[Jonathan]

Greetings,

I am (once more) contemplating a change in speakers from my Reference 3a MM De Capos. My amps are Quicksilver Mini Mites, and Mike Sanders recommends speakers that are at least 93 dB. I'm certainly not having a problem driving the De Capos (rated at 92dB, I think) to a reasonable volume, but I am interested in trying something new and different.

I have read good things about the Zu Druid, and I'm intrigued. That being said, I usually see at least three or four pairs for sale on Audiogon, which makes me wonder if there might be some "issue" with them.

Any input from current or previous owners would be appreciated.

Thanks!

Jon

[miklorsmith]

I've owned them and sold them.  There is an unavoidable, terrible problem - not everyone loves them.  I sold mine to move up the Zu food chain, but otherwise I'd still own 'em and would still be loving them.

I would characterize the Druids as music lover's over audiophile speakers.  What they do:

Monster tone, they sound killer on guitar music
Tight bass, down to 40 hz they're very musical.  Listen to some acoustic upright and drool
Transient coherence, they speak with "one voice"
Extended at the upper end, well compared with single driver speakers anyway
True SET compatibility
Uncompressed scale with very dynamic music

What they do not do:

Top-shelf air and sparkle in the treble band
Chest kicking in the power zone of the bass, 40 hz - 80 hz
Razor-sharp imaging

I spend a little (as little as possible) time over at Agon.  I've seen a lot of folks' reactions to the Druids.  Some people really love them and others don't get it.  They make perfect, musical sense to me in the same way the vinyl guys are differentiating their plastic from the other in the "Do all CDPs sound the same" thread.

But, they don't check some of the audiophile boxes on "the form".  Every speaker is a compromise.  I believe the Druids are more different from other speakers than other speakers are from each other.  The absense of a crossover in the meat of the music becomes obvious after a while, which may or may not grab you.  If it does, you're in for a wild ride.  If not, at least you'll know.

I think the reason quite a few pairs have been sold is that Zu is selling a ton of them.  I have no idea of the numbers, but I guarantee they're selling a lot more than are coming up for sale.  Buying used would be a great way to try them out, or go for the 60-day trial which they have been known to add to at no penalty if you need extra time.

At any rate, whether bought or just auditioned they are a worthy pursuit for audiophiles to at least hear.  In your own room or in a worked-out dealership or friend's house, it doesn't matter.  They do what matters most to me in music - make BIG tone.

[macrojack]

I am also a former Druid owner and I sold mine to buy Zu Definitions. I would agree with most of what Milkorsmith said above and I would add the observation that, if you like your Da Capos, you are on the Zu path already.
Why don't you email some of the people who are selling their Druids on Audiogon and find out why? I've learned that many are moving up to Definitions but even more are just restless audiophiles making changes.
Druids always seem to sell around $2K used and they appear to sell rather quickly.

[megawatt]

Hey guys I own a pair of Druids for almost two months, I have tried many amps and many preamps with them.
Its all about the synergy. I have put so much time into these speakers.  I'm getting a little tired but it might be worth the effort.

I agree with most of with Mr Smith said.  Maybe with solid state the top end has a thinness and it can appear to have a roll off
on the upper frequencies however there was one solid state inter graded amp that surprised me and that was the Blues circle 100 watt inter grade amp..I forgot the model number it sounded great with my ex Gallo ref. 3.1 it would be a great experience to hear the Circle with the Druids.

The solid state amps that I tried and have are:

McIntosh mc402
Sim audio w3
Muse One hundred
Sonic Impact 15 watt
Audio Research classic 60
Atmosphere s30 MK3

The biggest surprise and second on the list that sounded the best was the Sonic impact amp the only crave was more base punch but tonality was there wow. In my opinion these speakers are on the lean side unless you have lots of power and feed back in the amps circuit, that might shade detail but its your choice.
You could save lots of money buying The zu sub maybe two depending on your budget.

As of imaging there not the best but they can crank and don't bottom out.
Go with tubes or tri-path... am still considering and wondering about the Red Wine Audio.

The ultimate match that has me going is the Atmosphere s30 mk3. Both pieces cold out of the box weren't pleasing.
The Druids take a long ass time to break in so if you have no patients face them together out of phase and crank them up with a few moving blankets over them, take a walk for eight ours,  come back to the Druids pull the blankets offs just to see how effective 8 hours of break in out of phase can do...wow.

These speakers need at least 300 hundred hours to break in to get an idea. Read the manual total break in time is a thousand hours.
I am having a lot of fun with these speakers.. are they here for keeps? who knows I think I had as much equipment or more than some reviewers but I have to say these are the best speakers I have for the money except the Gallo 3.1. The Gallo's don't have the slam factor but image pretty good.

Put some high power solid state on the Druids and you will know right off the bat what speakers can crank. Loudness doesn't please me most of the time.. but the Druids have a pop snap feeling and they can be very delicate on soft passages.

Preamps I used:

Conrad Jonson pv10al
Decware
Prometheus tvc
Virtual mode passive dual mono pots and my pc with E-MU usb dac, it has its own preamp.

As of this moment with digital I am using the Creek Destiny cd player sounds "pretty good".

Anyway I have to go I will up date this thread.. I was supposed to be out of here already... see what audio junkies do. lol :l ol: