sts9fan, First off, Zu is selling a line of speakers with a characteristic sound,
part of that sound is a very dynamic presentation. When a loudspeaker enclosure
has damping material placed on the back and side walls of the enclosure a reduction of dynamic life is frequently the result. Ideally a speaker enclosure would have just enough dampening material on the inside to substantially reduce the re-radiation
of midrange frequencies that have bounced around the interior of the enclosure and then exit out of phase back through the speaker cone. When this happens, smearing and coloring the of the mid-range result. Masking of midrange information also occurs. The application and selection of the dampening material is a balancing act between killing some of mid-range echo coming back through the cone and preserving the dynamic life of the music. The lack of interior bracing of any kind is something of a mystery, but its absence would simplify assembly of the enclosure and reduce shipping weight,which would reduce the cost of the speaker.
You could try a simple experiment with dampening material in the cabinet.
It would consist of finding a source for 1inch thick cotton batting used in the furniture industry to wrap the wooden frame of stuffed couches and chairs.
The batting is attached the the back,top and one side of the interior of the cabinet with a staple gun using 1/2inch staples. You don't have to get carried away with the number of staples you use to attach the batting either. If you
even treat only the immediate area at the top of the speaker cabinet nearest the driver you should hear a marked improvement in midrange clarity with little or no loss
of dynamic life. If you don't like the result it is easy to remove the batting.This is the approach I used on my DIY speakers to good effect.
Scotty
