[advanced101]

The Zeus have arrived, now it is time to set them up.

[SlushPuppy]

The Zeus have arrived, now it is time to set them up.

Congrats! Can't wait to see them in your listening room!

[ArthurDent]

Congrats! Can't wait to see them in your listening room!

   +1   

[Bones13]

Wow, some serious packaging there. Have fun setting everything up. We need final pics.

[advanced101]

I put them together and placed them in the same location where my Orpheus were positioned.  First thing, the photographs on the Daedalus site do not represent the true size of these speakers.  They are massive.  After I put them together I just sat on the couch and looked at them and thought "Geez, what did I do?", lol.  And like everything else Daedalus, they look better in person. 

For break-in, I use the REL subwoofer break-in method first, I took care of that yesterday.  After that I ran the Nordost Speaker break-in track at normal listening levels for a few hours.

Last night I moved them closer to the sidewalls and increased toe-in until the tweeters were firing at my shoulders (Photo is of original placement).  After a couple weeks, I will go back to speaker positioning with the Master Set method.  After listening last night, I think I am in the ballpark.

- First thing I noticed was not the bass, compared to the Orpheus but the highs and mid-range.  There is much more resolution.  This was really the goal of this change.  Keep the naturalness of the Orpheus but increase resolution.  Imaging has improved as well.  If you have an older pair of Daedalus, send them in for the new tweeters and mid-range (new 2021 mid-range).  For the cost, no brainer.

- Still need to work with the subs but I prefer them with the Zeus.  Although I feel the Zeus goes low the BOWs add that kick to the kick drum.   I A/B'd with and without and every time appreciated what the BOWs do.  I need to take measurements too.  The BOW crossover is set to 50Hz?, which paired perfectly with the Orpheus.  Since the Zeus go lower I want to measure to see how much overlap is there.  May have to look at getting the crossover modified for a lower value.

- They seem to be quite a bit more sensitive than my Orpheus.  Although the specs are within 1 db/m, I am running 2.5db more attenuation to achieve my normal listening volumes.  This makes me more comfortable for my inevitable move back to SET amps.  Lamm ML2.x?

- I will post more critical listening thoughts after full break-in and setup.  So far, there is a ton of potential.

Still a lot more work to do but having fun.

[Early B.]

Those look stunning!

[advanced101]

Congrats! Can't wait to see them in your listening room!

Nice to see another Houston audiophile.

[A_shah]

I put them together and placed them in the same location where my Orpheus were positioned.  First thing, the photographs on the Daedalus site do not represent the true size of these speakers.  They are massive.  After I put them together I just sat on the couch and looked at them and thought "Geez, what did I do?", lol.  And like everything else Daedalus, they look better in person. 

For break-in, I use the REL subwoofer break-in method first, I took care of that yesterday.  After that I ran the Nordost Speaker break-in track at normal listening levels for a few hours.

Last night I moved them closer to the sidewalls and increased toe-in until the tweeters were firing at my shoulders (Photo is of original placement).  After a couple weeks, I will go back to speaker positioning with the Master Set method.  After listening last night, I think I am in the ballpark.

- First thing I noticed was not the bass, compared to the Orpheus but the highs and mid-range.  There is much more resolution.  This was really the goal of this change.  Keep the naturalness of the Orpheus but increase resolution.  Imaging has improved as well.  If you have an older pair of Daedalus, send them in for the new tweeters and mid-range (new 2021 mid-range).  For the cost, no brainer.

- Still need to work with the subs but I prefer them with the Zeus.  Although I feel the Zeus goes low the BOWs add that kick to the kick drum.   I A/B'd with and without and every time appreciated what the BOWs do.  I need to take measurements too.  The BOW crossover is set to 50Hz?, which paired perfectly with the Orpheus.  Since the Zeus go lower I want to measure to see how much overlap is there.  May have to look at getting the crossover modified for a lower value.

