoav_Geva.htm

alexandre

Barry2013 · Jun 27, 2015

Congratulations on the Carmel 2s.
I was tempted but was able to find a pair of Kipod II Studio Signature passives which I bought recently to replace my Carmel 1s. Delighted with them. Needed more scale and the 9" woofers have made all the difference and the character of the sound is the same but more of it and better, but for their size I am sure the Carmel IIs will be very difficult to beat.
My amp is an integrated Vitus SIA 025 which is a wonderful amp and although rated only 25w in Class A it drives my Kipods with no problems and worked equally well with the Carmels. Can't recommend it highly enough.

Barry2013 · Jun 27, 2015

asiufy said:
I understand reviewers are not held in very high esteem here But here's a new YG Carmel 2 review, from Enjoy the Music:

http://www.enjoythemusic.com/superi...Carmel_2_Floorstanding_Loudspeaker_Review.htm

He liked them so much, he became the 11th reviewer to buy a YG after reviewing them.

There's also a cool interview with Yoav Geva here: http://www.enjoythemusic.com/magazine/manufacture/0715/An_Interview_With_YG_Acoustics_Yoav_Geva.htm

alexandre

Thanks for that Alexandre.
I have been looking forward to reading a review of the Carmel 2 and was not disappointed with it. YG clearly have another winner in an even more elegant package as well.
I certainly found that the reviews of the Carmel 1s and my Kipod II Signature passives have been thoroughly borne out by my listening to them in the home

asiufy · Jun 27, 2015

Barry,

Curiously, I'm currently with a pair of Kipod IIs (passive) at home, that was a trade-in from a customer here in Brazil. I've really taken a liking to the newer YG product, and I kinda had a bit of prejudice towards these older models. I was very pleasantly surprised when I put these in my room! Very open and detailed, and the only drawback being the need for real power in order to get good bass.
Another coincidence: we just delivered a pair of Carmel 2s to a customer here in Brazil, upgrading from Carmel 1s. Guess what amp he uses? Vitus

Check out the pic he sent us...

He loves them, BTW, so I can guess how good it must be in your setup!

cheers,
alex

Barry2013 · Jun 28, 2015

Thanks Alex.
Very interesting and good to know.
My lounge/listening room is 21x12 and has very good accoustics so happily I don't need lots of power. In fact the the Vitus which has a lower power rating than the previous Naim Nap 500//552dr gives me as much volume/loudness as the Naims did with much superior sound quality and all the PRAT virtues Naim are noted for.
The Entreq grounding and cables make a big contribution to the really natural open and musical sound I get with real communication of the emotions of the various genres of music from rock to classical and everything in between.
I can well imagine how good the Carmel 2s sound with the Vitus and they must make a a really elegant, functional and room friendly set up.
All the best,
Barry

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