Hi All,
We have lived with the Zu Druids for over a year, and were completely happy with our decision to keep them. Then, after numerous conversations with Sean & Adam at Zu, regarding the new technology and great improvements of the Druid 2 over the original Druid design, we upgraded!! We had to send our original Druids in to be retrofitted with the upgrades. After a grueling 2-½ weeks without main speakers, and no thanks to FedEx tracking issues and a blizzard, they finally showed up. If you have not read my original review of the Zu Druid, please see
http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=2211 as this review builds on where I left off.
PART 1
THE UGRADE INFO
*Info taken from the Zu website
The new Druid 2 is currently available in 3 different levels, the Composite $4995, The Standard $3995 and the Pro $2995. The insides are all the same, the differences can be found in the cabinet construction. The Composite is a torsion-box enclosure utilizing graphite composite with a laminate wood core enclosure with a beautiful exterior finish. The Standard has a 7-ply birch enclosure with a beautiful exterior finish, and the Pro has the same 7-ply birch enclosure with a high durability black-matte finish similar to a paint-on truck bead lining.
All designs share the following:
· DC3 variable-density internal cartridge for improved driver control and reduced harmonic distortion
· Ibis internal cabling
· Re-engineered connector-to-cable-to-voice-coil termination cuts the number of solder points in half
· Higher tolerances on the Zu260FR driver and its motor.
· New 1% tolerances on the super-tweeter high-pass network and silver alloy lead outs
· Super-tweeter lead outs have been shortened to 25cm and terminated directly with the Ibis cable at the voice coil
· Removable speaker grills
From the Zu website “Druid-2 is a complete rework of our ground-breaking Druid loudspeaker. Improved bass extension, improved amplitude linearity with a substantial reduction of noise—the musical terms translation is better detail, improved soundstage depth and texture, more instrument color and a playback presence that is as good as it gets.”
PART 2
FIRST LISTEN
This test was performed after 200 hours of burn in to get the new internal wiring up to par. Also, please note that IMHO the Original Druid was simply amazing at its price point.
The first tests were from: The Sounds of Wood & Steel, and All The Pretty Horses soundtrack; these CD’s has some amazing emotion being presented acoustically. There are some very detailed, smooth, and quiet passages, as well as the deep bass of a kettledrum. Alison Krauss, and Chris Isaak for the vocal part of the test.
These CD’s were the original reference discs that we used when we compared the Druid to the Revel Ultima Salon. (For complete comparison please refer my previous review of the original Druid) The Revel Ultima Salon had a smoothness that the Original Druid at times seemed to lack.
The Druid 2 was smoother than the original version, much smoother. There was much more bass weight too, per Zu they go down to @ 40 Hz. They presented a better sense of the body of acoustic instruments. Imaging was tighter and better defined. The original Druid had a little bit of a glare in the midrange, that is now gone. Vocals are presented with a beautiful air that just let the artist seem to be standing in the room with you.
I only wish I could get a shot at comparing them directly to the Salons again!
I can’t say enough about what these speakers can do, and do well. I am convinced that, to get this kind of performance, you would have to spend much more money. These speakers are for real, and should be considered by anyone that is in the market for real Hi-End performance speakers.
Since the upgrade, I have integrated the new Zu Retro subwoofer to handle all of the low bass duties. This is one sub that can keep up with the main speakers, and it is totally and easily configurable to your preferences. I will post more info and opinions about the Retro sub later.
