I agree prof. The biggest issue I've run across is the blending of the ribbon with the woofer. Using the ribbon as a supertweeter and a dome as a tweeter seems to alleviate this issue while still bringing that open and airy sound. Dali had used a similar configuration with some of their speakers as well.
YG Acoustics, Raihdo?
why no love for YG Acoustics and Raihdo ?
too expensive?
too expensive?
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audiothesis, Thanks for the heads up. Maybe some day. Never seen a dealer for those, and they look out of my price range. Though the ribbon tweeter thing to me is similar to the hybrid electrostatics. For years and years I've read reviews of electrostatic/hybrids that say "It used to be that hybrids had trouble coherently melding the dynamic drivers with the stat driver sound....but no more. These are very coherent." And then I heard that speaker and it's just the same old problem. And it seems almost every review of a speaker using a ribbon tweeter starts the same "other designs had problems mating the ribbon with the dynamic drivers, but I heard no lack of coherence here...." And then I hear the speaker, and it's the same old problem - I easily hear out the ribbon tweeter as a separate entity. |
prof, you owe it to yourself to hear a pair of Rosso Fiorentino with the ribbon supertweeter. The disconnect is something I've struggled with in almost every implementation, but Rosso gets that aspect right by using a dome tweeter to cover up to 25khz and the ribbon from 25-100 khz. You get the air of the ribbon with the cohesive sound from the ribbon down to the cone woofer. |
Soix - Mike B didn’t leave to scratch an itch. He was fired for taking too long to come up with new designs. Lars left because he believes in Mike B. Mike doesn’t rush into anything. It has to be just right or he starts over. I heard the XT5’s which Raidho has ’made more efficient’ since Mike and Lars left and to me they just don’t sound right compared to the XT3. I want to hear the D4.8 to hear for myself if they got it right or screwed that up too IMO. |
I’ve owned both Raidhos and YGs, and feel that both are great speakers. The Raidhos better meet my current taste and needs. I had previously owned Peak Consult Zoltans, and I loved the body and heft they produced, though they were a little soft up high, and too big for my room when I downsized. I found the YGs to be neutral and dynamic, but in my smaller room, a little lean—they failed to provide the ‘magic’ I was looking for, even with my tubed DAC and preamp (they had worked better in my larger room). After listening to a number of of $30-40K speakers in showrooms—KEF Blades, Wilson-Benesch, Gamuts, Vivids, Wilsons—I once again found the requisite ‘magic’ with the Raidho D2s. They work great in a relatively near-field setup, and the tweeter is amazingly delicate, sweet and detailed. The bass is substantial for a 2.5-way with small drivers, and the mids are goldilocks right. They speak with one voice and never fail to transport me to lovely places when listening to favorite music—maybe not as neutral as YGs, but close (and delightful) enough that I don’t mind. I think they strike an ideal balance between ‘musicality’ and detail—and they match great with my Hegel H30. And, yes, both Raidhos and YGs are expensive, but both bring a lot to the table. I’m not bothered by the change in designers. It appears that the new design team is attempting to bring some Raidho magic to better price points—always a good thing. Sure, buying from overseas companies can be a hassle if things go wrong, but so far, so good. I have yet to hear another speaker for a small-medium room that suits me better. |
I have not heard any YG speakers, but I auditioned a couple Raidho monitors. Best ribbon tweeter integration I've ever experienced (I don't know if I've ever liked another dynamic speaker with a ribbon tweeter because I always hear a discontinuity). Detail was as advertised, super fine, but smooth. And the monitors sounded big, and punched hard for their weight. Problem was I found myself too aware of the lack of neutrality, the frequency dip they engineer in to their speakers for the further-seat-in-the-hall, smooth and rich effect. I kept finding that tracks I know on many other speakers (more neutral) were less engaging, in particular things like drum cymbals and percussion became more recessed and lost snap and drive. I believe the YG speakers are supposed to be more neutral, so it depends on what type of character you are looking for in a speaker. (I also agree with the concerns voiced by soix). |
The YG’s sound coherent, throw a wide and deep sound stage, are hyper detailed, have deep punchy bass & are neutral if that’s your thing . Their latest generation of tweeters are smoother and better integrated. I didn’t like the first generaton which were a bit hot. Build quality is excellent. As for Raidho, they may have good drivers, yes. But build quality is very ordinary and they are WAY overpriced imho. They’re also boat anchors to try to sell (I know, i’ve tried). I’m with ebm, for my ears I found Magico offer better vaue overall and a more musical, engaging sound. |
Plenty of love for them, but I think you nailed it with expensive. I’d argue not too expensive for the level of sound quality and engineering, but just expensive period. That said, as much as I may love’em, I wouldn’t touch Raidho now. The guys who founded the brand built something really special that reached the top echelons of high-end speakers today -- the kind of success and recognition most speaker companies would kill for. Then they just flat-out left to scratch another itch. Really??? That just pisses me right off. Plus, would you buy Magico speakers going forward if Alon Wolf left, or Rockport if Andy Payor jumped ship? With speaker manufacturers at this level, I’d think it spells eventual doom for that company when the founders and visionaries leave. As an owner of speakers from a lesser high-end company that went bust I can tell you it sucks, but it’d REALLY suck if I spent $20k+ for those speakers. Future resale value of these expensive speakers will certainly take a hit if the company goes into decline as a result of this. Sorry if I seem like a naive and stupid idealist here, but I just find this behavior irresponsible and offensive from a customer perspective at this level of product, and I obviously don’t even own Raidhos -- thank God. |
neither, I have only hear the yg's and like the sound. I was just curious as to not a lot of mention. these took my bank account. http://www.rossofiorentino.com/en/collections-volterra.asp |