Question for Zu Druid owners...

Macrojack, I'll post an impressions thread here whenever I eventually do get the setup running. I wouldn't have such a problem with the lack of a remote if I weren't using my computer as source (feeding a Bel Canto DAC2). I will have my entire CD collection at my fingertips and rather than adjust the volume in the digital domain (by using the volume control in Foobar) I wanted to be able to adjust the volume on the fly for all the different CD's I have archived in FLAC. I currently run this setup through a Singlepower MPX3 and I find myself changing the volume a few notches up or down all the time because I tend to skip between albums based on my mood. To me at least, this was what made the remote control somewhat of a necessity. Also, that wooden remote on the Unico is pretty damn cool, so simple yet so well-designed.

Hi Glitch,
I'm in western Colorado about 300 miles from the Zu factory. You needn't worry about your matchup. The Druids will work fine with anything that has sufficient power and as I stated earlier that isn't a very demanding matter. However, they are brutally revealing and they will definitely show you the insides of your amp on the back wall in 3 dimensions. The Unico will surely be a great match. Plug and play.
By the way, I went from a Rowland Concerto preamp to my SP-3 and I gulped hard more than once at the thought of giving up my remote. However, I listened for a lot of years without one in the 70s and 80s, and it really isn't a bad idea for me to haul my butt off the couch periodically. Gotta change the record anyway.
Let me know if you're headed West. I'm pretty well cured of the East.
Tom

Hey macrojack, thanks for the advice. I looked at the SP3 for a long time but I decided against it because remote control functionality was a big factor for me (I'm lazy, plus the Unico radio remote works through walls which is nice) and also I wanted to avoid having to deal with so many tubes. It is certainly a gorgeous amp and has gotten uniformly great reviews, but the Unico really caught my eye for some reason.

For one thing, the Unico just uses two ECC82's in the input stage which makes it easy to tube roll and easy to set and forget, so to speak. I also wanted to get some of the convenience of SS and some of the SS slam into my music, and I am really interested to hear how the Unico and Druids pair up as to my knowledge nobody has tried them together yet. Out of curiosity, where do you live? I'm gonna have my setup finished in Washington DC by mid-June if everything goes according to schedule.

I too am unfamiliar with the Unico but I power my Druids with an Onix/Melody SP-3. It's a 38 watt per channel tubed integrated and the level of performance is staggering. I actually bought my Onix from one of the guys at Zu. It mates very well. Anything with tubes from 30 watts up will drive the hell out of Druids. I also own an ASL Orchid with 3.2 watts per channel and it sounds heavenly but lacks punch. Go to AV123.com and check out the SP-3. Maybe you can get an idea there as to how it compares to your Unico.

Thanks for the info. Yeah I figured that with the Druids, the Unico would be able to really pump some dynamic music through them. I am even considering upgrading the Unico to Level 2 by Underwood Hifi. I'm pretty sure I'll do this eventually, but I want to see how the Druids sound on the stock Unico first.

I owned the Druids and haven't heard this combination. But, I'd bet it would be sweet. The Druids love tubes and don't hate power. Actually, they will CRANK if called upon.

The Unico would be a bona fide muscle amp with Druids.