Zu Audio speakers - impressions?

[AudioDoctor]

I had Druid's (not sure what version) and Essence. Strength was rock (nice energy and swing) but not the ultimate in tone (especially acoustic instruments) or in detail. I ended up ultimately moving to a speaker with a 12" PHY driver which was a clear step up (In fairness it also cost a lot more).

 

If you listen to mostly rock I think Zu's are pretty good (especially with tube amps). If you listen to a lot of jazz or classical I'd recommend one of the Audio Note kits ($3K - $4K including cabinets).

 

I don't understand your review of the Druids, it certainly was not of the MKVs. Tone is something Zu speakers are amazing at, great even. Voices, also amazing. Jazz, hell yeah. I listen to Classical as well, they also rock that.

 

If I were you I would have either checked your room or your electronics. Or you want an overly dense soft speaker, and the Druids are not THAT. AT. ALL.

[gldgate]

I don't understand your review of the Druids, it certainly was not of the MKVs. Tone is something Zu speakers are amazing at, great even. Voices, also amazing. Jazz, hell yeah. I listen to Classical as well, they also rock that.

 

If I were you I would have either checked your room or your electronics. Or you want an overly dense soft speaker, and the Druids are not THAT. AT. ALL.

 

Nah. PHY-HP was just a major step up from the Druid drivers for acoustic music. As mentioned I owned the Druid and Essence before I went to the PHY so I have a decent basis for comparison. Unless you have heard a PHY based speaker you don't.

[AudioDoctor]

Nah. PHY-HP was just a major step up from the Druid drivers for acoustic music. As mentioned I owned the Druid and Essence before I went to the PHY so I have a decent basis for comparison. Unless you have heard a PHY based speaker you don't.

 

Ok, as long as you realize you are the only person stating that ZU speakers sound like that...

[accwai]

Ok, as long as you realize you are the only person stating that ZU speakers sound like that...

 

Well, not quite the only person. Frederic Beudot did that on 6moons almost 3 years ago:

 

6moons audio reviews: Ocellia Calliope 0.21 Twin Signature

 

and go to the bottom of the page. But where would one go to listen to PHY-HP or any of the other exotic drivers these days? Not easy...

[crenca]

Well, not quite the only person. Frederic Beudot did that on 6moons almost 3 years ago:

 

6moons audio reviews: Ocellia Calliope 0.21 Twin Signature

 

and go to the bottom of the page. But where would one go to listen to PHY-HP or any of the other exotic drivers these days? Not easy...

 

I can't locate it at the moment (of course), but last week when I was Googling for Zu reviews I came across another reviewer that was saying the "Zu sound" might be best for rock. The review was not all that current if I recall, so it might not be applicable to Zu's current products. I wonder if the Zu's rather non-neutral and "uneven" frequency response might be responsible for the idea that some have that Zu's might not be best for this or that type of music? I can see how a small jazz ensemble might not quite sound right to someone who expects a more neutral presentation.

[gldgate]

I did look up what version of Druids I had and they were Mk IV.

 

I am not bashing the Druids. All speakers are compromised from the get go and have relative strengths/weaknesses.

 

The Druids are energetic and can fill a room with an impressive volume of sound. With rock music the sheer energy and swing is infectious. If I listened mostly to Classic Rock I would probably prefer the Druids over my current set up.

 

However, once you move on to acoustic music you can hear some of the limitations of the Druid's. They do not have the same tonal accuracy as the PHY-HP's. Nor are they as resolving in bringing out detail. The key moment for me was listening to period piece baroque recordings (a favorite sub-genre of mine). The PHY's really bring out all the characteristics of the gut strings. The Zu's - not as much.

 

Not sure why the defensiveness. I love my PHY-HP's but I have heard Feastrex Field Coil speakers that put the PHY's in the shade. I just will never be able to afford them (Lotus Group Granada).

 

By the way, I think the review by Frederic Beudot posted above is spot on.

[gldgate]

Well, not quite the only person. Frederic Beudot did that on 6moons almost 3 years ago:

 

6moons audio reviews: Ocellia Calliope 0.21 Twin Signature

 

and go to the bottom of the page. But where would one go to listen to PHY-HP or any of the other exotic drivers these days? Not easy...

 

Agree with you. Not easy to get a PHY-HP speaker these days unless you are DIY or go to a custom builder. That's why I recommended Audio Note kits as a good alternative for acoustic music. IMO not as good as PHY but for $3K-$4K it's the route I would go for a conventional box speaker design. Even though these are "kits", everything is provided and they can be put together in an hour or two. Easy peasy.

[accwai]

[...] Not sure why the defensiveness. I love my PHY-HP's but I have heard Feastrex Field Coil speakers that put the PHY's in the shade. I just will never be able to afford them (Lotus Group Granada).

 

Yes, field coil is something that I've been wondering from time to time. Apparently Musical Affairs has gone from PHY to field coil drivers now. As for Feastrex, getting a box for them is going to be a lot of work, probably worst than PHY. At one point, I was talking to the local Feastrex distributor to compare the 5" Naturflux to Naturflux Exciter, which is the field coil version. That never materialized. The box we're planning to use is rather plain compared to some of the PHY boxes though. So you either dump all the money you got on the drivers, or put a good chunk of it in the box.

 

The other thing is the Naturflux is pretty low end in the Feastrex hierarchy. Might not be that close to their Type I/II/III field coil drivers. On the PHY side, I had a chance to compare the new 6" E series driver side by side with the 8" H series Alnico silver driver. Not even close unfortunately. So who knows how well the lower level Feastrex are doing in the bigger scheme of things.

[gldgate]

Yes, field coil is something that I've been wondering from time to time. Apparently Musical Affairs has gone from PHY to field coil drivers now. As for Feastrex, getting a box for them is going to be a lot of work, probably worst than PHY. At one point, I was talking to the local Feastrex distributor to compare the 5" Naturflux to Naturflux Exciter, which is the field coil version. That never materialized. The box we're planning to use is rather plain compared to some of the PHY boxes though. So you either dump all the money you got on the drivers, or put a good chunk of it in the box.

 

The other thing is the Naturflux is pretty low end in the Feastrex hierarchy. Might not be that close to their Type I/II/III field coil drivers. On the PHY side, I had a chance to compare the new 6" E series driver side by side with the 8" H series Alnico silver driver. Not even close unfortunately. So who knows how well the lower level Feastrex are doing in the bigger scheme of things.

 

Yes, I have heard similar things in regards to the newer PHY drivers. They were obviously targeting a less expensive product but these new offerings seem to be missing much of the magic that the traditional PHY drivers had. PHY may be a completely different outfit with the passing of Bernard Salabert.

 

Well designed Field Coil speakers appeal to me. In addition to the Lotus Granada I also really liked the Shindo Latour. Just my luck. Cavier taste without the budget. Need to start playing the Lotto...

 

Agree that Feastrex and box design can be a lot of work. If I was going DIY I'd likely go OB.

[Panelhead]

Well, not quite the only person. Frederic Beudot did that on 6moons almost 3 years ago:

 

6moons audio reviews: Ocellia Calliope 0.21 Twin Signature

 

and go to the bottom of the page. But where would one go to listen to PHY-HP or any of the other exotic drivers these days? Not easy...

 

These later model Zu seem fine. The early models looked and sounded DIY to me. The company has come a long way.

I am biased, do not believe in 12" midrange and tweeter. But the sound quality is the deciding factor. Zu makes it work.

[accwai]

Yes, I have heard similar things in regards to the newer PHY drivers. They were obviously targeting a less expensive product but these new offerings seem to be missing much of the magic that the traditional PHY drivers had. PHY may be a completely different outfit with the passing of Bernard Salabert.

 

I really don't want to hijack the Zu thread too much, but I also don't want to leave the wrong impression of PHY-HP, so here goes...

 

There is certainly no indication of any decline in the quality of the traditional H series drivers. My understanding is Samuel Furon at Ocellia had a big hand in resurrecting PHY-HP after Bernard Salabert's passing. So I would assume he has a lot of influence in the current PHY-HP company.

 

Samuel is not the type that focuses exclusively on the high end. His importing company L'Atelier Audio carries a lot of the more affordable brands. That doesn't affect the direction of Ocellia itself though. If anything, they've recently introduced silver transformer option for their power amps and 6moons is just previewing their new OCC Reference cable line. So he's pushing the boundary at the high end as well.

 

As for PHY, I think the desire to put out something more affordable that is still true to the spirit of the traditional PHY is understandable. How well that works out remains to be seen. But I have known Samuel for a number of years. I have strong trust in his taste and integrity.

 

Well designed Field Coil speakers appeal to me. In addition to the Lotus Granada I also really liked the Shindo Latour. Just my luck. Cavier taste without the budget. Need to start playing the Lotto...

 

Yes, field coil is very intriguing. I would love to hear Feastrex Series III and the Shindo Latour one of these days. In fact, I'll ask Samuel about field coil and plant the idea in his head...

