Cain & cain abbey vs Zu Druid

I have a pair of the maple Super Abbys, w/ First Watt F3, Modwright SWL and Denon 5900. I haven't tried the Druid, but what I've been told about how the Druid reflects what 213Cobra says, somewhat. One of the biggest advanages of the Druid is the bass extension. Consider that the Druid costs 40% more new; the Abby is not it's equal.

The Super Abby is the nearfield model with tweeters. The nearfield has a Fostex with a voice range that starts lower than the driver in the Normal. Maple is said to give slightly better bass response. If you like heavy music the Abby with a sub or the Druid is probably your choice. Pink Floyd (Dark Side) is about the limit where the Super Abby excels, plenty of bass for me.

Appearance might be a factor too. The wood on all Cains is where they stand out, absolutely stunning and beautiful, the pictures don't do them justice at all. Zu's look nice, but not like that and aren't going to fit well with a lot of furnishings.

I doubt anybody has ever been unsatisfied with the Abby, except for a lot of people who gave up before they were broke in. Out of the box they sound like cheap radio speakers. But eventually you will hear a passage on a CD that will drop your jaw; the break-in is starting to take effect.

Also, it's a bad idea to throw away the shipping crate. Take it apart and store the wood, otherwise you may be kicking yourself later.

You may want to research the single driver speakers made from hemp. I own the omega maxhemps with triode corp. parallel SET monoblocs and can attest to their many strengths. I was told that the hemp driver is superior to fostex. I have never heard the fostex or Zu's so take my comment with a grain of salt.

I went from piega c-8ltd speakers and ss amplification to the single driver, SET amp setup and am very happy.

Glia,

Haven't compared the two but can attest to Twc's comments about the parallel SETs.

A little history . . . after picking up the Zu Tones for my work office, I fell in love with the single driver sound and wanted to replicate the same in my home office.

Accordingly, I picked up the Micropure Kotaros (single 4" driver w/ Murata supertweeter) which is akin to the Zu concept, albeit, with a deliberately resonant cabinet. These have very little bass are paired with a REL sub. Like Twc, I picked up a pair of Triode Corp M300SEs (20W / channel). This is a wonderful pairing and I believe the two make a really nice second system.

If you get an oppurtunity, check the Triodes out. Again like Twc, I started with (and still have) a convential SS multi-driver (Focus Audio FS-888 & Audia Flight) system and it is wonderful in its own rite. That said, ever since the single driver bug bit, I find myself listening to the "1st" system less than before. It's a real blessing to have and enjoy two very different systems - keeps things interesting and is lots of fun.

YMMV.

Good luck with your search.

Cheers,
Garry

You may not be interested in this advice since you have narrowed your choices down. I have single driver speakers from commonsenseaudio.com

I have the Lowther 2.8 Ambience. You might consider giving then a call and describing what you are interested in.

never build a stereo around an amplifer. its the hi fi version of buying a car that favors a certain grade of gas.