YBA Designs

Spiros, it wasn't enough that you were supporting the French when good American high end companies like Bose were barely making it, now you are supporting the French supporting the Taiwanese. And clearly my good American interconnects are too declasse for this YBA gear or you would have tried them by now. You probably drink Dom while shopping for all those third world Asian goods at Wal-Mart. Why take the long way around, just adopt, it's a much less circuitous route.

Marty, I'm not sure what the focus of your post is. But I can tell you that I am terribly excited about the new tuner that I will soon be receiving from the Iranian Ministry of Audio. I think the combo will work great on the new, high-end depleted uraniam isolation platforms that I received yesterday from the A.Q. Khan Audio. The only thing that's held up at customs right now are the nifty new power chords from Pyongyang Hi-Fi Accessories.

I have both pieces here. They take a long time to break-in... Even after three hundred hours it wasn't at its best. Probably have about 500 hours before everything opened up, and I saw what any excitement was about. Their integrated amplifier has a very natural, free-flowing, larger than life quality. The CD player has the as-advertised lovely SACDesque midrange. Deep bass is not as prominent as I'd like on the CD player, for this msrp. Microdynamics are outstanding, though, and it doesn't fall apart on complex material. The two latter areas best the Jungson Magic Boat CD player that I've also been listening to.

The only major issues I have are that the remote is an option, and that the contrast can't be adjusted. RCA jacks and speaker binding posts could be higher quality, but I think that they put the money to better use on the chassis, both from a cosmetic and vibration proofing standpoint. Also, the overall sound really comes together only when you play it loud. Total package is quite attractive, however, for its price range. Really gives you a taste of the high-end sonically and visually. Last words of advice; add a subwoofer, and better interconnects/speaker cables/power cables are worth the price tag when it comes to getting the most out of the YBA Design System.

Cambiocorsa: Any word on when the matching tuner might show up?

Wish I knew. I've heard that a preamplifier and power amplifier will also be offered as part of the YBA Design range. In what succession they'll hit the market; your guess would be as good as mine.

How did the YBA Design gear compare to your Audio Refinement pieces? These Design pieces certainly have a very nice "executive system" look to them, don't they.