Anyone listen to Zu Audio's Definition Mk3?

After all, the loudspeaker -- even a good one -- is the most egregious contributor of distortion of all the gear in the chain, and it functions into an acoustic space interface that further influences it.

Absolutely true. That's why so few speaker manufacturers offer "distortion" specs like other components.

Phil, short of a lottery win I'm never going to be a Zu Dominance spkrs owner, but since you've heard them, can you relay further impressions?
A few things concern me about their design: firstly the baffle is v. wide, surely there may be diffraction effects esp. since surfaces are flat and not curved? Secondly, even though I know 90%+ of the output into the treble comes from the FRDs and 3 of these should be v. positive, are there not beaming effects from having separated tweeters above and below these pointing towards the listener?
Since the Def 4 seems to have cracked off axis listening, won't this positive aspect be negated in the Dominance, by creating more of a hotspot type listening experience, one of the things I hate about a lot of high end spkrs (Magico, Martin Logan come to mind)?

>>firstly the baffle is v. wide, surely there may be diffraction effects esp. since surfaces are flat and not curved?<<

Narrow and wide baffles simply present different advantages and liabilities. You'll notice that the trend for many full-range small driver speakers is for very wide baffles to move the edges further from the waves-source. Here, the wider baffle is a net asset and it shows in the speaker's increased precision and clarity. I mean for you to understand that *everything* is clearer with Dominance than Definition. It should be at about 4X the price!

>>Secondly, even though I know 90%+ of the output into the treble comes from the FRDs and 3 of these should be v. positive, are there not beaming effects from having separated tweeters above and below these pointing towards the listener?<<

As others have noted, off-axis listening is broadly improved by the nano drivers and the Radian compression supertweeter in Def4 over Def2 and other Zu speakers not equipped the same. There is more sonic focus from the listening positions -- notice plural. The lateral range of useful listening positions for Dominance is as wide or wider than Def4, as and where I heard them. If the tweeter doesn't particularly beam in the first place, this design doesn't introduce beaming. It does introduce greater focus anywhere in the lateral listening window of optimum soundstaging.

>>by creating more of a hotspot type listening experience, one of the things I hate about a lot of high end spkrs (Magico, Martin Logan come to mind)?<<

The off-axis listening isn't compromised and the sonic focus of the Dominance's 3D baffle does not create a spikey hot spot. You don't hear selective spike in spectrum energy that characterizes "hot-spot" errors. Dominance is on the contrary, even smoother and more relaxed sounding than Definition 4, and however it measures for efficiency, its perceived behaivor is that it's more dynamic, burstier and capable of convincing performance without losing tone, on even less power than is Definition.

What else can I say? Dominance is the best speaker in overall music terms that I know of and the best loudspeaker I've heard in over 40 years of hearing music through hifi gear, including the industry's proclaimed "best" for that whole span and earlier. Dominance is the best speaker I've ever heard. Period. And yet eventually Zu will make it better still.

Phil

Well from your description Phil, one to look fwd to. Despite it's hefty price tag, a relative bargain in the high end wrt models like Magico, Wilson, Rockport, YG. It's in that big bucks league at a third of the entry ticket.
You feel that the Def4s, despite not scaling the absolute lofty heights of the Dominance, doesn't give too much away in performance terms comparison I hope?

Definition 4 overperforms at its price, relative to the market. It can be a "last speaker" for many people and is far better than most audiophiles or musicophiles will own.

If you hear Dominance, you leave mentally rummaging through your house looking for all the things you can sell to pay for them but when you return home listening to Definition 4s, you aren't left feeling deprived and wearing a permanent frown.

I already prefer Definition 4 to any Magico I've heard, though the Magico Q5 is certainly quite good.

Phil