Zu Druid IV - the real deal?

D_edwards - I'm not one to grab the salt shaker or the ketchup bottle. I respect the chef in that regard. And I do not hasten to modify every product that enters my house with any and every available tweek. I don't have test instruments because I wouldn't know how to use them. However, I am sure that you will find that Sean Casey at Zu can answer your questions about measurements and design decisions. There are no 12 inch drivers in any of Zu's speakers and the mention of Stereophile in any sentence meant to impress me is self-defeating.
The tone of your comments seems to indicate that you have confused us mindless consumers with the geniuses who created the product. Not a fatal error, I suppose but it leads to some very confusing arguments from you.
And your bit about short sighted editing of the artist's intentions calls for a bit of projection. God made winter and created me naked. And every year I put on clothes because the artist set me up to freeze to death if I don't.
Oh, and what's up with the tale about some other speaker company wiring their crossover wrong. What bearing does that have on Zu or this discussion? It sounds like you are attempting to position yourself as superior to that established manufacturer. Perhaps you are. Again, though, what's the point?
Measurements are nice, and as you point out, vital to some pursuits. I don't need any for my audio outside of the cable length or speaker position. I don't know the weight of my car keys, the height of my mulberry tree or the time it takes me to shave. Nonetheless, I've moved through life with some degree of comfort and grace. I don't think I could say that if I had been measuring everything for the last 50 years.
Relax, D_edwards, there's nothing to prove. I like my speakers and you could never provide me with enough data to change that.

D wants measurements from me. What good would it do for me to measure any speaker in my house? Neither I nor anyone else here listens in an anechoic chamber and hardly anyone has their room treated or EQ'd to flat response itself. More to the point, every location I listen to live music in imposes its own acoustic signature too. I've had plenty of speakers in my home that measured "flat." This had only limited relationship to sonic fidelity. No one has yet measured the aggregated simultaneous behaviors of a speaker transducing music. So, yeah, measurements are interesting, and have some relevance, but are not exclusively determinant.

Zu provides specs on efficiency, frequency distribution and on phase coherence. The speakers sound pretty much like they describe, and then some. They also sound like they are missing crossovers, which they are and which is a good thing.

So, bottom line is that in their price ranges, Zu's speakers deliver frequency accuracy, dynamic projection, phase coherence, uniformity of transient behavior top-to-bottom, frequency range and efficiency in sufficient balance to transduce a superior illusion of musical reality from the electrical signal they are fed. Most of us who own them think very few speakers at any price meet or exceed Zus in this regard. And some of the folks who don't own them refuse to accept the conclusion of those who do. It's easy to resolve. Skeptics can uy them and return them if you don't agree. Or get to a location where you can hear them and decide. Fly, drive, walk, hitchhike to Utah and get a demo at the factory from the guys who design and build the speakers. Do what you want, but the answer remains the same. I'm highly experienced at this hobby, have benefit of industry friends if I want something else, get to hear most gear that has any modicum of credibility, and I ventured to buy Zu. The result is that both my systems are at equilibrium and the sound quality I have is the most realistic and natural attained so far, 35 years after buying my first piece of true hifi gear. To answer the original question, yes, Zu Druid is the real deal, and this applies more dramatically still to Definitions.

Phil

as a potential buyer of speakers who likes rock music what are the pros and cons of the druids as opposes to other well reviewed speakers like the taylors or acoustic zens.difficult to audition any of them so basically trying to read up on and listen to others viewpoints.

The Druid is very efficient. This affords wide latitude in amplifier selection. It has a very benign impedance curve, again affording almost limitless amplifier compatibility. It plays very loud without breakup. It is remarkably coherent allowing you to understand the lyrics of screaming vocalists. It is very rhythmic about playback, if that makes sense to you. There is a fullness of tone that you are unlikely to find in other speakers. Its a kind of vitality that really defies description but is easy to detect. Tones are more resonant than what you are accustomed to in speakers at or even above this price range. Bass is a little tricky to adjust initially but comes through as fast and furious once you get it right. The addition of Zu's Mini Method sub takes it to a genuine full range experience. Cabinets do not seem to contribute anything. This is partially due to their design materials and construction and perhaps also to the short excursion of the full range driver and open bottom which emits bass energy. Call Zu and ask them about how all this works. They will explain plainly and not make you feel like a fool for asking.
I don't know a thing about the other speakers you mentioned but I'm hoping you find some useful answers in what I said.
Another fact about the Druids that went over well at my house is that you can postion them right up next to the front wall without significant loss of performance. Good for small spaces and difficult wives.

Been listening to Ani Difranco's live album Living in the Clip. 2cd of many of her concert tours mixed beautifully without all that applause. Afer listening to the first track: I never heard a kick drum (the entire drum set in fact) sound so real, dynamic, palpable, in your face, right there, as my Defintions allow this wonderful cd to happen. Then it happens again with guitar electric on the next track. Oooh. Measurements? Doesn't matter what they are, what you tell me they are, what they are not, etc. I know what I hear in my crib, hooked up to my rig. And the sound has been gettin more exiciting and revealing with age. Remarkable speakers. I know, I know, these are not the Druids, but they are quite amazing and worth a try if you're thinking of a change and have $9k to drop. I haven't been around this block in a while, but when are saw cobra and macrojack: I couldn't resist...