Zu Soul Superfly

Mahughes,

I'll try and get a few more snapped this weekend for you.

Undertow,

Interesting thoughts. Hopefully they'll be able to move past it once the Soul gets more exposure. It will be easier to hear it sound its best w/o the plinth gap and placement sensitivity (from what I've read, never heard druids).

Everyone else,

I think I've completely flip flopped on my preference of my F1 to my restored/slightly upgraded Dynaco ST-70. The Firstwatt, though more detailed, with better top to bottom extension and resolution just sounds a bit my mechanical than the Dynaco.

I half wish I hadn't bought the JFETs to update my F1 to an F1J, as I'm actually quite content with the Dynaco, but I may as well finish the project I suppose... I suspect Zu speakers just prefer tubes though.

Gopher,
"I'm really confused as to why Zu speakers have been so controversial over the years."

Because:

A- They do not have "hi-fi" top end. Hi-Fi sound has extreme resolution/exaggerated HF. This make "hi-fi" crowd not like them.

B- Measure badly, and Zu not post its own measurements. This make "engineering hi-fi" crowd not like them.

C- Setup poorly, so sounded bad (recess HF plus upperbass/MF suckout plus freakish midbass). And played with inappropriate flea-watt amplification. this make normal people not like them (although I think most speaker setup badly does not seem to hurt them all)

D- they are different.

I think D is biggest reason, C is smallest.

I can understand what you're saying, but there are just so many accounts out there of people pationately disliking these speakers and I can't understand it.

I understand not every piece is for everyone, but I feel like this brand is far more polarizing than it should be. I mean, I've owned and heard a lot of things that don't do it for me and that I wouldn't recommend, but I'll readily acknowledge that every single high end speaker I've heard has had at least some redeeming values. These values seem to get overlooked by Zu naysayers.

I kind of expected them to sound very different and unique in signature to be so polarizing (like the Koetsu cartridge I used to own) but its presentation is very natural sounding to me...

People become passionate about this stuff. is OK, is part of hobby.

I think HF extension is biggest difference, Zu does not have it (which I think is much more natural than the artificial hi fi extension). They do sound different because of that.

and I don't want to open this discussion again but i think they sound lousy with flea amp. You need 40-50W minimum.

I have a suggestion regarding Zu Soul threads.

I recently spent a decent (read really significant) amount of time reading through all 6 pages of 285 posts and would like to make a recommendation that we subdivide the Zu Soul discussions into some primary sections.

I realize that Audiogon is not set up, first and foremost, as a discussion forum so this is not as easy to manage as it would be on other purely (primarily) discussion based audio forums. I also realize that threads can take on a life and direction of their own! Not much can be done to control that.

There is a lot of great information and debate within a number of the posts in the Zu Soul Superfly thread. And it would be great to be able to access some of these specific posts and areas more directly and with greater ease. Ideally, these sub-sections would grow to be more specific, pertinent, robust, and would dig deeper into the topic.

For example, one of the major discussion areas within the Zu Superfly thread is amplifier matching and synergy with the Superfly, another is general amplifier recommendations for pairing with the Superfly, and there is also a lot of coverage of the F amps. Each a possible dedicated thread in its own right.

Another example is impressions of the Superfly by owners who have received them. To this end, I have submitted a thread on Standard / Superfly Owner Impressions. Perhaps the primary posters in a particular area could take on creating a specific thread for the area that they have contributed most to.

Please know, that I do not want to de-rail this thread in any way. It has been a pleasure following its twists and turns and especially the sparring between 213Cobra and Zannon and I have learned a great deal through it. I will be happy to repost my thread/post under a streamlined Thread Header system that works for all.

Let me know what you think.

- David.