Art Dudley reviews the Zu Audio DL-103 in the December '07 Stereophile. He compared it with the stock DL-103 but (unfortunately) not the DL-103R, which would have been interesting: Which has more effect, the 103R enhancements or taking the guts nude and mounting them in a machined aluminum block? He did, however, compare the Zu to the Koetsu Black ($1600) and Miyabi 47 (abou $4K).
He had this to say about the comparisons:
He ended his review with this sentence, referring to high end journalism's practice of calling some low-cost components "giant-killers:"
Moderators: I trust that my quotes fall within "fair use" guidelines, are therefore not copyright infringement, and won't damage sales potential for this issue of Stereophile.
He had this to say about the comparisons:
...In my system, the [Koetsu] Black has lots of beautiful tone and texture, while souding less colored, less pungent, than either version of the DL-103. But for all that, the Zu DL-103 in particular was capable of sounding bigger, and had a better, more impactful way with uptempo music. In that respect, the Zu was more stirring--more involving--than all but my Miyabi 47. Really.
He ended his review with this sentence, referring to high end journalism's practice of calling some low-cost components "giant-killers:"
With a review like that, the Zu cartridge will probably be seriously backordered in, oh, about 10 minutes.
The Zu doesn't just slay giants: It rips their beating heart from their chests, shows it to them, finishes them off, then chases their souls and drags them down to hell. Recommended.
Moderators: I trust that my quotes fall within "fair use" guidelines, are therefore not copyright infringement, and won't damage sales potential for this issue of Stereophile.