Zu def 4 are they the best speaker made?

Unless you are playing them outside, the room has the most impact on how a system will perform. That's the bottom line.

maybe these speakers just work with the op's set up.  I've had a few speakers in my systems over the last 30+ years.

I currently run a fully modified and upgraded pair of SoundLab A1's augmented with a pair of Sunfire Subrosa subs.

so far, that's been "the best" speaker set up I've had. Before that it was a pair of Carver Amazings... so as someone else pointed out.. it is all about room interaction and context, plus your personal preferences..

Yes

I’ve owned druid mk3, omen, and now the definition pro with upgraded drivers and tweeters. the older druid’s didn’t work for me, not sure why, i think zu hadn’t really figuired out the design of the version of the driver they were using at the time it or possibly was a mismatchwith my tact millenium and I wasn’t willing to give up my millenium at the tim. omen’s were fine but at that pricepoint you can’t expect too much. My definition pro’s are just about a perfect match with my First Watt Sit-2 amp and ps audio perfectwave dac. have owned them for a few years and and will keep them for many more. The newest generation of the drivers that Zu is using today are pretty spot as far as transparency and detail is concerned.

I heard the Druid MK VI’s recently and they sound really really good. One negative I could discern, and this is something that I remember from my old druid’s, is that to me, snare’s just don’t sound right. There’s a grit and courseness to snare drum’s that doesn’t sound natural. Bottom end extension with no accompanying subwoofer was impressive. I actually thought they were running a sub and they weren’t. Was told they spent quite a lot of time dialing in the speaker placement. They can’t touch my Definition Pro’s tho’. not even close.

With all that, what I truly don’t understand are the price increases that have occured over the years. Mk3/4 druid’s retailed at $3500(I paid 1900 on sale and they were worth 1900 not 3500 imo), MK 5 was something like 6500? And MK6 are now a whopping 10K! which is older Definition territory. I want to know what kinda special sauce they are putting in that s--- to justify the steep increases. Def’s are now 17K! Zu used to be about somewhat affordable audio, no longer it seems.

Best speaker .I would rephrase it most musical Louddpeaker, Hardly 
Not even in the top 20. There are way too many  high quality
Reference speakers out there.

I owned a pair of Union's. When hooked up to Atma Ma-1's and an MP-3, they gave my Vandy Treo's a pretty good run for the money.
However, they lacked a certain depth- hard to put into words. 
Perhaps the Definition's are a better speaker, but I'll stick with my Vandy's for my main room.
My office has a pair of Omen Bookshelf speakers (MK2). 
I like them.
B

I have one of the first pairs of Definition 4s (having upgraded from the Def 2s). Sean delivered them and set them up personally; cannot ask for more. I have been lucky with great customer service from Zu, Ancient Audio (Krakow, Poland), and DejaVu Audio (Vienna, VA).  All three seem to be on a mission to make their customers happy. I have tried several SETs and have settled on a 300b SET as a good compromise between sufficient power (no, I have not tried an 845 SET) and warmth. 

As I have mentioned in other posts, it was a real plus to be able to audition Zu speakers at home - and for a protracted period of time. I cannot imagine spending 10k+ after hearing speakers only at a show - regardless of how good they sounded. Conversely, I would never dismiss or form any negative opinion about any speaker based on how it sounded at one or even many shows. The home and show environments are so different. 

RE best speakers made? uh... nope. Probablay not.

In Good Fellas Peci confronted another uy about his commentary on 'funny'. Funny How?


best ever how? Value? estehtics? materials? Performance alone? etc.


I’ve noticed the greatest percentage of the time, and I mean, like 90 -97% of the time, the retail price on the high end audio device is pretty close to how it performs. Of course, ultra ultra high end stuff has a different measuring stick.

Example, $10K speakers are usually better than $5K speakers. I don’t have to know a lot more initially than what playing field things are on financially. Eventually I will need to become more vested.

