Zu Dirty Weekend 6 went on sale today

Yup. I saw that. And he’s keeping them!  Hard to give them higher praise than that. He seemed to agree that Zu has improved the sound in all the ways they claim.

I’m eventually going to try to get my hands on a First Watt amp. They’ve always been reviewed as some of the best amplifiers for Zu speakers. It looks like from your profile pic you have a Decware Zen Triode—read nothing but good things about how it pairs with Zu for modest listening levels. 

I ordered a pair as well (the base model DW6). 

I’ve owned the Zu Omen MK II for about 5 years give or take. And it’s a truly awesome speaker. I did the same thing you did a bought them blind. I had begun getting frustrated demoing speakers from a local vendor (vendor was great but the expensive list of speakers I marched through meh). Zu speakers are not always praised for top end clarity, or super detailed hifi sound (at least their most affordable models) but what some may argue they lack there (I think they sound great top to bottom) they more than make up with their energetic dynamic and “live” presentation. Be prepared for some hate.  People who dislike them can be a judgmental bunch. I’ve happily used mine without a subwoofer and I enjoy bass especially with hip hop and the like. These are supposed to improve in every one of these new areas with the updated cabinet and port loading design.  And I have trouble finding fault with the MkII.  I’ve used them with cheap equipment and very expensive equipment. And while they will reward you when running with well matched gear, they’ll sing being driven by just about anything. 
 

Zu has a very awesome but polarizing approach and sound. Usually the people who enjoy them fall in love.  I’ve trialed a good deal of other audiophile gear from source to amp. Zu speakers help you forget about all that mess and concentrate one what’s really important…enjoying the music. 
 

I hope you’re as happy with your purchase as I know I will be. 

That’s awesome.  That finish looks so dope. Very interested to hear what you think of them.
 

 I’m tempted to upgrade to the Superfly as they have that ready to ship. I will certainly post my very novice opinions on here.  I’m planning on running them in a modest system with an Arcam SA20 fed by the co-ax on a Sonos Port pumping  Tidal. I’m sure my Benchmark Dac/preamp and Rogue Audio Stereo 100 will find there way into running them as well. 
 

Temptation is certainly trying to get the better of me on the Superfly upgrade.  They’re waiting on some parts for the base model and estimated it would be 3-4 weeks before shipment (Ordered 9/6). 

Welp couldn’t help it…
 

Upgraded to the DW6 Superfly in satin black. They should be in stock and ready to ship. If so hopefully first impressions next weekend.

My pair are inbound. Estimated delivery Thursday.  

Zu DW6 Superfly in the house.

Very brief initial impressions…Still have that awesome Zu house sound but they’re definitely more detailed and nuanced than my Omen MKII.  They already sound better than the KLH model 5s that are going back (my most recent demo). Going to run them in over the next couple of days and post more in depth thoughts and some pics Sunday. 
 

First listen they sound like winners. I think I’m going to be very happy for a very long time. 

Will do. I’m planning on doing a lot of listening this weekend. The Superfly comes with 200hrs of break in and I’m using them with other well worn in equipment.  I wish I had my Omen MKII in the same space to AB but unfortunately they’re at a buddies music studio at the moment.  However, I’ve lived with those speakers since 2016 and know them pretty darn well. I’ll do my best to post something meaningful and helpful on Sunday.  

So I’ve spent the better part of the day with these and here are my initial impressions. 
 

Again my system Sonos Port to Schiit Bifrost Multibit to Arcam SA20. Crutchfield  speaker cables and OSD interconnects. I have the satin black with the Superfly upgrade package.  
 

These seem to indeed be noticeably more detailed, and resolving. I was expecting to take a hit in detail when moving from the KLH Model 5 I’m also demoing. Not so at all. However somehow they are MUCH more forgiving than the KLH. Two very different speakers. Just an AB I happen to have in front of me at the moment. 

From memory they are also much more detailed and resolving than my Omen MKII. I venture to guess they can more rewarding/punishing of gear being used to run them. They certainly still have that Zu sound but it is more refined and elegant. Perhaps a tad less warm and fuzzy. 
 

The bass seems improved as well…in just about every way. You can increase the bass by pushing these bad boys into a corner/up against a wall. They will thump, but in a very musical and pleasing manner. 
 

They play pleasantly at low levels but really start to come alive when you push peaks into the low 80s in my listening space. 
 

