Anyone listen to Zu Audio's Definition Mk3?


Comparisons with the 1.5s and the others that came before? Getting the itch; again......
128x128warrenh

Showing 50 responses by glory

213,

Are you running your gear straight into the wall with no conditioner?

Also what to you set your components on?

One last question. How do explain the Zu crossover-less design?
Although, with the frankly ludicrous prices being charged for the state of the art in loudspeakers, thank God for Zu Audio and their real world approach to performance/price ratio.

Well put Spirit. The Zu boys are a great group of guys that support their work like no other.
I have the Def2 with the new flagship drives installed. Bought them from a member that heard the Def4 @RMAF and had to have them.

What I have kicks butt and am told the 4 will wipe the floor with the 2. The 3 is a Def2 sent ba k to Zu for the suPer upgrades. The 4 is their new model with down firing bass drivers.

I believe they will sell you the new drivers to install in your 1.5. Will make you happy for the next 5 years.
So someone with Zu speakers did`nt like a SET amp,big deal, choose what you like that`s all

Hey Dad read the whole thread. Then report back with a more balanced responce on what I was trying to convey.
I've been a Zu owner for the past 6 years going from Presence to Def2 with the new Nano drivers.

With all due respect for Zu as a speaker builder I have found AC/IC/SC from other brands have brought my speakers to their max.

SET amps are good for what they do but there are other amps that from top to bottom will out run them.

Having SOTA gear from power/source/amp/wire to speaker will unleash the Def speakers to their full potential. I see some Zu owners just plop down their speaker on the stock points. I have found a huge upgrade in Footers by Equarack/Stillpoint Ultra under the Def2 that transforms the sound of the speaker.

You can kick my butt, but the 845 amp with some OK wire and OK power on the Def4 will not keep up with Def2 with the new drivers and SOTA gear.

There is no other speaker in my sights than the Def4 for the future but if you have the Def2 with the new Nano drivers and SOTA gear you just might have better tunes than the Def4 owners with lesser gear.
213 writes

Cables are the least urgent thing to get right.

As much as I love to read his thoughts I do believe the wires made by Zu is not going to bring out the very best in the Def2 or 3/4. I have the Verial IC and installing it in place of my Teo is a flat 2D sound that must be removed after a short listening session. Same for the Event SC. I do believe for the $$$ it is killer wire and think if you have it you have not been taken by the $$$ wire game. I do believe that you are missing a lot if you stick with said wire.

JPS Aluminata also will unleash the glory of the Def speakers.

231 writes,

It's more important to preserved Zu's B3 all the way to the amp than it is to futz with alternate cables, for getting the most out of Def4.

Did that and you are wrong! Your writings will appeal to the budget minded Zu owners but for those who are wanting the best sound out of our Zu speakers we will trash your thoughts.

Your ideas on gear and P&P reminds me of a person owning a high $$$ sports car that can not take his car on the race track but has been limited to driving on city roads in a 45 MPH zone. Your noisy 845/211/300b will do 0/60 in 10 seconds and take turns like my old '65 Mustang. Have at it if you will but I want my Def2 on the race track and not just do city driving.

Gear/room means everything from the wall to the room where your  speakers are placed. Your speakers are only telling you how you have done on building the rest of your system.

Truth is not found in  huge amounts of written words on paper with ideas that are one's opinions. Truth is in the hearing and your take on wire is not what I heard to be true by a long shot in my system.

Have fun with your city driving LoL.
One final thought for 231,

The NAD M55 Master Series source is not going to get the job done with the Def2/3/4 speakers for max output of their potential. I am sure you have good sound but a 4 cylinder car will not perform like a 8/12 cylinder HP sports car. Ford Focus at best.

If your goal is OK good sound then you have that but the Def speakers will respond much better with a higher front end source. The Def speakers are not a miracle working speaker. No wonder your believe what you do about wire. You will not hear a wire change if the source is not up to snuff.
Sorry 213 but each amp I moved from had a reason other than dissatisfaction. The OTL amps were head and shoulders above the noisy/colored sound of the SET amps I had. Heat from the Tenor amps drove them out of my FL. Home.

Musical to you may not be musical to me but there is no way with the system you have built around the Def4 you can get better results than I have with my Def2. It takes T&E and $$$ and lots of wisdom to build a musical connecting system. I wish it were that easy to P&P Zu speakers in a Ford Focus system and get HE results.

