getting serious about Zu Audio speakers

[Deleted User]

Druid in fact. Any thoughts on these? (or any other from the manufacturer)
I'm using 703's and a Hsu sub for 2 channel at the moment.

mrbiron

Never heard of them. They sound like a white van product.

Never heard the Druids. Only the Omens.....

[Deleted User]

I would be cramming them into the "studio."
finicky amps and room?

Thanks Dskip. You are right of course.

madmax

I love my Omen Def Zu! I have a couple pair of the Druids for surrounds, they didn't impress me nearly as much as the Def. They are a little amp finicky, some amps sound great, some not.

[Deleted User]

Thanks @madmax !

mrbiron

DSkip wrote: »

Get your ears on a pair first. I haven't heard them, but they have a reputation for being very polarizing.

Please elaborate on this "polarized" you speak of. There are a million terms you guys use to describe the sound and that one is new to me. Help a brother out!

[Deleted User]

I'll speak for others and say he meant polarizing as far as people, not the speakers themselves. Either you LOVE them or you HATE them. To reach for the Omen def
would be to blow the budget...

mrbiron

Ooooohhhh......well, I guess I'm on the like side of the fence.

I can only tell you this. I had polks in my 2chan for a long time and then on a whim decided to try Zu sight unseen/heard. The highs and mid's sound good but what caught me off guard was how tight the bass was.

Now, I am using their entry level and the Druids appear to be 4 slices above. I say go for it! Try something different. Separate yourself from the masses

Dawgfish

I have a pair Omens just like Mr. Biron's, same finish and all. I listened to them last night and was reminded just how good they sound. They are very lively and dynamic. They are not the last word on resolution, but they are fun, have very good imaging, good soundstage, and are lightning fast. Drums explode with these which I absolutely love! I expect the Druids will have much better resolution. I also have some 703s and several pairs of SDAs. I like to rotate the ZUs in with them and they are a nice change up.

Like the others have said, they are very picky with regards to amps. They like triode and single ended tube amps as well as class a solid state. The Peachtree stuff like Mr. Biron is running is known to be a really good match with ZUs also. I say go for it! They are very popular and you probably won't have any problem selling them if you find they are not your cup of tea.

[Deleted User]

Thanks @dawgfish and everyone! I'm going to see if I can set up a listen.

shadowlight

@rednedtugent, where are you located? If you are anywhere close to NJ you are more than welcome to come listen to my setup. I have Druid V setup as 2-channel and Omen Def Mk.1B with upgraded tweeter network that I use in HT setup. Forgot to mention that Zu also has a 60 day in home trial.

As other folks have mentioned it is either you love them or hate them. I also use to own a Soul Superfly Mk.1B which I traded in for the Druid V, which has the most refined sound of the 3 that I have owned/own. The Soul Superfly was perfect for my spare bedroom setup but did not do well when I moved them to a room which was 30' long, 14' wide and 9' height.

mhardy6647

I'm thinking that some day, if I ever complete my sisyphean task of evaluating the sonic performance of his Reduction, :-P that I might ought to invite myself down to mrbiron's and give a listen to his Zus.

I have a preconceived notion of what I think they must sound like, and a preconceived response -- but I've NEVER actually heard a pair, so I am really totally in the dark about these until and unless I (ever) hear a pair. :- )

mrbiron

I'd welcome you into my home with the only caveat being you can't use words like sisyphean in my presence.

That and i'd have to make sure the Mrs and my other 1-1/2 roommates aren't around. I guess the 1/2 would be with the Mrs. by default...

[Deleted User]

Thanks! Cleveland. Haven't made it back to NJ in a decade.
Thanks for the insight!

shadowlight wrote: »

@rednedtugent, where are you located? If you are anywhere close to NJ you are more than welcome to come listen to my setup. I have Druid V setup as 2-channel and Omen Def Mk.1B with upgraded tweeter network that I use in HT setup. Forgot to mention that Zu also has a 60 day in home trial.

