Aktchi - True words. Everyone seems to have pet picks. The thing is, they're all doing business the same way and ultimately have the same problems.
I've heard both ways and stated which I prefer. I doubt Zu will dominate the marketplace here the way they do, along with SET amps, in Asia.
Again with the single drivers - these aren't Lowthers or Fostexes. They don't have those limitations but manage to keep the strengths of other single driver speakers.
Zu has committed cheerleaders for a reason - they deserve to be heard, figuratively and literally. |
All,
I have owned the Druids, Druids MK2, Currently own Druids MK4 & Definions MK1.
I auditioned the big name store brands in the Druid price range prior to purchasing them (B&W, Revel, Martin Logan, Sonus Fabre, Energy, etc.) The Druids are truly an amzing speaker for their price range.
If you want more listening info, I have posted more than my share of listening impressions at audiocircle.
Everyone has their own preferences, and the Zu's might not be for everyone, but don't unfairly judge until a product until you actually hear them for yourself. |
Miklorsmith: There are about 99 makes out there that somebody or other considers "only one I'd consider" or "best for money". People are entitled to such opinions, and to even change them. However, I find it a little odd that people forget or don't know that single driver speakers have existed for decades. No one make has dominated the market, but then it is not clear at all if Zu's will do that either.
Macrojack: I have not heard Druids, but then I am not the one who promotes them at every appropriate and inappropriate occasion; also, there are too many speakers out there for anyone to have heard them. Contrary to your posture that you were merely answering Saki70's question, you took yet another opportunity to announce how "revolutionary" Druids are, without facing the fact that single-driver speakers have existed for decades. Even the designers don't seem as enchanted with Druids as you are, for they seem to keep modifying it and also to work on newer models. Not quite the confidence of Quad 57 team, is it?
This is not to say that the Zu driver or the Druid speaker is not good. However, I would wait for the designers to settle on a design themselves, and also for a few side by side comparisons. In the meantime I urge everyone to take this kind of single-minded promotion of a single brand with a big and much-deserved grain of salt. |
Aktchi -
I know nothing about Druids that the Zu boys do not, but I know a great deal more about them than you do. The poster asked a question of me directly and I answered it to the best of my ability. I believe Mike answered your questions in his post with the exception of the one about new models.
Zu is always experimenting and trying ways to improve upon what has been accomplished so far. This includes their products and those of everyone else. The Druid I own is the Mark IV. That is because there were other Druids that preceeded it. There may very well be a Mark V someday but this post is not about comparing one Zu speaker to another.
Saki70 wanted to know about the Druid compared to other speakers he might consider purchasing.
A couple of hours ago FedEx showed up at my door with the new Zu Mini Method subwoofer. I have only just hooked it up but I found immediately that it is a lethal device. It was turned up to about Noon or One O'clock and it almost brought the house down on me. I backed it down to about Ten O'clock and was able to blend it with the Druids almost immediately. For anyone interested I will include more info later. For now I will just say that it employs two of the ten inch woofers from the Def Pro's and that they are powered and fire forward. I called Sean about it and he said that they use one in their 4000 sq. ft. warehouse and it is more than enough. Looks like the stakes just got a lot higher around here in the area of resonance control. |
Having owned Druids, Definitions, and now the Definition Pro's, I'll chime in.
The Definitions add very deep bass that the Druids don't by themselves. They also sound bigger but need more room to breathe. Resolution is greater but at the expense of being a bit pickier with upstream components.
These speakers have a house sound that is different from what conventional speakers offer. Yes, there have been other single-driver speakers but none that I know of will play very loudly with authority on challenging fare. Shout is a concern with hi-efficiency and single-driver speakers while the Druids especially are immune to this issue.
The Druids aren't perfect but I wouldn't consider anything else in its price range for my own tastes. Uniformity of tone, preservation of instrumental relationships, low- and high-level dynamic presentation, midrange bliss, and PRAT are all incredible with these speakers. |
Macrojack: I am only talking theoretically, but even besides Quad, have there not been single driver speakers like Lowthers all along? Somehow they remained a niche albeit with small loyal fan base. Also, if Druids are so good, why does company offer a more expensive Definition, and why is it working on even other models? You know the Quad had just one model for years at a time. Just being the Devil's advocate here but this is the natural question, what do you know about Druid's that its makers don't? |
In the past ten years I have used as my primary speakers:
Goldmund Dialogues
NHT 2.9
Avalon Eclipse
Aerial Acoustics 10T
Vandertseen 3
Vision Acoustics Soloist
All of the above are very good speakers and those of you who are familiar with these names can see that I wandered.
