Zu Omen Dirty Weekend Setup tips

I don’t consider myself a bass head, I just know over time I must have become accustomed to speakers with decent low end extension, no matter the genre. I had some large stand mounts for years long ago that rolled off around 50Hz. They were great. My decision to go to full range floorstanders had nothing to do with blowing a woofer with over exuberant volume.

No point in drawing conclusions early. That’s the whole point of the 60 day trial. I think my long term plan may involve some subs in a 2nd system. There are a lot of speakers I want to try over the next few years that have limited low end. I’ll have to figure that out when I get to it.

All the advice is appreciated. I’m the kind of person that prefers to learn from other people’s mistakes rather than my own. Doesn’t always work out that way. Sounds like there will be plenty of opportunities for both. 

Sounds like you're going into it with the right attitude.  I'm like you, I want avoid obvious mistakes but that's such a subjective thing.  One person's mistake is another's epiphany.  

Once I got over my initial concerns about low end extension, I started noticing the detail in the mid and upper mid range that I hadn't had with my AEs.  To me, that's a better foundation to build off than what I had before.

I'd demoed B&W 685s2; Paradigm Monitor 9v7; and Golden Ear Aon 3 against my Acoustic Energy Aegis 3 and while all were better performing to some degree, none of them impressed me enough to consider them worthwhile upgrades for the cost.

I don't think the DWs are a revelation or anything but I like them compared to all those speakers above and, to my tastes, their aesthetic is worlds better.

One more note about deep bass on the DW.  Zu bass in general is pretty tight and resolving, more so than most speakers, and yes, sometimes the speakers can sound a bit thin and/or lean on rock.  However IMO Zu's respond very well to EQ.  Before investing in subs give your amp's tone controls a try, or think about something like a Schiit Loki.  I use bass EQ with my Zu's and I've never wished for a sub.  

Thanks whoopycat, that's great information.  I'll play with my Anthem's tone controls and maybe even set up some custom ARC curves.

I've looked at the Loki more than once, so that's also an interesting idea.  I'd honestly rather not add a sub so you've given me some food for thought.

So the tip that nobody gave me was don’t be a dumbass and leave your amp on the 4 ohm taps. I can now confirm that the 8 ohm taps definitely sound better. I’ll probably listen for a bit before trying the 16 ohm taps. Nominal spec is 12 ohm but characteristic is 14 ohm according to the chart Zu has with some of their snubbing resistors. Still a tube noob so I’m not used to so many choices.
The carpet spikes are LONG. Fully inserted the spike protrudes about 1-1/2”. So I’ve got plenty of clearance under. Initial bass response is fine. I know intellectually that I’m missing that little last bit of extension that I had before and it would probably show up on a test sweep but why would I listen to test tones already. I have some spare shelves for those IKEA CD racks that were recently discontinued. I bet sliding one under each finger port would provide the opposite extreme for comparison. But not yet. Leonard Cohen is currently telling me I’m in the right ball park as is. I heard a more hiss as a Ben Folds Five track trailed off than I’m used to, but the decibel meter tells me I’ve turned the volume up about 10dB more than usual without noticing. Coincidentally the DW are about 10dB more efficient than my Dynaudio Audience 82 are. These are easy to play loud. Good thing I’m in a house and not an apartment. I’m missing the deepest bass a little with Meshell Ndegeocello but not enough to stop the volume from creeping up again. Got swept up in a Saint Saëns cello concerto. I had a feeling cello would shine on the Zu. I don’t need a speaker to shake the earth or rattle the windows but you can’t roll off too early and miss the upright bass in a small jazz ensemble either. This wasn’t initially intended to be a play by play of my first listening session. There’s some Stanley Clarke, Propellerheads, Johnny Cash, Iggy Pop, Gillian Welch, Dizzy Gillespie, Police, Portishead and it’s going to be a long night. I should pour a drink and put down my phone. I think I’m getting an idea what people mean by Zu sound. "I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship."
If it matters:
Primaluna DP HP
Schiit Saga+ (meant to be temporary, but I like)
Oppo BDP-105
Bluesound Node 2i
Cables are some Cullen and some Zu.