[jfp]

Today I had chance to listen to the MK IV. I even did not know Zu. I was impressed.

the set up was :

Mastersound 845 amp 8000€

Etalon solo nap Dac 7000€

Quat Rs3 renderer.

 

First the speakers are beautiful. Second the depth is surprinsigly small. So it's easy to install in a living room. Third the stereo holographic image was just perfect. The 99 DB is quite amazing and you could use a 2x15 watts amp as it seems instead of a 25.

 

you can say classic rock is good on them. But I can confirm that Melanie De Biaso, Agnes Obel, Miles Davis ans more artists with piano and jazz playing are great with Zu.

 

I listened to PMC speakers with the same setup (9000 €).

it was awesome too.

 

Zu must be great too for a listening at low level thanks to the 99 DB.

[TubeLover]

Well, not quite the only person. Frederic Beudot did that on 6moons almost 3 years ago:

 

6moons audio reviews: Ocellia Calliope 0.21 Twin Signature

 

and go to the bottom of the page. But where would one go to listen to PHY-HP or any of the other exotic drivers these days? Not easy...

 

Read the other reviews of Zu speakers on 6 Moons. They are overwhelmingly positive. Srajan loved the Druid MK4's.!

 

JC

[accwai]

Read the other reviews of Zu speakers on 6 Moons. They are overwhelmingly positive. Srajan loved the Druid MK4's.!

 

Well lately I've been thinking how arbitrary audio reviews can seem. This is after reading Frederic Beudot's latest glowing review of Triode Lab 2A3i in 6moons. Frederic also wrote the Ocellia vs Zu vs Rethm bit quoted earlier in this thread. In the new review, he said:

 

[...] the design philosophy is typical Triode Lab. It had to be ultra quiet, dynamic and offer tight bass as three characteristics one rarely associates with single-ended triodes of low power. Over the years and after dozens of different SET amps either owned or assessed in various systems, I can point at the Audio Note Ongaku and Tron Telstar which hit all those marks. A few more came close, including Samuel Furon's own 300B integrated and the Art Audio Carissa SE but both fell short to various degrees on bass control. Without making the unrealistic claim that the Triode Labs 2A3i is the equal of an Ongaku or Telstar, I will say that within its very strict power limitations, this integrated gave me the same goose bumps as when I heard the mighty Ongaku for the first time. [...]

 

So basically, we have Ongaku, Tron Telstar, Triode Lab 2A3 and its upgrades at the top. The next tier has Ocellia Quareo Stereo, Art Audio Carissa SE. And then everything else. And the differentiation between the top and second tier is bass control. That's so simplistic it doesn't sound right at all. I probably have far more experience on the Ocellia Quaero Stereo driving Ocellia Ocellia Calliope Silver Signature than the reviewer above. The amp has some minor but significant weaknesses. Bass control isn't one of them though. The nature of the weaknesses are much more subtle than that.

 

So one got to wonder exactly what it is that reviewers are looking at, how the reviewers' experience and priority would influence their outlook and how that would affect the general tone of the reviews. In turn, how relevant these reviews really are in general. And for 6moons, Srajan had turned around completely on topics like SET, Yamamoto amps, Voxativ etc. At the end of the say, one has to judge things for oneself. And even that is point in time. There is no reason to believe that one would not learn something tomorrow and be forced to throw out all the old conclusions.

 

Just a couple of random thoughts off the top of my head. Don't even know if it has much to do with this thread

[AudioDoctor]

If you like the Druid Mk 4, you should find a Mk 5 to listen to...

[semente]

Here's an objective review of the Zu Essence speakers:

 

Zu Essence Floor Standing Speakers

 

R

[rfj1862]

There might be a newer thread (the ones I found here all date to 2011 or earlier) but the search function here at CA feels that "Zu" is too short a search term

 

Anyone own or extensively auditioned Zu speakers? If so, which ones? They all seem to use the same main cone but apparently different internals so it can be difficult to understand the differences and what exactly you are getting at the various price points (at least IMO). What in your opinion are their rivals (IOW, what other manufacturer(s) have similar sound).

 

Just trying to get a handle on them...

 

Amusing and honest review

 

Zu Essence Floor Standing Speakers

[rfj1862]

Amusing and honest review

 

Zu Essence Floor Standing Speakers

 

Sorry, I just realized the post above mine

linked to the same article.

 

Still, this review has value because it is from a non-professional reviewer with considerable measurement and listening expertise--and more importantly, no advertising to sell.