Zu OMEN - hmm


I might still be under the influence of the open baffle Spatial Hologram I heard at CAS14 earlier this month... wow! Top sound in my (and my friend's) book. Or the Magico S5 room (omg is that resolution level for real? you can hear the grass grow through those things).

I went to the Zu room as well - hoping to hear some well setup Zu speakers and learn about the right way to do it - but the sound was awful (sorry Sean) so I did not bother asking.

Yesterday I ran into a video advice on "setup tips with Seam Casey from Zu Audio". https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MCoKDfdxzDg

Bingo! Now I will learn how to make my Omens sing - from the man himself.

What did Sean Casey say in the video? To stop tweaking the bottom gap, tilt and toe-in, stop adjusting them, stop doing all this nonsense that gets old fast. Why? because they already sound good right out of the box, that's why. Spend my money on music instead.

Hmm - what if they actually DON'T sound good? Is there some advice for that case? What if, after the 3 years I had them, many SS and tube amps, days of gap adjustment, tilt adjustment, swap of few speaker cables including Zu Libtec, what if they still sound like an amplified live event through a pro speaker on a stadium? (Incidentally - all adjustments do make a difference, but mostly between dull and blare. I know, I'm probably too harsh, but that video got me really upset).

I hope that my recent listening to real speakers at CAS will soon wear off so that I can return to living with my Omens that "sound good right out of the box".

Or I might have to buy the Holograms. The tough part would be to convince my medium-size dogs to stay away from those beryllium transducers located so close to the ground. Maybe if I throw in the Omens to sweeten the deal? That should keep them busy for about 3 years?

Choices, choices.
cbozdog
Hi Johnnyb53,

You're right - outriggers would make tweaking a breeze. I might try them, but is not clear to me that the Zus in particular would work with outriggers. Two concerns:
- the "fingerports" would line up with the location of the feet so that a solid steel bar would practically cover (at least) two of them
- such solid steel bars have their own thickness (1/4"), using up most of the "recommended" spacing even before starting to tune the gap (they might only allow increase but not decrease in gap height).

Thanks,
C.
Hey Shakeydeal,
What amp did you here them with? I have the Druid V's, which sound wonderful once dialed in. They are a bit finicky and can sound terrible with the wrong amps and placement.
At a Zu house party I once heard Def 4's sound terrible to wonderful just by changing amps. It really sounded like two totally different speakers. I was dumbfounded!
It's all about synergy, but I'm sure you know that!
It was a Line Magnetic 219IA. No slouch by any stretch of the imagination.....

Shakey
Some of the Zu speakers have unusual impedances (I believe the Omen is 12 ohms), and I have always suspected that has something to do with amp matching, especially tube amps. I rewired my SET amp to the 16-ohm taps and thought the Omens sounded a lot better.
Hi Snopro,
I think that you summed up well the problem. You, Germanboxers, 213cobra, Gsm and other Zu owners are people who's opinions I've come to respect. I can't believe that you all would put up with a lousy sounding speaker for very long. The four times I've heard the Zu at shows I was disappointed. Excessively loud rock/pop music that sounded terrible, I couldn't stay in the room. I'd like to hear them under better circumstances with a good amplifier.
Charles,