A Visit to YG Acoustics

DaveC

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Nov 16, 2014
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Yesterday evening YG had a tour for the Colorado Audio Society (CAS) and I'd like to thank YG and CAS for this great opportunity to check out one of the world's best speaker manufacturers.

We started with a multimedia presentation of YG's production so we can see all of the key parts and how they are manufactured, as it all doesn't go down at once... this evening they were machining PCBs, which they do using CNC machines and sheets of pure copper so the copper can be thicker vs traditional methods.

For those unfamiliar with YG, their speakers are manufactured primarily out of aluminum, including cabinets, driver cones and many other parts... the CNC machines run 20 hours a day, 7 days a week in order to produce these speakers! So everything is made in-house and to very tight specs. They even wind their own inductors, both air and iron core. AFAIK the only thing in a YG speaker not made in-house are the capacitors and resistors in the crossovers.

The goal is simple: perfection at any cost. Drivers are all made in house with woofer and midrange cones made out of blocks of aluminum. Their new 21" subwoofer cone starts out as a 60 lb block of metal. Their tweeter is a silk dome, but is supported by an aluminum "airframe" that weighs 30 mg and held to 5 microns tolerance. It is able to withstand greater g forces vs a beryllium dome without the breakup issues of a metal dome. The crossovers have been designed to optimize both frequency response as well as achieve perfect phase response. The speakers maintain a wide dispersion pattern, even the MTM model has very even dispersion over 45 degrees in the vertical plane.

I've remarked before on WBF about YG's sound and last evening's listening reinforces my previous impressions of a speaker that has exceptional coherence and minimal coloration. Resolution and microdynamics are exceptional, and the speakers also do a fantastic job reproducing large scale music without distortion, at least at moderate volume levels... but I didn't have an opportunity to listen at more realistic volumes, and I have never been able to test their abilities at higher SPLs. We did listen to one rock track at moderate volumes where you could notice visible excursion from the woofer, which is in a sealed cabinet. This is almost certainly going to be the limiting factor of this speaker system as far as SPLs, but YG is modular and you can always add more woofer, including the new 21" subwoofer that will play flat to 20 Hz and has a built-in 6kW amplifier. So, owners can start with the Sonya MTM module on a stand and eventually add the woofer cabinet, then go to the 4-cabinet setup, then add the subwoofer. The only downside is YG gear isn't cheap, so this might not work out for those with a budget. However, for those who want technical perfection and value what YG brings to the table, and don't need high SPL capabilities or need to fill a huge room, then the smaller YG speakers may be a great choice. You can certainly get more speaker for your money elsewhere, but it won't be as perfect as a YG speaker. ;) So I'd say this is really the only downside of YG's ethos, it isn't inexpensive... but OTOH you're getting more than a fancy cabinet and a carefully crafted story to justify the price. This is true cost-no-object engineering!

Some pics of the YG factory and tour:



 
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DaveC

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These binding posts are made in-house out of aluminum and copper!







 
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DaveC

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was Yoav leading the discussion


Yoav wasn't there, we had YG's Sr Account Manager, Kerry St. James, give us the multimedia presentation and tour. He's very knowledgeable and was able to answer all of our questions. He's wearing a plaid shirt, has brown hair and is near the center of the pics in the 1st post.
 

asiufy

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Cool, hope you enjoyed the tour :)
I’d just like to point out that your comment about SPL should actually go the other way... YG’s lack of distortion in both cabinet and drivers will let you reach much higher SPLs, provided your amp can handle the speakers, of course. The room size is a factor, so for larger spaces, you’d need the extra mid-woofer area that the Sonja (and Sonja XV) provides. But for normal-sized listening rooms, the Hailey is fantastic.
 
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LenWhite

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Very nice write up. I took this very impressive tour a few years ago when I was in Denver for RMAF.

Sounds like the Carmel with a really great sub like the JL Audio F212v2 would be a great setup probably rivaling all but the top tier of very expensive speakers with separate dedicated bass towers.
 

cjfrbw

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Next to the Vivid speakers, I think YG have the most consistently good sounding rooms under a variety of differing conditions and electronics at the shows I have been to.
 

DaveC

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Cool, hope you enjoyed the tour :)
I’d just like to point out that your comment about SPL should actually go the other way... YG’s lack of distortion in both cabinet and drivers will let you reach much higher SPLs, provided your amp can handle the speakers, of course. The room size is a factor, so for larger spaces, you’d need the extra mid-woofer area that the Sonja (and Sonja XV) provides. But for normal-sized listening rooms, the Hailey is fantastic.


Actually, lack of distortion has nothing to do with a speaker's SPL capability, the variables are surface area and excursion, as well as cabinet design for low frequencies. With entry or even mid-level YG speakers the woofers will reach the limits of their SPL capabilities well before the mid and tweeter. That's why I think the upgrade path is key, you can get the Sonya MTM module and add woofers nearly endlessly, including a dual 21" subwoofer setup. You just have to be aware how much this will cost, and if you are looking for a speaker with high SPL and big low-frequency capabilities YG is only going to be the answer if budget is not a concern.

While I respect and mostly agree with the design decision to use a sealed box for a cost-no-object system, the tradeoff vs some other designs is efficiency and SPL capabilities. So while the mid and tweeter can play comfortably at higher SPLs like any other mid/tweet it's size can, the limitation is going to be the sealed-box woofer design. In a sealed box the woofer must produce far more excursion vs a vented box, and distortion increases with excursion at a certain point, so with a sealed box you need more woofer to get the same result.

I do think the Sonya 4-tower + dual 21" subwoofer setup would be among the best systems on earth and would probably reproduce every genre of music near perfectly. If I had the means it would probably be what I'd go for... :)
 

Barry2013

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Thanks for this post Dave.
I'm a great fan of YG's speakers having started with the Carmel 1 and now running the Kipod Signature passives which are still a fantastic speaker. Can't see me leaving YG when I upgrade.
It was also interesting to see that they are still using DCS Scarlatti which is what I use. Great synergy and sound.
 

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