The SoundStage! Network

YG Acoustics, makers of the $107,000-per-pair Anat Reference II loudspeaker that they claim in their marketing literature to "The best loudspeaker on Earth," has released its lowest-priced loudspeaker to date: the Carmel, which is priced at $18,000 USD per pair.

The Carmel is a two-way, all-aluminum floorstanding loudspeaker using aircraft-grade panels that the company builds entirely in its facility in Arvada, Colorado, USA. The drivers are from Scan-Speak of Denmark. According to the company's press release, the Carmel's cabinet includes “four-axis milling technology" and "precision CNC-ground and hardened enclosure panels." Like all YG speakers, the Carmel's crossover has been designed using the company's proprietary software that allows for the optimization of frequency response and phase, and has a machined waveguide that surrounds the tweeter that improves efficiency as well as power handling and optimizes dispersion.

The Carmel will make its debut at CES 2010 (January 7-10) in Las Vegas at the Venetian Convention Center, room Titian 2201B.

YG Acoustics website