Zu Druids upgraded Vs Essence


How does the upgraded Druid compare with the Essence?

I own a pair of the Druids and have been loving them for a few years. Was wondering if the Essence is worth the leap

Cheers
bonesetter2004

Showing 8 responses by ton1313

I have observed similar results as Helms above. The Essence is definitely a step up in performance over the Druid. That's not to say I didn't enjoy my Druids, as I did very much. The Essence is a more well rounded product, especially in the bass presentation over the Druids.
If Ron is bringing along the new Zu Soul, you will be able to hear them vs. the Essence. The Soul is a little different, more similar to the Druids, as it shares the same tweeter.
The new Zu Soul has the 10" below the tweeter, which allows it to be a "shorter" design, @ 36" tall vs. 48". It has a 12" square bottom, and all sides have a slight angle as it goes up, so it has a trapazoid appearance.

They sound sweet, and have a little better (deeper extension) bottom end than the original Druids.

They are still in prototype stage, and price is rumored to be sub $2K.
An early iteration, as the current one has a tweeter. The shape is definitely the same.
They sound very similar to the Druids. Definitely different than the Essence. If you have reeived the new issue of Stereophile, Zu is running a special on the first 60 pairs of soul that are sold.
They had the pre-production pair at my house back in November durring the tour. They are a little more "snappy/quick" than the Essence as they are more like the Druids, but have a deeper bass extension. For the price they are asking, its a lot of bang for the buck IMHO.

The Stereophile add mentioned that the first 30 pairs sold will be the upgraded version.

excerpt from their website

Soul (standard), with a global direct price of $1,800 for a matched pair.

Soul Superfly Edition, with a global direct price of $2,600 for a matched pair.

SALE! We are running an introductory special on the first 30 pair of Soul Superfly. Sale ends when they are sold. This intro promo saves you $800! You get the Superfly edition for the price of the standard, that's just $1,800 for a pair of superfly loudspeakers that will last a lifetime.
Never tried that one. I have tried with my Druids, Definitions, and Essence...Integra Research RDA7 HT amp at 150 watts/channel, Flying Mole monoblocks, Nuforca IA-7 integrated at 50 watts, and a Cayin A-50T 16 - 32 watts. All sounded great in their own respect. The speakers are flexible and are at home with many different wattages and types of amps. Many people have been enjoying low powered tube amps with great results.