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Dirty little secret of Pedigreed, decades old Speaker line - no one will address

For decades ever since it was first launched, all high end competitors have made major revisions to their midrange drivers. Yet YG Acoustics has done so - zero times. It still has the dubious, aluminum cone tech they first introduced.on day one. Their rationale for their supposedly superior construction has been completely rejected by all other companies who have neverconsidered considering imitating it.  They almost seem to be aspiring to copy Paradigm's entry level models (a co. that has ditched them for Beryillium on anything more premium). All while improving the frequency extremes only.  It certainly looks like they're endlessly, dead set on proclaiming it's somehow a feature & not a bug & eternally racing down this dead end. Their U.S. distributor has hired their sales director away to sell a competing brand they ALSO distribute, Vivid - that does have a far more sophisticated midrange driver & does it eve outsell YG.  In one of the distributor's online videos sent out free in their newsletter, the former YG sales guru, proclaims he has never felt nearly so engaged with the music - a clear knock to his old co. YG.  The owner, of said distributor standing right beside him, agreeing & not saying a word to disagree.  YG's response is to update the frequency extremes only, yet again & move down market to create a less expensive line. Even B&W replaced & updated their midrange driver tech, with their continuum. One of the strangest, most determined, longest running, self sabotaging mrkting decisions I've seen in high end audio. There must be the most peculiar, Why animating this but I can't imagine what it would be that remotely serves them.  Can you?

john1
groovey's avatar
groovey
125 posts
 

I’m using 40 something year old JBL 240 TI‘s with a titanium dome tweeter so what do you want me to say?
 

 

larryi
3,962 posts
 

groovey,

Your speaker is a youngster.  The phenolic diaphragm in my Western Electric 713b compression driver is 80+ years old and I have not heard any midrange driver I clearly prefer.  Some of the contenders are as old, and some are 60 year old newbies.  

kennyc
1,448 posts
 

The OP seems to infer that if a manufacturer doesn’t continue to manufacture technical updates( chase) at the rate other manufacturers do, then they are falling behind.  While this might be mostly true of high-tech computers, this doesn’t apply to high end audio where we chase sonics that meet our personnel preferences.

A manufacturer only needs to compete “sonically” within their target market, “innovation” is not even a close second. True some innovations make the sonics better, but at an added cost that will be passed on with the price.  We choose with our ears within our budgets.

tunehead's avatar
tunehead
160 posts
 

Don’t you just hate it when you start reading something that sounds maybe interesting, only to get 5 minutes in and realize you just don’t care.

I find this more and more the case in these forums.

john1 OP
113 posts
 

Yes, the "dryness" referred to is exactly what I have a prob;em with as far as aluminum drivers, particularly cone midranges. It’s very, very difficult to tame tweeters made of it but it can be done, but not commonly. Bass drivers often work well made of it, but mrs if they’re cones, I’ve never heard sound good & certainly not musical (although with an awful lot of high quality help it can be minimized). That’s my take but many/most agree & the minority that may like/love them I truly wish well. There are a lot of niche audiophiles with tastes strange to the majority & G-d bless em. They keep life interesting & unhomogenized. I don’t perceive YG to be even trying to improve their mrs since day one & into any imminent or distant future. The market seems to be moving away from them (including their own distributor) which may explain why they’re making less expensive versions to sell more. The improvements strike me as moves sideways instead without directly dealing the heart of it. I notice no YG owners (all 20+ yrs of them) stepping up to defend them. It is whatever it is & considerable food for thought.

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