Zu Druid MK4/2013 upgrade install

I thought I'd post some pics when doing the upgrade.

I've had Zu Druid MK4/08 for over 5 yrs, I love the unique sound and look. I Decided to upgrade them and do some cabinet mods with Zus help. I also have 2 x mini method subs which I upgraded the amps to the new Def 4 Hypex V 5 versions ($600 ea). Made a huge difference to already awesome sounding Subs.

I purchased the whole Zu system in 2009 from a guy on Agon who shipped then to Zu for a free checkover. Zu then organised the shipping to Australia then gave me the balanced of the 5yr warranty.......amazing service on a second hand system!!!!

I switched the 10" FRDs over to the new Nano 16ohm versions, pretty easy for anyone BUT then the fun began!!! What I wasn't prepared for was the size and weight of the Radian tweeter. The Zu 10" FRD is already a beast of a driver when compared to most "Hi Fi " drivers with a heavy 60oz magnet and built to last a lifetime. The Radian tweeter is almost the same diameter but much heavier at nearly 8kgs (20lbs) each.

The $1505 upgrade involves some jigsawing to make room for the new custom machined tweeter lens along with some dexterous Clarity cap Hi pass network placement. All drivers and networks have had 600hrs burn in before matching to 0.5% and shipping. 4 New dense open celled foam strips were glued into place using spray on 3M contact per speaker. My cabinets were already painted with 5kg of Pyrotek Soundpaint per speaker. The new Druid cabinets are multi composite so I decided to "ADD" to mine.

I decided to take my Druid griewe wedge loading setup (with Seans help) from a few years ago to the next level after studying the Druid MK5 literature. This involved some 6mm AL plated and a jigsaw plus some open celled "Sonnex" foam. Sean suggested bonding it to the base of the Druids with 2mm Neoprene rather than glue. Sean is very enthusiastic about DIY to his speakers. He offers lots of information and ideas, this is awesome as how may speaker manufacturers offer upgrades to 2008 model speakers?????

I contacted Earle (Weston Acoustics) about a custom Topaz KT120. He was fantastic as Usual......he wound the transformers (23 leaves) to the impedance specs of the 16 ohm 101db Druids. His amplifier is truly a work of art with upgraded caps, resistors, potentiometer etc and a joy to have in the house!!

The music emanating from this system has improved beyond all my expectations. Wider, deeper, more detail and live music dynamics. These Druids are loving the 45wpc classA Topaz. The radian tweeter captivates me with its speed and detail, the nano FRDs are so dynamic but composed at all volumes. I've been leaving the system on for 10 hrs at a time with the Wife and kids turning it up for once................I've never heard anything like it :) plus its been a fun "hands on "project thats given me a sense of ownership thats pretty rare nowadays.........

After a few weeks of burn in and speaker placements I'm totally blown away with how much better it sounds.........Better everywhere, the image much wider but the interments are focussed, details keep startling and jumping out at me. Bass is tighter and integrates better thanks to the PEQ on the new sub amps. Treble is the best I've ever heard.

I didn't do the backplate upgrade ($480) with new event wire internals as Sean suggested it was only worth it if i intended to buy Event speaker cables and have them terminated with speakon connectors. My existing cables are copper lugged Libtecs so the stay with the cardas copper base plate and Ibis internals.

The improvement has been so great that I'm going to order the lot now......Oh yeah!!!!

I've got a load of pictures if I could find out how to load them !!