Zu Druid questions

Krausz,

I have not tried the Zu IBIS or Varial..I bought the Libtecs from a memeber who upgraded to the IBIS cable and in our chat, he mentioned (quite profoundly) that the Libtecs were so very close to the IBIS in his system, that it was not a very big step sonically...just cost$$$ wise for him. He also said the same for the Gede's vs. the Varial. Now, Im not saying "I" would not hear any difference in my system or that the IBIS is not worth the price..dont get me wrong, just that I am extremely happy with the current cabeling used. I also tend to think of my system as one which is more modest and less all out..thus, I dont think I should put Zu's absolute best with my gear. Kind of keeping a price/performance ratio so to speak. But, I certainly wouldn't mind trying them if the opportunity came along.

As for the Druid set up. I used the thickness of one cd jewel case for the gap under the Druids.That worked out the best for my set up sonically.

I would think any rather hard surface under the Druids will work well, and surely better than soft carpet. I have seen several guys use anything from wood boards, or the Druids placed on hardwood flooring..to more expensive marble or granite slabs such as I use.. (mine are 18x18x 3/4" marble slabs) Your set up sounds good with the flooring you described.Should work fine.

Best--Ken

Thank you very much for your detailed and fast response Ken! At this point I think that I might be trying the Gede/Libtec combo and see how they work.

Thanks again
Krausz

I am a musician and recording studio owner, and these Druids are just eerie in their ability to reproduce the sensation of a live performance.

Squeegybug,

Any chance of some pics of your setup? I assume you used the spiked, hypy and annoying PMC's in your studio (they seem to be popular in some pro circles, although I have rarely heard them described quite the way you put it).

You have another pair of Zu Druids on order, are you planning to build a surround system based on Zu Druids? Not needing a sub (as you describe) might make this a system of exceptional quality and yet exceptional value too (good subs are far from cheap).

Please provide some pics and welcome to the forums - your first post, I believe?

The mini method sub is one of the fastest in the west, and is of course made by zu to match the speed and powerful raw tone of the druids. It is a little pricey, I believe retail is 1500.00, but if you need the extra power down low its not that hard to get it as long as you stick with Zu's designs along with your druids.

I tried my Zu's with 18" tiles and moved them out into the room and did not achieve better results. I didn't have the Tiles on spikes, just setting on top of the carpet using the weight of the speaker to push them down.

In my room the bass extension/output suffered. I installed the short rounded type spikes and tried different heights. Nothing worked well.

I now have them positioned 10' apart (inside to inside), 2' from the rear wall to the back of the speaker (closest point/inside of speaker) and the gap between the top of the carpet (long spikes installed) and the bottom of the speaker base set @ only 1/8".

I've also noticed that small changes to the tow-in makes huge differences. I have them positioned where they point almost directly at my ears. Towed out too much and they become very distant and hollow sounding.

I also changed the amp I'm using from my Odyssey Stratos Extreme (one of my favorite amps) to a Acurus A200 X 3 that I was using for center and surround duties.

I gave up some resolution and detail for sure, but the mid bass is much fuller and bass extension is better as well. Funny thing is this amp sounded very hard with my Ushers, but is pretty good with the Zu's. Not the final stop here, but better.

I am very happy and excited that with the right equipment things will only get better.

We're going to take vacation in about a week, but when we return I'll be putting my Usher-6381's, Usher X-616 center and Odyssey up for sale.

I plan to purchase the Zu center, a new tube based CDP (maybe the Raysonic 128 or something similar), and a new amp or integrated amp if needed. Will have to see how the CDP works out first.

The Zu's are worth building around and that's for sure. I just hope my wife's heart can take it. ;0)