Welcome, YG Acoustics
At the 2022 AXPONA Show I was happy to see Steve Huntley, an old friend whom I’d met in 1995 while he was working for Wadia. I was then a partner and Marketing/Sales Director at Dunlavy Audio Labs. Steve and I stayed in touch over the years, even though we’d both made professional changes. Steve left Wadia to start his own store in Stillwater, Minnesota, and I became a partner at Balanced Audio Technology (1995) until we sold the company in 2012. As time passed, Steve eventually went back to the manufacturing side of our industry with Avalon, Boulder, and eventually YG Acoustics, where he’s now the VP of Global Sales. It’s in the latter capacity that I found Steve at AXPONA in 2022 where he invited me to listen to the brand new YG “Peak” series.
His invitation was not a “shot in the dark” as he knew this new product would get my attention. “Why,” you may wonder, did Steve think I’d be interested in another speaker line for Glenn Poor’s since we already had so many great speaker brands, including the acknowledged “King” - Wilson Audio Labs? Well, there was truth to his belief that the YG Peaks would be additive, rather than just another distraction. I told him I’d give it thought as to where the new YG’s might work in our store. Steve was persistent, however, and even stopped by for a visit while he was making his way back to Colorado in the fall of ‘22. Steve brought in a pair of the smallest of the Peaks, the $8500/pair “Cairn.” Mounted on the “made for” stands ($1500), the Cairns simply blew us away! Their dynamics, especially micro dynamics, was shocking. They sounded like the real thing at all listening levels when powered by the 55w/ch BAT VK-80i integrated.
Why did they sound so real, I wondered? Then I read the brief written by the Peak Series designer, Dr. Matthew Webster, PHD in astrophysics from Cambridge University. Like YG’s founder, Yoav Neva, Matthew believes in the critical importance of time and phase coherence. Since those rare qualities were the foundation of our products at Dunlavy, I was intimately familiar with the benefits of time and phase coherence. The ability to recreate a square wave is a rare quality in modern loudspeakers. You’d even be surprised as to how elusive accurate square wave response is in most electronics. Hearing the harmonics in time with the fundamentals is one reason why listening to a live performance in person is the ultimate barometer. Very few loudspeakers can accomplish time and phase coherence. The new YG Peak Series, however, is one of the rare exceptions.
We recently received our first demo pair of YG’s “Talus”, a floor standing 2-way that sells for $14,200/pair. They are beautiful to look at, and their integrity is obvious on visual inspection.
Quality has obviously not been compromised. From the “ForgeCore” tweeters and the “BilletCore” woofers, both mounted in the thick precision machined aluminum front baffles, there is an honest integrity to the speakers that is set off by the gorgeous real wood veneer covered enclosures. Our demo Talus pair is in natural rosewood. Ebony and light oak are the other finish choices. We’ll have examples of all three wood choices on display once our demo pairs are all here.
Honestly, there is too much information regarding YG Peak series to frame it all in one of my “musings,” but one can go to the YG Acoustics website to get massive amounts of information. Or, better yet, come into Glenn Poor’s Audio Video, and simply look and listen yourself. I’ll wager you’ll, too, be amazed.
Geoff
