Max Weisel » Music http://maxweisel.com/blog Tue, 19 Jul 2011 03:31:12 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 YG Acoustics Carmel Loudspeakers “The Best Loudspeaker On Earth” http://maxweisel.com/blog/2010/01/yg-acoustics-carmel-loudspeakers/ http://maxweisel.com/blog/2010/01/yg-acoustics-carmel-loudspeakers/#comments Thu, 14 Jan 2010 00:12:08 +0000 Max http://maxweisel.com/blog/?p=170 Over the past few days, I’ve been at CES, the Consumer Electronics Show held in Las Vegas. With some amazing technology coming out this year, from 3D TVs to tablet netbooks, I found myself facing YG Acoustics’ Carmel loudspeakers in a high fidelity audio demonstration. This was by far the most fascinating product I had seen at the conference for a few reasons. First, and most importantly, they were the clearest sounding loudspeakers I had heard in my entire life. Hundreds of HiFi loudspeaker manufacturers were demonstrating their latest and greatest, but the response from these specific speakers was incredible. However, I found the hardware used to produce such a full and rich sound to be the most impressive. Most demonstrations had speakers containing a tweeter, a few mids/woofers and occasionally a sub woofer. The Carmel loudspeakers contained only a single tweeter/woofer pair.

The incredible volume and clarity was achieved using a simple, yet efficient design concept. A vibration-free, pressurized aircraft grade aluminum enclosure. The sealed designed offers the low friction features of an enclosure-less design, yet with the lower mechanical loss of an enclosure based design. Thus producing a full sound with little to no interference from enclosure vibration.

YG Acoustics:

“Carmel utilizes Scan-Speak drivers, modified to YG Acoustics specifications. The tweeter, which is assembled in house, is a highly modified ring-radiator type. It offers greatly extended frequency response, linearity, and power handling. The 7” woofer in the Carmel is a modified Scan-Speak Revelator and provides excellent clarity and bass extension in a compact enclosure.”

Don’t let their appearance fool you, these speakers easily compete with the sound of their larger counterparts while remaining a reasonable size for anyone. I’ve included a picture and specifications of the speakers demonstrated at the conference.

Technical Specifications

Deviation: Less than +/- 2 db in the audible band. Useable output from below 35 Hz to above 40 kHz
Filters: Proprietary DualCoherent™ crossover. Provides ultra-flat frequency response with less than 10° relative phase.
Sensitivity: 87 dB.
Impedance: 8 ohms nominal. Minimum below 4 Ohms at 4 kHz.
Dimensions: 102 cm x 28 cm x 36 cm (40.25” x 11” x 14.25”) H x W x D.
Weight: 30 kg (66 lbs) net weight per channel, 80 kg (177 lbs) shipping weight per pair.

(YG Acoustics constantly strives to update and improve existing products as well as create new products and technologies. Therefore, the specifications and construction details are subject to change without notice.)

]]> http://maxweisel.com/blog/2010/01/yg-acoustics-carmel-loudspeakers/feed/ 1 Drifting http://maxweisel.com/blog/2009/12/drifting/ http://maxweisel.com/blog/2009/12/drifting/#comments Wed, 23 Dec 2009 06:46:20 +0000 Max http://maxweisel.com/blog/?p=107 About 4 weeks ago, I saw this video of Andy Mckee playing his song titled Drifting: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ddn4MGaS3N4. I was blown away by his method of combining percussion, rhythm guitar and melody on a single instrument. The song is played in DADGAD tuning. By bringing the low E string down a step to D, power chords can be played by barring the lowest three strings (DAD) with the left hand. While bringing the high B and high E strings down a step allows them to be played openly with the song. After studying his technique, I noticed the melody of the song is played with the right hand, and the rhythm portion with the left hand. I had only been playing guitar for a month at this point, but knew this was the perfect song to cover. I spent four weeks teaching myself to play the song, and this is the end result:

If you’re interested in playing this style of music, I suggest you check out Michael Hedges. One of Mckee’s primary influences, Hedges songs include unique tunings and innovative playing styles I’ve come to enjoy.

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