Zu Essence vs. Druid Mk4/08

It depends on what you like. IMO the Superfly, Druid, and Omen Def all easily beat the Essence. I would even prefer the basic Omen over the Essence...all of the above are much more dynamic, much less harshness and glare, and just all around better speakers.......

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"Harshness & glare" are not words ever expressed by those who have heard the Essences here at my demo room.

I HAVE heard statements like "Best Zu sound I ever heard" on many occasions, however...

Including similar statements by one of their respected set-up people.

The Essences replaced the Druids here.

To be fair, the Essences were/are final prototypes - perhaps the production units could be different, but that seems so unlikely, once they had settled on the design parameters.

And I was using a Method from 40Hz and below.

But the Method wouldn't have changed the upper mids and treble. If anything this speaker is smooth, smooth, smooth on top.

Not sure why we heard such a difference.
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I have owned both. The Druid is more dynamic and I enjoyed it more with rock music. The Essence was slightly less efficient with a bit more clarity and extension. I enjoyed it more with jazz and classical. I've moved on from Zu but still think they offer pretty good value - especially for those venturing into high efficiency speakers for the first time.

I'd pick the Soul Superfly over both the Essence and the Druid. The Superfly maintains the Zu house sound while improving resolution, high frequency extension and low end grunt. Think of it as a Druid++.

+1 on Superfly for reasons stated.

HornGuys: It may be due to my tinnitus and a very bright room. I tend to prefer a little less on the high end. Having said that, in my room, the Omen Defs or Superflys easily blew away the Essence on all types of music and all levels of quality of recordings. Of course, just my $.02. I wish your room was nearby as I would love to hear it. I really think the room plays such a huge role in creating the perfect system and I often forget to acknowledge that.