Zu Definition owners who stepped up to the Def 4

Hi Mark,
What I remember reading is that the new woofers benefit from firing downward and are braced considerably better in the 4's. I have the 3's and Sean and other owners have told me that the 4 is better in two regards:
1. The new Radian tweeter
2. Improved bass due to the above reasons.

I have an invitation to hear a pair locally and if I do make it I will let you know my thoughts.

Cheers,
Morgan.

The 12" downfiring sub in Def4 is cleaner, quicker, and it loads the room more evenly. It is in all ways better than the 4x10" linear sub array on earlier Definitions. Plus the internal amp is better, cleaner, more powerful -- and you have far more control over deep bass/room interations with the parametric, phase and hinge frequency variables. The rest is in the Zu Definition 3 thread here.

Phil

Gsm18439,
Thanks for pointing me in the right direction. I see Phil is a wealth of information
on this subject. I have a better insight as to the quantity and quality of the bass
now.

Morgan,
Please report back if/when you hear the Def 4's, I'd love to hear you're findings,
thoughts and comments.

Phil,
Thanks for clearing that up. I guess I'm from the old school thinking that more is
better, so 4-10" must be better than 1-12" right? I read about the
issues the old design has, so it all makes sense to me now.

One bit of advice I can volunteer for those who can't easily upgrade to the 4s, love the 2s, but have some issues with bass integration, is to install a SpatialComputer Bass Anti Wave Generator. In my room it has made great strides in evening out certain standing waves and bass nodes. So much so that previous dissatisfaction with bass-room integration have been largely solved.
From what I gather the 4s have really solved these issues further with the single sub-bass driver, all the way into the high treble.
When my 4s are installed in the next 2-4 weeks, I'll report my findings.

Markpao,

All other things being equal, more cone area to move air is "better." But all other things aren't equal in this case. Four drivers don't deliver the same absolute dynamic unity as one. The 12" in the Def4 is a substantial cast-basket driver with a more powerful motor and it is bolted horizontally to the massive machined aluminum plinth rather than screwed on the vertical plane to wood. And even if that weren't enough difference, Def4 adds an array of five controls for the sub, against just a level control in Def2. The one area of theoretical compromise is that the sub's internal amp is proximate to the 12" driver. If you really worried about that the amplification could be externalized, but then the elegant unitary integration of all Def4 elements into one simple box would be ruined. Anyone so inclined can always save their money for Dominance if they hanker for more boxes and cable on the floor!

Phil