Another Zu Thread


Sorry - I'm sure this is in the archives, but I've been reading them for several hours and haven't come up with anything super definitive.

Can anybody comment on what setup works best with the Druids and/or the Definitions? I have read >10ft to the listener for the Definitions.

Does the floor material matter? I have read that they need to be placed on hard surfaces, not carpet - true?

They appear to work in a fairly standard triangle pattern - separated by X feet, user seated Y feet away.

Toe in? Do these speakers do the "head in a clamp thing" or does it support multiple listeners reasonably well?

Distance from back / side walls?

Any help would be appreciated, either in direct answers or point me to a thread that discusses all the physical setup issues.

-Kirk
kthomas
Out of interest, how much space do people tend to have behind them (i.e from listening position to a wall) when using the Druid or Definition.
Call Sean at Zu about the Pros, I think they are a slight upcharge for the beefier drivers.

I've had Druids and both models of Definitions within 6" of the front wall and had them sound good. My Pros now are only about a foot from the front wall and I'm very happy with them there.

I have no doubt they would sound even better further out into the room but my room doesn't allow it. The more important consideration with the Definitions is 213cobra's advice about keeping at Least 10 feet from the listener as the drivers take that distance to properly gel. If you have 12 - 15 feet, it's buttah.
I believe Zu simply markets the standards to the audiophile community do to set up issues, lots of problems in helping on intergration due to choices of about 50 processors out there to handle the crossover etc.. I mean that can't deal with all products and combos that the pros could use… End user is not just plug and play anymore and it is more complex… Not to mention more cables, more power supplies to plug in, and simply more cost and confusion to the customer.
Miklorsmith, are you saying, even if the Definitions are 8 feet apart, 15 feet from the speakers is still "buttah?"
i'm not sure about the def's but the druids really aren't affected by spikes. they are really light and even the speaker enclusure is very thin and hollow when you tap on it. which is very different from most speaker cabinet design. i think heavy multi speaker cabinets that are more affected by teh speaker movements do better with spikes. and the druids aren't your average speakers in the least. i did put them on a set of auralex gramma's and the sound became more muddy. they sound much better on my hardwood floors.

i think the best thing to do is just experiment with different methods of coupling/isolation/placement. the biggest factor in getting the proper sound out of your speakers really is room interaction and how they are placed and what they are placed on. just experiment. that's half the fun in my opinion! it's almost impossible to blindly tell someone how to setup their speakers when they have no idea what type of room you have.

it's amazing what you will learn about sound by just experiementing. i've even found little things like closing a door next to a speaker to make a difference in both perceived sound and measured frequency response.

i will say the druids are quite amazing speakers - the speed and detail in te mid range is just simply amazing. it definitely is not for everyone but it has grown on me quite a bit since i've added them to my collection. i think with the proper sub and setup they are definitely keepers.