Decision between Zu Definition OR VS DB99

Dawgbyte,
My name is Desmond. I am Mr. Phil's factotum. He told me to ask you if your speaker has a crossover. Good Evening, Sir.

I'm a dealer, but sell neither Zu nor Von Schweikert speakers. Not even sure I can spell the latter.

I'm also a longtime amateur speaker builder and shorttime speaker manufacturer. I have some experience with fullrange drivers.

In nearly every case I have found fullrange drivers to benefit from a response-shaping network of some kind, and/or rolling off the bass to allow a dedicated woofer to handle the bottom octaves, and/or augmenting the top octave or so with a supertweeter. Compared with the anomalies and distortions typically present in drivers, in my experience the minor distortions introduced by high quality capacitors, inductors, and resistors is trivial.

In my opinion the relatively un-speakerlike sound of the Zus is related to something other than freedom from capacitors, resistors, and inductors in or parallel to the signal path. I believe it is related to their unusually uniform radiation pattern through the midrange region, where most speakers have severe radiation pattern anomalies. So yes the crossoverlessness is beneficial, but I think for different reasons than are normally put forth.

That being said, I do have some reservations about the Druid and Definition; in my experience they do some things well, and some things not as well as I'd like.

Duke

I have been pondering high sensitivity speakers to match my SET amps for a while. You guys have convinced me to audition the definitions, they are now available in the UK.

Duke,
I appreciate your evenhanded approach to this topic. Could you specify what you like and don't like about the Druid and Definition separately as they are a bit different? The Defs, for instance, do receive subwoofer support from below the mid array. The Druids, on the other hand, achieve their bass response from a downward firing transmission line, a sort of bass horn.

Hi Macrojack,

What I like most about the Druids and Definitions is that they don't sound like speakers. Their presentation is definitely free from something that most speakers are doing wrong, and as mentioned above I think it has to do with radiation patterns, but I could be wrong about that. They are a welcome relief in that respect.

On music that I'm familiar with I thought I heard a peak somewhere in the midrange region that modified the tonal character of voices, along with a lack of energy somewhere in the "presence" (lower to mid-treble) region, and the clarity and articulation were not what I'd hoped on complex vocal or orchestral arrangements.

In the bass region, the Definitions sounded fine to me - the bass wasn't overdone, which I appreciate. It's easy to get carried away and want your 16-Hz capable speaker to let the world know it can do 16 Hz even when the music barely dips down to 40 Hz. I am skeptical of the bass extension claimed for the Druids unless they get substantial boundary reinforcement.

The bass thing on the Druids doesn't bother me; it's easily addressed. And the minor tonal issues don't really bother me much either, for the ear becomes accustomed to and ignores minor tonal bumps and dips, and besides who's to say that my ears weren't calibrated for my own speaker's colorations such that I was totally mistaken in my assessment. But what I perceived as a lack of articulation on complex passages is something I don't know how to address. Maybe it's a break-in issue or associated equipment issue; I've only heard Zu speakers under show conditions. The Definitions might have been a bit better than the Druids in this respect, but not as much as the price difference led me to hope. I still think the Druids are very competitive in their price range, but in my opinion the Definitions aren't quite as competitive in theirs.

The Druid in particular breaks new ground as far as efficiency combined with acceptable bass extension in its price range, and frankly I do like the topology of the Definitions very much with the built-in powered woofer section. Both are exceptionally compact speakers for the level of performance they offer. I like the horn-loaded tweeter, as that blends much better with the 10" fullrange driver than a direct radiator would have.

I'll admit that it's quite possible I haven't heard either speaker performing at the level its happy owners routinely experience in their homes. And perhaps my expectations happen to zig in an area where the Zus happen to zag a bit. Obviously these speakers are doing some things very right to have engendered the following they have.

Duke