Aluminum Valley
Over the Rockies and hundreds of miles from San Francisco’s Silicon Valley, tucked in a quiet Colorado town, is what I now think of as the Aluminum Valley of speaker manufacture. And much like Silicon Valley, there is a certain innovation and startup mentality at YG Acoustics. Gone is the old YG, and under new and very technically inclined leadership, the company is revising and improving the engineering of the product line from top to bottom. But I’m getting ahead of myself.
We were greeted in Arvada by Duncan Taylor, Head of Marketing for YG Acoustics and one of my favorite people in hi-fi. Duncan is that rare combination of immensely knowledgeable in fields as diverse as outdoor pursuits, recording, hi-fi, fishing, etc., and also delightfully funny and down-to-earth.
Words and Photos by Grover Neville
The Tour Begins
One could not ask for a better tour guide than Duncan, who led us through a tour of the company offices and manufacturing facilities, making for a refreshingly relaxed and educational experience. We started in the offices, which included a display of almost every model from the Peaks and lower-priced portion of the Reference line. Next up was the listening room, a fairly mammoth and well-treated room hosting some YG Acoustics XX speakers and snazzy-looking Burmester amps.
Exploring the Factory: Machining!
Continuing on to the factory, we were greeted by perhaps the largest collection of aluminum shavings I’ve ever seen. Practically every part of a YG Acoustics speaker is machined from aluminum. Blocks of billet were being milled, water-cut, channeled, and bolted in every way imaginable, followed by a careful combination of machine and hand assembly.
As we moved further into the factory, it became clear that YG’s love of aluminum and attention to detail extend to every part of the speaker—cones are milled from blocks of aluminum, and cabinets come in several varieties including double- and even triple-walled aluminum enclosures. All aluminum shavings are collected and recycled by the machine shop, and in general, YG seems to have very little waste—operating more like a sustainability-minded tech company than a boutique luxury goods brand.
As An Aside
I need to take a small detour here to say that although I’m not at liberty to divulge much about the technical aspects of the YG crossovers, these are absolutely some of the best-built and most carefully designed crossovers in the industry. Fabulous work that goes unseen is a chief indicator of dedication to the craft, because the end user will really never see it. You do it because it matters and you can take pride in the work. Kudos to YG in this department.
A Highly Technical Overhaul and Major Sonic Improvements
When it comes to the sonic and technical improvements that have been made under the new company ownership, Duncan further explained to us that finite element modeling and a variety of other sophisticated measurement methods have been applied to nearly every part and surface of the speakers. Complex ridges, asymmetrical waveguides, delicate tweeter lattices, and even structural supports for driver cones are just a handful of the numerous updates that have been made.
The result, as experienced in YG’s listening room with massive Burmester amplifiers, is an extremely quiet speaker that departs from the YG sound of yore. To me, there is a body, fullness, and density to the sound that I often found missing with past speakers from the brand. Dynamics, low-end, and general sweetness of midrange and treble presentation are all excellent and plentiful, and have placed YG Acoustics, in my mind, among a small handful of brands that make the very finest loudspeakers available today.
Excellence in the Peaks Series and In-House Production
Down to the Peaks series, this attention to detail and willingness to alter and improve upon the existing technologies are serving YG well. Even in the most affordably priced Peaks speaker, there were levels of engineering thoughtfulness and ingenuity that I have seldom seen on speakers many times the price. Equally impressive is YG’s ability to do so much in-house, from the machining to crossover assembly, to cabinet milling and right up to final speaker assembly. It’s rare to see a company that has this much control over every step of the process. Add to this a remarkable degree of automation for an audio company, and although the final speakers are hand-assembled by skilled workers, the consistency demonstrated by Duncan was among the highest I’ve yet seen.
Connecting with the Team
Taking a quick lunch break from the buffet of manufacturing details, we enjoyed some pizza and a listening session with the factory workers and Duncan, where a few guys shared a tune they’ve been listening to lately. As guests, we were graciously allowed to share a tune that hopefully did not embarrass us. Although I suspect obsessed audiophilia is not in the veins of every worker there, it seems that every one of them loves music and enjoys hearing the fruits of their labor in action. I have always felt it makes a brand easier to love when the folks making the stuff are nice, passionate about what they do, and engaged at least a little with what they’re making. I’m grateful to Duncan for giving us a peek inside the passion these YG employees bring to the product.
Reflections and Future Outlook
After a long day touring the manufacturing facilities, observing machines, listening in the YG room, and generally filling my brain with all manner of fascinating wisdom and tidbits from Duncan and the crew at YG, we ended with a very nice but simpler affair—a dinner of classic Denver-style Mexican cuisine. In a way, this meal in all of its quirks was a parallel for YG—new and old in conversation, high-tech and human passion meeting to form something beautiful in a way that is all its own. If you get a chance to meet Duncan and hear any of the new generation of YG speakers, I highly suggest you take it, like we did in our review of the excellent Carmel 3 loudspeaker. I see nothing but sunny skies and smooth slopes ahead for this particular American speaker manufacturer.