Moral of the story is one must build, from the wall out, with SOTA gear to hear the Def speakers at their best. Having so so gear on a Def4 will not make it sound better than a Def2 with Nano drivers that has from the wall out HE gear.

Enjoy your system as I do mine.

Over and out.
213,

I heard the Def4 set up by Zu at a Zu party in Atlanta with all Zu wire and what I would call OK gear. Not very good results. Even installed my Lampizator Dac into the system and it didn't even begin to help the sound coming out of the 4. My 2,which was the Def4 pervious owner, far outran the sound coming from his system. The 4 will not out do a 2 with Ford Focus gear and I heard that to be true. My friend was there and when we got back to FL and heard my 2 he was in stitches with laughter as the 2 was so much better.

I find it very hard to believe you heard Atma/ Tenor amps on your Def and that they moved you away.......what Tenor amp did you hear?

You are a good salesman but you are not going to convince those of us that hear huge sound differences when upgrading to, yes more expensive gear.

You can try and explain this away but what we heard will not be forgotten.
I will close this out with I need to get the 4. Something to look forward to.

Good chatting with you 213. At least we agree on the Zu Def2/3/4 as an incredible speaker design and the whole Zu Company being 1st class gents. Would love to hear your setup someday.
213 writes,

The less said about Gary's choices of expression in the prior inconsequential imbroglio the better

in·con·se·quen·tial  (n-kns-kwnshl, nkn-)
adj.
1. Lacking importance.
2. Not following from premises or evidence; illogical.
n.
A triviality.
in·conse·quenti·ali·ty (-kwnsh-l-t), in·conse·quential·ness (-shl-ns) n.
in·conse·quential·ly adv.

n. pl. im·bro·glios
1.
a. A difficult or intricate situation; an entanglement.
b. A confused or complicated disagreement.
2. A confused heap; a tangle.

Wow I guess if one has a different slant than what you preach you write such things. To bad you feel that way one one doesn't see it your way.
Sorry if I have confused readers but may I recap my thoughts in this thread for those who have only read parts of my thoughts. This is not audio law but only MO.

Having the Def2 with upgraded drivers with SOTA gear from the wall to the speaker will outrun the Def4 with so so/average/good gear.

This is only a reversal of the thought that the Def4 with zip cord and a Sony 595 will outperform the Def2 with SOTA gear.

If I have caused you SET owners to wet your pants in anger because I hear them as colored/ loud with weak balls than please forgive me for I meant no harm. Enjoy them!

Name calling and angry writing with big words is reason for me to exit this thread.
Beautiful dogs you have GB.

The Pic of Samson sleeping is the 845 in action and the outside pic of the dogs alert and ready for action is the OTL in action.

Sorry I just had to write that. All in fun boys and girls.
GB,

My source is the Metric Halo LIO-8, fed by a Macbook pro and Pure Music software

Had the Atma/Amarra #4 Dac running with a MM/PM and Zu Presence speakers.

Atma amp moved me closer to real live music than any of the SET amps I had in my system. The MH 8 is a great dac.

I found the MM running with a LPS to be a noisy little guy killing all my attempts to go to the next level. I had to by a Lampizator transport that took the MM out of transport duties. Now all is dead silent in the system.

To complete the final piece I grabbed a Dale Pitcher Power Bridge that was, to me, a true breakthrough in AC power supply. The Power Bridge makes my Def2 the Def10 SE SA. It runs my transport/Dac.

And cables are the last thing to worry/ get right. The PB will make that thought sound silly.
GB,

Mac Mini = MM

Linear Power Supply = LPS

Going direct from my Amarra Dac to the Atma was a clear and dynamic sound but I lost 3D/tone/ and the emotional side of the music. When I changed Dacs to the Lamp L4 tube Dac I could run direct with no problems.

The Power Bridge will cause you to realize that it is a major breakthrough in AC power supply for digital playback. When installed on my Transport/Dac I listed and sold my Running Springs DMitri on the same day.

If you want to demo a PB let me know.
Paid $500.00 for my BPT LPS. I bet you made your unit for $175.00. Running a MM for a MS is OK but one can do much better.
Spirit,

I've replaced a $6000 audiophile power conditioner with a $600 standard industrial balanced power transformer. Night and day difference.

