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Chris Martens’ Best of CES 2017: Traditional Two-Channel Audio

 

by  Chris Martens | Jan 24, 2017

 

 

YG Sonja XV, Audionet electronics, Kronos analogue components & Kubala-Sosna Realization cables

 

To my ears, the YG Acoustics/Audionet/Kronos/Kubala-Sosna system delivered the best all-round sound I heard at CES. The system consisted of a pair of YG Acoustics Sonja XV loudspeakers; an Audionet preamplifier, phonostage, DAC, and appropriate sets of Audionet monoblock amplifiers; a Kronos turntable and tonearm fitted with an Airtight phono cartridge, and cabling in the form of Kubala-Sosna’s new flagship Realization-series cables.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Frankly, I had heard nearly this same system upon the occasion of the Sonja XV roll-out even a few months ago, but that was before Kubala-Sosna launched its new Realization cables, which have managed to unlock a whole new level of performance from the system. What is difficult to describe is the way the YG/Audionet/Kronos/Kubala-Sosna combination manages, on the one hand, to extract even the most minute textural and dynamic details and subtleties from recordings, complete with the requisite Tachyon-quick transients speeds, yet does so with effortless grace and an uncanny quality of unforced smoothness. Honestly, I think most hi-fi aficionados have grown so accustomed to thinking of trace amounts of edginess as being the inevitable artifacts that accompany most high-resolution designs that they simply don’t know what to do when confronted with a system that can provide copious s quantities of valuable musical information sans the usual sharp edges. Yet that is precisely what this amazing system does so very well.

 

Indeed, this system is so smooth, so gracious, and so effortless that it’s tempting to think, “Well, perhaps this mean it’s leaving a bit of desirable resolution on the table.” But, the longer you listen to the system, the more obvious it becomes that there really is nothing missing. Instead, this system is that rare sonic beast that—in sonic terms—gives you all gain and essentially no pain. Once you grasp that, the system begs for further listening, inviting you to exploring recordings as never before, but without having to ‘brace for impact’ with rough edges that, as if by magic, never seem to materialize.

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