As other folks have mentioned it is either you love them or hate them. I also use to own a Soul Superfly Mk.1B which I traded in for the Druid V, which has the most refined sound of the 3 that I have owned/own. The Soul Superfly was perfect for my spare bedroom setup but did not do well when I moved them to a room which was 30' long, 14' wide and 9' height.

mhardy6647

mrbiron wrote: »

I'd welcome you into my home with the only caveat being you can't use words like sisyphean in my presence.

That and i'd have to make sure the Mrs and my other 1-1/2 roommates aren't around. I guess the 1/2 would be with the Mrs. by default...

Wait! I clean up pretty good; I really do!

:-p

madmax

With regards to amps paired with the ZU, much of what I would have thought would have sounded great did not and some of what I thought would sound worst was actually much better. All great amps, the speakers are just finnicky that way. This may be why some see them as polarizing. If you hear them on an amp that doesn't synergize with them you would be very disappointed.

mhardy6647

Here's an (apparently contentious, in some circles) impedance curve for an early version of the Druid.
Actually, it doesn't look particularly remarkable nor particularly treacherous to me..


http://www.soundstagenetwork.com/measurements/zucable_druid/

Here's the curve for the Zu Essence loudspeakers, from "Stereophile"


http://www.stereophile.com/content/zu-essence-loudspeaker-measurements#4zbyZkbxkwteZX8j.97

[Deleted User]

the one's I'm looking at are IV's so they are 12 ohm speakers according to the specs I found... I think the new ones are 16 ohms! food for thought. Thanks!

mhardy6647

High impedance ain't a bad thing -- 'specially if one's using a vacuum tube amplifier (either transformer-coupled or OTL).
Actually, not a bad thing for a soiled state amplifier, either, as the current requirements will be less than for a lower-impedance loudspeaker (although 2.83 VAC will only be 1/2 watt relative to 1 watt into an 8 ohm load; a 3 dB difference in sensitivity).

See if you can find a measured impedance curve for 'em -- the nominal impedance for most loudspeakers (except planars) doesn't tell one much. Note that the minimum impedance of that Zu Essence that Stereophile tested is up around 20 kHz. That's unusual (unless the speaker under test is, e.g., a Quad ESL-57).

mrbiron

When I had a dialogue back and forth with Sean Casey, he was raving about how much he enjoyed the pairing Zu with First Watt amps. I know I still have the emails with specifics and will try to dig them up later. 20ish watts of class A...

mhardy6647

Makes sense to me a priori.
The first watt is the most important, it does most of the work in most folks' systems (even today).
Nelson & I agree 'bout that. ;- )

mhardy6647

... of course, I am sitting here tonight listening to Grateful Dead on licorice pizza via a soiled state phono preamp & power amplifier through 1970s monkey coffins, so whadda I know?

007 by Mark Hardy, on Flickr

[Deleted User]

I'm working on this garbage pick. So far Channel 1 works just fine. (300w)

mhardy6647

the first watt on the Crown might (might) be a little sketchy, though...

madmax

My ZU really synergizes with these. Honest! http://www.parts-express.com/dayton-audio-dta-120-class-t-mini-amplifier-60-wpc--300-3800

mrbiron

Whaaaaaaaa

mrbiron

http://www.ebay.com/itm/172109001287?rmvSB=true


Is this close to you?!

[Deleted User]

those were the ones I was looking at, yes.
Based on comments here I'm looking at Omen's instead.
Could be a mistake

madmax

The Druid MKIVs are not that great in a small room of say 12x15, they do much better in larger spaces, if that is a concern.

pumpkinman

@rednedtugent

Hey Red,
I've been to shadowlight's place on numerous occasions and was very pleased with his Zu's. To bad you don't live closer. He's a very generous person and a gracious host.

P-man

mrbiron

rednedtugent wrote: »

those were the ones I was looking at, yes.
Based on comments here I'm looking at Omen's instead.
Could be a mistake

The "dirty weekends" are a good value. New cabs with used drivers. They started releasing the newest version of the Omens a couple months ago. My guess is you'd might be able to get a used driver from the MK1BS which are what I have new.