Had YG Carmel 2 and upgraded to 3. Not even comparable; an entirely different speaker and its insanely good. 87db so need to match it thoughtfully.
YG Acoustic Speakers
- Thread starter Minatophase3
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If you have a sub, no. If you don't, yes
Basically, Talus is an insanely good two-way, with all the benefits that a simpler design brings. But because of the cabinet size, it won't sound as "full" as the Ascent, but if you add an inexpensive REL sub or two, you can "fill" that bottom octave nicely.
And finally, if you don't want to mess with subs, get the Ascent or, even better, a Summit!
I have not directly compared those two speakers, however, I own YG Hailey 1.1s and YG Sonja XVi speakers and have compared them. The Hailey 1.1, like the Talus, is a great two way speaker. The XVi is a four way. On some music, solo vocal with guitar for example, the Hailey 1.1 sounds just as good, perhaps in some ways a bit better, than the TOTL XVi. However, on any more complex music such as solo grand piano or orchestra or chorus or opera etc., the XVi is more complete, just more music from the recording can be heard. The same is true with rock, solo Springsteen vs. the E Street Band for example. It isn't as simple as just adding a sub. The sub will augment the Ascent very well, too. Both are excellent speakers but the Ascent will be more versatile.
I may need to move my system to a smaller room so from that standpoint a quality two way floorstander like the Talus plus a sub sounds like the way to go. The Ascent may be better in a bigger room but the bass may overwhelm and be more difficult to control in a smaller dwelling - as well as cost a bit more.
I'm considering the Carmel 2 -> 3 upgrade as well.
Did they improve the current transfer of the crossover? I understand the sensitivity remains the same. Although I think Stereophile measured the 2 at 85db. So, it needs power.
One of my "complaints" with the 2 is the fact that it needs a lot of amplifier for it to "come alive" if you will.
I was told the Reference 3 series improves this in many ways over the 2.
I really want to stick with YG as the new ownership and technical team there seems to be making improvements.
While at the same time respecting the intital investment from current YG owners. Eg. offering them an upgrade path.
I heard the Summit at its debut at Munich a couple of years ago and initial impressions were very good. A very enjoyable sound. I then left the YG room to hear other gear and reflected on the sound of the Summit as compared with my the YG Kipod Signature passives.
On second hearing it was clear that the Summits lacked the resolution and transparency of my Kipods with a distinctly warmer but less acomplished sound. Given the price differential that's not unreasonable.
Earlier in the year I purchased the Hailey 2,2s and I am delighted with them. Significantly better sound quality than the Kipods, but again to be expected from a newer, bigger and more advanced design. The character of the sound essentially the same but much bigger, discerning and revealing.
i have not heard the stand mounts yet, but expect to do so over the weekend at the HFNRR Show at Ascot this weekend.
Whilst obviously cost and room size are key considerations my YG journey started with the Carmel1s which were superb apart from lacking the scale of my later buys.
The aluminimum cabinet models in my experience seem to have a more neutral sound and the Carmels work well in smaller rooms.
On second hearing it was clear that the Summits lacked the resolution and transparency of my Kipods with a distinctly warmer but less acomplished sound. Given the price differential that's not unreasonable.
Earlier in the year I purchased the Hailey 2,2s and I am delighted with them. Significantly better sound quality than the Kipods, but again to be expected from a newer, bigger and more advanced design. The character of the sound essentially the same but much bigger, discerning and revealing.
i have not heard the stand mounts yet, but expect to do so over the weekend at the HFNRR Show at Ascot this weekend.
Whilst obviously cost and room size are key considerations my YG journey started with the Carmel1s which were superb apart from lacking the scale of my later buys.
The aluminimum cabinet models in my experience seem to have a more neutral sound and the Carmels work well in smaller rooms.
As far as I could hear, there is not a thing that hasn't been improved in Carmel 3 over 2.
Out of all the Reference speakers, the Carmel was the one with the biggest jump in performance overall. It's truly extraordinary now.
