I've listened to YG Kipods and Anats extensively at several shows. And I just spent 3 hours alone in a dealer's showroom listening to S3 and S5 (both MkIIs). The YGs were in a large 50x30 foot room. The experience was the life-like realism of literally having the performers in the room. Both S series Magicos, on the other hand, were set up in a long (15x35) 11.1 AV room treated throughout with absorption materials....the room was totally dead....and the speakers sounded like near-field recording studio monitors - accurate as could be but rather lifeless.
THE POINT: Whatever anyone's experience is with ANY high-end speaker is totally contingent upon the individual parts of the entire system (ie, electronics, cables, tweaks, etc) AND THE INHERENT CHARACTERISTICS OF THE ROOM IN WHICH YOU EXPERIENCED THE ENTIRE SYSTEM IN. I'd go so far to suggest that any stereo audio system regardless of cost, that resides in a room that was not specifically designed for audio playback, will short change the listener of the system's capabilities in such an "ideal" room. Makes ya wonder how many times we have all jumped onto the audio merry-go-round to switch out gear in search of that elusive sound we crave, only to once again be disappointed due to an imperfect listening environment, that our wives may not allow us to change.
