Zu Druids upgraded Vs Essence

thanks you for list of amps.

let me ask you, are any of them 50W+?

thanks you for list of amps.

let me ask you, are any of them 50W+?

Very good gopher.

interested to hear what you think.

I believe you will like Zu more than Cain in Cain as I have found I prefer Zu driver to Fostex (although Fostex has nice elements too!)

Looking forward to seeing the new Soul. I don't like hi-fi treble, which is why I got Druid Mk4 instead of Gallos etc.

And they are such interesting speakers, very glad I got them.

I'm hoping that Zu will also launch a new, cheaper sub too. Druids need stereo subs, and the methods are no longer in production.

PHIL: Hear hear on getting the right amp. I spent my budget on the speakers, so am very hard up for amp money. I have found that my 15W class-d is not good enough. There just aren't enough watts. 101db/W, or 97db/W sensitivity is fantastic, but I have a feeling that I'll get more of their dynamics with more watts, even if it's from a SS receiver.

btw. wanted to comment on Essence being more "hifi" and therefore doing better with mainstream audiophile tastes.

I agree that the "hifi" sound has exaggerated treble, which I do not like and is why I got the Druids. I hope that Zu retains some reasonably priced model that has natural HF. I also understand that more sales will help them support more models, so if this is what the market wants, stupid market for wanting it, smart Zu for serving it (I suppose).

But there is also a market segment that did not try Zu because Druids measured very badly, especially in frequency response. Both Essence and Druid have ragged frequency response, and you just cannot get there without a crossover, which would turn Zu into a conventional speaker. Although the measurement side of audiophile world and the stereophile-followers don't like each other, I think that flat frequency response tends to sound like HiFi HF at the listening position. So, the pair of antagonists are maybe closer together on something directly related to sound than they think!

I wish there was some way to measure dynamics and tone. That would give Zu some good graphs it could use in marketing.

Soul just came out.

2 versions.

I am confused by it. Essence driver loaded under horn tweeter, tapered box.

why put driver under tweeter? why not put it over, get more space, and a little more extension?

still excited to learn more

Yes, supertweeter is horn loaded though (little horn). looks same as Druid, not the ribbon on Essence.

Jsalte: very interested in what you see

Ton1313: really? have you tried them? they have essence driver so I am surprised sound i closer to druid. pls tell us more.

213Cobra: That's very cool. The tapered cabinet is interesting as it seems they have given up volume (and bass extension) for the taper. Personally, I did not like how Druids sounded at 60Hz, but I was surprised at how much port loading impacted the sound. So I am intrigued by these new cabinet design (although I still have reservations about the Essence woofer) and would be very interesting to see if it has better bass extension that the druid because it looks like it has less volume.

Gopher: I think if you use F1 for your druids and find them acceptable, then you should be OK with the souls. Personally, in my space I find I need more like 50W to get Druids to play properly. It isn't level, it is ease. I do not think Zu does themselves any favors by claiming they are good matches with flea amplification.

213cobra: I am very excited to hear them, and astonished that the smaller cabinet produces more low end extension as you say. They put measurements of the Soul on the website, and it is really flat (almost too flat) -- a stark contrast to the ragged Essence in Stereophile and the poorly measured Druid in something I forgets.

The plots look so good that I cannot beleive they are the real deal!

(Also, the very flat HF make me nervous because those tend not to sound good. but what can i say, if I was graph guy I would never try Druids which I do like).

As for amps, if I get PushPull frankly I might as well stick with solid state. The magic I hear is in SET, whether it is transistor or tube (which is why I like Nelson Pass -- they are interesting) but, although level is fine, I hear strain at 30W.

I had not realized impedence was even higher--wow!