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

 

Congrats!

Hard to believe you can make a decision without months or years of agonizing...

Yes our sport is 9 parts speculation, 7 parts anticipation, 5 parts expectation, 3 parts participation... and 1 part actuation... aaaand start over again.

 

I used to own the Soulution 7 Series combo. It was good but a little too neutral for me. Changing to a Kondo Ongaku brought the smile back to my face. I am surmising that the combos you seem to like provide a more intimate and rich sound in which case Soulution might be a bit bland for you. Not sure where you are based but the Analog Magic amps are not bad at all. Add a tube preamp (since they don't have a preamp in their line up) and that could work too. Gryphon might also work as it has quite a robust dark sound in my experience.

 

After another listening session(s) and a final attractive offer from my dealer, I swallowed the pill and ordered the Sonja 2.2 ! So be it, we die only once but we live everyday !
Cherry (ies) on the cake,
1) as the Sonja 2.2 was finally no longer in stock , I got the Sonja 2.3 on loan ! Those are huge , but after spending several hours we managed to position them properly in my medium size non dedicated and reflective living room and they sound superb with absolutely no bass issues or harshness ( which were my two main concerns).
My dealer is « secretly » hoping that I will change my order from Sonja 2.2 to 2.3 but I reminded him that I was initially targeting the Hailey...

You are very “courageous” to host a demo model of Sonja 2.3 while ordering the 2.2 model ultimately. Clearly your dealer wants to make you jump to the bigger model.
The room depth and listening distance you mentioned in another post will probably be in favor of the 2.2 anyway.
Testing amps/preamps on the 2.3 model might give you some interesting insights, however only the final speakers will tell you the truth on the choice to make in the end.

Take time, lots of time .... for these very involving decisions !!!

 

I listened to YG with Nagra HD (pre & amps) in Paris: not a good experience... sounds very analytical, not involving at all, on top of that I didn’t like the tone, at the time (2017) I had full Nagra equipment and I was ready to upgrade.

 

I listened to YG with Nagra HD (pre & amps) in Paris: not a good experience... sounds very analytical, not involving at all, on top of that I didn’t like the tone, at the time (2017) I had full Nagra equipment and I was ready to upgrade.

Oh maybe it was the YG speakers which were not your taste or as Bonzo highlighted previously the HD amp were not able to drive the YG speakers previously or maybe the source/DAC ?

On my side, do not want to jump to definitive conclusion yet, but the combo Soulution preamp/ Accuphase power amp is working really great .
No issue whatsoever for the Accuphase to drive the Sonja ( but the nice Vu meters are reaching levels that I never saw before...)
At the same time did not listen to extremely demanding music yet.

 

It really depends on what you're looking for, as the speakers are extremely transparent, and will truly show what the amps are doing.

For small rooms, and if you must have tubes, an Audio Research REF160M will do.

The Luxman works great, even in our large space. But it does benefit from a warmer preamp, the ARC or perhaps Luxman's own tube preamp that's coming out later this year.

The D'Agostino is just about the best we've heard with the YGs. It just does everything and is unflappable. Paired with the Audio Research preamp, it's able to please even the folks that were not traditionally fans of SS or Dan's amps.

darTZeel is the other obvious choice tied at #1, if you like the luscious midrange (I do!). With the mk2s, it's another solid choice, and should work even in the biggest of rooms.

On the obscure side of things, we've had great success with the LinnenberG amp, out of Germany. His Widor 200W stereo amp was an absolute revelation, so much that we've taken it to Axpona this year, and we got a "Best in Show" out of TAS/JV. Truly amazing amp, for less than $20k.

For brands that we don't (yet?) carry, I can mention Gryphon and Nagra. Every time I've heard YGs with them, it sounded rich and full, really couldn't fault it.

As usual, you're always welcome to PM me to chat more

cheers,
Alex

I am currently far from my audio system (enjoying South East Asia sunshine and resting my ears) but I will be back very soon to continue my amplifier journey...
Alex, may I ask you which specific Dag amp is the best match for YG according to you? ( S250, Progression mono ? I am sure M400 monoblock is even better but out of reach...)

 

Moby,
yes I agree with Bonzo, but more than that it was the tone I didn’t like...
E

 

I am currently far from my audio system (enjoying South East Asia sunshine and resting my ears) but I will be back very soon to continue my amplifier journey...
Alex, may I ask you which specific Dag amp is the best match for YG according to you? ( S250, Progression mono ? I am sure M400 monoblock is even better but out of reach...)

Relentless
Seriously, the S250 is more than enough. If you can manage M400s, of course that'll be better. But a S250 will be gorgeous. Either your Accuphase preamp, or preferably, a nice rich tube preamp (just make sure it's balanced), will turn your room/system into a time machine.


cheers,
Alex

 

I think a Nagra Classic preamp into a stereo Dagostino 250 would be the "bee's knees" on Sonjas.

Congrats on the speaker choice!

