Rmaf 2016
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steve williams
Site Founder, Site Owner, Administrator
I've heard that Sean Casey is going to be shaking it up and making an Uber expensive Zu speaker in the $300K range. Has any one else heard this
Er, $30k Steve
This spkr I predict will get a lot of interest from those for whom Zu has never registered an interest
Some tech in them only seen in spkrs well beyond this price point
This spkr I predict will get a lot of interest from those for whom Zu has never registered an interest
Some tech in them only seen in spkrs well beyond this price point
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steve williams
Site Founder, Site Owner, Administrator
Ah, I know the one you mean
I'm sworn to secrecy
Let's put it this way, there are ABSOLUTELY no economies of scale on the one you mean Steve, hence the sky high price
For us mere mortals, the Experiences at RMAF, official launch Munich 2017, represent Zu's coming of age as a truly high end spkr manufacturer
The tech present in it, will make it truly VFM at their proposed $30k price point, with the kind of materials and engineering only seen until now in spkrs many times the price
I'm sworn to secrecy
Let's put it this way, there are ABSOLUTELY no economies of scale on the one you mean Steve, hence the sky high price
For us mere mortals, the Experiences at RMAF, official launch Munich 2017, represent Zu's coming of age as a truly high end spkr manufacturer
The tech present in it, will make it truly VFM at their proposed $30k price point, with the kind of materials and engineering only seen until now in spkrs many times the price
In parking lot after hearing this waiting for lunch... These did very well. Details late tonight.
The room sounded pretty bad to me. I spend about 20 minutes in there this afternoon. I might give it one more go in the morning before I leave for the airport tomorrow.
I've heard also
Some issues w the Peachtree integrated amp not powerful enough for the challenging space
Shame, Zu have a habit of not quite nailing shows
In the home, with the right amps and dialling in the room, they can be stellar
Some issues w the Peachtree integrated amp not powerful enough for the challenging space
Shame, Zu have a habit of not quite nailing shows
In the home, with the right amps and dialling in the room, they can be stellar
Here are my quick thoughts after returning from this years show.
I don't have a number one speaker/amp combo but would group these as my favorites:
Magico M3/ Soulution
Naim Statement/Focal Stella Utopia
Rockport/Boulder
Vandersteen 7/M7 HPA Vandersteen Amps
I wish the MSB Select DAC playing MQA files could have been set-up in a larger room like those I noted above. The room sounded very good and could have been great had it not been so room constrained.
One interesting demo was held in the Crystal Cable room #3018. Lincoln Chang(?) compared some "glass" CD's to both gold and UHQCD Japanese versions. The glass discs easily bettered the already quality versions. Notes were crisper and more defined. Now if they could only bring down the ~$1200 pricing by about $1175 dollars.
Comments:
I noticed that there were more women attending this year with their male companions. I also noticed that the age of attendees continues to increase which is very frightening for this hobby. (Maybe the younger crowd were all in the Can-Jam tents/pods)
When the renovation of the Marriott is complete I would suggest they keep all of the listening rooms in the one tower assuming there is a sufficient number of large rooms. Made it easy to start at the top and work your way down and avoid the elevator mess.
Too many major manufactures were missing. I hope they return in the future.
I don't have a number one speaker/amp combo but would group these as my favorites:
Magico M3/ Soulution
Naim Statement/Focal Stella Utopia
Rockport/Boulder
Vandersteen 7/M7 HPA Vandersteen Amps
I wish the MSB Select DAC playing MQA files could have been set-up in a larger room like those I noted above. The room sounded very good and could have been great had it not been so room constrained.
One interesting demo was held in the Crystal Cable room #3018. Lincoln Chang(?) compared some "glass" CD's to both gold and UHQCD Japanese versions. The glass discs easily bettered the already quality versions. Notes were crisper and more defined. Now if they could only bring down the ~$1200 pricing by about $1175 dollars.
