Zu loudspeakers

spiritofmusic

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Kevin, I've been criticised for my ancilliaries spend, maybe rightly, by an ex-Definitions IV owner. His POV is that Zu are at a price point for a reason, and should sound pretty much close to their best "out of the box", w very little extra fuss and spending needed.

Ha! In the time he's owned them, got them of their best immediately, gone on to another brand, and soon to move on again, I've stuck w Zu, spent and optimised seriously, and am happier w them more than ever.
 
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spiritofmusic

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So why the love for Zu? Well, it's all in the amalgam of full range drivers w true high efficiency and uber SET friendliness, and the holistic effect this has on transparency to musical message.

I've heard quite a few multi driver tower spkrs of medium and low efficiency, w complex crossovers and a thirst for high power SS because of either efficiency demands or dips in impedance.

A lot of these spkrs are fantastic at first blush, but go on to reveal their forensic ruthlessness and drivers discontinuity.

I'll never forget the KEF Muons 2 w Levinson 6 pack demo where after 10 mins serious bigging up by the hosts, out sprang a sound that was as dissected and artificial as could be.

But, I've heard great multi driver systems too. It's just that I seem to be particularly prone to hearing the mechanics of music making of so many tower spkrs w seperate tweeters, mids and woofers drivers.

The Zus full range drivers concept OTOH are a lot more reticent in how they first greet you, but when they latch onto whatever part of the psychoacoustic part of your hearing and brain processing, it's really hard to go back to the more forensic transducers.

The Zu full range drivers just seem to nail the mids/upper bass part of music where so much intonation and meaning resides. Zu tonal density and dynamic shove is not a function of playing louder and deeper, it's about the full range driver encapsulating the envelope of the note and not allowing it to be adulterated by being split into frequency bands.

Yes, I know, this leads to other irregularities like a slight tendency to break up twds the upper end of the driver response, and some congestion in dense orchestral passages.

But all spkrs have compromises, and I consider these to be worth the price of entry.

Now I know horns take the organic nature of Zus further on, but there are issues on how revealing they are of poor, flat sounding material, Zu really always finds a way to be forgiving even of some real horror productions.

This in a nutshell is what drew me to Zu, whats kept me loyal to the brand and concept, despite full awareness that what they do well is also a reason why they haven't quite broken the mainstream of audiophilia w their USP.
 
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spiritofmusic

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The other critical factor in Zu being the right choice for me (although I didn't quite realise it when I bought them) and others, is the ability to have a truly seamless sound in a large space from triodes. Without having to resort to horns or put up w some of the compromises of horns.

I'm a big fan of horns having got to know Blue58's AG Duos system over 4 years, and individual impressive demos of Trios, Cessaro Liszts, Pnoes, and Azzolina Gran Sferas.

However for me there are some critical reasons not to go this route. And the Zu full range driver high efficiency SET friendly alternative suits me just fine, and indeed is a totally valid direction/choice in its own right.

So in 2005 when I made the switch from all SS to Hovland tube pre/SS pwr, I'd set the ball in motion to go all tubes sooner rather than later. And this was a strong push twds Zu as a valid choice. I dont think Id have looked twice at Zu had I still been on my high power SS kick. Once the Zus were in, and I started to get the realisation that I'm preferring this presentation to those sounds I rated up until then: the sturm und drang of the Wilson Watt Puppies, the v correct and uber detailed Rockport Antares and Hyperions, the emphasis on imaging of ML Prodigys; going to SET on power was the inevitable next step.

Completing the signature I now prefer was the move from belt drive tt to rim/idler. Now my sound is a lot more about the tonal density, timbral accuracy, the overall holistic weight and flow, not the drive to hear every microdetail and for these details to be suspended in space.

I certainly didn't hear Vivaldi Four Seasons this way from mid hall at Ely Cathedral yesterday.
 
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shadowlight

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Shadowlight, what regrets do you have moving to these two OBs.

In other words, what Zu goodness is maybe missing since you moved on?

Not so much the sound, especially with the horns but the OB require you to have space both behind and side of the speakers.

I have to agree on your other comment about folks saying bass is really not an issue with OB. With OB the bass is the cleanest that I have heard in my room and equipment.
 

shadowlight

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Shadowlight that is very interesing speaker for sure Pure Audio Project. I have been curious about those for some time but have been too content and happy with my Zu to seriously make a change. Not to mention my bedroom is kind of limiting my speaker choices. But they are totally different design on a few levels. Full range drivers , crossoverless cabinets VS several drivers lined up in Open baffle with complex crossover.

I will try to audition some open baffles at a show one of these days to see what this type sound is like.

Not to derail the thread but if you are in the NJ area, drop me a PM and you can come have a listen.
 
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spiritofmusic

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Thanks for the offer Shadowlight, but that might not happen for a while.
 

JackD201

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Funny Marc. While reading about your inevitable steps, OB, OB, OB was going through my head. It was only in shadowlight's succeeding thread that I realized such a conversation was already taking place.

If you want to get a taste of OB without breaking the bank I would suggest looking at the offerings of Spatial Audio. They cost less than some of your tweaks. If you don't like em, they are cheap enough to keep for springs and summers in your yard.
 

the sound of Tao

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Marc, I’d also add Pureaudioproject OBs to Jack’s great suggestion above. Plus there’s plenty of fun to be had in the initial IKEA moment of the diy to make you feel like you are well and truly invested in these speakers beyond the original purchase. While I believe more expensive than the Spatials again but not so stratospheric that you couldn’t consider having some OBs and keeping your Zus too... and you already have the perfect amp to drive them.

