Zu Druid questions

I am a musician and recording studio owner, and these Druids are just eerie in their ability to reproduce the sensation of a live performance.

Squeegybug,

Any chance of some pics of your setup? I assume you used the spiked, hypy and annoying PMC's in your studio (they seem to be popular in some pro circles, although I have rarely heard them described quite the way you put it).

You have another pair of Zu Druids on order, are you planning to build a surround system based on Zu Druids? Not needing a sub (as you describe) might make this a system of exceptional quality and yet exceptional value too (good subs are far from cheap).

Please provide some pics and welcome to the forums - your first post, I believe?

The mini method sub is one of the fastest in the west, and is of course made by zu to match the speed and powerful raw tone of the druids. It is a little pricey, I believe retail is 1500.00, but if you need the extra power down low its not that hard to get it as long as you stick with Zu's designs along with your druids.

I tried my Zu's with 18" tiles and moved them out into the room and did not achieve better results. I didn't have the Tiles on spikes, just setting on top of the carpet using the weight of the speaker to push them down.

In my room the bass extension/output suffered. I installed the short rounded type spikes and tried different heights. Nothing worked well.

I now have them positioned 10' apart (inside to inside), 2' from the rear wall to the back of the speaker (closest point/inside of speaker) and the gap between the top of the carpet (long spikes installed) and the bottom of the speaker base set @ only 1/8".

I've also noticed that small changes to the tow-in makes huge differences. I have them positioned where they point almost directly at my ears. Towed out too much and they become very distant and hollow sounding.

I also changed the amp I'm using from my Odyssey Stratos Extreme (one of my favorite amps) to a Acurus A200 X 3 that I was using for center and surround duties.

I gave up some resolution and detail for sure, but the mid bass is much fuller and bass extension is better as well. Funny thing is this amp sounded very hard with my Ushers, but is pretty good with the Zu's. Not the final stop here, but better.

I am very happy and excited that with the right equipment things will only get better.

We're going to take vacation in about a week, but when we return I'll be putting my Usher-6381's, Usher X-616 center and Odyssey up for sale.

I plan to purchase the Zu center, a new tube based CDP (maybe the Raysonic 128 or something similar), and a new amp or integrated amp if needed. Will have to see how the CDP works out first.

The Zu's are worth building around and that's for sure. I just hope my wife's heart can take it. ;0)

To Shadorne -

Hey, thanks for the welcome. It was my first post here, I've mostly hung out on recording forums. But I have been checking Agon for a while since getting interested in the Zu products, I appreciate everyone's good information about these speakers.

Sorry I haven't figured out the forum options to reply/quote to you directly (if there are any?). So, I'll just write...

I can't get photos of the living room setup right now, since the Druids have been moved to the recording studio for some more evaluation as mixing/mastering monitors.

So that is the reason for the additional pair, not for surround. Although I bet 4 Druids would be a great setup for surround. I'll try to get some pics for you when I get the new ones installed.

I came on a little strong with the "hyped" comments. I wouldn't want to imply that PMC monitors are anything less than excellent in their overall performance. They are remarkable speakers in every way, especially when compared to their studio monitor competitors, and I was thrilled to find and use them for quite a while.

It's just that they present more of the strong, detailed sound typical of high quality reference speakers, and that general sound is such a dramatic contrast to the beautiful, effortless tone of the Zu Druids. A direct comparison is the really the only way to highlight that difference.

No guarantees yet that the Druids will hold up against the PMC in the studio. So far, I have had to make a lot of adjustments in my listening approach, since the reproduction is so different. And as always, placement in the mixing room is critical, so I have been doing quite a bit of experimenting there.

I can say that the midrange and bass are incredibly organic and refreshing on the Druids, after so many years of working with "ultra clear" monitors. I can now easily hear and *feel* changes such as equalizer adjustments of 1/3 dB, compression attack/release, reverb/delay settings, etc. All are much more obvious. The difference in treble response is requiring some unlearning, but I'm liking what I am discovering.

I have found that some tracks previously rejected when listening on the PMC now sound great on the Druids. I will know more after I finish a variety of sample mixes.

I even played some plugged-in acoustic guitar and electric bass directly through the mixer into the Druids, and they are outstanding for that. I'm almost thinking of taking them to a live gig this weekend to use for PA mains.... but realistically they are not really suited for road use with their exposed components. I could see making some cabinets for them if it works out, though.

Steve

I've been living with my Druids for the past couple of months now so I thought I would give a quick update.

Forget everything I said about the soundstage, details, etc. Everyone said these speakers take some time to really open up and they do.

I just can't believe how good these speakers are. It took me awhile to get them set-up properly and to find the right amp, but it's certainly paid off.

With the 60 day in home trial I say run, don't walk. Awesome! Just awesome!

I also added the Zu center which is an almost perfect match from my Druids.