Anyone listen to Zu Audio's Definition Mk3?


Comparisons with the 1.5s and the others that came before? Getting the itch; again......
128x128warrenh
Spirit,
I would agree that first get comfortable with your new speakers and their fit into your system. Once this is done and you have a good sense of your sound ,then further changes 'if needed' can be chosen.
Speaker capacitor changes can be a relatively simple step that can yield marked improvement quite often.You have plenty of time,so no rush.
Regards,
Unless an owner asked for something different, Def4s have a Mundorf cap on the Radian super tweeter. I know Zu continually evaluates new capacitors for in-line upgrades and as options for customers before or after delivery. I wouldn't go so far as to say that the Mundorf "holds back" the Radian in Def4 and Druid5, but you can certainly alter the perceptual output contour of the very top end by changing the tweeter network cap to voice your system. I will have more to say on this in January, as I will be doing a few cap comparisons on my Def4s and Druid5s in a few weeks.

I agree that Atmasphere OTL amps are "clean & lean" on Definitions; less so on Druid, which tends to help any amp deliver more tonal body in the midrange. And for some reason, Superfly conveys Atmasphere sound more like Def than does Druid. I get more natural presentation from specifically Audion SET than from any push-pull tube amps, OTL or otherwise, but I also have to say that the amplifiers under discussion by Spirit lately in this thread are all in the family of highly credible amplification for Zu, and that includes his Hovland. Yeah, sure you're getting some silicon sound from the Hovland power amp but compared to what normal music aficionados are dealing with, we here are talking about spending silly money to correct a relatively narrow deficiency. Not that I wouldn't spend it or haven't! Once the right power amp is lashed to a Zu speaker it becomes very straightforward to sort sources, cables and even to dial in setup.

Phil
I'm not going to rush into a cap change at this point, although it's on my radar. The sound of the 4s is changing daily, thankfully for the better, as I continue to make small adjustments. Eg I've just located my amps onto Symposium Isis supports, and having placed Precision Couplers under the amps a whole layer of upper midbass colouration has cleared and a more transparent window to the music has resulted.
I always scoffed at audiophiles talking this way, but, ahem, I'm now guilty of applying hyperbole to what I perceive to be big changes in sound with ongoing changes.
What I'm concluding from this is that the 4s really are a remarkable transducer, presenting a really direct line to the music, and capable of revealing the quality of all elements in the chain between it and the source played.
I want to try a few changes, but based on my conclusions so far I'm certain a cap change will be noticeable, as would amp change from SS to SET 845/OTL.
Phil, please keep us all informed on your cap change findings. Please give serious consideration to trying the Dueland Cast Cu, apparently the best, but also the most expensive. The guy on the 6Moons site with DruidVs certainly concluded it was an advantage to swap out the stock Mundorfs.
I've had some extensive conversations with Sean regarding caps for the Druid mk5 upgrade. Clarity Cap MR is his favourite value for money cap with the Radian, very close to Duelund in the mk5 configuration. I had Mundorf SIO caps in my network already........... He said change them.
Hi Phil,
I`ll be very interested in your upcoming capacitor comparisons.I`ve put Duelund CAST into my speakers last month(tweeter,only caps in the speaker). Phil in one simple word,stunning!Despite their higher cost relative to other WELL regarded caps,the CAST are on a different plane. The more transparent the speaker, the greater the effect.I`d pay 'twice' the cost of the CAST given my superb results in both my speaker and DAC .
Best Regards,