I mentioned that term in my case to explain why I made some of the "investment" decisions I made in my system. You are thinking about the decisions correctly in your case in my opinion. If you lived with a set of speakers for 20 years, well done--that means you really made a wise choice and got significant enjoyment from them, I presume.
I have a buddy with the DWs and he has them in a large room and they are quite good, but i think a slightly different sound than the Soul Supremes. His room is a little boomy (2 story) and he plays them loud and that's what he was going for in that room I think. The heart of the Zu sound will be similar between the two speakers, but I feel like the Soul Supremes, while they still rock, were intended to give a little more refined sound in a slightly more controlled environment (ie. smaller room, but not necessarily a "small" room). I predict they are simply a little more capable.
As another comparison, I started my Zu trip with Unions, which I only sold recently to my cousin who loves them, and the Soul Supremes were a nice step up for me in the medium-sized room I had at the time. I suspect the Unions to perform at similar levels to DWs. I feel like the Soul Supremes enjoy a little side reflection to sound larger and more magical ...they feel a little smaller in the room I have them in now which doesn't have the side reflections. Again, I think the Soul Supremes may need really strong placement to get their real performance, but when you do, it should be a good level or two above some of Zu's lower models.
Again, this is all my opinion, but in the right room conditions, the Soul Supremes are a VERY capable speaker that it would take a LOT of investment to make the weak link in a phenomenal system. I feel that they are a sincere sweet spot in the very strong Zu lineup.
I have a buddy with the DWs and he has them in a large room and they are quite good, but i think a slightly different sound than the Soul Supremes. His room is a little boomy (2 story) and he plays them loud and that's what he was going for in that room I think. The heart of the Zu sound will be similar between the two speakers, but I feel like the Soul Supremes, while they still rock, were intended to give a little more refined sound in a slightly more controlled environment (ie. smaller room, but not necessarily a "small" room). I predict they are simply a little more capable.
As another comparison, I started my Zu trip with Unions, which I only sold recently to my cousin who loves them, and the Soul Supremes were a nice step up for me in the medium-sized room I had at the time. I suspect the Unions to perform at similar levels to DWs. I feel like the Soul Supremes enjoy a little side reflection to sound larger and more magical ...they feel a little smaller in the room I have them in now which doesn't have the side reflections. Again, I think the Soul Supremes may need really strong placement to get their real performance, but when you do, it should be a good level or two above some of Zu's lower models.
Again, this is all my opinion, but in the right room conditions, the Soul Supremes are a VERY capable speaker that it would take a LOT of investment to make the weak link in a phenomenal system. I feel that they are a sincere sweet spot in the very strong Zu lineup.