 

Yes preamp-wise , Nagra Classic ( I listened to the HD which sounded great but the price is completely crazy as well ...) , Accuphase C3850 ( but it’s a very neutral preamp- many Accuphase lovers don’t like it) ,CH L1 and I am really appreciating the Soulution 725 as well, are the contenders.
I would prefer no tube in my preamp as I am 100% digital and my potential next DAC could be coming with tubes ( I let you figure out which brand it is...Many die hard fans on this forum )

 

I think a Nagra Classic preamp into a stereo Dagostino 250 would be the "bee's knees" on Sonjas.

Congrats on the speaker choice!

That would be an amazing combo as well!

 

Boulder amps for YG Sonja.

 

https://www.audiogon.com/listings/l...plasma-speaker-full-range?refsource=hifishark

If you have enough budget to buy Lansche 4.2, it will do wonder with vocal music in small room.

I had been happy with Lansche 4.1(previous model) since 2006 using either 8W 300B SET or 45 Watts 845 SET.

 

Hi Moby2004 - Hope you had a nice break and, if you are back, any updates on your quest? Did the pair of new 2.2s arrive yet to replace the 2.3s? Not sure if you will be starting a different amp thread, but do you have access to or have you heard any feedback on Simaudio amps (the new 860a v2s in particular) or preamps pairing with the Sonja's?

 

hello

Yes I was away, plenty of work,some ongoing furniture change in the living room ( my wife had some requirements as well ...), sold some extra gear i was not using any longer + my Accuphase combo in a surprisingly record time ( 3days ! totally unexpected ) adding this to the current situation in HK which is impacting my capacity to go to my favorite showrooms...
Long story short no time to really enjoy the system which is still Sonja 2.3 (Sonja 2.2 should not be delivered before end November ) + Soulution series7 combo. Sooner or later I should have the Luxman m900 for home demo as well.
And on the "to listen" list : DAG, Accuphase monoblock, Ch precision. Didn't include Simaudio but might be a possibility yes !
Looking forward listening to music. Hopefully from next week !

 

I look forward to hearing Haileys 2 in Warsaw in early November.

ttps://www.audiogon.com/listings/l...plasma-speaker-full-range?refsource=hifishark

At first I thought that these look like ordinary speakers, but even those pictures from your link indicate that I couldn't be more wrong.

 

Interesting thread. Since the room constraints are the main problem, what about a compromise around a hidden gem, the Sonja 2.1 with stands and, say, JL Audio CR-1 active crossover and subwoofers? Any dealer worth his salt should be able to integrate the system, and in fact the separate sound sources could handle the room problems better than a full-range speaker ever could. The Sonja 2.1 would add the soundstage height the Hailey doesn't create, plus all of the other good YG things, in a smaller volume and at a normal listening height. The only YG speakers I have experienced were Sonja 2.3 at a show. I heard all the good things I have read in this thread, but I didn't like the general presentation because the sound was coming from the wall-ceiling intersection, something I found very unnatural.

 

OOps, I just posted in the wrong thread, but since I'm here.. moby, post some pics of the final arrangement once the 2.2s get in! Congrats again, those speakers are fantastic.

 

Yes I am looking forward receiving them but I am enjoying the Sonja 2.3 at the same time !
Today I have started my amplifier journey and listened to two different systems :
1) Dag momentum m400 mono ( S250 not available) with the momentum preamp, Simaudio separate CD transport/DAC , Vivid audio G1S speaker
2) Ch Precision D1/C1+X1/L1/A1.5 stereo and M1.1 stereo with Wilson Audio Alexia 2 speakers.

As a usual caveat,rooms,downstream gears and speakers were different so obviously it’s not really a “pure” power amp comparison but I am quite familiar with the ChP dealer auditorium and with the Vivid sound as I used to have the G3.

Those 3 amplifiers are really great ones and could please many people and systems. Between the
M400 and the M1.1 for my taste M1.1 without any hesitation.The M400 being the warmest one with the highest density (but overall a bit too much for my taste ) , the second one being more airy,refined ( on all frequencies), dynamics overall on par ( maybe M1.1 slightly ahead).
The M1.1 is definitely not on the thin/cold side of the spectrum which was my main concern.
As a “bonus” it s a very versatile amp with a lot of options.
How does it compare with the Soulution? Hard to say but my first feeling would be that on the preamp side , Soulution ahead ( now with a L1+X1 combo maybe not) and on the power amp side M1.1 ahead ( slightly less dynamic but more balanced,“right” tonality if I can say that)
Now, would CH P be a good match with the YG ? Read only one review using this combo. Trying to negotiate a home demo trial...

PS : I am not commenting on the A1.5, not that this is not a very good amp but once you make a direct comparison with the M1.1 you can’t go back...

 

The only YG speakers I have experienced were Sonja 2.3 at a show. I heard all the good things I have read in this thread, but I didn't like the general presentation because the sound was coming from the wall-ceiling intersection, something I found very unnatural.

Something seriously wrong there. The ’sound‘ should be a set of 3D instrument and vocalist images filling the room....not coming from anywhere specific like wall-ceiling intersections. Of course it all depends on the recording...I have a couple where the soundstage never gets above a meter high, but those are rare. Also no 2 recordings have the same sound stage....they’re all different so the soundstage should not be a fixed presence. If it is its being generated by the system rather than by the recording....not so good!