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Zu OMEN - hmm

I might still be under the influence of the open baffle Spatial Hologram I heard at CAS14 earlier this month... wow! Top sound in my (and my friend's) book. Or the Magico S5 room (omg is that resolution level for real? you can hear the grass grow through those things).

I went to the Zu room as well - hoping to hear some well setup Zu speakers and learn about the right way to do it - but the sound was awful (sorry Sean) so I did not bother asking.

Yesterday I ran into a video advice on "setup tips with Seam Casey from Zu Audio". https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MCoKDfdxzDg

Bingo! Now I will learn how to make my Omens sing - from the man himself.

What did Sean Casey say in the video? To stop tweaking the bottom gap, tilt and toe-in, stop adjusting them, stop doing all this nonsense that gets old fast. Why? because they already sound good right out of the box, that's why. Spend my money on music instead.

Hmm - what if they actually DON'T sound good? Is there some advice for that case? What if, after the 3 years I had them, many SS and tube amps, days of gap adjustment, tilt adjustment, swap of few speaker cables including Zu Libtec, what if they still sound like an amplified live event through a pro speaker on a stadium? (Incidentally - all adjustments do make a difference, but mostly between dull and blare. I know, I'm probably too harsh, but that video got me really upset).

I hope that my recent listening to real speakers at CAS will soon wear off so that I can return to living with my Omens that "sound good right out of the box".

Or I might have to buy the Holograms. The tough part would be to convince my medium-size dogs to stay away from those beryllium transducers located so close to the ground. Maybe if I throw in the Omens to sweeten the deal? That should keep them busy for about 3 years?

Choices, choices.
cbozdog
cbozdog OP
63 posts
 
Hi Foster_9

In retrospect, I did go through electronics and cabling refinement without touching the speakers gap/tilt for about 2 years - and while learning a lot of the basics of audiophilia I eventually found what I thought was a good synergy with the small Krell (clearly leaps and bounds over what I could get with the Zu/Sophia), and enjoyed it.

Few months ago I started gap/tilt adjustments, with surprisingly great effect on sound. It went back and forth from good to awful, with glimpses of greatness every now and then (greatness to be lost at the next turn of the feet while searching for even better). The CAS further opened my ears (sadly not on Zu - which sounded worse than what I could do at home).

One of the two: either it takes more experience and patience than I have to set them up well - or the Zu video advice saying that "forget the gap/amplification" is right. I'm ready to believe either, but not both.
gsm18439
895 posts
 
My experience with the Def 4s (I have none with the Omens) is that they magnify differences among amplifiers - both good and bad. I have not adjusted the gap at the bottom although the rounded "spikes" rest on Yamamoto ebony footers. However, Sean installed my pair of Def 4s and tweaked the many knobs that controlled the crossover/bass amp.
foster_9
1,638 posts
 
Chozdog, if it takes so much in the way of fine tuned tweaking and fine adjustments to get them to sound pleasing, plus the precise amplifier, then it sounds like they're just too finicky.
mapman's avatar
mapman
22,111 posts
 
I think higher efficiency speakers are more "finicky" pretty much by definition in that all aspects of both sound and noise are amplified more efficiently than otherwise.

SO I think it kind of goes with the turf to expect to do a lot of tweaks and maybe even fixes or changes to get sound just right with higher efficiency speakers. Its the proverbial double edged sword in a sense.
foster_9
1,638 posts
 
I hear what you're saying Mapman. But this fellow has held on for a good long run with his speakers and has gone through a roller-coaster of performance (SQ), amp changes, and tweaking, to no avail.
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