What made you do it?

I've owned Genesis 5's, 2.5's, B&W's, Wilson Maxes, Watt Puppies, Slamm's and Alexandria. The decision to purchase the Anat II was as much about the music I listen to as to what I want to listen to. I will explain. While I had great sound from all of the above I have only had that eerie feeling of live music from the Grand Slamm's and the Anat's. The Alexandria while very musically involving was never like live music. I attend concerts and have many friends who are musicians and I play piano and guitar myself. The Alexandria's were a very good flavor but they were a flavor while the Anat II's are whatever the recording is and was. The Grand Slamm's had scary dynamics but were quite bright (much like live music) but they didn't give a sound stage and the air that I get with the Anat's. The Slamm was still the best like live music but not so good with strings and vocals. In short, the Anat's do it all. They could give a few more db but when pushed hard you do have some metalic hardness and they are great on short loud bursts that an orchestra makes and plenty loud for Rock even if they don't quite come into stride at 110 db and over. I love to listen to classical music now. I always loved classical music but there was never the resolution needed in any of the above speakers to truly get involved like the Anat's do. For sheer vocal power the big Genesis speakers were extraordinary but they seem so slow compared with the Wilson't and the Anat's. I have spent more time listening to music and less worrying about the sound since I purchased the Anat's over two years ago.

I hope that this helps.

I have owned the top B&W, the penultimate Focal JMLabs with beryllium tweeters, the giant Dynaudio Temptations, and have seriously listened to top of the line Wilsons and the Magicos you mentioned. As noted by Joel, they are all superb. But they are all speakers. I do not consider YG's to be speakers but to be music transmitters. As an avocation I periodically conduct orchestras and therefore have a very real audio image in my mind of what exactly I should be hearing. The YG's remind me of what the orchestra sounds like when I conduct. They have actually brought tears to my eyes. The clarity and ensuing musical excitement are such that every time I listen to my system, I feel that I am hearing the speakers for the first time. I have never had that sensation.
Dennis

Hi Jake,

Well, I'd say I fall squarely into the category of owner you'd want to hear from.

I currently own the Anat Professional II and have owned the Wilson WP7, Wilson Maxx2, Wilson X-2, and the Magico M6 as well. To be fair, each of the speakers were absolutely wonderful. Each a great speaker in its own right.

Having said that, the Anats simply "editorialize" less than any speaker close to this price range that I have heard. When properly set-up (critical) and when playing a decent recording, the effect they produce verges on spooky. It offers performance which appears to place the actual performer(s) in the listening space.

I'm so enchanted by these speakers that as a classic rock fan, I'm for the first time seriously listening to jazz and classical music. No speaker has ever made me want to do that before now.

Maybe even more remarkable is the fact that my wife clearly hears the quality difference between the Anats and our previous speakers. And she never cared about our sound system that much before now.

My opinion is nothing more than that . . . opinion. Yet, to this listener, the Anat Professional II is one VERY exciting product.

Joel