Tokyo 2017

YG Acoustics Introduces Sonja XVJr. Speaker At Tokyo International Audio Show

Michael Fremer  |  Oct 1, 2017

At the 2017 Tokyo International Audio Show YG Acoustics introduced a new, smaller version of its 4 piece XV speaker system first shown at CES 2017. The new XVJr. has a different name in Japan because "Jr." has a negative connotation there.

The new speaker includes all of the bigger speakers innovations including the company's unique tweeter that includes a soft dome under which is a thin, three spoke aluminum "spider" that the company says gives the speaker the best qualities of both hard and soft dome designs.

Designer Yoav Geva described the tweeter and the manufacturing difficulties involved, which includes a high failure rate in the machining of the aluminum "spider". Getting a good one was difficult he said, but well worth the benefits. The new XVJr. speaker costs $189,000

COMMENTS
Ortofan's picture
Submitted by Ortofan on Mon, 2017-10-02 03:42

... a pair of these speakers or a Mercedes S550 AND a BMW 750i.

Michael Fremer's picture
Submitted by Michael Fremer on Mon, 2017-10-02 15:59
If you have the resources, all three!
Ortofan's picture
Submitted by Ortofan on Mon, 2017-10-02 17:35

... the value proposition doesn't much matter.

Looking at it another way, a mere $25K will buy a pair of KEF Blade Two speakers, which according to JA have "performance that is close to the state of the art." For an extra $160K+, how much closer to the state-of-the-art does the YG speaker approach, if at all?

Wimbo's picture
Submitted by Wimbo on Mon, 2017-10-02 22:18

And please tell me, Whats The State of the Art?

JR465's picture
Submitted by JR465 on Fri, 2017-10-06 07:33

Im holding out for the model that is both 'state of the art' and 'world class'. THEN its checkbook time!

lap's picture
Submitted by lap on Tue, 2017-10-03 11:46

So by your logic you could get a $100,000.00 house for the price of a Mercedes S550 or actually 2 $50000.00 houses.

Ortofan's picture
Submitted by Ortofan on Tue, 2017-10-03 12:05

... comparison.
But the point was to contrast the relative complexity, material content and level of design and manufacturing effort inherent in the two cars versus the pair of speakers at approximately the same price.

isaacrivera's picture
Submitted by isaacrivera on Wed, 2017-10-04 06:19

Because it has nothing to do with amount of material and is only partially related to complexity of manufacture. A company prices to recover their R&D investment + expenses of manufacture + profit and has to project how many units it will sell and price accordingly. Lower projected sales mean higher costs of materials. In a niche hobby, that means very expensive units. Luxury cars are also a niche but still a bigger market that uses assembly line for manufacture and has a lot more leverage over scale of production than high-end audio. A pair of designer glasses costs $500 and has the same amount of material than a $0.50 toothbrush, but one will sell 50M units a year and the other 250. If YG's market research suggested they could sell twice as many units, they could buy materials much cheaper and amortize R&D investment and cost of manufacturing over many more units, bringing the price down substantially for the same product. If however, they spent 1M in R&D and they want to recover it in one year and they think they can sell 20 pairs and the cost of materials for 20 units is $500K, well, multiply 1.5M X 2 and divide by 20 and then add distribution costs and margin and dealers margin and you got yourself a very expensive speaker. I have heard YG's in the past and they sound impressive. Do they sound 10X better than the award-winning $22K Acoustic Zen Crescendo? No. Not even 2X better, but that is how the economy of diminishing returns works. If I had money to blow, I would probably get something like the YG for my system, but in the mean time there are stupendous choices for every budget and they are not that far behind in sonics.

lap's picture
Submitted by lap on Wed, 2017-10-04 07:10

Your post makes way too much sense for most people, especially when dealing with high-end audio. Another attempt to try to put it into terms the poster above might understand, is a Bugatti Veyron worth 26X his Mercedes S550? The answer, to some people.

99.9% of the commenters have not and will not hear the XV's or for that matter any of the equipment they comment on. It always makes me laugh when someone slams a product that they consider "too expensive" as if it affected their daily life in some way.

lap's picture
Submitted by lap on Wed, 2017-10-04 07:11

Your post makes way too much sense for most people, especially when dealing with high-end audio. Another attempt to try to put it into terms the poster above might understand, is a Bugatti Veyron worth 26X his Mercedes S550? The answer, to some people.

99.9% of the commenters have not and will not hear the XV's or for that matter any of the equipment they comment on. It always makes me laugh when someone slams a product that they consider "too expensive" as if it affected their daily life in some way.

Ortofan's picture
Submitted by Ortofan on Thu, 2017-10-05 17:19

... was expended to develop a "Junior" version of an existing speaker model?

isaacrivera's picture
Submitted by isaacrivera on Thu, 2017-10-05 19:07

Either of us comes up with is purely speculative. The point is product prices are not arbitrary, and yes, some brands command higher prices, but it's usually justifiable by quality, hand manufacture, service or very low production. Your perception that there is some sort of a scam is simply not understanding how it works. If a pair of speakers is priced at $200K retail, that means the dealer will probably have to pay $120K for a floor model, risking a huge amount of money so customers can audition the speaker. This pair will never make a profit and he will have to sell at least 2 pair to do so. The distributor makes the smallest cut, about 10% of the retail. So 20%, but they take a huge risk buying 10 pair and warehousing them hoping dealers will buy them. They paid $100K each. The manufacturer spent $50K on materials, R&D, equipment, engineers, factory, etc. They double their expenses to make a profit. So a $200K speaker cost $50K to make. I suppose, you do realize all of these layers are in it for profit and they deserve to be paid. This is true for everything. I was at Harry Weisfeld's home and he told me, see this $99 cartridge? It cost $15 to make. It does not matter the price of the product you are always paying for layers to do their part and they mark it up to make a profit. The good news is, otherwise you would not have access to any consumer goods. The $2000 turntable you bought? It cost $500 to make. Likewise for your BMW. It cost a fraction of retail price. The fact that YOU VALUE MORE a BMW does not make its price more appropriate. Like I said car manufacturing benefits from economies of scale in ways that high-end audio manufacturers can't with they size of their market.

Ortofan's picture
Submitted by Ortofan on Fri, 2017-10-06 01:15

... take your complaint to Steve Guttenberg, because it was good enough for him to use.
https://www.cnet.com/news/this-high-end-speaker-costs-the-same-as-a-merc...

isaacrivera's picture
Submitted by isaacrivera on Fri, 2017-10-06 07:00

I don't think it's a bad analogy, it just does not have the implications you assume. So, to illustrate it with your favorite: A Lamborghini Aventador starts at $400K. Does it cost in materials or perform 8X better than a Tesla S? Doubt it, but they will only make a few dozen of the former and pay for a level of craftsmanship that benefits less from assembly line optimization. I have tried to explain to you how it works so that you may spend less time being critical of things you do not understand and free it up for more listening to music on whatever great system you have at your acquisition capacity. What can I say. You are wrong. Switch hobbies to crochet, no price discrepancies there, you will live longer.

Stringreen's picture
Submitted by Stringreen on Tue, 2017-10-03 19:16

...just wondering how many of these will be sold.....

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