I think summing it up these are definitely a step up in a lot of ways from any of the previous Omen/DW iterations.  They are certainly less fussy about placement and the dreaded gap height fiddling is moot (I have mine on Zus sources rubber isolation feet). They are not as forgiving to recordings but are more rewarding on the top end. Detail retrieval cohesion and bass have all been improved. If you’re someone looking for more refinement this might be a great spot between resolution and forgiveness. 
 

If you want a super fat warm Zu Sound that’s still here…but you might be better served with the standard DW6 and throw the $499 Superfly upgrade at some tubes/tubed equipment. 

I’m also very interested to hear what people think of the new design.  Sounds like a decent sized batch of the DW6 are going out Friday of this week. 

While you can certainly tell between poorly recorded and well recorded music, this speaker doesn’t punish bad recording the way some hifi speakers I’ve listened to do. Poorly recorded music can still be very enjoyable through these speakers. 
 

I’m probably not the best person to attest to this speakers reproduction of stringed instruments—at least those that aren’t guitar banjo or bass and the like. I don’t listen to much classical music.  I flipped some on for giggles and it sounds good to my ears but again I’d take that with a huge grain of salt. 
 

I do listen to a ton of jazz. I honestly think this is one of this speakers strongest genres. If they sound like PA speakers I wanna live at the club that has them.  I think they do a great job of recreating intimate jazz recordings. I see a lot of live music, at least I did pre Covid. And also have owned PA speakers in the past for band applications.  
 

The DW6 uses different drivers and a different cabinet than the soul 6. Steve Guttenberg seemed to favor the DW6 over the Soul. I’ve never heard the soul so I don’t know how they wound different. Just highlighting they have some very stark differences in design and seemed to sound different to Steve. 

The drivers made for Zu based on PA speakers from Eminence, but they are custom and heavily modified.  They certainly don’t sound like the few affordable PA systems I’ve known intimately.  

I actually wanted the Klipsch Forte IV and have “settled” for these Zu DW6.  While I’ve heard the Forte IV I haven’t done an extended trial as I’m not ready for that jump financially yet. But if you didn’t like those speakers you may not enjoy Zu. At least Zus more affordable offerings.  I haven’t spent any time with their more expensive offerings. However, I think in your face is a good way to describe the Zu sound.  From perusing opinions on this site and others it seems you either love or hate them. There are very few people in the middle. 
 

I haven’t spent as much time with the heritage series save a pair of 85’ Heresey’s with rebuilt crossovers from Bob Crites (I think that was his name I’d have to check?).  Those little things sing beautifully with tubes. 

Well hello from the US!  It’s a bit of a small world as my good friend who owns the studio my Zu Omen MKII live at was in the latest season of Alt for Sverige. Sucks it makes taking the dive for a pair of Zu a pain and expensive. 
 

I will have to do some more critical listening for sound staging. I’ve just been in joying the music and working between my laptop and phone.  Having said that, a good deal of Zu owners run tubes or specialty class A solid state with tube like character. As we speak I’m running them with my Benchmark Dac3 balanced to Rogue Audio Stereo 100 in triode mode. It’s certainly more power than your tube amp but a couple watts will play these to near rock concert levels. These speakers love tubes. 
 

I don’t have any experience the the Tannoy you run so unfortunate no notes there for comparison. 

I think better but a little less forgiving. I’m learning that speakers all have trade offs. I think these are making some mad smart ones for the price. 
 

I’m just being totally honest and this is an early review but my brain is a little confused by the addition of resolution WITH forgiveness from the last few speakers I’ve had through my space. 

Hell yeah!  Congrats!  These are fun speakers than wanna be turned up and party. That integrated should make some pretty music. These drivers are well known to do well with all kinds of equipment.  Very interested to hear what you think of the pairing. 

@fendersrule 

I appreciate the feedback and input. I am definitely a regular person not a pro. I’ve been hanging around these forums just reading since about 2016. I finally feel like I have enough experience to not sound like a compete idiot. 
 

Whole hearted second on the off axis. ESP if you give these speakers a few degrees of rake (tip them back a bit). I have them in a buddies very well treated recording space. It was designed and constructed by a very talented acoustic engineer…holy crap do my MKII stereo in that room. You can sit a few feet from the right or left speaker and get crazy image. A very controlled environment, but I digress. 
 

