I had a pair of Zu Druids with the 08 Upgrade Kit. I sold them in August and bought the Zu Essence. In my opinion, the Essence is a much improved speaker over the Druid and is more of a full-range speaker. The Essence has much improved top end (sparkling highs) and bottom end (down to about 28 Hz before rolloff), plus the midrange is improved. They are much less critical regarding room placement, have a wider dispersion/sweet spot, and improved soundstage (depth of imaging). Well worth the effort to make the change from my perspective.
