YG Hailey 2.2, Magico M2 or Avantgarde Duo XD ?

Hi all,


I am considering to upgrade my speakers and I would like this upgrade be “significant”.
I am currently using Avantgarde Zero TA XD that I am enjoying very much. It’s a fantastic value for money speakers ! Now I would like to keep their main strengths ( dynamics,transparency,difficult room “friendly”) and improve in terms of subtlety, decay and layering .
My room is small / medium , pretty “bright”, speakers will be relatively close from the front and rear walls and my listening is distance is pretty short (2.5m/3m).
So I am looking for a speaker with a “limited” footprint.
In terms of music, my taste is very eclectic so I am looking for speakers able to be very good “all rounder”.

I have preselected 3/4models :
- YG Hailey 2.2
- Magico M2
- Avantgarde Duo XD
- potentially TAD CR1 + subs

Duo XD would be the logical upgrade path but I feel those relatively big horns need space to breathe...
YG Hail 2.2 : was not considering them initially but after a superb (and totally random ) listening session I couldn’t exclude them any longer ! and I really like the possibility to upgrade further on ( but the 2.2 model is anyway just updated)

Also my current front gear is Accuphase C2850/A70 (have also a 300B SET amp ) and given the significant investment ahead of me, if those new speakers could be compatible with them ( even if not THE perfect match) it would help !

What do you think?

Thanks
Alex

PS : there are many other very good speakers/ brands but for many different reasons those 4models are my short list

 

Both are liquid and can flow.

 

Both are liquid and can flow.

Lol. One at 87 mph the other at 91

 

He gets the shit kicked out by Brad Pitt in the new QT movie. Another change in history

 

Stereoplay (Germany) conclusion:

The hORNS Universum 3 achieves 65 points for sound and 87 points for overall performance.

The S5 (Mk1), achieves 68 points for sound and 91 points for overall performance (and Mk2 is MUCH better).

The stereoplay review is from 2013 when the universums were seriously bad. They have improved so much since. Also like the author if you want to listen to Peter Gabriel and Fleetwood Mac, better to get the Magico

 

He gets the shit kicked out by Brad Pitt in the new QT movie. Another change in history

Bruce Lee's daughter was interviewed about that & said the narrative in the movie was basically BS.

 

The stereoplay review is from 2013 when the universums were seriously bad. They have improved so much since. Also like the author if you want to listen to Peter Gabriel and Fleetwood Mac, better to get the Magico

I'd take the YG for PG every day over Magico, but I suspect it'd sound fine on good horns too. Not under-hyped horns. Critically hyped horns only.

 

I'd take the YG for PG every day over Magico, but I suspect it'd sound fine on good horns too. Not under-hyped horns. Critically hyped horns only.

My friend owns YG Sonja 2.3's and recently bought Magico M6's which are in his main system. They replaced a pair of Marten Coltrane Supreme 2's. He loves the sound on his Boulder 3000/2100 series amps. Though of course we all have different ears/tastes.

 

Lol. One at 87 mph the other at 91

I agree that Avantgarde horns and Magico/YG sealed speakers are different beasts but putting my room in the equation I believe sealed speakers will be a better fit vs ported ones.

 

My friend owns YG Sonja 2.3's and recently bought Magico M6's which are in his main system. They replaced a pair of Marten Coltrane Supreme 2's. He loves the sound on his Boulder 3000/2100 series amps. Though of course we all have different ears/tastes.

So your friend had both Sonja 2.3 and Magico M6? Lucky him. Taste is personal of course but did he explain why he chose M6 over Sonja 2.3?
Thanks

 

So your friend had both Sonja 2.3 and Magico M6? Lucky him. Taste is personal of course but did he explain why he chose M6 over Sonja 2.3?
Thanks

Yeah he's living the dream. He still has his YG's in his 2nd system. The M6's replaced a pair of Marten Coltrane Supreme 2's in his main system.

 

My friend owns YG Sonja 2.3's and recently bought Magico M6's which are in his main system. They replaced a pair of Marten Coltrane Supreme 2's. He loves the sound on his Boulder 3000/2100 series amps. Though of course we all have different ears/tastes.

I like the Heritage line for Marten, but higher up in the line, the integration of the all-Accuton drivers with their 1st order crossover design sounds disjointed and disappointing to me. That said, I've never heard big boy Supreme 2s, so can't comment specifically on them. YGs I've heard twice and they just seem to sound right to me.

 

I like the Heritage line for Marten, but higher up in the line, the integration of the all-Accuton drivers with their 1st order crossover design sounds disjointed and disappointing to me. That said, I've never heard big boy Supreme 2s, so can't comment specifically on them. YGs I've heard twice and they just seem to sound right to me.

I've heard my friend's Coltrane 3's many times & they sound very coherent to me, though not as seamless as the upper level Avalon speakers. I haven't heard my other friend's Supreme 2's as unfortunately he lives about 1800km's away! I agree the latest YG speakers from the Hailey Series 2 up sound very good & are the most coherent of speakers. On balance however, I think my S5 Mk2's offer better vfm (atleast before the recent price rise).

 

Lol. One at 87 mph the other at 91

So what? Efficiency is not an indicator of SQ, and does bring set of compromises.

 

.... I agree the latest YG speakers from the Hailey Series 2 up sound very good & are the most coherent of speakers. On balance, I think my S5 Mk2's however offer better vfm (atleast before the recent price rise).

Objectively,the S5 Mk2 is a much better a speaker, regardless the price (S3 Mk2 as well). After reading YG "new" tweeter propaganda, one has to wounder if these guys even know how a tweeter works...

 

Stereoplay (Germany) conclusion:

The hORNS Universum 3 achieves 65 points for sound and 87 points for overall performance.

The S5 (Mk1), achieves 68 points for sound and 91 points for overall performance (and Mk2 is MUCH better).

someone would actually buy a speaker based on points? AG Uno XD scored 97 points in Stereo magazine going by that dumb metric.

who cares. buy what amazes you, not a rating by so-called experts. the same "experts" have loved some seriously bad speakers like the old Watt Puppies. you can always find a review that loves your speakers- trust me.

 

Using pure objectivism, one normally arrives at a midfi sounding system.

 

someone would actually buy a speaker based on points? AG Uno XD scored 97 points in Stereo magazine going by that dumb metric.

who cares. buy what amazes you, not a rating by so-called experts. the same "experts" have loved some seriously bad speakers like the old Watt Puppies. you can always find a review that loves your speakers- trust me.

LOL, 98 point for the Magico S3 in Stereo magazine, still better

 

Lol. One at 87 mph the other at 91

I was referring to oil and water both being liquids that can flow. I don’t happen to think it is dependent upon efficiency of the speakers. Al M And I once did a DAC comparison at Goodwins and the one attribute I heard that was the most distinct with my favorite DAC that day was specifically flow and the continuousness and completeness of the note. The lesser DACs seemed interrupted or had gaps in the musical flow of the note or a group of notes.

My favorite DAC that day had a completeness and naturalness to its sound Much like a bubbling brook of water in an uncorrupted patch of wilderness. It just sounded right and is very difficult to describe. This attribute was immediately noticeable to me, perhaps because my source at home is analog.

with speakers I generally hear this as coherence or integration and the speaker’s ability to disappear in the room and in the listeners consciousness.

 

Hi Peter I was not referring to efficiency, but towards Cantata's scoring.

 

Coherence is another factor. For me a speaker with flow might have both but not necessarily