- They seem to be quite a bit more sensitive than my Orpheus.  Although the specs are within 1 db/m, I am running 2.5db more attenuation to achieve my normal listening volumes.  This makes me more comfortable for my inevitable move back to SET amps.  Lamm ML2.x?

- I will post more critical listening thoughts after full break-in and setup.  So far, there is a ton of potential.

Still a lot more work to do but having fun.

Congratulations ! keep us posted , yes completely agree !   in my case the new tweeters seem to compliment my mid rage and whole prestation is  much smoother but it took a long time to break in .

Asghar

[advanced101]

Yea, I listened last night.  The break-in period is going to be rough.  I am going to start playing them whenever I'm not home to speed things up.

[advanced101]

Have been playing the Zeus all day, every day since they have been setup, with CDs on repeat.  They probably have 35 hours on them.  I did the first critical listening yesterday afternoon.

Any harshness in the highs and mid-range is gone.  I started with the Master Set positioning.  The anchor speaker, which is the left speaker is almost in the exact same position as the Orpheus, if you reference the front baffle.  I have been working on getting the right speaker set into the room and just like the Orpheus, it prefer to be a little behind the left speaker.  I am still working on that.  Quarter inch increments seem to make a big difference.  A bit of a tedious process.  Toe-in is still set where the speakers are firing 1 foot away from my head.

Bass definition wise, I use Jennifer Warnes Famous Blue Raincoat, Ballad of the Runaway Horse and listen to the upright bass.  90% of the plucks are well defined.  I have a bit of an issue with a 62ish Hz vertical room mode.  I need to raise my seating position up a few inches.  When I do that the bass is cleaner as well as the mid-range and highs.  My ears prefer to be at around 42" in height which puts them at the top of the lower mid-range driver.

I still prefer using the BOWs but I think there is a little overlap between the Zeus.  I am going to see how that plays out but will be trialing a different speaker cable soon that is said to be a touch lighter in the bass but have great resolution in the mids and highs.  May also eventually experiment with different feet.  The Zeus put a bit more bass into the floor.  I will experiment with these tweaks before I ask to make any changes to the crossover of the BOWs. 

All my room treatments are up and everything is sounding pretty good, just a little bit more tweaking and I think I will be there.  Back at it on Friday.

[Daedalus Audio]

Have been playing the Zeus all day, every day since they have been setup, with CDs on repeat.  They probably have 35 hours on them.  I did the first critical listening yesterday afternoon.

Any harshness in the highs and mid-range is gone.  I started with the Master Set positioning.  The anchor speaker, which is the left speaker is almost in the exact same position as the Orpheus, if you reference the front baffle.  I have been working on getting the right speaker set into the room and just like the Orpheus, it prefer to be a little behind the left speaker.  I am still working on that.  Quarter inch increments seem to make a big difference.  A bit of a tedious process.  Toe-in is still set where the speakers are firing 1 foot away from my head.

Bass definition wise, I use Jennifer Warnes Famous Blue Raincoat, Ballad of the Runaway Horse and listen to the upright bass.  90% of the plucks are well defined.  I have a bit of an issue with a 62ish Hz vertical room mode.  I need to raise my seating position up a few inches.  When I do that the bass is cleaner as well as the mid-range and highs.  My ears prefer to be at around 42" in height which puts them at the top of the lower mid-range driver.

I still prefer using the BOWs but I think there is a little overlap between the Zeus.  I am going to see how that plays out but will be trialing a different speaker cable soon that is said to be a touch lighter in the bass but have great resolution in the mids and highs.  May also eventually experiment with different feet.  The Zeus put a bit more bass into the floor.  I will experiment with these tweaks before I ask to make any changes to the crossover of the BOWs. 

All my room treatments are up and everything is sounding pretty good, just a little bit more tweaking and I think I will be there.  Back at it on Friday.

