Zu cable Druid mk4 review up on 6moons

jcoat007 · « **Reply #20 on:** 4 Jun 2005, 02:18 pm »

How do the Druids do at imaging?

miklorsmith · « **Reply #21 on:** 6 Jun 2005, 03:42 pm »

I honestly don't know. Mine have been shoved tightly into corners the whole time I've owned them. They Do Not image at all in this configuration. Strangely, I've been an imaging nut until getting these speakers. I'll take obvious-source with these over the vanishing Gallos any day.

I'll have a new room this week and will be able to comment more later on whether they can be made to perform magic tricks.

topster · « **Reply #22 on:** 6 Jun 2005, 05:41 pm »

Quote from: miklorsmith

I'll take obvious-source with these over the vanishing Gallos any day.

Hi mikorsmith, could you elaborate on what's so great about the Druids against the Ref3s? I'm on the lookout for a pair of speakers in that price range. I've tried the Gallos in a home trial but they didn't work out for me due to the lack of midrange and bass weight when coupled with my amp (I have an Audiolab 8000s). Also, their omni tweeter was playing havoc in my space.

I was hoping Srajan would contrast them more against the Ref3s since they're practically the same price, but he didn't. Maybe you could fill that void since you've owned both.

Thanks!

miklorsmith · « **Reply #23 on:** 6 Jun 2005, 06:45 pm »

Audiolab 8000s? That's funny, I own that amp too. I was using it for the second voice coils in the Gallos.

The Ref. 3's are an Audiophile's wet dream in several important ways. They do the "usual suspects" of imaging and soundstaging very well. The CDT tweeter is exemplary, probably the best I've heard. Its ability to portray nuance and tonality in the highest reaches is really special.

At the bottom end, they are quite good, and the ability to connect a second amp to get subwoofer-like response without separate boxes and their troubles is really neat. They sound much larger than they are and if you like speakers, they look really cool. The construction is outstanding and I think they are a great value. When I had them in the house, I was proud of them and liked to show them off, like a big, tough dog or a shiny car.

Or a hot girlfriend that you don't realize you don't love until you meet your soul-mate. The Druids have reprioritized my list of importance. Imaging and soundstaging are low on that list now. Coherency, dynamics and tone are at the top. Even with the Druids in corners, which I would never have tolerated for 5 minutes with other speakers (needing the "usual suspects"), I find them delightful. They deliver nuance and emotion and I feel great, personal love for them.

The Druids don't sound like speakers, they sound like music. Going to them from the Gallos is not like "cleaning the window", it's removing the window. No glass, no room, just cool breeze on a warm day, in the field with flowers and butterflies. They are a direct aural connection with the recording.

Without an intimate encounter with these, it's difficult to convey what sensitivity, dynamics, extension, flat response, and coherency will do for your understanding of what's possible. My expectations have been entirely rewritten.

nathanm · « **Reply #24 on:** 6 Jun 2005, 08:15 pm »

With all the positive comments from Druid owners it's a shame that the old demo tour never happened.

jcoat007 · « **Reply #25 on:** 6 Jun 2005, 08:46 pm »

Quote from: nathanm

With all the positive comments from Druid owners it's a shame that the old demo tour never happened.

There's still a demo tour. It's called a 60 day satisfaction guarantee!!!!

Call Zu right now and get that demo started.

miklorsmith · « **Reply #26 on:** 6 Jun 2005, 08:56 pm »

Remember, the price includes around $1,000 in speaker cable, free packing/crating, and shipping your way. If you don't like them, you're only out the shipping fee from your house to them - under $100.

Of course, you are unlikely to avail yourself of this as I believe they've still only had one pair returned, ever.

jcoat007 · « **Reply #27 on:** 6 Jun 2005, 10:44 pm »

Quote from: miklorsmith

Remember, the price includes around $1,000 in speaker cable, free packing/crating, and shipping your way. If you don't like them, you're only out the shipping fee from your house to them - under $100.

Of course, you are unlikely to avail yourself of this as I believe they've still only had one pair returned, ever.

The price includes cables??????????

miklorsmith · « **Reply #28 on:** 6 Jun 2005, 10:49 pm »

The standard deal (as of a month ago) is an 8-foot pair of their Ibis cables included. I think they retail for around $1,100. You can get longer runs of the Libtec cable too, which I did.

I asked Sean if he was OK with me telling people about that part, since it isn't listed on the website, and he said sure. I don't know if this will be available forever. Even if there were no cables, these speakers Rule at the price.

jcoat007 · « **Reply #29 on:** 6 Jun 2005, 11:12 pm »

Quote from: miklorsmith

The standard deal (as of a month ago) is an 8-foot pair of their Ibis cables included. I think they retail for around $1,100. You can get longer runs of the Libtec cable too, which I did.

I asked Sean if he was OK with me telling people about that part, since it isn't listed on the website, and he said sure. I don't know if this will be available forever. Even if there were no cables, these speakers Rule at the price.