What 6K PC did you get rid of?
They all sold their Def4 speakers and have moved on.

23 is still trying to figure out what is the correct amp to power his speakers.
Boys and girls it was to be a Ha Ha momentt.

Zu Def speakers should retail at 20K as I have heard 20K speakers that sound broken compared to the Def.
I asked the Zu boys the same question on to much power. With a smile I got the answer of the more power the merrier. ASR power is a great match with the Def speakers.

Make sure you use clean power with such an amp like the Purepower unit. Plug it into the wall and suck on an egg.
Spirit,

They same had been said about the Dart amp or any other SS amp. It you are not willing to hook up the ASR to the right wire/components then stay away from it. But if you have the time and find a used unit you can steal one from a owner who is wanting to try the latest/greatest amp.

A cool and detached presentation is not what I or 6 other owners are hearing. 5 of the owners have tubed Dac's, 3 AMR/2 Lampizator and one SS. The 7th one I have no info on his source. Three of us run Zu Def speakers with the Emitter 1.

Read the PF review of the Emitter when the reviewer found the right hook up wire for the ASR and what he said about it.

There are some who have heard Zu speakers that have said they were left with a HF sound. You and I know different when hooked up to the right gear.

I hear Dad running around the corner with his SET thoughts LOL. Yes they do sound good on Zu speakers. Will wait for your thoughts on amp selection with anticipation.

You are not going to use the stock Footers for your new Def4 are you?

The Purepower is not a PC and doesn't limit dynamics.
23,

3 owners of Def speakers with the ASR amp are not hearing what you did with the ASR.

I have learned to disregard your thoughts on the ASR amp as a misguided missile. What you think is real sounding and fake sounding in your system is IYO and not true of the ASR Emitter amp in general.
We ASR owners have turned the light on for you so you don't trip over the amp and you write the same old stuff about it. Synergy etc...

Here is a cut from a review from A PF review

The unit has such an envious agglomeration of virtues, between the deafening silence, the purity of the signal, the grandly proportioned soundstage populated with large images, the abundant high grades across the audiophile scorecard, and all this conjoined with tube-like fleshy bodies and a deeply saturated, dark tonal balance, and satisfying timbral productionÂ… All of the telltale solid-state artifacts are gone. You'll never hear the adjective thin used to describe this gear.

And most of these characteristics are shared with my mbl Noble Line separates. This is what's so special about these two product lines. They commingle in one box the most desirable attributes of solid-state and tubes.

Yet, in spite of this overweighting of virtues, I often found myself on the outside, looking in. The Emitter had a coolness that somehow kept your emotions at a distance. It shared the reserve that I had noticed in the Basis Exclusive. Maybe that's because it's too clean and quiet—too neutral? It has what psychologists might describe as a flat affect. The musical line isn't quite the curvy waveform that it should be. This wasn't just me; this opinion came from a number of visitors.

And then

Hold on. Near the end of the audition, a Kubala-Sosna Emotion PC with a 20-amp plug walked in (MSRP $1225). No more speculating: I can tell you it certainly does make a difference. The K-S cord enriched body and color, and fortified the bottom. Bass notes that I wasn't sure I heard were solid, tight and coherent to boot.

Pursuing this further, I continued adding Kubala-Sosna Emotion wire. This was when I had replaced the Kharma Exquisite-Midi speakers with the CRM 3.2.2. With each additional length I noted increased involvement. My reservations regarding the unit's aloofness receded. Then, at the point when the entire rig was dressed in Kubala-Sosna, something unpredictable happened. The rig morphed and became startlingly lifelike, albeit as a scaled-down reduction. Dudes who came by and heard this simply uttered, "Yeah. That's got it." The "it" they're referring to is very difficult to put your finger on, but I'll tell you, it isn't as simple as more Speed! Resolution! Dynamics! (the Three Tenets of Audiophilia). As best as I can fathom, the major ingredients of the ephemeral recipe call for accurate and complete timbral reproduction and a very elusive quality of dynamic openness. The timbre kicked in with the Kubala-Sosna wires. When you go shopping for wires for the Emitter, you want to favor the emotive side. (The Argento brand can be added to this list. The little that I heard placed it in that camp. More to come on this one down the road a bit.) The dynamic openness was a byproduct of the dream-team amp / speaker interface between the Emitter and the CRM 3.2.2.