I would strongly advise against using cables as tone controls.  The first thing I would do is try adjusting the speaker placement forward or back. Sometimes just a small change in that direction can have a huge impact on the bass balance. Also it can be counter-intuitive, I've had it happen where pulling the speakers further from the front wall increased bass. Once the placement for tonal balance is set, if there is still an issue I would look at having the crossover point modified. I'll talk with Dan Wright about this.

[dodgealum]

Sometimes just a small change in that direction can have a huge impact on the bass balance. Also it can be counter-intuitive, I've had it happen where pulling the speakers further from the front wall increased bass.

Exactly what happened to me with my Apollo's. Ended up moving the speakers in one inch increments out into the room until the bass really locked into place--not only tighter and more tuneful but also deeper and faster. Listened to some well recorded acoustic guitar, bass yesterday (Michael Hedges "Breakfast in the Field" and was blown away by the percussive impact--so fast, so real. I gotta tell you, Lou's speakers really reward upstream changes and placement adjustments!

[zmikem53]

Congrats on your new speakers !  They look fantastic as I’m sure they will sound..
Enjoy !
Mike

[advanced101]

In a parallel effort... I ended up modding my phonostage and added some new Silver SUTs.

I finished the speaker setup with the right speaker.  I am fairly happy with toe-in, but need to spend more time with single singer vocals to get a better feel.  I mostly listen to Jazz and Classical.  I think any adjustment would be slight.

Also, I raised my couch up 1.75".  I feel that I am in a better position for my vertical room mode and there is more detail in the mids and sparkle in the highs.  My ears are around 41" off the floor, depending on how I sit.

After these changes and more time on the speaker, the bass is now perfect.  Perfect blend between Zeus and Bows.  It is crazy good now, every pluck of an upright bass is well defined.  Bass isn't overblown on rock tracks.  I tend to like bass on the "less thick" side of things.  You wouldn't know the subs are on/ off unless you A/B'd them.  As I said before, the BOWs provide the "kick" to the kick drum.

This system is amazing. 

Next up is a new SET amp for the Zeus, something special...

[Randy]

Why do you have the speakers up so high, on those big stands?

[Bones13]

Why do you have the speakers up so high, on those big stands?

https://www.daedalusaudio.com/zeus-speaker

[advanced101]

Tubes are starting to come in for the new amp 

[Loki57]

Nice tubes. What amps are you getting?

[advanced101]

Nice tubes. What amps are you getting?

Air Tight 300r.

I see in your profile that you have the Allnic 5000 DHT.  Not sure if you were the one that purchased the set for sale from TMR a while back, if so congrats.  I was keeping an eye on that pair but wanted to wait until I had my Zeus before getting a new amp.  I wanted to see how much more efficient the Zeus were compared to the Orpheus, since I ran the Orpheus well with the Line Magnetic 219ia.  The Zeus seem much more efficient.  I was curious about Ketcham's claim of running the Allnic PX25s on them.  After having them in the house it does not surprise me that 6-7wpc would be enough.

I have three amps for the Zeus that are on my bucket list.  Lamm ML2.x, Allnic PX25/ 300B DHT and the Air Tight 300r.  Since the 300B DHT set sold I took this opportunity to support a local dealer and sprang on the trade in offer of my wonderful EAR 509 monoblocks.  I would not hesitate to recommend the EAR 509 mkii for any Daedalus owner who wants/ needs more power.  They are great, top to bottom.

I have some other nice tubes coming for the 300r later this week, I will post them if they make it.  The 5U4G was "stuck" in customs for 5 weeks and they finally seem to have been shaken loose.

[ketcham]

Congratulations on those beautiful speakers!  I have played with all sorts of amps from our store.  Low Wattage SET play best with the ZEUS!  There is nothing wanting.  7.5 W PX25 SET will be replaced with a 211 (maybe 845) SET (Allnic A-2500) at 20W for the new Daedalus Speakers (slightly less efficient). 

ZEUS! are easy to relocate and versatile!  They do just fine in small rooms (where I have them set up now) and exceedingly large rooms. 

Daedalus product line remains favorite to date.