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Does anyone on AG truly care anymore about objectivity & sincerity of Magazine reviews?

The latest cover story In the Absolute Sound triumphs the latest 3rd generation YG loudspeakers & their very best, latest technology. While the accolades commence (& do they ever), they only say, "the aluminum- coned midrange driver are carried over from the series 2" conspicuously omitting to mention nothing whatsoever has been done to it - ever (unlike virtually all their competitors who've had numerous major improvements to their MRs). It’s exactly the same driver that came with the speaker when it was first introduced decades plus ago. Their claims for it have not been verified by any 3rd party ever & no audio company has tried to copy their aluminum drivers ever, either. Entry level Paradigms perhaps, but they have the wisdom to understand aluminum cannot be made to compete with the beryllium they use on their upper end product.

Regarding the revised silk dome tweeter, "you may think your speakers excel in this area but until you’ve heard something like the 3s...you may have never heard true high frequency refinement". So a complete dismissal (with no comparisons of any kind of course) of all Diamond, Beryllium, ribbon, electrostatic etc. tweeters, just like that.

Is it just me or is there (from the Wizard of Oz) a clearly implied, "Ignore that man behind the curtain! !" message, as YG simultaneously has a full page, 4 color ad in the same issue & has been an extremely heavy advertiser for years in the magazine?

I’m reminded of the con man’s credo - You can fool some of the people all the time & all the people some of the time - & that’s enough. I had thought that’s not an especially good, long term business model. Maybe I’m wrong on this last, here.

john1

Showing 4 responses by john1

john1 OP
114 posts
 

Is this YG review an interesting newish low (or at least right down there)? No new midrange driver (& the original an eternally unchanged, mundane, aluminum one decades old) at this stratospheric, price point when all competitors have radically improved theirs more then once, is galling to me.  It's not Bose granted but corrupt all the same. At least to me & I suspect more then a few others.

john1 OP
114 posts
 

It's harder to accept accolades from someone who has chosen not to own a pair, more so when that isn't explained.

As to hearing them, that is difficult when there are relatively few dealers. They do not appear to sell in the quantities of their competitors.  Their chief sales Director for decades, Dick Diamond left for Vivid Audio a couple of years ago, that also has aluminum drivers but a radically better midrange.  What is extraordinary are the videos he does for their main US Distributor, GTT audio (also distributor & retailer of Vivid - you can't make this stuff up) where he says in a video (while standing beside GTT owner Bill Parish) that he has never been so moved & engaged by the music, now that he's joined Vivid. Parish has announced how Vivids are flying out the door but has been silent on YG sales.

I certainly agree they should be compared to other speakers before buying.

john1 OP
114 posts
 
jonwolfpell mentions YG are, "lean, dry & analytical", the issue that typically results with aluminum drivers. Exactly. Some love that, G-d bless them, but its not generally considered the desired norm as is endlessly sticking with that sound & the tech (while changing it everywhere else) that causes it over many decades on into all futures. All competitors seem to agree. The issues mentioned by another concerning the way the co. is managed since its take over is another area worth exploring. Something’s going on concerning their business model mentioned as long lived by another, when your legendary top sales guy for decades leaves for a competitor he calls infinitely better in its use of aluminum drivers - distributed by the current YG distributor no less. They appear to for the first time in decades be going more down market to increase profits, so something appears to be clearly eroding profits to necessitate the move never needed before. All odd and/or slightly bizarre when added up, worth noting & certainly not nothing that some might prefer it to be.

 

A lot of great comments on reviews in general & their place in the scheme of things & plausible ways of viewing them dispassionately too.

john1 OP
114 posts
 

Most (especially meaningful valid) replies & not one liners - are about magazine reviews, YG Acoustics as this was intended to be. YG represent an odd or even wierd lack of integrity indisputably unique to them as specifically stated. In a semi major high end co. its sociologically, commercially & acoustically interesting & certainly worth noting.  If someone doesn't want to be curious & interested enough (in the audio industry in particular but in general as well) then G-d bless, but snideness & cynicism for its own sake is truly sad & demeans those evincing it & all discussions contaminated by it.

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