Y No YG ?

I've heard the S1 Mk II and while they had some good attributes, they were a very curious speaker.

Small footprint, low efficiency, requiring a lot of space to sound balanced, and with extra resonance in the lower female voice / mid to lower piano that always distracted me, but at the same time rather cool.

To me they are a salon kind of speaker, best for small intimate spaces, at low to middle volume but the amount of power they need and space makes them odd to fit. On the other hand, what a great stereo image no matter where you are.

Sadly, I have not listened to the Carmel.  If we are talking 2 way speakers with amazing parts, I point you all to Fritz.

Did not hear any resonance, it may very well be the room you were in.
Small 2-ways, that will go low, can’t  be efficient. As far as Fritz, I will only say that I am done with paper cones and silk domes. Once you move away from that lack of transparency, there is no going back.

The room I was in was the Magico demo room. I find the S1s to be probably among the worst value of the Magico line, and they sound chesty, congested.

Fritz uses Scanspeak Revelators composite drivers (among others) and to my ears and that of many others, the Scanspeak Revelator mid-woofers are among the best in the world. YG, Wilson, Gamut and others agree.

The cut paper drivers are much more than merely paper drivers.

Not my experience, and cut paper is still paper (only cut ;)). Similar drivers on the Wilson models, not my cup of tee (and in an MDF box, no thanks). I am a recording artist; I need to hear what I am doing, not to beautify (mask) everything. Sorry, we will have to agree to disagree.

You don’t have to like paper drivers, or Scanspeak drivers, but calling a composite a paper driver does them a disservice. They are lightweight, strong, resonance free and low distortion, not to mention when properly used, very flat.

Again, personal taste is what this hobby is about, so I'll not attempt to insist like the sound. :)