And
Then, with the CRM 3.2.2 speakers and all K-S wiring, the system took off and was capable of reliable transport to the land of "it," as in "Yeah. That's got it," where suspension of disbelief is possible. This was a storybook combination.

If you want to just throw it in your system and turn the power on then you maybe in for a bumpy ride. Take the wisdom from owners and enjoy a world class amp.
Spirit,

Def4 Footers

I. Stillpoints Ultra SS

2. Sistrum SP-1 or SP -101

3. Equarack Footers I have 8 I can sell if interested.

I
Cobra,

You write with

Do power cords make a difference? Well, yes, in that they tend to bring their own sound. But if an amplifier needs a specific power cord to sound musically-convincing, and without it it doesn't, then said power cord should be supplied with the amp if it is so elemental to the performance of the circuit. "Dude, you didn't have the right power cord..." doesn't cut it. I'm pretty sure even ASR wouldn't endorse that proposition.

But then I find this out about your past upgrades

My own Black Shadows are seven years old, and my Golden Dreams about ten years old. The Black Shadow have silver audio path wiring, but as far as I know, copper-wound transformers. The Golden Dream have silver wirepaths, and silver-wound transformer secondaries. These are "Level 6" Golden Dream. Two improvements have been made to both. A couple of years ago, seeking better bass discipline, I asked Bob Hovland to examine the amps' circuits, listen to them, and recommend component upgrades. He chose to leave the signal path alone but to change out the power supply electrolytics to Nichicon, specifically tall, slender Nichicons. In the Black Shadows, he found he could considerably beat the factory hum noise spec via custom shielding of the toroidal power transformer, so I had that done as well.

The recaps made the Black Shadow pair "more like themselves" without dramatic changes to overall signature. They just became better at what they were already good at: bursty, objective, expressive, toneful sound with deep, muscular bass, blissful midrange realism, spatial honesty, smooth and extended top end; convincing tonal and dynamic realism on my Zu Definition speakers. The recaps instigated a much bigger improvement to the Golden Dream pair. The GD is an ultra-resolving amplifier that's also loaded with expressive tone. But the stock GD, like most 300B amps, brings with it some bass bloat, which varies by what tubes you use, but it's there. That euphonic fatness in the bass certainly fills a room but it's sloppier than it ought to be. Above 70Hz or so, fine. Below that -- and on something like a Definition, this is obvious -- bass loses objectivity.

So you see 23 you say one thing and do another. If ASR should then Audion should. You have lost my attention 23!

I
Sent from my iPhone
23,

You write

I don't think ASR makes bad amplification. I just can't listen to its truncated, desiccated tone. I don't doubt for a second that ASR sounds fine -- until you hear better, and until a listener thinks seriously about how music actually sounds. It's pretty good for SS, bested by just a few others in that topology. Build quality is *very* high. At its price and even lower, however, there are better alternatives for approaching the original sound. It really doesn't matter that we don't agree. You'll put the ASR in your rear view mirror sooner or later, too, just like every other amp you've championed in the past. It's OK! Enjoy it while you can. You're in the realm of the white hats with your speakers anyway.

the ASR in your rear view mirror sooner or later, too, just like every other amp you've championed in the past.

Sounds like you are pissed about something here 23. I went from HOT OTL amps I loved to the cool running ASR amp that was as good and if not better. Remember I live in FL 23? HOT here. I am not married to ASR and if I move on someday that doesn't mean the ASR is trash nor the OTL amps. I champion OTL amps and ASR and I am sure there are plenty more out there to champion.
23,

You write,

It's not a popularity contest. A few people or even many liking a sound isn't persuasive to me. You have to convince me first you know what real instruments sound like in unamplified circumstances for me to assign any special credibility to your view of ASR

Really Cobra? I don't think I need to convince you about anything audio. Your writings and hypocrisy has destroyed your credibility with my circle of friends and myself.
2,

Spin Doctor.

Weasel writing.

You can have the last word and the last word after that and finally the very last of the last word.

