Anyone listen to Zu Audio's Definition Mk3?

213Cobra, I am v.sure that the Def4s with more even room loading will mean less reliance on the Black Hole, but it has been SO beneficial to revealing the Def2s performance envelope that the move to Def 4s is less of an overall necessity, but a v. nice choice to have. I would really recommend it to all Def2 owners because of the bass management issues I'm sure we all have in all types of rooms. And all for just $1250 more.
My main dilemma (are you reading, dear girlfriend!) is whether to go for Cosmic Carbon (light speckled grey which varies appearance in different ambient light situations), True Matte Black, which like it says on the tin, is totally light absorbent, or Gloss Black, which is so drop dead gorgeous, but I'm really unsure how watching a film from a PJ onto an 88" wide screen directly btwn the spkrs will distract with reflections.

Spirit, Clayton Shaw is clever and his spatial systems are worth considering particularly if your speakers use a digital xover. The Black Hole concept is not new. Nelson Pass and others have attempted similar manipulations in the past (http://www.stereophile.com/content/phantom-acoustics-shadow-active-low-frequency-acoustic-control-page-2)

Cobra, it looks like you have done your homework to a degree. I am not surprised that you have silver wire in your rig. Most SET owners seem to navigate towards silver. Like Glory, I wonder about your source. Did you demo the ASR or was it in someone else's system?

I know Glory has evolved from Audio Note SETs to Atma-sphere OTLs to Tenor OTLs and now to the ASR Emitter I exclusive. He has the most musically convincing system to date. Go figure....

One final thought for 231,

The NAD M55 Master Series source is not going to get the job done with the Def2/3/4 speakers for max output of their potential. I am sure you have good sound but a 4 cylinder car will not perform like a 8/12 cylinder HP sports car. Ford Focus at best.

If your goal is OK good sound then you have that but the Def speakers will respond much better with a higher front end source. The Def speakers are not a miracle working speaker. No wonder your believe what you do about wire. You will not hear a wire change if the source is not up to snuff.

Spirit,

You're right, the Black Hole is effective if the problem you have is the one it solves. Since you already own one, you conclude it's still valuable to your system when you move to Def4. And at $1250 it is an affordable antidote to a vexing sound problem in some rooms.

Gloss finishes on Zu speakers come at a premium, so the maximum performance per dollar point is obtained with one of the stock matte finishes. If you have a rambunctious family, the matte finishes will be more maintainable. If your environment is serene, the gloss finishes seriously raise the perceived value of the speakers. You might look into ebay and Audiogon history for some data mining to see if there are patterns in value retention different for matte or gloss. I don't know. I have a 60" final gen Pioneer Elite Kuro between my Defs in gloss and distractions during movie watching aren't a problem for us. I can't say with a larger image cast by a projector. But it you are wary of visual distractions from gloss reflections, consider getting your hardware anodized black. Silver FRD rings and the big supertweeter lens are more noticeable than reflections, in HT. IMO, among the mattes, Cosmic Carbon looks more suited to the value of the speaker than absolute flat black, in a domestic setting. But if HT is your prime concern, matte black with black metal hardware, will vanish visually in the dark.

Phil

agear,

Migrating from Audionote to Atmasphere to Tenor to ASR isn't a direction I'd take, and I've heard all of it. So I don't know how anyone would judge that or any other system as " the most musically convincing system to date." Well anyway not for me.

I did listen to ASR in my system. Even had a chance to buy it at half price. It didn't earn a spot, simple as that. If someone asks my advice ASR isn't going to be on a short list from me, but if someone else likes it, it's their call. I'm unswayed.

Phil