zu essence?

How would the Essence compare to Klipsch? I currently have the RF-7 but am looking at the P-37F (Palladium) as well.

Anyone? I want to try the Essence but want to make sure that they are an upgrade from my current Klipsch RF-7

There's a Zu add in this month's Stereophile , they are going back to selling direct and the price is like $3500 vs $5000 via retail - they note doing this because of the economy

Although a bit late in the day from the original thread.

Using solid state amplification I find the Zu Essence much better overall than the Zu Druid. The Zu Druid to me was a bit too dark sounding in comparison (using my then Naim amplification).
Getting my Zu Essence was a nothing more than outstanding for my music listening experience. The Essence are not as inconsistant as the Druid, in that temperature changes do not affect the sound as much on the Essence as it did on the Druid's.
I have found the Zu Essence to be more of a plonk and play speaker, get it in a reasonable position and it sounds great, a bit more fine tuning and they sound exceptional.

Anyone else have their own experiences with the Zu Essences?

I've owned both the Essence and the Druid MkIV/08. From a certain point of view, the Essence is a better all around speaker. Less finicky placement, better low end grunt and better high frequency extension. My expectation was that it would be a Druid Plus, but the dynamic quality, aliveness and coherence of the Druid does not quite carry over unencumbered to the Essence.

Maybe that has something to do with the Atma-Sphere S30 I was using. You would think 30 stereo watts into 97db sensitivity at 12 ohms would be enough, but then again, some people do say that even the Druid doesn't truly come alive until you get to 40 wpc territory.

The Essence is a very good speaker to be sure, but I missed a certain kind of magic that I heard in the Druid, and so the Essence is now sold and I'm on the waiting list for the Soul Superfly. I'm sure the new owner will be very happy with his Essence, as it is a very good speaker with no obvious deficiencies to these ears. The Essence is also very pretty; the jet black gloss finish is beautiful.

One of the things that I didn't understand well before was the concept of audio priorities. I'm now able to answer the priorities question, which is to say, my priorities lean toward the aliveness and dynamic quality of the Druid, and now also hopefully the Soul.