Hi, I'm very interested in the evolution of this thread! Any update? My short list is YG (Talus/Ascent) or Vivid Audio (Kaya 45)
Trying to evaluate other members advice is not easy when you are pretty certain you you are almost there and an opportunity pops up a bit above the preferred budget such as the used Carmel 3 on USAM.
That would be my choice over the Talus.
They work well in smaller rooms and well worth stretching the budget a bit to buy.
Well said and definitely agree - YG Carmel 3 could be a speaker for 10-15 years and you would be happy
I've been enjoying my original series Carmels for 12 years. I'll be switching someday, and will likely look at the 3 series (or whatever version occurs at the time).
I had them both in my home and did had to compare them back to back . For me the Carmel 2 was the better one . The peak series are a bit more “ easy listening “ if I may use that word . They where very good but that clarity and detail from the Carmel 2 hit me more . Both would make me happy but I ended up with the Carmel 2 . But that was a comparison on the amp that I stil have from my Harbeth Sl 5 XD speakers . And that is a NAD M 33 al in one . I heard the Carmel 3 on a Devialet 440 pro and that was better . My question is witch amp wil get the best out the Carmel 2 within a 15000€ budget ?
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I heard the Carmel 3s at Capital Audio Fest with the Burmester 232 and it sounded great, one of the best rooms at the show. I think that amp is a lot more than your budget, at least here in the US. I don't know what it costs in the EU. I have had a Boulder 3060 driving my YGs since I got them in 2018. I have not heard the specific combination Carmel 2 and Boulder 866 but have heard the 866 several times. In my hearing, most speakers compared to the YG Reference speakers like the Carmel 2 have a slight smear, for lack of a better word, to the sound. That is either a bug or a feature, depending on the sound you want or the music you listen to, for me it is a feature. Boulder amps do the same thing. So you can either double up with Boulder and YG to maximize that clarity or choose different amps to get a different sound from the speakers. At Capital Audio Fest there was a room with YG Hailey 3 and Air Tight tube gear, that also sounded very good but quite different, a very "tube" sound. My favorite room at CAF was the Sonja 3.3 with Bel Canto Black amplification, all solid state. A "Goldilocks" middle ground sound was in the Vinnie Rossi room also with Hailey 3s, which was an integrated amp with a tube preamp and solid state amp section. The Vinni Rossi Brama integrated was about $34,000 as I recall. I don't want the middle ground, I optimize my system for classical music and seek maximum clarity. I want to the hear the strings in the string section, not just the string section. I am not trying to make Eva Cassidy sound extra pretty. So if I had Carmel 2 speakers, I would get the Boulder 866 on that budget, or spend a bit more and get the 812 and 861. But that's just me.
I have the YG Hailey 2 and I have been switching between three amplifiers, the Boulder 866, Pass INT-25 and AGD Duet class D. All three amps work well with the Hailey 2. The Pass is limited in power for louder listening levels but it worked well for my nearfield listening - it has been almost a year since I tried the Pass and I need to try it again. I might have a slight preference for the AGD Duets with better imaging and detail than the Boulder 866. I'm using a PBD MPD-8 variable volume control with the AGD Duets (no preamp), and using the PBD MPD-8 DAC at fixed volume with the Boulder 866 volume control.
I could probably be happy with any of these amps, but since I'm not using the Boulder 866 streamer and DAC, I have it listed for sale on Audiomart. The YG Haileys are currently at YG for upgrade to 3, so I'll start the comparison over again when I get them back and will also be comparing to the darTZeel preamp and 108 amp.
Hi chuck, that is a very nice explanation of your findings between the amps. De Burmester 232 is around 17000€ without options , the Brama int.2 is to expensive . The Boulder is no problem . The question I have to answer for myself is What direction I like the most . So I have to take a discovery session at a dealer and take my own speakers to the store for a first direction . The only thing is that they don’t have everything .
There is a dealer who has Dartzeel , Burmester , devialet , bel canto and so on but no Boulder .
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