Another Zu Thread

Undertow,

Thanks...you have probably already tried this but you may find hanging an ornamental rug or acoustic foam on the wall between and behind your speakers will help to add more depth to the sound stage. I was actually attempting to resolve some refections coming out of my fireplace (which is between/behind the speakers) by placing some thick foam in the opening, not only did I deaden the refections, I also I improved the depth. Now when I listen to John Rutter's Requiem the soprano sounds 40 feet away not 12...

Another interesting thing I forgot to mention is that in some cases I have unexpectedly found the best sound (flattest low freq. from 300 down) is in the very back of the room, it could be anywhere from 4 to 12 inches from the back wall. I was helping a friend set up a pair of Druids this weekend, we were using the long wall in a...let's say 16'X 13' room. When we initially set up the room, the listening position was approximately 2.5 feet from the back wall. I had the speakers about 101 inches apart center to center and 116 inches for tweeter to listening position and the the Druids were maybe 1.5 ft from the back wall. I was having problems with the frequency response being all over the place with readings showing +/- 9 db and shallow sound stage. I started moving the rta mic forward and backward to find the best spot (lack of room spikes and peaks) and sure enough we were able to move the chair back about 1.5 feet and bring the Druids out the same, bingo we had it...flat from 28Hz to 12,000Hz +/- 3 db and an improved sound stage. However to do this we had to have a friend bring over some acoustic treatment to put on the back wall.

Rule of thumb: Never forget the room is part of the speaker system too!

Again...just wanting to be helpful! This is only an opinion.

Ron

Rwwms, ha funny you say that see my system link :)

Hi Ron:

That's interesting, as I also find that the further away I sit from the Druids the better integrated the sound.

Thanks for your thoughtful posts on placement and room interaction!

Regards,

Max

Thanks very much to several of the insightful posts, Ron and Phil in particular. I know there is no substitute for auditioning in one's own room, but some of the details have really helped me believe that the Definitions would work great in my room and I should give them a test run.

I'm curious about the Def Pros - they have been mentioned to me, both in this thread and in a couple very helpful emails I have received on the topic, and I have read the stuff on 6moons about them. I'm left with fairly different viewpoints on their necessity vs. the standard Definition - some seem to think that, while the Definition is great in its own right, the Def Pros are inevitable, while others (including, apparently, Zu themselves) think the standard Definitions should suffice in all but the most particular situation. I appreciate the inputs I've had, and am not asking for those to be repeated, but if anybody has further experience with the two, I'd love to hear about them. The Zu website doesn't really address the Pros.

Well...I guess I will jump in again. There is only two reasons that I would need the Def Pro from a sonic viewpoint.

1. If you have a room with a problem node, however these are usually in the 80hz to 250hz range. There is really not much you can do about a suckout but if you have a bump or higher that normal roll off in the room 40 hz and below the Pro's are the way to go.

2. If you want to improve on the amplification driving the woofers.

The trick is, if you can do it, empty the room. Test it and set it up, bring in one piece of furniture at a time and make sure the furniture is not the problem. Again you might be surprised by tightly stretched upholstery/leather.

Ron