Also there’s room to move with possible mods and refinements going forward with the crossover caps and resistors as well as some options for hook up cable and footers.

I’m loving mine. They have some amazing strengths and potentials. I’m barely 300hrs in on the listening time as I’m settling in these and the Harbeth 40.2s at the same time but both are beautifully rewarding. Plus you’ll hear through to your components in possibly new and exciting ways. The horn widebander in OB lets you know fairly much everything that’s going on much the way a good pair of ribbons panels do.
 
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spiritofmusic

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I was pretty tempted by the big Hawthorne Everests back in 2012, which ran a horn profile AMT mids/tweeter from 450Hz up, and twin 15" Augies for lower mids/bass duties, all in an OB not a million miles away from the PAP idea.
 

Dentdog

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Speakers can be, by changing upstream electronics. Also speaker positioning, listening distance, acoustics. That's why I wouldn't like to hear Zus only on one amp given the range it allows, from 2a3 to your Nats to push pulls
Since Zu seem to have a prominent place in this thread, thought I might chime in. I've had Def IVs for about 5 years, recently paired them with Audiopax Maggiore M-100s and have to say I'm impressed. Nice smooth detail is the best way I can say it.
 

sujay

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Marc, I’d also add Pureaudioproject OBs to Jack’s great suggestion above. Plus there’s plenty of fun to be had in the initial IKEA moment of the diy to make you feel like you are well and truly invested in these speakers beyond the original purchase. While I believe more expensive than the Spatials again but not so stratospheric that you couldn’t consider having some OBs and keeping your Zus too... and you already have the perfect amp to drive them.

Also there’s room to move with possible mods and refinements going forward with the crossover caps and resistors as well as some options for hook up cable and footers.

I’m loving mine. They have some amazing strengths and potentials. I’m barely 300hrs in on the listening time as I’m settling in these and the Harbeth 40.2s at the same time but both are beautifully rewarding. Plus you’ll hear through to your components in possibly new and exciting ways. The horn widebander in OB lets you know fairly much everything that’s going on much the way a good pair of ribbons panels do.
I have been fascinated by the PAP horns as well. In fact I have corresponded with Ze’ev and was very close to acquiring them last year. My issue is I am not interested in changing my SS front Pre/power. While Ze’ev says they will work with higher power amps, not sure how it will go. Any experience of driving them with high power SS?

Cheers
 

the sound of Tao

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Sujay,
Ze’ev is great to deal with. I did try my shindo pre magtech combo on the pap horns briefly but while it sounded nice it wasn’t as nearly as good a pairing as running a SET with the paps. But that might be my preference when it comes to pairing amps with horns. I tried SS versus SET on Tune Animas and Primes and even with good single ended solid state amps while there was much to be admired but ultimately the magic was not quite there.

Go with the flow Sujay and if you get the paps pick up a good SET amp as well and have both if you can. It’s really nice!
 

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sujay

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Can’t say yet. With due respect, the Vitus on the YG Sonja sounded way better than the low powered tubes on the O/96 and definitely better than the Vitus on the O/96. And I still came back to my system feeling happier about my current set up, especially scale and dynamics. So down price doesn’t always translate into better sound. But now i am off topic......
 

spiritofmusic

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Sujay, non Zu spkrs chat is de rigeur on a Zu thread LOL.
 

bonzo75

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Can’t say yet. With due respect, the Vitus on the YG Sonja sounded way better than the low powered tubes on the O/96 and definitely better than the Vitus on the O/96. And I still came back to my system feeling happier about my current set up, especially scale and dynamics. So down price doesn’t always translate into better sound. But now i am off topic......

Depends what you are listening for. I consider that a major upgrade over Wilson's, Magico, Rockport, etc. Caelin moved from Sasha to Devore 5 years ago and is happy, and I compared it back to back with 65k Lansche. If you are in the Rockport direction you won't consider devore an upgrade, if I am in the horns direction, I consider tannoy and devore an upgrade.
 

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SETDrugs

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The Zu full range drivers just seem to nail the mids/upper bass part of music where so much intonation and meaning resides. Zu tonal density and dynamic shove is not a function of playing louder and deeper, it's about the full range driver encapsulating the envelope of the note and not allowing it to be adulterated by being split into frequency bands.

Very well said Marc, every speaker has some sort of compromise but dollar for dollar, when the rest of the components are well sorted out and matched to the speaker and careful attention is given to placement I don't believe most of the upper Zu speakers have much competition in their price range in terms of emotion, tone , musicality, and dynamics. These qualities as a whole really hook you in and keep you glued for hours.

At the end of the day this hobby is about enjoyment and fun and these speakers do that as well as any speakers I've heard or own thus far.
 

spiritofmusic

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Well Kevin, in the last 3 months the upswing in Zus performance has been really gratifying, fully repaying my faith w the brand.

I've had great digital replay here in the new space for two years now, but dialling in my analog has been a bit elusive. The most recent change of upgrading my tonearm wand from Aluminium to carbon fibre, half the weight but much stiffer, has eliminated a persistent source of coloration or opacity. My analog has just caught up w digital, and is currently pushing ahead. And been instrumental in the Zus being even more neutral and transparent than before.

These are words I never used about my spkrs in the past.
 
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