Goodby
1Daddy,

You write

I don`t know you personaaly but based on reading your posts you come off as dogmatic and somewhat childish, as if what you prefer 'has' to be better than someone else`s choice,Come on my friend grow up.

I must say that you have done that to me in this thread and now you do it again. We are not your little boys that you can spank when you feel like it. Writing that members here have to grow up/mature and meet your full manhood stature is condescending.

You have a lot to add on there forums but this daddy paddling the little boy is not one of them.

You can have the last word Dad.
Hey Dad, if I ever ragged on the Audion 845 like 231 does the Krell amp I would be a two year old.


RE: How much of the "high end" is a scam?
Posted by 213Cobra (A) on April 3, 2010 at 20:41:18
In Reply to: How much of the "high end" is a scam?

My first reaction, looking at the list of gear you heard, was to think, "well, obviously you won't get anything resembling music from that stack." But I realize that, by itself, doesn't help.
Now, really, SET OPINION=ON. No, I'm not going to try either to offend anyone or avoid it. That stack represents most of what's wrong with high-end audio and why most people can't remotely relate to it. It's also a prime example of why the SET, widebander and Gaincard insurgencies sprang up over the last 20 years. Wilson, Boulder and to a lesser extent what Meridian has unfortunately become (after a long illuminating contribution to hifi) are the current endpoints of a toneless jag high-end set off on circa 1980. I peg the turning point to the debut of the first Krell amps, easily the bleakest line of electrified dead mass ever heaped upon an ususpecting public of music lovers. The day a leather-eared hifi journalist of stature deemed Krell a contender during our last significant economic calamity, a rush of EE entrepreneurs jumped in to over-fetishize hifi during the Reagan administration, to the point where six figures puts you in the Maxell chair wondering where the fun went?

Has a Wilson speaker *ever* produced a note that sounds remotely communicative of the emotion carried by music? No. Too many drivers, too much crossover, cabinets too dead to do anything but drain life from the sound. Of course to get any jump factor out of the Wilson, you need amps powered directly by the Hoover Dam, so you get complex, toneless Boulders that manage to reveal every transient but left the body behind alongside Jimmy Hoffa. And poor Meridian, once purveyor of digital gear full-bodied and visceral now obscuring music in a jangle of crystalline angst.

People hear these stacks of toneless metal pushing a firehose of sound through dreadnought boxes of pistonic might and they know you're nuts because it just doesn't sound right. Oh, it's *immpressive* but it doesn't sound like any music they ever heard but, you know..., you're an audiophile and the stuff looks expensive so..."what do I know?" is all they can say.

What gives is that the mainstream exotica has become totemic of wealth and conferred exceptionalism. What does it matter if it sounds like a cannonball fired at your face? It looks impressive! Those are brands 'everybody knows'! How about that bass rattling your pelvic structure? Ever hear cymbals hurled at your head like that??

And then of course 90% of this gear ends up in a "man cave" hidden and cherished, so the few times anyone else gets exposed to it who might be sensible enough to hear it and say, "Dude, WT...F?" instead gets cornered into a "demo," which is going to be about everything BUT the music. And the retailer displaying that Boulder....well, can't blame him. It's no different from a shiny Rolex.

SET OPINION=OFF.

Look, these kinds of systems are why a few adventurers prowl the back alleys to find oddities from a lost era. Have you ever heard a full 47 Labs / Sakura Systems system? Zu or Cain&Cain with SET amplification? A Shindo system or Leben amps with simple wideband or 2-way speakers? Heck, let's go mainstream. Walk into your nearest McIntosh & Sonus Faber dealer and ask him to wire up the "nonsensical" combination of Cremonas + MC1.2kws + any Mac preamp and any decent disc player or TT they have in the store.

Good sound is out there that lives up to (or beyond) its price; it's just not where you had hoped.

Phil
Gear wrote,

An overused and tired fallback position, and one that, if you or anyone else here really believed it, Audiogon would not exist. Most of the verbiage generated is the derivative of debate (and subtle and not-so-subtle insults). Glory caught cobra with his pants down. Cobra has gotten the better of Glory too. So what. Don't go to the Asylum anytime soon.

Not everything is created equal. This is true of most things in life, and audio is no exception. A Yugo would never be confused for a Porsche, nor would a Audion Black Shadow for an ASR.....

