Warren: Should I say anything or not? I know it will get me burnt to a crisp but I have actually heard tthese several times sans the sub. Maybe I should let these happy people celebrate without my impressions.-Steve
P.S. I have stayed out of the daily Zu threads if you noticed. |
>>First off I don't believe in the breatin idea at all. Everything electroic I own works just as it did the day I turned it on.<<
Whether you believe it or not is a personal matter but the "phemonenom" is well documented by both manufacturers and listeners. Speaker cones, capacitors among other parts all contribute to the changes that DO occur. Perhaps you are simply not able to discern them. |
Drubin and Reubent have a good point. First off I don't believe in the breatin idea at all. Everything electroic I own works just as it did the day I turned it on.
What I think Drubin and Reu is getting at is the initial impression may 'fool" us into hearing the best qualities and ignoring the downside. After a few hrs, the weaknesses become apparent, maybe even days. I had a old pr of philips 2 ways, that a few DIYers said that speaker was first class in its day, back in 1980's. I got a pr of B&W's for my wife, and could haer the issues with the Philips, still I could also compare the philips to the B&W's 602's and hear their waeknesses also. My Seas Thor's reveal all the many weaknesses in both. The Philips served its useful purpose, as it was the best thing in those days going. The B&W's were a step horizontal.
Initial listenings can be deceiving. But who knows I had a friend who loved his highly colored, grainy, distorted musical sound image comming from his $20K(new $40K) used priced system.
Just give us another review in a yr from now, to see how things turn out.
It is possible this is your ideal speaker. We all have slightly different expectations.
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although i have not had the experience that you are describing, drubin, i think i know what you mean. almost like newly weds, right? things are great at first, but after a few months of being together 24/7 you start to notice the shortcoming of your partner a lot more! |
Drubin,
I have absolutely had that experience. Get a new component, call my buddy telling him it is the greatest value ever, sell the new component 2 weeks later!
This is absolutely not a commentary on Zu. I've never heard any of their products (but I'm curious!).
Enjoy,
TIC |
People often post about being impressed with a component right out of the box, and then state their expectation for even greater things once they get however many hours on the component.
I'm not a disbeliever in break in necessarily, but have you ever had the experience of something sounding its best at first and then not so magical later on? I know it's happened to me. |
After you put your Druids through some tubes, give us the scoop...warren |
warrenh,
i must admit that i originally had low expectations about mating the Druids with my low-fi HT receiver. but i talked to sean at Zu several times before i took the plunge, and he told me that he had a pair of Druids in his home and they were being used with an entry level Yamaha receiver. he told me that on a few occasions he had tried using the pre outs of his Yamaha receiver and adding a higher end tube amp, but always went back to just using the receiver!
within the next couple weeks (after the Druids get a couple hundred hours on them) i plan to buy a mid-priced 2A3 amp and see what the Druids can do with tubes. have also been considering the AES / Cary Super amp with KT88s. at this time, though, i must say that the future looks quite bright with my trusty old Denon receiver.
the curious audiophile should give a call to Zu sometime - the guys there really were quite helpful, and took lots of time on the phone with me. |
Chazzbo, you said it yourself: "...might take the dive..." Whatever you read-- will do nothing more than (motivate)you to take a listen or not. We've been around this block with these babies before on the 'gon. The 20%ers come out and usually (some haven't even heard them) beat up on the Zus. I love my Definition 1.5s. There are oodles of threads in the archives, and perhaps there is some new stuff that will come out in this thread. The Definitions have brought SET into my life. This, alone, has been a wonder and a sonic joy. The longer I own a pair of speakers (this has been my audiophoolish experience)the more likely they are to not measure up--deliver the goods. My experiences with the Def 1.5s have been just the opposite. Take the plunge. The Zu boys have a money back guarantee you can't beat with a stick. peace, warren :)
PS Skura's experience with the Druids is quite different from most. The Druids will not hold up with mediocre electronics, particularly SS. And they ain't the only one.. Hey, whatever floats your boat. |
Chazzbo,
The appeal of Zu speakers is in their holistic representation of music. Frequency accuray is sensational on Definitions, and very good on Druids. Phase coherence is about as good as you have experienced and far better than most speakers. Top-top-bottom consistency of transient behavior is uniform. And detail is revealed without sacrificing body in the tone. Add to that the ease of driving 101db/w/m speakers with relatively benign impedance curves and you have speakers that are unusually communicative of expression and intimate, but which scale spatially and dynamically to ambitious music.
I have two systems, one built around Druids and the other centered on Definitions. After over 30 years of serious involvement in hifi as hobby, and the music interests behind that, Zu speakers are among the top handful of genuine advances in fidelity I've heard in that time.
A key characteristic that drives the unusual tonal excellents and coherence to the Zu sound is absence of crossovers. You don't have to accept the tonally disruptive effects of crossovers, and the dynamic constriction they inevitably cause. Being free of crossovers can take some getting used to, as can the phase linearity of the full-range driver design, but the behavior of these design attributes is startlingly reinforcing of your illusion of musical reality from recorded performances. The jump factor of very high efficiency combined with a strong-motor driver that is as dynamically engaging as real instruments only adds to the value of Zu's speakers in an overhyped market.
Last, don't discount the contribution made by having speakers able to be driven forcefully by modest output amplifiers. Able to choose power amplifers on the strict merits of sonic signature and not on power, Zu owners have unusual latitude to find their sound.
Phil |
Funny these Zu's get about 80% "greatets thiong since AC power" and other 20% hate them.Had one guy say he went to dealership after not getting them to sound OK and he and his buddy just couldn't get them to soundecentt at all.Don't think I have seen this passion exceptt in all positive reviews of Plinius where it's not a product it's a cult movement.Butt some just don't cotton which makes me want to here them all the more.6moons.com editor took $10K pair to replace his $22K Avategarde horns which is quite something.When i get scratch might take dive just wonder when they will fill the $2,800 to $10K gap in their line.If anybody can explain in basics terms why all the hub bub I'd like to know.
Enjoy those who (and hate those who do-some aspects of scociety arestill free).
Chazzbo |
"if I give them a spin in there?" Skuras, after you hook those babies up to your real rig: Your Coincidents should fetch a pretty good price on the 'gon. If you think the Druids sounds great with that _____you hooked them up to, fasten your seatbelt. let us know after you've done them justice with something serious... |