I usually look for a great sound first. Normally it means there is a good setup happening. It means too, the speakers are most capable and removed from further suspicion of being a weak link.

I try to listen in as close to the speakers as I can get, reasonably. Staying just a few feet away, and it doesn’t matter much as to which speaker. Although I will do the same thing with both. I’m only looking for tonality, richness, naturalness, speed. Nothing from the staging. Not looking for imaging. Listening for what low end extension is or may be there.

I’m trying to remove the room as much as I can from the sounds the speaker can generate. If, when, or where ever possible. This routine isn’t likely done at a group showing I’m pretty sure.

If a setup using the same speakers repeatedly sounds bad or just off in a few areas, it is hard to decide what is amiss.

But it only takes one instance of speakers providing great sonics to indicate it is not the fault of the speakers when they are not sounding great. Speakers can be bi polar “di ploes’, but they are not manic. They are merely the true slaves of a system.

Great speakers tell us what is happening up stream. The room thru the speakers is telling you how much they are being held back or up, or supported.

I don’t feel bad rooms make great speakers sound bad. Bad rooms make great speakers not sound as good as they could or should.

The real issue is applying appropriate blame.

Abrupt run in periods, bad power, mismatched amps & speaker combos, these items can really adversely affect speaker performance regardless the room.

If all 3 facets of the demonstration are at odds, poor amp to speaker match, power line issues, and unfriendly room are present, chances are the presentation ain’t gonna be good despite the expense of the various products..

Traveling gear takes time to reacquire its legs. Posts have been made on these pages reflecting such things as altitude making or forcing chages to the equipment. I’ve noticed too, merely mixing in and out various ICs can take a full day for them to resettle in.

If one stops to really consider all the various factors that need to fall in line for a recently arranged and ‘temporary’ audio system to perform great, well, it’s a mix of good stuff, lots of exp, a bit of luck, and if it all comes off sounding great, my hat’s off to whomever formulated the setup..

I would prefer to have my gear setup as a static display, if the sound of it all playing was not on par with its usual nature.

I have a pair of Def 4s and they sound like the signal coming into them. I think Sean showcases the dynamics of the speaker, which is great but not necessarily by itself an end all goal for most. 
They can sound any way you want them to sound. With the right signal they are warm and revealing at the same time. I have actually gone too far and had them sound too warm, and I am in the camp of liking slightly warm presentation. It is hard to conceive warm and dynamic but it happens in this case. 

Evaluating components at a show can be a bit tricky.  If the sound is really good, you can be sure that the speakers are at least capable of delivering good sound.  But, if they sound bad, it is hard to know if the set up is the cause.  If the same speakers sound bad at different shows and in multiple rooms, that does give you a hint.  I have heard the Def 4s at several shows and in many rooms.  Often, it does sound quite aggressive and unpleasant.  But, in a few setups, it sounded quite good, which, to me, means it is capable of sounding good.  

For some reason, most of the setups I heard used powerful solid state amps.  I would think, given the efficiency of the speaker, it would be something that could be matched to lower-powered tube gear (my preference).

Johnk nominates the 80+ year old Shearer system as the best ever made.  It certainly is a contender, as is a number of Western Electric systems, and more modern clones of such classic systems.  I have been listening a lot to custom systems being built these days by Deja Vu Audio utilizing an assortment of drivers from Western Electric, YL, UPC, etc. I like what can be done with such drivers.  The current build that is being fine tuned utilizes 18" Jensen field-coil woofers (reconed with original, unused cones and pleated surround), a WE 713a compression driver and WE 32 horn, and RP302 tweeter, and a vintage WE crossover.  I wish everyone could get a chance to hear this sort of system.  It would certainly surprise those who hate horn systems based on their exposure to Klipsch or common Altec systems.

contuzzi79 posts08-22-2017 12:40amI heard Zu speakers at Axpona twice (two different years) and I couldn’t believe how bad they sounded. I visited the room multiple times on multiple days and each time it was a walk in walk out. The people I was with all agreed.


