I heard the Druids at the VTV Show a few months ago and it should be made absolutely clear that the demo rooms were far too small(8'x10'?) and needed quite a bit of acoustic treatment to tame the negative influences. Some vendors got it right, some could not. It seemed to require and equal dose of time, effort, and luck. All of those can be in short supply at trade shows.
In that regard, I found it nealy impossible to form any credible opinion about the Druids except to say they demonstrated some promising potential. The glare and hardness I heard could have easily been a result of the bare cinderblock walls, windows 1 foot behind the speakers, etc. Most likely was.
One thing that impressed me about the physical nature of the Druids was how incredible shallow the cabinet seems to be. My guess is that they are only 6-8" deep, yet produce impressive bass for a cabinet with so little volume.
But, no high efficency single-driver speaker is ever going to do kick drums, timpanis, etc justice. Part of the reason for the single-driver's perceived "speed" and transient attack is it's low-excursion cone. Bass requires high-excursion, cabinet volume, and/or surface area. The deepest and most powerful bass out of a single-driver speaker I've heard is from the Hammer Dynamics Super-12's that I own. They use a custom Emminence 12" driver and have a 70 litre volume. My 6 foot tall Cain & Cain I-Bens using 6.5" Fostex 168EZ Sigma single drivers don't come close to the Hammer's punch. (But, I've got dual subs to help out)
So, in my opinion, you have to trade sub-60Hz bass for great midrange and highs(w/ the help of a supertweeter). Subwoofer is the only way, which really makes "single-driver" speakers three-ways. Where they surpass normal 3-Ways is the lack of a crossover, it's influence is unmistakable and intolerble (for those like me) once you've gotten use to it's absence.
Also, the coherence of having the entire "critical range" eminate from a single point source is intoxicating. But, like everything else in audio, it comes at a price. As a former drummer, I still sometimes lament the loss of palpable kickdrum "thump" or sheer lightening fast transient attack of true compression horn speakers.
Then, I throw on some Nat King King Cole, Sarah Vaughan, cello, oboe, piano, etc. and all is forgotten.
One very important point about Zu, no matter what the detractors say, Sean and Adam are great guys. Music lovers first and foremost, gadgetheads second. I spent the better part of one full day at the VTV shows just hanging out with them, spinning discs, talking music, audio, life, etc. The second day I probably was in their room for a couple more hours.
Give them a call, I got a strong sense that they are very honest to deal with and extremely accomodating. If the speakers clearly aren't right for your needs, I got a sense they would say so. Then again, their 60 day return policy speaks for itself.