The reason that the Zu Druid has my attention and allegiance at this point has to do with its personality and presentation.
The Druid is very efficient due to its lack of a power usurping crossover network and it is faultlessly coherent for the same reason. These two points conjoined with the advantages provided by its price/performance ratio provide you with an opportunity to incresae the performance level of your amplification.
I have gotten stunning results from the Onix SP-3 driving my Druids.
The new design of the Druid allows you to listen to your music from 35 hz to 12 khz without the splicing between drivers that a crossover necessitates. You see, when the network divides and assigns highs to tweeters and mids to mids, etc. it is breaking the music into segments to be reproduced by specialized drivers. The result is that of several drivers reproducing their parts as cohesively as the designer can bring them together. His problem lies in trying to provide a seamless overlap that doesn't create excessive energy at overlapping frequencies and concurrently trying to cause all drivers to reproduce in phase with each other. When you use only one driver, all of these problems are completely avoided. The presentation of the Zu Druid is as cohesive and coherent as that of the original QUAD 57. It too is a single full range driver. What the Druid provides beyond that QUAD is the ability to play at 130 db without breaking up and to reach both lower and higher and to provide dynamics that may not be available from anything but a horn. These speakers are absolutely amazing.
After a 3 year search for a pair of the aforementioned Goldmund speakers, I found a pair and proceeded to build my final system around them. I posted that they were the speakers to keep for life. Then a friend told me about the Zu reviews on 6moons.com and I began reading. My interest was piqued and I drove to Ogden, Utah to see for myself and bought a pair on the spot. When I came home I put the Goldmunds up for sale and luckily was able to trade them for granite countertops with undermount basins in both my bathrooms plus some cash. They're pretty good speakers, after all.
It is difficult for me to distinguish myself from the multitude of other experts on this forum who all hold opinions and I can think of no reason why you should believe me over them but the answer lies near at hand. Call Zu and have them send you a pair. If after 60 days you aren't sure, Zu will extend the evaluation period for you. I'm betting it won't take 10 minutes for you to "get it" even though break in is a fairly protracted process. The worst that can happen is you rent them for 90 days for the price of round trip shipping. Certainly you've lost more than that on previous audio gambles. I know I have.
Did I answer your questions adequately? |
Ssglx ; Thanks for the insight. I have tried IC's and a PC for the CDP with good results . I have decent speaker cables and may try your suggestion for a change there . It is not that I am not happy with my current set up but more that I want to make everything better . I recently upgraded my CDP and received excellent results ! Now I am looking for that same result with a speaker upgrade ! How much better can it get ? Wow what a loaded question !!!
Macrojack ; If you have had a different pair of speakers prior to the Druids what would you say was the difference between them ? How has the Druids' 'new design' affected the final outcome of the music ?
Thank you. |
I have received Druids from Zu but did not send them back although the physical task of packing and returning them does not seem at all daunting........other than the pain of separation.
I haven't heard the speakers you're considering against the Druids so I can't provide any comparison commentary for you. Apparently you've already heard positives about them and that's why they are on your list.
The thing to understand is that Zu is not an ordinary speaker. The design they apply is not a slight variation on established designs but a ground up rewrite of nearly everything. The cabinet, wiring, drivers are all original.
The Zu Druid represents a shift in speaker design that will influence the entire industry. |
My suggestion of a cheaper route to try (if you haven't already). CABLES. Quite frankly I've found with my Soliloquy 5.0's and my equipment, that I can vary the sound immensely with just a change of IC or speaker cables. Others may have other experience, and possibly I lucked into some excellent budget equipment, but I have no need/desire to upgrade anything because I can get the sound that I want with just cable changes. |
Thorman ; Thank you . I had considered the Merlins very seriously and have talked to Bobby at length. I don't think that the Merlins are the speaker for my type of music .
Pardales ; I see that you have the jr's. Are you able to compare them to any of these in my list ?
I am holding their trial offer in the back of my mind, it is quite a hassle to do the return thing though . But you are certainly correct about the 'in home' audition being the only way to go ! Thanks.
Any more suggestions ? |
I believe Zu offers an in home trial that allows you to return the speakers ifyou don't like them. In home trials are the only way to know. |
Sound to me like a perfect fit would be a Merlin. I would asuume these should work perfectly in the room size you list.I realize you have other speaker interests,but figure i'd throwin the Merlin anyway.... |