These are different. I would say more of a hifi speaker (in detail retrieval for sure). The bass is so different from the bottom loading. Def digs deeper and is more musical. But after listening to my MKII again for awhile the other day, it’s just different with the back port.

I can say with confidence that the benchmark Dac 3 balanced to rogue audio stereo 100 is a killer combo. I’m still deciding how much I like my Arcam SA20 but that’s not really a fair fight…

@slaw to each their own. If any hobby is an eye of the beholder, it is ours. 

I think in short @fendersrule you’re going to be happy. These have a very live sound.  I think they need to be carefully paired with equipment driving them…you mentioned your friend driving them with tubes. Paired with appropriately laid back gear they are just so damn fun. 
 

I’ve listened to a decent assortment of moderately priced hifi gear. These seem to strike a balance between detail and live sound. The holographic effect I think is elevated with the rear porting so I expect people to really enjoy tubes or tube pre’s with this speaker. 
 

I m super interested in what you and your friend think. I’m just a random guy on the internet who probably drinks too much. 

I have found these to be less fussy about placement than the bottom loading design of the DW/Omen.  I have my left speaker a similar distance from both back and side wall and it sounds great.  I don’t have anything impeding it against wall until several more feet, but who knows…

It may very well sound great in that corner. I’ve found most speaker placement to be a bunch of trial and error. And small movements can make a decent different. 
 

I think tilting the speaker back a few degrees might help the stereo image fill the room better so this is an additional trick you can play with the included threaded feet and locking nut. 
 

I do think my Superflys are sounding a touch smoother after several days of constant play. Whether that’s my brain or the speakers I know not…..but many believe these speakers to have long break in times.

@fendersrule 

I’m probably realistically around 100hrs at this point so it’s why I’d def qualify my review as early. Most of my playback falls with peaks in low 80s so not high intensity. 
 

looking forward to see and hearing what you think. And the others in this thread. I’ll post some pictures when I get around to hosting them somewhere. I didn’t realize you can’t just upload one directly to the thread. 

Congrats @travisg!

I’m sure that finish looks awesome!  I’m pretty limited in my listening time this week due to work too.  Sounds like we’ll have a couple people here firing up the DW6 this weekend. 
 

What gear will you be running them with?  Here’s to hoping the hours fly by…

@travisg Nice moves. From what I hear that should be an awesome pairing. 

@beetlebum 

I’ve seen this brand recommended before. The ACE looks like a pretty awesome feature packed Integrated.  Will def add those suggestions to the list to think about/trial. I would like to move away from tubes if I can find something I like…

Added one more tweak to the system…I finally broke down and bought a pair of Blue Jeans Cable Canare 4S11 speaker cables. Thus far I’ve just used cheap cables with non locking bananas. Looking forward to see if they make any difference. At the very least I I’m looking forward to my cables staying in the posts without working their way out. 
 

I am sending the Arcam SA20 back and am going to try a Cambridge Audio CXA61. I’m looking for an affordable integrated I can live with. It’s a tough act considering I’ve been driving these with way more expensive separates. I’m bored with them though and am looking forward to the next big purchase. Thinking on maybe a Dac3 ABH2 combo or an integrated from LTA. Maybe Pass or First Watt.  Decisions decisions. 

Audiophiles do a lot of amusing things and that’s def one of them. 
 

Speaker day for several of you out there. Excited for others to chime in with their thoughts. I got a stupid good deal on a Cambridge Audio CXA61 refurbished from manufacturer. I’m gonna test that out on my DW6 Superfly as soon as it comes in. I bought a refurbished AXA25 from the CA eBay store as a cheap solid state to run on my Omen MKII during parties and get togethers and that thing sounds way too good to be $180 plus shipping.  Plenty of power to rock the Zus to party sound levels.  

@davidrolon 

a very wide array of cool gear. Good luck with the setup. These are some decently heavy towers for sure. 

@fendersrule 

Congrats on a successful trip and getting them home safe. I bet thats a super cool finish. Surprised they seem bass shy…not the case at all in my space.  One would think that integrated would have plenty of low end grunt with those speaker.  Hopefully they wake up today. 

