ZU AUDIO SYSTEM SALE (6 PAIRS: EBAY) - Page 2

They all sold in 2 days so it's a mute point.

Willpower sucks.


Mitch

I own a pair of Zu Druids (the current version Mk. IV), and I am amazed by the negativity expressed towards them in this thread. I am by no means a fanboy, but I feel obligated to add another real world owner's observations. I couldn't care less how they measure, all I care about is how they sound. While there is a relationship between the two, there are numerous variables in both the measurement and listening scenarios, and the Druids are especially susceptible to those very variables.

The Druids are extremely sensitive to room acoustics and placement, more so than any other speakers I have ever owned. (I have seven pairs of speakers in my home right now, and have had more than 20 over the decades.) When I got the Druids, I spent days tweaking their position, and in one room of my home (with a sloping low ceiling), I could not find any satisfactory position. The tonal balance (low, mid, high) is dramatically affected by the toe-in angle. With respect to positioning, the Druids are very much like planar speakers. When it's right, it's magic. But it's hard to get it right.

The Druids are extremely sensitive to upstream electronics. With 100+ dB sensitivity, any change anywhere in the system becomes instantly noticeable. Some high end electronics and cables that sounded great with other speakers weren't up to the task of feeding the Druids.

The greatest strength of the Druids is reproducing vocals, which are uncannily realistic. Their high sensitivity enables them to reveal subtleties beyond most other speakers.

Their bass is limited in quantity, but high in quality. (No loose, flabby bass in these suckers.) If you're after loads of bass, add a subwoofer, or get a different speaker.

In certain speaker positions, the Druids' treble can be curiously extended and rolled off at the same time. That is, the treble seems light in comparison to the midrange, but it includes high frequency content that is completely missing when listening to the same music on other speakers.

Overall, in the right position in the right room with the right system, the Druids sound better than any other speaker I've heard. But if anything is even slightly out of whack, the Druids can sound like crap. As such, I don't think anyone should rightly make comments like "the Druids sound like crap," but it might be fair to say, "in the system I heard them with, in the room I heard them in, in the position I heard them in, they sounded like crap..." Like a fine sports car, they are quite finicky.

I can understand why some people wouldn't like them, but to call them "complete garbage" is doing a gross injustice to the Zu Druids.

nice to see you are satisfied Bostonears.

FWIW i changed the placement of the Mini-Method this weekend, it moved to the corner of the room on the right side caddycornered so it is firing directly into the center of the room, totally expansive now and since it is not between the two front speakers the imaging of the fronts has opened up quite a bit more.

for me the real tonality test of speakers/headphones is horn reproduction. horns on the Druids are very convincing.

I listened to them for a good half hour at RMAF 2006, and I was absolutely floored. I brought my sound engineer with me and he agreed. Some of the best sound of the show. If they measure poorly, then I no longer trust measurements like I once did. Literally, they were engaging in a way I have never heard before. Everyone absolutely needs to hear so obviously polarizing a speaker.

I am getting great sound out of my Druids now, but I wouldn't quite describe myself as satisfied. More like I have been able to achieve satisfactory results after learning and adapting to the Druids' quirks.