YG Acoustics Hailey 1.2

Ptss, yes Magico used COMSOL computer modelling to assist in designing the S5's. The front facia is made from a solid billet of 1/2" thick CNC-machined pure T6061 aluminium which provides a very solid platform for the drivers to work in perfect piston motion as they were designed. Regarding Magico's design philosophy for the S5, Alon's aim was to approach the Q series resolution, dynamics and linearity, whilst tuning the S5's for a warmer, slightly more laid back presentation than Q3, though at a more affordable price point.

It is possible to successfully employ a wide, flat front baffle using rounded front edges and a tapered cabinet design. Infinity designed my previous Renaissance 90's in a similar way & they achieved excellent sound staging and off-axis performance! And the S5's cabinet is designed in a similar way.

I take your point about the complexity of a traditional 4th order crossover required for such a design, however the crossover used in the S5 is not a 'conventional' design. Magico use their 'Elliptical Symmetry Crossover' technology which enables them to deliver (as Martin Colloms put it) "flat pass-band responses with superior and symmetrical phase summation, and faster out-of-band roll-offs using modified 'elliptical’ filters". The beauty of this design is it allows these desirable performance parameters to be achieved with half the number of parts used in a traditional crossover.

just to get an update anybody recently reviewed the Hailey ? any opinions on it ?
2 days ago I was auditioning a full aesthetix setup and the dealer was using YG Anat III ref the sound stage was huge and deep but somewhat hollow and transparent with good micro details, bass was pretty fast and was pretty coherent with the rest of the frequencies spectrum (i have been listening all this while towards the thick and luscious sounding of dyns).
However the dealer offered me a deal for the Hailey for exactly half the price!! As he said that it was a demo set that was used recently for introduction of the Haileys in the recent AV show that was held in August.
Now that got me really curious as its a new model directly descended from its flagship model Sonja with only 3 months of usage and with a 50% discount?? I am not familiar with YG's loudspeakers it was my first time listening to it..
I did ask my dealer that i would like to audition the hailey but somehow was skeptical with this half the price deal...

I've heard the Hailey in my Dealer's treated showroom paired with a Vitus RS-100, DCS Pucini cd player & DCS Scarlatti dac. The Vitus RS-100 provided the normal Vitus hallmarks of smoothness, tonal richness, mellifluousness & non-fatiguing sound, together with excellent control. The DCS gear was certainly resolving, but I find DCS a bit analytical. Also digital volume controls have limitations. I am sure a Vitus RD-100 & RCD-101 would have had better synergy.

The Haileys are dynamic, coherent, resolving and project an expansive sound stage. The Haileys are definitely smoother sounding than earlier YG speakers thanks to newer (better) tweeters and ongoing refinement of crossovers etc. I wouldn't say as smooth or laid back in presentation as the S5's. Paired with Boulder, Spectral or Rowland, the Haileys would sound too 'metalic' and still a bit bright for my liking.

I've heard the Haileys with Lamm 2.2 mono's, Lamm LL2.1 pre & Ayon front end. In this setup, the Hailey's conveyed the warmth and tube virtues of the Lamms & sweetness of the Ayon, but was under-powered imho. The extreme resolution of these speakers and their tuning means they benefit from from either some tubes in the mix or smooth tube-like ss amps.

The best sound i've heard with YG perhaps unsurprisingly was a pair of Sonja's paired with a Vitus SS-102 amp, CH Precision D1/C1 combo & Gigawatt PC-2 EVO Power Conditioner. The SS-102's great control and wonderfully smooth, rich, effortless sound sounded great with the CH front end. The big Vitus is the only amp which i've heard tame the YG's tendency to brightness. I really enjoyed that listening session.

In summary, the Hailey is a really impressive speaker with exceptional build quality and displays similar class to the Sonja, but imho is best matched with Vitus amps. For sure CH D1/C1 works well also if your pockets are deep enough. Then again, there is the Vitus Masterpiece transport/dac ;) For me personally, I believe your system needs to be balanced. I could have bought a pair of Haileys, but that would have meant making compromises elsewhere which meant I would not have gotten the best of the speakers. Instead I went for the S5's and am building a balanced system around those speakers.