Crossover-less Speakers

Zu sells factory direct. That means that you have to buy from the factory. They offer a generous 60 day free home audition for those who are curious about their product. Because speakers are large and bulky and expensive to ship, some people are reluctant to take them up on their offer. As a possible remedy, Zu decided to set up "Listening Posts" around the country where a Zu owner would provide the opportunity to hear the speakers without potential customers having to buy them first. I was (am?) one of those. That's all there ever was to this. It is not an insidious plot. No one has ever asked me to write anything on the subject of Zu.
Anyone who has been paying attention knows that I have not been secretive about my connection with Zu. In fact, no one would even know about it at all if they had not heard it from me.
Another thing that you might want to know is that I initiated all of this voluntarily. Zu has never asked me to do anything for them.
I think it is only fair that you guys do some research on how I have behaved on this subject before rushing to judgement or believing what is insinuated. Some of it is archived but a lot of Zu threads have been expunged by Audiogon. I know not why and I assure you that neither Zu or I had anything to do with that.

i have heard zu speakers several times at ces. what is the big deal ? the overall sound seems to be to emphasize the treble. they are very unforgiving.

Macrojack,

You are being unreasonable, come across as having several big chips on your shoulders, and to top it off you are shutting yourself to one of the best self-evaluation tools ever invented: honest feedback from others, how you appear to them.

Human psychology is rooted in small communities where everyone knew everything about everyone. We still expect others to treat us that way. However, modern social structures are HUGE, especially post-Internet. We need SYSTEMS to keep the whole thing functioning smoothly for everyone.

When I travel on a train, the payment is demanded upfront and a conductor may still come to check the ticket. They are not accusing me of being dishonest. They don't know or care that I have always paid my fare. Or that my small-village grandfather, upon realizing that he had underpaid a worker because neither could see the bills properly in darkness, walked to his house the next day and paid more than the difference. He probably got a beverage in return. That was a different world. Such personal details are not relevant in the modern world. Our local Metro can't afford to worry about such issues. Hence the SYSTEM: You buy the ticket in advance and show it when asked. Without feeling accused or acting offended. Even if you are the Mayor or Tiger Woods. That's what works best for everyone.

Similarly, we shouldn't have to care where you live, if you have an inventory, if Zu actually paid you after saying they might, etc. The system is, everyone reveals their industry affiliations and potential conflicts. My University may bar a professor from sitting on a family member's exam. The SEC director is probably prevented from many investments. These individuals are not being accused of dishonesty. It is just the system.

If you want to be treated as a Fruita, CO resident, then only deal with other Fruita residents. They'll treat you in the chummy way you want to be treated---and limit your horizons accordingly. There's a reason why ever larger and now global communities were created and yes, ready or not, there is an adjustment to make, a price to pay.

You are not in Fruita anymore. You could go back there, of course, but you won't like it. So better get used to the bigger more impersonal world. :-)

don't know if anyone has mentioned this yet but even "single driver" speakers have crossovers. Different parts of the cone respond at different frequency, so there is a mechanical, rather than electronic, crossover. "Whizzer" cones, found on some well known "full range" drivers are an extreme example. Only a headset driver is small enough to cover the entire spectrum without breakup.

Designs that chase one extreme (no crossover) at the expense of others (mechanical driver limitations) are not guarenteed to come out far far ahead, even if some exceptions can sound extremely good (no doubt ZU is one of these designs, judging from the accolades).

Chasing one extreme, however, may have the significant advantage of being highly differentiated in a forest of look-alike two and three way boxes...you and your guests can readily appreciate why they are different and be proud of it!

There are also multiple driver speakers that are still crossoverless. The Bose 901 comes to mind! But heaven forbid that anyone mention that as an option.
Even the 'breakup' phenomenon that Eldartford mentioned is minimized by the use of multiple 'small' drivers.
Albeit the 901s are difficult to set up properly in a room (in spite of the marketing that says these speakers are very easy to set up), when they are set up properly, with the help of an RTA, their sound can be quite satisfactory and seamless. My 'B' room set up features these speakers and they are flat from 25-10K Hz, with a rolloff above 10K that I inposed on them for a more natural sound. No crossover distortion there!
After the chuckling has subsided, maybe one should consider the 901s as a legitimate candidate in the search for a 'crossoverless' driver(s) speaker!

Bob P.