16 Australian Hi-Fi
YG ACOUSTICS HAILEY 2
YGAcousticshasreleasedupgradedversionsofitspopularHailey
loudspeakerdesigns.ThethreenewHailey2 modelsfeaturethesame
‘BilletDome’tweeterand‘ViseCoil’inductortechnologiesusedinYG
Acoustics’flagshiploudspeakers.
TheHailey2.2is a three-wayfloorstander,theHailey2.1is a two-
waystandmount,andtheHailey2Ris a two-waycompactspeaker
designedforrear/side-channeluseinmulti-channelsystemsthatcanbe
wallmounted.AllweredevelopedbyYGAcoustics’founderandchief
engineerYoavGeva. TheBilletDometweeteris a softdomedesign
thatusesa stiff,lightaluminiumframe.‘Althoughit weighsonly 30
milligramsitscriticalsectionsare 14 timesthickerthana typicalharddome,
soitsstructuralstrengthis vastlysuperiorevento domesmadeof themost
exotichardmaterials,’ saysGeva.‘Thisremarkabletweeterendstheage-old
debateof harddomeversussoftdome,bycombiningthebestof both.’
‘ThetechnologiesYoavhasusedintheHailey2 mirrorthoseof the
recentlyreleasedSonja2, andtheindustrialdesignis absolutelystunning,’
saidBorisGranovsky, ofAbsoluteHiEnd,whichdistributesYG
AcousticsinAustralia.‘Theresultis astonishingsonicperformance,only
exceededbytheSonja2 andSonjaXVina gorgeousmarvelof engineering
andcraftsmanship.’
YGAcoustics’ViseCoilinductorsareCNC-woundin-house,then
encasedina vise-likemilledstructurethatYGclaimsreducesresidual
lossesby 24 percentandimproveslinearityby 60 percent.‘Theresult
is bettercontroloverthewoofer,fargreaterbassimpact,andaneasierjob
formostamplifiers,’ saidGranovsky.
YGAcousticssaysthefrequencyresponseofallthreemodelsex-
tendsfrom20Hzto20kHz±1dBandthattheuseableresponseextends
toabove40kHz.Allmodelsalsosharethesamesensitivityof87dBSPL
(@1m/2.83V)andthesamenominalimpedanceof4Ω.
Formoreinformation,contactAbsoluteHiEndon
(04) 88777999 orwww.absolutehiend.comTECHDAS AIR FORCE ZERO TURNTABLE
TechDas has released its Air Force Zero turntable, which weighs around
half a tonne and will sell in Australia for a $570,000. The Air Force
Zero’s designer, Hideaki Nishikawa, is currently on a world tour to
personally present the new turntable at the world’s major hi-fi shows
this year, including the Munich High End show, the Hong Kong High
End Show and the Tokyo International Audio Show. ‘The Air Force Zero
is a ground-breaking and highly advanced system developed in the pursuit of
the ultimate in analog sound reproduction,’ said Nishikawa. ‘Our goal for
the Air Force Series is to precisely extract and reproduce all information em-
bedded in the groove, with nothing added or sacrificed, which is one reason
that all our models, including the AF Zero, feature vacuum LP hold-down.
For me, the new Air Force Zero is the ultimate solution for analog sound
reproduction.’
Platter drive (33.33 and 45 rpm) to the Air
Force Zero is supplied by a 3-phase 12-pole a.c.
synchronous motor manufactured by German
motor specialist Papst. It has five separate
platters, three of which are made from stain-
less steel, one from gunmetal and one from
powder sintered tungsten. Together, the five
platters weigh 118kg. They’re supported by a
stainless steel frame that weighs 100kg. Hideaki
Nishikawa is one of Japan’s best-known high-
end audio engineers, having started his career
with Stax in 1964. He joined Micro Seiki in
1980, during which time he was responsible
for the famous Micro Seiki SX-8000. He left
Stax in 1989 to found Stellavox, which he later
renamed Stella. Nishikawa founded TechDas as
a ‘house brand’ for Stella in 2010.
HereinAustralia,TechDasis distributedbyPureMusicGroup.
WarwickFreemantle, ofPureMusicGroup,saysthathe’stak-
ingordersfortheAirForceZeronow,withdeliveriesscheduledfor
September2019.‘I aminformedthatonlyfortyturntableswillbebuilt,’ he
said,‘andthatinadditionto thetungstenplatteroption,youcanalsooption
intungstentonearmbasesinsteadof thesuppliedtitaniumbases.’ Dueto
itspriceandlimitedavailabilty,PureMusicGroupwillbestockingthe
AirForceZeroas‘pre-order-only’item,buttheTechDasAF-2,TechDas
AF-3PremiumandTechDasAF-5areallstockmodels.For more information, contact Pure Music Group on
(04) 0950 4805 or at http://www.puremusicgroup.comYG ACOUSTICS |TECHDAS