Anyone listen to Zu Audio's Definition Mk3?

Agear,
It seems you feel your taste/opinion have more validity than those who don`t agree with you. Plain fact is you should simply buy what you feel is best and not extrapolate beyond your own system experiences. No one got caught with their pants down(sigh).You prefer the ASR and that`s good(for you and others who also prefer it).I don`t know you personaaly but based on reading your posts you come off as dogmatic and somewhat childish, as if what you prefer 'has' to be better than someone else`s choice,Come on my friend grow up.Spiritformusic nailed it with his earlier post.
Regards,

Well, I just got my Def 4s a couple of weeks ago and I must say I am a bit shocked how much better these are than my Def 1.9s. Not that I didn't expect improvements, but as Phil has already laid out, these are a significant leap ahead of earlier Def iterations. Still, my Def 1.9s were already very good and played all my music so I was wondering how much better can it get and, of course, I shortly found out it got much better.

As has already been mentioned, the bass articulation is much improved, but I have been particularly impressed with their increased sense of liveliness and superior high frequency extension. I suppose its this wonderful combination of the nano drivers working in tandem with the Radian tweeter which accounts for this, and it's particularly noticeable when listening to chamber music where subtle spatial cues localize the instruments better as well as provide a better sense of the recorded space. I know Spirit was concerned with a "slight softness" and lack of "high frequency satisfaction". This is something I noticed too, but mostly with certain classical pieces, and even then I thought it might be the recording. Well it wasn't the recording, and the new Defs address this shortcoming to the point where I don't have any nagging feelings about the music it plays.

Thanks to Phil who has already articulated much better than me the improvements in the Def 4s, but sometimes the average lunkhead just wants to hear how flippin' good something is, and being an average lunkhead I fully attest the new Def 4s are flipping' good. I'm running mine with Rogue M-180 monos and KT 120 tubes, a First Watt B1 buffer/pre and Benchmark DAC1 USB. It's an excellent combination, though I'd love to try other amplification such as SET and yes, even ASR. Wait, that's not gonna happen. I ran out of money.

One more thing, and yes bloody Phil has beat me to the punch, but these new Defs seem to extract as much musicality as possible from even harsh or poor recordings. I haven't really played anything that hasn't sounded less than good on these and I have very broad taste in music. From Portishead to Shostakovich, these new Defs will play it and they will involve you more emotionally than before. Heck, even my MP3s sound great (please no tomatoes).

Have a happy Fourth of July everybody!

Matt

Matt, congratulations!
I `ll say that my curiosity to hear the Def IV has been piqued due to phil`s detailed description and obvious enthusiasm.I`m usally not interested in speakers with powered woofers but the crossoverless design and high load impedance attract me.

>>How intuitive are the 5 way controls on the backs of the speakers? Is it fairly easy to find the best settings, set and forget?<<

If you read Zu's manual, the controls make sense quickly. If you don't read the manual, twirling the knobs will orient you quickly and then you can dial it in. There is both apparent and real interactivity between the settings. I think it takes some care but not endless fuss. Once set for your room, the combination you arrive at will be stable. I suggest you start with Phase at 0deg, Low Pass Freq at 45Hz, PEQ freq at 31, PEQ gain in the middle, and Volume on 8, and adjust from there. Room variables make any one setting impossible to prescribe. The big levers are Volume and Low-Pass Frequency. Dial them in and then go after the others, with Phase last. Don't obsess. It gets pretty clear by ear quickly, and if you want, an analyzer app can guide you further.

Phil

Matt, you've really cheered me up today. Your post has filled me confidence that the one area I felt the Def2s were lacking compared to other top end speakers has been addressed, ie restricted top end extension/transparency and resultant muted dynamic snap.
My new tt is performing really well, but is highlighting softness in the 2s. I know now that the 4s when they arrive will fill in gaps in this part of the spectrum.
Also like Matt, my bank account is pretty much exhausted by this purchase, so experimenting with amps is out for a while. It's good to know this really isn't going to be essential, the 4s being so complete as a package.
Roll on their arrival!