YG Acoustics Hailey 1.2

Interesting comments. The bass on the S5 should be quite a bit more substantial than the one the YG. You are talking about 2X10” vs 1X10”, both in sealed box (I even think these are both made by Scan Speak, with some cone modification by YG/Magico) . The YG, are also less efficient and will have less power handling capabilities due to that. Something was off with the setup you heard. I agree on the look to some degree, a bit bulky looking, but for the money, hard to bit.

Fargo, the S5 is tuned differently than the Hailey 1.2. The S5 was designed to be a bit warmer and more laid back in presentation than the Q3, yet have a lower center of gravity with more bass presence. Overall the S5 is a well balanced and very coherent speaker. The S5's bass is accurate & follows the music without dominating the frequency spectrum. When the music calls for it, the S5's can "freaking pound" as Jeff Fritz remarked on first audition, but can also render layering and terrific inner detail within the bass frequencies if the accompanying equipment and source material are up to scratch.

The Hailey 1.2's certainly move plenty of air & go deep in the bass due to the design of the speaker. The top section is a complete 2 way speaker (Hailey 1.1), with a sub-woofer module bolted on which makes it the 1.2. The sub-module is focused on the low bass region & part of the mid-bass region, crossing over at 65Hz, and YG use a 7.25" bass midrange to handle the remaining mid-bass, upper bass & midrange. And to these ears that's where the S5's come into their own. The S5's M380 carbon nano-tech midrange which utilizes a dual neodymium, underhung motor system with pure titanium voice coil former is the same midrange, albeit tuned to the S5, as the Q3 & is capable of midrange magic, especially on jazz voice. Here the Hailey's can't quite replicate the same luscious vocals, warmth or musicality as the S5's midrange in my view.

To me, midrange drivers should focused on the critical midband. The S5's crossover to the midrange at 200Hz and hand over to the tweeter at about 2kHz, meaning it is a true midrange driver, not bass midrange like the Hailey. The Hailey's drivers are certainly fast and very low distortion, and they do indeed sound well balanced, if a little lively. You can see and hear the money in them. However at the end of the day, the two speakers sound very different and are likely to appeal to equally divergent tastes. And there is also the small matter of a $10k price difference.

General comment re the lack of imagination on box design by YG(and also Magico). With all the bragging about technical capabilities and manufacturing tolerances why not a bit of creativity in design. Why not put these "5 axis" computer controlled wizards to better use. They could have a sculpted face - and use no more material. I have to think Revels Salon 2's face design is far more "technically appropriate". Magico's huge flat faces are reminiscent of 60's and 70's deign. Even JBL's 250 Ti's were more stylish; with technical merit to the design as well (although not fully optimized).
I have to think the front elevations of speakers will soon be a merited target of improvement by both these companies as the benefits of Revel Salon 2's design are indisputable. (Even Green Mountain Audio has had much more progressive design ideas. I can't imagine why they haven't managed flat frequency response however).

Ptss, I guess beauty is in the eyes of the beholder. YG Hailey and Magico S5 are both sculpted designs. S5 less so, but Magico still use a curved aluminium cabinet, and it has curved corners at the front to eliminate diffraction. The design was intentional to reduce cost vs the Q series, whilst approaching the Q series performance at a more accessible price. If Magico had made S5 like the M Project speakers, the S5's would have cost between $50-$60k. Anyway, you don't just sit and look at speakers..you play music. And whilst the Ultima Salon 2 is a good speaker, you can't compare it to the S5 which has a computer-modelled 1/2" thick heavily braced extruded aluminum cabinet and superior drivers (including a Q-series Nano-tech midrange) made to very tight tolerances. Doug Schneider conceded it was a better speaker than the Salon 2 in his review for Soundstage. With YG, you either like the design or hate it. But the engineering and fit and finish are beyond reproach. Different horses for different courses as they say.

Thank you, Melbguy1. I did not realize that the YG is essentially a 2 way with a sub. In that case, the right comparison will be to the Magico Q1 with a Qsub.
I recently heard the Qsub and was extremely impressed.