[jameshuls]

Hey all, I just discovered that Zu is selling a kit, or individual drivers, to upgrade any druid. The drivers are the new ones used in the newly released mk.V. As a druid mk.IV owner i am intrigued! If anyone has any experience with this upgrade I would be very interested to know how it turned out! Perhaps even replacing the horn tweeters (probably the main druid mk.IV weak point) with the radian might be a worthy option.

[naggots]

I ordered the upgrade and receuved the new nano drivers, still waiting for the radians. These drivers are really nice, detailed, clean and dynamic. With the old tweeter there seems to be a gap, it is more present now not as blended, I have a 10 ohm resistor and feel the Druid original 12 ohm would work a little better.

I did the cabinet damping a few years ago along with a Griewe wedge so my results maybe atypical. Sean assured me the new tweeter and hi pass network will blend effortlessly.

[jameshuls]

Hi Naggots,

I look forward to hearing your thoughts once you've completed the upgrade! One of the European importers of Zu is stating the Druid V is his favorite Zu speaker EVER! Lofty praise...

I didn't realize you could do the Griewe wedge with the Druid IV. How did this change the sound? How much does it cost? Is it worth it? And the damping?

I upgraded my high pass filter with a Mundorf Silver Gold and Oil and a Dueland graphite resistor and it was worthwhile. I also had custom 1.5" thick Brazilian slate slabs made which I fitted with Herbie's Fat Gliders. Setting the Druids on these slabs really enhanced the Bass and the soundstage. It seemed to really tighten things up. I am ready for the next jump in performance!

[trackball02]

I do not have the Druids, but I did upgrade the main driver on my Soul Superflys with the Nanotechs. There was a subtle but definite improvement. Holding the replacement driver in place to screw down the trim ring with the new driver with proper alignment is very cumbersome and really a 2 man job.  I would not try it alone by the way.    It is well worth the effort.

[naggots]

The greiwe wedge was suggested by Sean along with bracing the cabinet. If you remove the base of the speaker you'll see some wire mesh the foam wedge should be 3/8" smaller all sides than this opening and be as high as the middle of the tweeter. Glue the foam to the mesh. I used open called foam but I think Zu use closed cell.

The bracing is a piece of 1"dowelling between the frd and tweeter, cut it tight and glue it in. If you intend to do the Radian mod then don't install the dowel....... You'll have to remove it anyway.

The sound paint I used is water based sound damping paint, similar to quiet coat, about 1/8" thick all over the insides of the speaker. This added 3kg to them. Again if you do the Radian then don't paint the tweeter area as the new tweeter sandwiches the baffle and the soundpaint will need to be removed.

I had the Mundorf sio cap and duelund resistor, the radian comes with Clarity capMR and mills resistor as they sound better with it.

[naggots]

My Griewe wedge is tapered like a pyramid but i note the new DruidV has it as a rectangle

[Avonessence]

Hi Naggots,

Have you completed the Zu Druid IV upgrade to the V with the kit?

[naggots]

Not yet...... The Nanos have been in since last year but the Radian lens machining has been delayed till now. Sean was very nice tho and offered me a set of Event RCA for my patience...... Zu are awesome to deal with. 
 


I may be inline for the first complete Druid upgrade kit along with 12 pieces of pre cut sound damping pieces. Should make a noticeable change.

I'll let you know how they sound in due course.

[morganc]

I heard the Druid MK V's and I can say with confidence that you all will be very happy with the upgrade.   It is a fantastic speaker and thE Radian tweeter is a must have!   I have owned several Zu speakers and the new Druid is my second favorite behind the Definition MK IV's.   If you listen to jazz and vocals only, it maybe even better than the Defs.   It's that good. 

[Corradobrit]

Would love to hear some opinions regarding this upgrade. I've been interested in doing this myself. How easy was the kit to install?

[naggots]

In production now so maybe a couple weeks. I'm also purchasing an Earle Weston kt120 topaz with output transformers specially wound to the Mkv impedance specs(thanks again Sean) 45w class A. Interesting times Ahead

[Avonessence]

Not yet...... The Nanos have been in since last year but the Radian lens machining has been delayed till now. Sean was very nice tho and offered me a set of Event RCA for my patience...... Zu are awesome to deal with. 
 


I may be inline for the first complete Druid upgrade kit along with 12 pieces of pre cut sound damping pieces. Should make a noticeable change.

I'll let you know how they sound in due course.

Hi Naggots,

The guys at Zu are awesome to deal with.

Did you get any further with the upgrades?

I got myself a pair of V's with the Dueland caps, they are still bedding in but are sounding fantastic. The Druid IV-2008 is a brilliant speaker the V is takes every aspect of the IV and improves it in every area, which I would not have thought possible. Sean and the guys have really done their best with this.

[naggots]

I installed the upgrade along with an extra mods to the plinth/Griewe wedge involving 1/4" Al plate and 5kg of sound paint.

The results are quite incredible, nano + radian + the new hypex amps in my mini methods have me in awe. Well worth the $ especially as I'm in Oz. Sean and Gerrit have given me all sorts of ideas most of which are incorporated into my Druids.

Fantastic !!!!

[doctorcilantro]

I have Union Cubes with use the new nano driver with Clarity CAP MR but wondering about adding Jupiters, and some solid cord cryo copper (JW Audio CryoNova) I have here to replace the Zu internal harness. I'm kind of doubtful the tweeter cap will do much but curious nonetheless. The tweeter on the Cube is pretty basic and comes in at 124kHz IIRC. The speakers sound great to me, but plotting some tweaks...

[logos47]

Calling all NAGGOTS!
Mr. Naggots, you ran you Druids with just the new nano drivers before mounting the Radian 850s.  How was the sound with just the frd upgrade alone?  And did you already have a cap upgrade when you mounted the wide banders?  Thanks--I am deciding what to do with mine (already have the clarity caps in Druid IV 08 speakers.