@snapsc 

I agree with @fendersrule in sounding like a large speaker. Especially once you get the peaks up over 80db. The play softly well enough but seem to come alive in my system at that volume.  Good recordings can have a very wall of sound effect. This also happens to be about where I listen most of the time.  These speakers will definitely play LOUD  

Perhaps I’m getting better bass from mine due to my listening space being small (about 12x17 and just a simple rectangle in shape with 8’ ceilings and area rug on hardwood).  I think I found a good balance for mine about 8” from back wall and about ~2/2.5’ from sidewalls.  You may be correct about them imagining better in less bass friendly positions. I haven’t done much super critical listening for sound staging. I certainly prioritized balanced bass and treble response over staging in the short time I spent positioning these speakers. 
 

Also I’d just give them some time to play in. Like we already talked these seem to take some time to really bloom. 

Also @fendersrule thats a very solid record collection. Mad props. 

@fendersrule 

What @ozzy62 said. Your vaulted ceiling and large room makes it a tougher space for the low frequencies to fill. Your listening area volume is waaaay more than mine. 
 

Here’s a quick shot. These speakers have plenty of low end in my small space.  You’re a good candidate for a sub.  I’d love to add a Zu sub eventually just for silly bass but I don’t need one. I’ve considered getting a sealed SVS as well.

@fendersrule Hell yeah!  Do it yourself subs are awesome and affordable.  I’m not familiar with the Denon sound signature. However, if I don’t like my Cambridge Audio CXA61, I may just give your Integrated a shot.   I’m looking for something solid state that’s affordable and fun for non critical listening.  Tubes certainly aren’t getting any cheaper these days and I’m not someone with a stockpile laying around.  I’m also thinking about spending way more than I should on a bunch of well known solid state amps (Pass, First Watt, McIntosh, Benchmark, Simaudio, and LTA).  Yeah LTA isn’t solid state but they’re said to have redic tube life being driven at 1/3 or so operating spec max. And I’m super curious about the output transformer-less sound that seems to be pretty universally well reviewed. I’m gonna check out some reviews of PMA series because I enjoy obsessively reading audio reviews. 
 

I’m also going to do a DIY tube amp kit once work settles down a bit. I’ve really been lusting after an Analog Ethos kit that looks simple enough to tackle in a weekend or two.  And should be a great match for the DW6. 
 

I agree the finish looks awesome in general and in your space. Supposed to be another area that they have improved.

@fendersrule 

I’m glad you’re enjoying you DW6 Superfly as much as I am!  
 

I was actually already considering doing something similar using a thin piece of board instead of coasters. I bought the rubber isolation feet and there’s not a way to take with those with stock hardware. Coasters were a good idea. I think I’m gonna cut myself a few circles of hardwood plywood I already have on hand and try that. 
 

I’m glad the eq made the music connect better. I used to turn my nose up at anything but direct but I’m coming full circle on that.  Seems like there is obviously some gear out there with decent eq tech that doesn’t alter music in any ways you don’t want it to. I’m also interested how room correction tech would sound with these Zus. 
 

Anyway thanks for the tip. I’m sure I’ll do it eventually in some form.  

Awesome @jamesecox 

glad you’re enjoying your new speakers. And definitely an interesting note on the DAC.  These seem to be playing well with quality equipment of relatively reasonable cost as Zu claims. 
 

my Cambridge Audio CXA61 comes tomorrow. I’m very interested to see how it sounds with these speakers. 

Ditto on audition if you can. Zu has a generous return policy since they know you can’t just go down to you local hifi store (if you have one) and demo. 
 

And yeah unfortunately the CXA61 lacks a phono preamp. I have a couple but will likely fire up my Schiit!  I don’t spin a ton of vinyl but certainly enjoy it as a source. So far very casually think this Cambridge sounds better with these speakers than the Arcam SA20. 
 

I don’t think it sounds as good as my Benchmark Dac3/Rogue Audio Stereo 100 combo but again not a fair fight. I’ll also get around to some blind sound level matched testing at some point to see if I can put my money where my mouth is. 
 

Happy Listening. 

@lak 

Congrats!  Super interested. I was on the fence about springing for the union.  I am loving my DW6 Superfly. Def let us know what you think. 

What’s good @davidrolon ?  How you liking your speakers/amp pairing?

Im digging the Cambridge CXA61 combo more and more. Their slightly more relaxed but detailed and accurate British sound pairs well with these speakers.  The Arcam SA20 was somewhat fatiguing for me but not at all the case with this Integrated.  Mad good deals on their eBay refurb shop too.