Comments:
I noticed that there were more women attending this year with their male companions. I also noticed that the age of attendees continues to increase which is very frightening for this hobby. (Maybe the younger crowd were all in the Can-Jam tents/pods)
When the renovation of the Marriott is complete I would suggest they keep all of the listening rooms in the one tower assuming there is a sufficient number of large rooms. Made it easy to start at the top and work your way down and avoid the elevator mess.
Too many major manufactures were missing. I hope they return in the future.
While I noted that too when I heard them, this was not at all a serious shortcoming as the large woofers in there managed to resonate the entire floor in this very large room! Indeed bass performance is what I praised it for. I am still working through my pictures and notes but once I post them, I will let you know.
The last THE Show I went to I noticed these things also, and yes the headphonium was crammed with young people, and that's good that they are taking an interest in hi-end sound, just not the way we do.
But it keeps the dream alive.
I would imagine selling hi-end headphones in densely populated areas could be lucrative.
This was my impression after going back for a second shot on Sunday morning. On bare recording like sax or guitar they sounded pretty good. As soon as the music became complex (orchestral or rock) the music sounded like the speakers were shaking. Very mish mash in the upper and midrange. I'm not sure if a better amp would correct those issues.
Amir, Sean is really trying to achieve a "huge cinematic soundscape" (his words) quality allied to his traditional tone dense presentation
Maybe this sub bass presentation is getting there?
This pair was prototype no.5 of 11, with final production pair being revealed at Munich 2017
Maybe this sub bass presentation is getting there?
This pair was prototype no.5 of 11, with final production pair being revealed at Munich 2017
A common story
For me it took 5 mins at a well sorted dealer setup to convince me in 2008, and change to top model and upgrades incl Duelund caps and Lundahls transformers, and I'm still hooked ahead of possible investment in these new flagships in the next 24 months
There is no love for Zu on WBF, but I would urge people to seek out sympathetic demos and maybe reassess any negative biases
For me it took 5 mins at a well sorted dealer setup to convince me in 2008, and change to top model and upgrades incl Duelund caps and Lundahls transformers, and I'm still hooked ahead of possible investment in these new flagships in the next 24 months
There is no love for Zu on WBF, but I would urge people to seek out sympathetic demos and maybe reassess any negative biases
Still-one, despite Zu having 101dB eff, they benefit from at least 70W
My NATs SETs at this output got my Zus to fill my prev apartment of 7500 cubic feet without breaking sweat
My guess is the RMAF room may have been too challenging
I'm always depressed by established companies like Zu slipping up in this manner
In the Internet age of minimal attention and patience, any lost customers are lost for good
My NATs SETs at this output got my Zus to fill my prev apartment of 7500 cubic feet without breaking sweat
My guess is the RMAF room may have been too challenging
I'm always depressed by established companies like Zu slipping up in this manner
In the Internet age of minimal attention and patience, any lost customers are lost for good
I think so
. Who knows what the truth is in these demos. What I do know is that I enjoyed my time there and invested a lot of it as you see in the above thread.
Sure Amir, I guess we all hear things differently, esp at shows
I'm glad you got the "essence" of Zu at least with the big Experiences
There is a lot of interesting tech with these new flagships incl cabinet technology only seen in much more expensive marques, and fascinating cones materials
One's $30k will be on display
I'm glad you got the "essence" of Zu at least with the big Experiences
There is a lot of interesting tech with these new flagships incl cabinet technology only seen in much more expensive marques, and fascinating cones materials
One's $30k will be on display
It's a problem many manufacturers must address, IMO. There are so many good products out now that if you don't impress a potential customer at a show, he will furthur investigate only those products which do impress. Poor syntax but I'm sure you get my point.
The 18" woofer was driven by a Hypex 500 watt digital amp...this speaker was a prototype and the final version will have a different bass implementation I was told.
I thought the Peachtree was significantly limiting elsewhere though. I've heard much better Zu sound on Pass X60.8s.
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