[naggots]

I updated my high pass network on the Zu Druids earlier this year using Duelund/Mundorf products. Basically the woofer is run full range with the tweet coming off the +ve thru a 1.0ufMundorf SIO cap and 12.5ohm Duelund resistor. The tweet is an Eminence APT 50, 105db. I was thinking about replacing it with a Aurum Cantus G2si ribbon, 95db in the same 12k xover configuration. What value Duelund resistor would I need to keep the output the same?

I love the druid sound .....but like to mod/tweak to see if I can improve.

Any thoughts. The ribbons are $96ea at PExp.......

[macrojack]

If you contact Sean Casey at ZU he will discuss this project with you and give you the values you need. He got where he is by DIY and encourages others to experiment.

[face]

You may need to change the capacitor value as well.

I would upgrade the Mundorf to something better instead of re-engineering the speaker.

[S Clark]

It is hard enough to replace closely matching tweeters without measuring equipment, but changing output by a huge 10 dB  . No simple "change a resistor" is going to work here.  I just don't see how this can turn out good. 

[naggots]

Thanks, which brand of cap would be a better choice? I'll contact Sean about the mod.

[face]

What kind of sound are you going for?  What prompted you to change the tweeter?

[naggots]

I would like more resolution or detail, I dont want bright. The apt 50 does a good job overall but it does lack micro detail. The Mundorf sio and Duelund made quite a difference over the stock high pass.........I suppose I want more.......the alternative is to buy the Essence however shipping to Australia makes it not affordable. I love the dymamics and mid range of the Druid.

[face]

The only cap that I know of that has high resolution without any harshness is the Duelund CAST.  Fortunately, you only require a small value.

[doug s.]

I would like more resolution or detail, I dont want bright. The apt 50 does a good job overall but it does lack micro detail. The Mundorf sio and Duelund made quite a difference over the stock high pass.........I suppose I want more.......the alternative is to buy the Essence however shipping to Australia makes it not affordable. I love the dymamics and mid range of the Druid.

i hate to be a party pooper, but i suspect that the detail & resolution you are missing is not due to the tweeter, but it is the nature of the full-range driver.  i have owned a pair of the bookshelf iterations of the druids, (now in the ex's kitchen); they are certainly nice speakers, but lacking in detail & resolution, as you say.  and, my impression is that it isn't the tweeter's fault...

ymmv,

doug s.

[wilsynet]

Except that the new Zu Essence is the replacement for the Druid with two notable design changes:

1. Ribbon tweeter for enhanced resolution and detail
2. Changes to porting configuration for less finicky bass

It would be difficult to convince someone that a tweeter change wouldn't help given Zu has come out and said that it does.  Whether this is easy or pragmatic to integrate, of course I couldn't say.

[macrojack]

In the pst, Zu has offered upgrade kits. Maybe they offer what you want. Ask them.

[doug s.]

Except that the new Zu Essence is the replacement for the Druid with two notable design changes:

1. Ribbon tweeter for enhanced resolution and detail
2. Changes to porting configuration for less finicky bass

It would be difficult to convince someone that a tweeter change wouldn't help given Zu has come out and said that it does.  Whether this is easy or pragmatic to integrate, of course I couldn't say.

this is true.  but... the frequency response of the main driver is still what provides everything up to 10khz, and that is where most of the detail & resolution lies.  having read the 6moons rewiews on the new essence speakers, my take is that they have more resolution, but still fall short, as that's not what they're about, w/their 10" frd's.  if/when i ever get my druid bookshelves back, and i want to upgrade them, i would be more interested in the newer 10" frd, for them, less so the new ribbon...

if you truly find ultimate resolution lacking, and that is a priority in your listening, then i would think you are gonna have to get different speakers.  i know resolution is important for me.  i loved what the druid monitors did, crossed over to a pair of vmps larger subs.  but, i couldn't live w/o the resolution - i wanted it all.   

maybe the essence's are better-enough in the resolution dept to be satisfying long-term; i dunno, having never heard them.  but, from what i have read, i'd have to pass, unless i could "steal" a pair, used.  i concur w/this observation in frederic's follow-up rewiew, and srajan's response:

(frederic):
Finally the only real weakness of the Essence is a relative lack of resolution in the upper midrange/lower treble. I say relative because it really jumps out by comparison to the rest of the spectrum. When I compared the Essence to the Rogers LS3/5a, the reserve in resolution was squarely not obvious but in absolute terms, violins and soprano voices could have more texture and finely resolved details. Again associating the Essence with an amplifier of superb midrange transparency will alleviate this limitation and remember that I am a vocal music freak. If I can live with it, most people won?t even notice the difference. What they will notice is the superb dynamic prowess, the impeccable timing and the overall feeling of aliveness that comes with any of the Zu speakers.
        
(srajan):
I concur with Frederic and believe this limitation to be inherent in the choice of 10-inch driver into this band. The obvious solution would be a smaller widebander but that should necessitate an augmentary bass driver to become a three-way, sacrificing the no-crossover concept over the widest bandwidth. While 2-way to 3-way is the usual progression in speaker lines, in Zu's case it could be considered a setback. That would lock their bigger models into the 10-inch unit with its built-in limitations unless the ribbon crossover point were significantly lowered - which could restrict dynamic range and translate into a textural seam. I personally believe that given the company's current focus on the Eminence platform as core driver, the Essence maximizes their '1.5 way' full-range concept.- Ed

me, personally, i want to hear that imagined zu 3-way, w/a smaller (7"-8"?) frd, crossed over to a woofer (or two) at somewhere between 80-300hz...  because, what the druid's do well, they do wery well, as many know.  i yust want it all!   

ymmv,

doug s.