The Gearhead

YG Acoustics Carmel 2 Floorstanding Speakers There’s nothing like a fresh start with a well-known brand that is cemented in a sound and a look like YG Acoustics and their characteristic metronome-shaped tower speakers. I’ve had a lot of listening experience with the larger speakers offered by YG, from the Sonja 1.2 to the 1.3 to the XV. Imagine my surprise to hear a different speaker entirely in Sonja’s smaller cousin, the Carmel 2. While the sound of the larger YGs strikes me as occasionally larger than life, or as room-dimensions-dependent for the kind of bass they want to make, and as room-treatment and placement-dependent for the handling of the top end. Even amplifier-dependent, if you ask me, on that very present top end. Bi-amplified, with a FET power amp on the bottom and perhaps an EL34 tube amp on the tweeters, the big YGs can shine. But I’m here powering these gorgeous little Carmels with nothing more than a single PS Audio Stellar S300 stereo class-A / class-D a...

YG Acoustics Sonja 1.2 Floorstanding Speakers Wouldn’t you like a pair of YG Acoustics Sonja 1.2s at your desk for mild office listening? Strange concept, I know, but welcome to my world. I must say they are surprisingly excellent in the nearfield. Well, as ridiculous as that idea may be, that’s today for me at my job as a tester and technician at The Music Room. Set up quickly and unscientifically in front of my test bench, the imaging from these is some of the best I’ve heard. Initially I just hooked up the main modules — an MTM affair of all YG-proprietary drivers. A half-second after I hit “play,” I was reminded of the same thought I had when a recent pair of Magicos came through for testing. Timing was evidently paramount in these speakers’ design. And as I read through YG’s literature about the Sonja, I see that it certainly was a design goal, along with frequency honesty. YG have created in my opinion a speaker that instantly reminds you of the serious investment you...