Pls share your experience with Zu Soul or Zu in general

I’ve listened to the Defs and Soul many times, many different front ends (mostly tubes), and I’ve rarely come away satisfied. Nearly all the time experienced ear-piercing sound to varying degrees. In fact, only twice have I heard them sound good, both times when they were set up by a person named Ron (forget last name) who had some kind of association with the company. Yet still not enough to get me to buy a pair. Yes, they are "fast", an attribute of which their owners are very proud. But they’ve never drawn me into the music or performers. To my ears they are more of the tizz-boom flavor of sound.

I own a pair of Omen Def Mk1-b that I bought in September (2015) under very special circumstances. It's a long story about how I got my speakers shipped directly from the factory in Ogden, Utah to Macau (via Hong Kong), so I will just focus on my impression about Zu.
I stumbled across Zu Audio while I was searching for a new pair of speakers to my tube amplifier and it was love at first sight! Everything about Zu seduced me in an almost metaphysical way: the looks, the hype, the sound... and finally the people at Zu.
Talking about the sound, I would describe it as a mix of qualities. It's a bit "in your face" like if you were in the first row of a live concert, it's full bodied and bold, but at the same time is detailed and delicate. And depending on the location and positioning, soundstage and stereo image can be (they are!) amazingly big and holographic.
Regarding materials and build quality, only good things to say. And visually they're not subtle nor invisible- these speakers are dressed to impress!
All this (sound, style...) may be subjective and of course there are people who love them and there are people who don't. 
What I really think is the best at Zu is the bunch of people that makes that brand so special - hence the Hype!
I have read many things about how they support and follow up their customers and have read many stories about their way of making business; but only when I got in contact with them (through Gerit) I truly understood the Zu philosophy. Those boys are amazing! All the information they share and the help they give in their totally friendly and unpretentious way just makes us want to become one of them. I felt like I was entering to the Zu family! I know I am now part of the Zu family...
If you did listen to the Soul or any other model and you liked it, you won't regret going Zu. If you ordered without listening, tell us later what was your very first impression after firing them for the first time and how your impression evolved from that first moment.
My speakers, I will keep them for life!

Have you done a search on the virtual systems?  If not, there are quite a few Zu systems posted there.  Could satiate your desires in the short-term...

I have both Def 4s and Omen 1Bs. Both were a little intense out of the boxes. All tube system. 
They could be said to be a little tizz-boom initially. Here is my take.
They're clear, no smoothing of the edges speakers. Crossoverless, phase coherent and immediate. It's necessary to get the signal chain just right, and I have, at least to my liking. 

Taking crossovers and their inherent distortions, TIM distortion in particular, along with phase anomalies induced by attempting to balance multiple drivers really affects the ability of a speaker to sound coherent, at least for my ears. As crossovers heat up, the frequency response of a speaker changes, the hotter they get the more compression one hears. 

With Zu, one can roll tubes and cables and get a warm sound, if that's to your liking. I once put some "warm" cables in the chain and over did it. So yeah, they can sound too warm as well.  I like to think I've gotten it just right. 

As for Sean Casey and his guys, every time I've approached them with even the most obscure question they have followed up with the most practical, informative advice imaginable. It's like they're about to come over to see about it, and we are 2000 miles apart. Unbelievable!

Thanks Dentdog. I too have a tube amp, as it turns out.

I live in Canada and I have found a 2nd hand set of Zu Omen Def and Zu Essence for sale. Unfortunately neither are being sold by their original owners. Each set is about 5 years old. They're selling for CDN$1700 (US$1300) and CDN$1500 (US$1155). 

Buying new, the Canadian dollar being what it is adds 30% to the price and shipping is extremely costly from the States to Canada. (If I go the New Zu route I'll have to drive to Niagara Falls and pick them up there).

I've just learned about the Vandersteen's. I can get a demo set of the 1ci's at $1700 ($1309), which isn't a great price. I'm going to listen to them this weekend.