The first line of my above post was cut off somehow, but yes, I heard both the Salk HT3 and the Zu Druid. Unfortunately, this was not side by side in the same room, but was on the same afternoon with the same music selections. The Salk was kindly demo'd by a current owner, while the Druids were heard at a local dealer's house. Since I'm not a classical afficionado, I feel less qualified to judge that aspect of the performance, and maybe they sounded similar because that's not really my cup of tea, music-wise. One thing's for sure, though, the Druids beat the Salks when it came to electric blues and rock - the sound was much more immediate and tight with the Druids. One other interesting fact, my Druids are now 5 months old and they continue to get better as they break in - better means more details, and even more lifelike sound. The main drivers on the Druid are very tightly suspended, and do sound a little congested at first, but the only way I noticed it was when they continued to get better with age.
The Druid's bass is surprisingly strong, and may be adequate for many people, but I run mine with a sealed 15" DIY subwoofer based on the Dayton 15" DVC driver - I do not cross over to the Druids, but instead run the Druids flat out and roll in the sub below 45 Hz so as not to ruin the crossoverless magic. Using a sub lets me position the Druids optimally for imaging and soundstage (both stunning) while not having to worry about reinforcing the last octave via room tuning.
My Druids are capable of deafening sound levels using 2 100 Watt monoblock amps, but never lose their grip even when the SPL reaches painful levels, quite inpressive, really. They could easily be driven by 10 Watt amps if you so choose.
The Druid's bass is surprisingly strong, and may be adequate for many people, but I run mine with a sealed 15" DIY subwoofer based on the Dayton 15" DVC driver - I do not cross over to the Druids, but instead run the Druids flat out and roll in the sub below 45 Hz so as not to ruin the crossoverless magic. Using a sub lets me position the Druids optimally for imaging and soundstage (both stunning) while not having to worry about reinforcing the last octave via room tuning.
My Druids are capable of deafening sound levels using 2 100 Watt monoblock amps, but never lose their grip even when the SPL reaches painful levels, quite inpressive, really. They could easily be driven by 10 Watt amps if you so choose.