Zu Soul Superfly

I prefer the sonic signature of the Omen's driver over the Superfly's driver. The Superfly had a few characteristics that I found distracting, but not serious enough to keep me from wanting a pair. I didn't hear those same things in the Omen.

I asked Sean about what the differences between the drivers were. The Superfly's high output driver uses a lighter cone mixed with the largest and most powerful magnet assembly they could make work. Something about these changes doesn't completely agree with my ears.

Now, don't get me wrong. I could still listen to the Superfly every day. I spent hours at RMAF sitting in the Zu room and just enjoying the music. But for my tastes and listening style, the Omen is a better fit.

The biggest downside is the tweeter placement. It's too low and it does pull the entire soundstage down. I sit fairly low and pretty far away from the speakers, so I'm willing to deal with it. It does make me wonder, though, how the Druid would hold up with the Omen's driver and the improved Griewe loading. I am considering purchasing a pair of used Druids and doing those updates myself. We'll see how things look when my tax return rolls in next year.

I also spent good amount of time at RMAF talking to Kristian, Sean and Adam. I think the latter two's decision to put the management of the company into the former's hands was a great idea. Apparently they've brought on new people, reworked the factory space, and Adam and Sean seem more free to work on new products instead of getting caught up in the day-to-day business operations. I couldn't get any of them to open up about what's coming up, but by the sounds of it we should expect a lot more from the company over the next few months.

Spring: 7 feet is fine for Druid,

Themadmilkman: Yes, speaker height, especially tweeter, is important. I had to put my driuid on 6 inch brick (long story) and my listening chair now gets 6 inch of pillow, otherwise balance is thrown right off.

Do not mention this to other people on this forum to whom it is article of religous faith that Zus do fine just "plopped down".

Would love to hear more about RMAF, and Zu room in particular

I'd liove to read more about the Superfly in the RMAF room to especially in light of the comment they tweeted that it was less than refined and not especially detailed. This doesn't chime with much that's been posted here.

I think I agree with Phil/Cobra's assertion that the Druid images marginally too high, which is why I'm looking forward (still) to my Superfly as it seems obvious that it's a Druid on steroids with a lower image.

I would imagine that the Omen would present smoother again although, as stated, the tweeter below combined with the low height seems likely to create some distinct issues that you'll either be okay with... or not.

Interesting times.

Does Zu have a "network marketing" business model?

Just curious.

Regards,

Themadmilkman....This is what I did......I mentioned this earlier.

I have Druid Mk4/08 and live in Oz......due to the cost of posting speakers i decided to mod them.....

I already had Mundorf silver oil caps and Duelund resistors in the Hi pass.

I purchased the Soul drivers from Zu and had some lengthy chats with Sean Via email.

Sean said to replace the 12 ohm resistor in the Hi pass with a 10 ohm Duelund.

He suggested that I paint the insides of the cabinet with Soundpaint or quiet coat...... a water based sound damping compound (same as Soul) I did and it added about 6-8lbs to each Druid.

Sean also suggested gluing a 1" dowel between the FRD and Tweeter and the back of the cabinet to stiffen it.....so I did.

Then he said to cut a Griewe wedge out of open cell foam (Sonnex or Melamine) this wedge is to leave a 3/8" gap all around the opening at the base of the Druid and to taper up to a point in the middle of the tweeter. The wedge is glued to the wire mesh covering the opening

These tweaks are cheap ($180ish).......bearing in mind that I already had the Hi Pass mod.....($150 ish from Partsconnexion) which all Druid owners should have anyway.....

The change is amazing.......the bass is much deeper and tighter......so much so i had to turn my Mini Method subs down. The speakers scale faster and seem more dynamic. The treble is more pronounced but still not bright......the Soul uses the same tweeter and Hi pass albeit without the Duelund brand resistor.

The mids are cleaner but not as warm as before, this may be what you heard between the Soul and Omen, Sean said the Omen uses the Mk4/08 FRD with the new phase plug .....there is more detail.......All in All about 95% of the Soul sound but with the higher and more distinct Druid Box.

These mods could be done to a Druid without changing the FRD........

For me it was fun to do and cheaper than the post for a new pair of Souls......my speakers are unique and sound really good.