If it's really true the Ampzilla is a better match on Keith's YGs than uber spendy behemoths like Audionet and D'Ag, then even if Keith has to go to biamping, he still has an amps/spkrs setup for less than $60k. You could just about call that pricetag VFM when you consider the hyperinflation in the industry.
KeithR's "Dream Speaker" Search
- Thread starter KeithR
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Wouldn’t this be subjective to the end user? Subjective synergy. If the owner is happy with the sound all that matters.
The AG dealer in London is also the distributor for YG. And the owner of SME, Garrard, Siltech, distributor of boulder, EMT, etc.
That said, I concur with the choice based on the sensitive speakers compared
AFAIK, he's not comparing Ampzilla to D'Agostino. As I said earlier, my understanding is that Keith doesn't want to go to that price level, quality notwithstanding.
Again, just about every single time he's heard a YG here has been with a D'Agostino amp. If he likes the speakers, it's safe to say he likes the amps. It's his choice, obviously, whether he wants to spend the money on those or search for viable, lower cost alternatives, in which I back him 100%. But from there to say the Ampzillas are "a better match" to the D'Agostino is a huge leap, Marc.
Oh Alex, I was referring to Ron's comment about preferring Ampzilla to Audionet on the YGs. Obv doesn't refer to D'Ags.
New Hailey 2.2 review
http://enjoythemusic.com/superiorau...ailey_22_Floorstanding_Loudspeaker_Review.htm
http://enjoythemusic.com/superiorau...ailey_22_Floorstanding_Loudspeaker_Review.htm
New review, and the reviewer bought the demo pair.
"Of course, there are no perfect speakers. Only horses for courses. This one, by the way, is just right for my course, speaking both as a reviewer looking for absolute accuracy and a music lover who wants to recreate the original performance. So, Hailey 2.2 is my new reference speaker."
I have at various times in the now-distant past, sometimes even doing the surgery necessary to multi-amp a speaker not factory-wired to accommodate it. There are certainly fewer incoherence problems introduced by the crossover if it's active, driven by the preamp output than if it's passive driven by the power amp. It creates a lot of clutter and you still have the problem of multi-drivers and crossover points in primary audio bands. But yes, bi- or tri-amping a multi-way speaker using an electronic crossover with suitable amps can lead to a better result. There is also more to get right, and it creates more noise entry points. I left all that behind since moving to widebander-based and crossoverless Zu.
Phil
A relevant excerpt:
Phil Gold: There are some amazing, relatively inexpensive, low powered amplifiers in the market today, such as the Pass Labs XA25 or any number of SET tube amps. Your speakers have over time become less amplifier fussy but the Hailey 2.2 still presents a 4 ohm load with only an 87dB efficiency. Will we ever see a YG Acoustics speaker designed specifically for smaller amplifiers such as these?
Yoav Geva: When I design a speaker, I try to make sure that it can be reasonably driven by 60 good Watts (with a current-capable amp 45 Watts are usually also sufficient). I am comfortable with maintaining this goal, because from my experience, that is "as flexible as I can go" without compromising sonic performance. While you are correct that there are some excellent low-powered amps out there, and they enjoy a loyal (and highly vocal) following, in practice that segment represents a very small portion of the market. As a side-note, while the Pass XA25 indeed may be underpowered for my designs, most larger models in the Pass Labs' XA "point 8" series easily meet or exceed YG Acoustics' power-requirements, and are excellent choices for driving our speakers. Here's an easy way to illustrate why speaker-designers shouldn't develop "tunnel-vision" by catering to each and every product out there – a low-powered amp requires a highly sensitive speaker, which in turn mandates very lightweight drivers. The stiffness of a driver-cone is roughly proportional to its thickness cubed, i.e. reducing cone-thickness in half to save weight could make it eight times less stiff. This might cause the driver to flex and distort. YG Acoustics, in contrast, optimizes drivers for their strength-to-weight ratio, not just for weight, which is a better-balanced design approach that produces lower-distortion speakers.
He talks about "60 good Watts" being sufficient for YGs. By "good" Watts does he mean "Mega" Watts? Lol
There are two situations that need to be addressed, one is "being able to drive", and the other is "being able to drive, with enough headroom".
We've driven YGs at numerous times in the store with entry-level (solid state) integrateds ranging from 50 to 100W, and they sang beautifully. Of course they will choke on the Tron soundtrack at 95dB levels. Not enough headroom for that. But this is no different on higher efficiency speakers. I've clients with AG Duos and Trios, 100+dB efficiency, that have been very happy with Audiopax 88 monoblocks for years, doing 20-something watts. Put the 50W Maggiores in there, and guess what, the extra power/headroom is immediately obvious.
If you want to play loud all day and with headroom on YGs, you'll need at least 200W.
We've driven YGs at numerous times in the store with entry-level (solid state) integrateds ranging from 50 to 100W, and they sang beautifully. Of course they will choke on the Tron soundtrack at 95dB levels. Not enough headroom for that. But this is no different on higher efficiency speakers. I've clients with AG Duos and Trios, 100+dB efficiency, that have been very happy with Audiopax 88 monoblocks for years, doing 20-something watts. Put the 50W Maggiores in there, and guess what, the extra power/headroom is immediately obvious.
If you want to play loud all day and with headroom on YGs, you'll need at least 200W.
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And Keith is listening all day at 95dB? Or just occasionally, and he wants that potential headroom on tap?
Let him answer that. There's enough people speaking for Keith in this thread, so I won't do that.
With a $32,000 amp Solution amp that delivers 280 watts into 4 ohms. YG's assertion that he designs speakers to work with 60 "good watts" is laughable.
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