You wrote

My only point addressed to agear was his attitude that the ASR is a superior choice to any tube and or SET amp without question and that simply is`nt the case. How is it a platitude to state the 'obvious' fact that different ears will prefer different types of sound(this is why an absolute 'best'stance is`nt possible). A large SS class AB amp with NFB will surely be quite different to a SET lower power amp in class A without any NFB(both types have their supporters).Which is preferred is up to the particular listener, always subjective(by default). Within the realm of SS high power and SET there`s significant variations in performance and a hierarchy develops. Not 'every' SET amp is good, but some are outstanding, same thing of course with any genre of amplifiers.

Dad what are you smoking? How do you read Gear's post and come away saying he thinks the ASR is God's amp and there are none others?


You write
No, I`m not assuming the role of big poppa on this thread. IMO we`re all adults who happen to share a common interest of music and the components that reproduce it in our homes.It seems most of us by this stage have had exposure to enough equitment as to be able to form idividual impressions.

By telling members here to grow up you then become the big Daddy with your paddle. Can you refrain from doing that?

By the way one of my first amps was the Audio Note 300B Meishu. Wonderful amp! I love SET amps with HE speakers.
Daddy,

If you can find this thinking in any of Gear's writings please cut and paste it on this thread. I personally know Andrew and he does not believe that way nor has he written with that tone here on the Fourms. Maybe I am wrong Dad so please help me on this.

We are not married to the ASR/Zu speakers or any audio component. I do tend to think like Phil's write up on Krell/Wilson but the minute you say such things you find someone somewhere has put together a great sounding system with both Krell/Wilson.

My reason for posting his rant on this gear was to show you, Daddy, that one can have an all or nothing approach on audio gear and not be a baby needing to grow up. If you call Gear to grow up, and not finding any of his posts stating your believe about him, and I clearly gave you an example of Cobra doing what you accused Gear of doing then you should exhort 213 to grow up.

By the way I thought the 213 post about Krell/Wilson was a huge Hee Haw.


My only point addressed to agear was his attitude that the ASR is a superior choice to any tube and or SET amp without question and that simply is`nt the case
The Atma amp is an amp I would hold on to. If I could have worked with the OTL Tenor/Atma heat I would have never sold them. You will be hard pressed to beat the OTL. I found the ASR to do just that ...
I have demoed 2 different ST's on my Def2 speakers. One was a 6.5K ST that upgraded my Def2 to Def3.78. It was an all directional ST that I felt made a huge upgrade in sound to the speakers overall performance. The $$$ for the ST in the end was just to much to pay.

Keithr writes,

"Per my numerous demos, Phil's room in particular suffers from a small sound stage, lack of detail, and separation of instruments due to slap echo and lack of bass trapping that he mentions above. He chooses not to go down that path, but knows he has a compromise in place (that's he's ok with, of course)."

Like the Wizard of Oz when the gang finally saw what was behind that huge curtain making all the loud and strong banging noises. Just a little guy blowing a lot of smoke.

In my book that is not a musically convincing place to be.

Goes to show you can have all the facts and figures down and the techno talk going on with big flowery words but when it comes to building a MC system from ground up the end result is not up to snuff.
Wow 213 so full of yourself. Me/I/mine/my. You got the self loud button on full blast.
Yea the 23 is mandatory to open up the SS and cut down on the hum coming from the 845 !
Hugh,

From the tech side of things yes but from a system building side a no.

Building a system takes time and $$$ and not having a 1960's mind set.
Spirit,

Why do you need others to say hiphiphooray for your chosen color/speakers and gear? And my I ask why has a reviewer got your new speakers before you? Very strange playing the pro reviewer game. Who cares what he thinks unless there is a $$$ discount for you and that puts $$$ in your pocket.

You screwed up you should have picked the glossy black LOL.

By the way you chaps have done a grand job over there on the Olympics. The UK is a special place indeed and I have toured London and Wales. Murray put on a great show.
Spirit,

If it's your goodwill on the sacrifice of your new speakers to a review for Zu then good for you. Hopefully he doesn't have tin ears.

I Had no facts just questions for you so no homework had to be done. Can questions be incorrect when one wants further understanding about the review of your new speakers or why you have a need for approbation on your audio pick?

Thanks for the answers.

You should be proud of your country. Class act!!