YG ACOUSTICS Sonja 1.2
Floorstanding loudspeakers
Unlike working with MDF boards machining and milling aluminum into highly precise parts is a breeze - provided that one owns state-of-the-art CNC machines and has unlimited source of aluminum billets and plates. A good part of Sonja 1.2's pricing reflects this mechanical part as it is an all-aluminum speaker. But it would be an understatement to say that Sonjas are only about enclosures. Internal wiring is done by Kimber Select cables and all drivers are among the best available today.
Function and form
It is not necessary to buy the reviewed speaker as it is: you can start with Sonja 1.1 that is a 2-way monitor, then add a bass module and put the monitor atop to get the Sonja 1.2, or add another bass module to get full range Sonja 1.3.
The bass and midrange BilletCore units are made in-house: the drivers are precisely machined out of massive slabs of aircraft-grade aluminum. This unique process should provide "overwhelmingly superior dynamics, musical delicacy and low distortion" due to high rigidity. The final 150mm cone (or 260mm for the woofer) is 2mm thick and weighs 8 grams, it is anodized after that and equipped with a motor assembly. us se pak anodizuje a osazuje motorem. YG Acoustics claims that the break up mode of the midrange driver is around 10kHz which is outside its working range (the crossover frequency is 1.75kHz). A silk-dome tweeter is the only non-metallic thing on the Sonja 1.2. It is nested in a shallow waveguide.
The YG Scoustics Sonja 1.2 measures 129 x 33 x 63cm and weighs respectable 135kg; the upper module alone weighs 57kg. This is by 50% heavier beast than my own Wilson Audio Sasha W/P or tall Dynaudio Evidence Master! The YG Acoustics are probably the most dense speakers I ever had in my listening room.
Bass management
I measured the bottom end extension of the YG Acoustics Sonja 1.2s with Nordost's Set Up & Tuning Disc. The full bass was heard down to 35Hz. Should you need more than another bass module gets you lower and to the Sonja 1.3.
However, I loved the bass as it was - athletic, lean, accurate and fast, definitely different from my resident Wilson Audio Sasha W/P that is muscular instead of lean. The Sasha W/P is like a boxer, the Sonja 1.2 is like an atlhete.
Clarity & delicacy
The Sonja 1.2s played with authority as well as they exhibited amazing transparency. Tranzient attacks of acoustic instruments were precise like they were cut out by a laser ray. The sounds did not flow into the room, they just were there. I could not hear any compression, strain or cogestion, call it whatever you like. As if the sound did not have to travel through air, there was no friction. Is it because of high rigidity of the aluminum-milled enclosures or due to the aluminum-machined cones. The percussive sounds like different wooden blocks, tabla or fingers tapping a guitar were served like audiophile candies, the Sonja 1.2s were like a magnifying glass.
Tonal accuracy
It is absolutely essential to have a stable and powerful amplifier with the Sonja 1.2s. I tried tubed Leben CS 300XS integrated amplfier that I had on loan but it was not a good combination. The sensitivity of the Sonja 1.2s is 84dB and 2x15 watts of the Leben were not sufficient to control the aluminum membranes. Class-A Nagra 300i (2x20W) was another amplifier that I had on hand and another one that I felt not to be a good match. The all new Accuphase E-600 integrated amp (2x50W of continuous power and 120W of peak power in Class A) was much better at higher than moderate listening levels but when I tried to play louder I could detect unused dynamic potential of the Sonja 1.2s. It was only with my resident and time-tested Spectral DMA-250 (2x350W) when the speakers really came alive (though I preferred the E-600's top end). The silk dome tweeter (virtually identical to the one which Audiodrom reviewed in excellent Franco Serblin Accordo) is very fine and dynamic with a hint of organic sweetness. The Sonja's waveguide gives it a bit more forward and analytic feel. When I listened to Japanese XRCD remasters many of them were over the top with highs. This is not the fault of the YG Acoustics, it due to the rather overt the top mastering of these remasters. On lesser systems they sound good but really transparent systems show that XRCD is business rather than audiophile greatness.
Spatial resolution
If someone stretched a thin curtain in front of the speakers I would have no chance to identify the speakers' positions. They dissapeared in the sound field they generated. I liked them more along the width of my room where side-wall reflections were minimized and the soundstage was near to what I call holographic.
Associated components
- Sources: TW-Acustic Raven One turntable with Graham Phantom tonearm, Transfiguration Orpheus cartridge, phono Gruensch Reference Phonostage MCS, Qualia Indigo DAC
- Amplifiers: Spectral DMA-250, Accuphase E-600, Leben CS 300XS, Nagra 300i
- Interconnects and speaker cables: Kubala-Sosna Elation, MIT MA, MIT MA-X XLR, MIT V2.1 Oracle
Gallery
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