That is huge news!!! I'm checking with Zu to see if this is still the deal. If so, I'm placing my order.

JohnnyLightOn · « **Reply #30 on:** 7 Jun 2005, 01:17 am »

Three questions for Druid owners (thank you in advance!!):

- How big/massive do they appear? I'm having a problem with an overcrowded living room (from a certain person's perspective, you can guess who.)

My current speakers are walnut-finished B&Ws, pretty boxy looking, 35" high x 11" wide, 16" deep. The Druids are 15" higher, and the same width, but much less deep. Do they seem like they could appear less massive, or is this just wishful thinking?

- Another solution to the overcrowding problem would be to put the speakers in the corners of the room, and/or against the rear wall (no more than a couple inches away from it). Would this destroy the Druids' sound? miklorsmith, can you elaborate a little, are yours in corners but still in a good triangle with your listening spot? What if I was not in a perfect triangle, and what if my corners were 19' apart? Is the bass boomy because it's up against a wall/corner?

- The only other single-driver speaker I've heard were a pair of corner horns, and they were so shouty and in-my-face that I had a lot of trouble adjusting to them. Also, they were great on simple music, especially vocals and simple classical pieces, but not great on rock or complex music. Would the Druid fall into the same general speaker category?

(Note: I just re-read 213Cobra's great description of these speakers and it seems like they are much more all-around than the ones I heard, but this aspect still scares me a little.)

nathanm · « **Reply #31 on:** 7 Jun 2005, 03:05 am »

Quote from: miklorsmith

Remember, the price includes around $1,000 in speaker cable

What am I gonna do with a 1000 foot reel of speaker cable?

topster · « **Reply #32 on:** 7 Jun 2005, 04:03 am »

Thanks for the reply miklorsmith. If that isn't a strong endorsement, I don't know what is.

However...

without the second voicecoil, do the Druids go as low as Refs3? What about the midrange?

Thanks!

miklorsmith · « **Reply #33 on:** 7 Jun 2005, 02:38 pm »

Putting the Druids smack into corners didn't cause boomy bass in my room, but that was in a HUGE room. YMMV, though these aren't too picky about placement. If you can be a decent distance from the speakers, they won't be too large, say more than 12 feet. They are much shallower, and that helps, but the front face is large. Tell the wife they won't be too bad and then let her hear them. If necessary, give her the old tomato - all of us, or none of us. That's what I did (almost).

Separating them a large distance from each other in corners will ensure your sweet spot is very small and will almost guarantee no imaging or soundstaging. I almost guarantee you won't care.

Bass vs. the Gallos w/o second voice coils I want to say is better, but that might be related to my preferance of the speaker as a whole. The Gallos are good in the bass department. The mids of the Druids are unequivocally better.

But, with the Druids, you will forget about separating the music into parts. Your brain will wash away a lot of what you internalize as hi-fi and this is a big part of it. Bass, treble, and midrange become irrelevant. It's all there, of course, but it coexists together in harmony and balance so as to allow you to forget the right-brain analysis that ALWAYS goes along with listening to speakers/hi-fi. For once, you can just forget all about that stuff and frolick in the fields of the left brain.

They don't sound like hi-eff speakers. Srajan said this and it's true. No shout, no rising mid-treble, no equalization, no problem. They sound flat and balanced. Simple arrangements and vocals are sublime. I don't know how to better condense this than to say they do not prefer any kind of music to the detriment of another and they don't care how quiet or loud you play it.

ton1313 · « **Reply #34 on:** 7 Jun 2005, 04:05 pm »

Srajan has posted an additional 2 pages of his review on 6 moons & there is some really great photos, including the Method sub!

lonewolfny42 · « **Reply #35 on:** 7 Jun 2005, 06:32 pm »

Quote from: ton1313

Srajan has posted an additional 2 pages of his review on 6 moons & there is some really great photos, including the Method sub!

Here's your link again.... http://www.6moons.com/audioreviews/zu/druid.html .

Chris[/list:u]

Sa-dono · « **Reply #36 on:** 8 Jun 2005, 05:54 am »

Quote from: nathanm

With all the positive comments from Druid owners it's a shame that the old demo tour never happened.

Some of us were able to hear the speakers.

lonewolfny42 · « **Reply #37 on:** 8 Jun 2005, 06:45 am »

Quote from: Sa-dono

Quote from: nathanm
With all the positive comments from Druid owners it's a shame that the old demo tour never happened.

Some of us were able to hear the speakers.

Yes...and some of us were not...

Sa-dono · « **Reply #38 on:** 8 Jun 2005, 08:16 am »

Quote from: lonewolfny42

Yes...and some of us we not...

Sometimes it pays to live closer to the manufacturer.

You guys might try emailing Zu, to see if they might do another demo, if they're not too busy with production and sales. Adam and Nathan are both good guys, and their sales record is great, with one sale from two stops on the demo tour.

lonewolfny42 · « **Reply #39 on:** 8 Jun 2005, 08:29 am »

Seems like only yesterday......but these were not the mk4's back then....(I don't think

).