This matches my experience exactly. I wanted to like them and couldn't stand to stay in the room. There were people in there smiling, and I still can't figure out why.

Has Zu started doing something different recently? people I trust have raved about the product but only in the last year or two. 

speakers are 'personal' because all of them have severe compromises - even the top notch ones

each person then gets to select which compromises bother them the least

that said, ZU seems to evoke strong pro- and anti- responses -- more so than most brands 

Hey, didn't some guy file some patents recently that made all other loudspeakers obsolete? I thought everybody knew that.

Yeah, obsolete on arrival and has only one tweeter, so sad!

"Hey, didn't some guy file some patents recently that made all other loudspeakers obsolete? I thought everybody knew that."

I love it.

Kenny.

This was the best made and to this day is near impossible to beat. http://www.audioheritage.org/html/profiles/lmco/shearer.htm

The single driver high efficiency speakers have a sound that is unique to that design. Some like it some don't. I have only enjoyed them in smaller, more intimate, near field low volume listening settings. The larger multi driver power hungry speakers have a completely different application. I like them both in two different rooms.

When someone says something is the best or among the best of anything, that statement only has meaning if there is context.  What else did the person hear and find wanting compared to that product?  There is no way for anyone to have seriously auditioned anything but a small fraction of what is available, but still, it would help to know what else was heard and why those do not measure up.  

I have heard the Zu Def 4 and they are, in many respects, very good speakers--very clear and dynamic sounding.  I like that kind of sound myself.  But, if someone thought that the transient attack was too hard and brittle sounding, I would understand that sentiment too. Not that many commercial speakers are as dynamic as the Zu, so I can understand if someone is swept away by hearing them.  But, it would be interesting to know how many other systems with that kind of dynamics and clarity the OP had heard, e.g., Classic Audio Reproduction field-coil speakers, a good vintage Western Electric horn system, modern horn system with ALE or Cogent or Goto drivers, Acapella speakers, Horning speakers?  This list can go on and on.

Hey, didn't some guy file some patents recently that made all other loudspeakers obsolete?  I thought everybody knew that.

Nothing wrong with liking your new loudspeakers and letting the world know about it.  What would it all be about if we didn't have enthusiasm?

I heard Zu speakers at Axpona twice (two different years) and I couldn’t believe how bad they sounded. I visited the room multiple times on multiple days and each time it was a walk in walk out. The people I was with all agreed.

I have heard a few ZU speakers in my audio lifetime and I would say that to me  they are forward sounding and bright. Not for me.

Same here.  I've known Sean for a long time and think he's a brilliant designer and a wonderful guy.  I have just never warmed up to his speakers and I've heard them with numerous combinations of gear.  My Zu Audio/Denon cartridge is da bomb though.

Funny that one of the posters above mention panel speakers...yeah that's me, but I have owned a lot of others too.

IMHO, speakers are the one thing, (well, let's say mostly the one thing) that are more personal, (as far as sound quality goes) than any other component.  And are usually the hottest debated and stood up for...

Big Zu fan myself and still own a modified Druid.

It’s funny how I just got into a big argument along the same lines with some panel speaker owners. This is not to say that other speakers don’t make great music but there is a realistic quality that Zu speakers get right that others just don’t. Not many prioritize this quality in their system. I think Cobra has address this much better than anyone else.

I said in my opinion, you didn't,

your probably dealers for way way more expensive speakers

I have also heard a few ZU speakers and none of them sounded bright or forward. It’s all about the combination of components used, system senergy.

52tiger, agree, the Def 4 is one of the most lifelike speakers I have ever heard and I have listened to many due to working in the audio industry for ~25 years.

I have heard a few ZU speakers in my audio lifetime and I would say that to me  they are forward sounding and bright.  Not for me.

Lots of xlnt speakers less than $16k, much less over that

I agree, it sounds like an ad from a paid fan boy

Nice ad
 There is no such thing as the best anything in high end audio
Alan