Well, the Def4s have arrived, and I'm still taking stock of them, so my considered response will take the form of a few postings. I thought I'd leave a few initial impressions. First aesthetics; I'm SSSOOOO glad my girlfriend made me go for Cosmic Carbon, it's such a good match with the Aluminium driver rings and tweeter lens, and fits my loft decor perfectly. This finish never seems to work in photos but is to-die-for in the flesh.
So, the sound. Yes, it is a cliche, but it really sounds like a different speaker, but the same. In a nutshell, it shares all the DNA of my previous Def2s with a definite increase in sophistication common to spkrs much further up the price scale.
This is most noticeable in a quantum leap improvement in transparency. There is a real "hear thru" quality to the sound, but maintaining the Zu tonal density. But now, instead of a concentration of musical energy into a sort of wall of sound, there is a more layered quality to the presentation. It's the same, but very different. This increased transparency really allows music to breath more easily than the old Def2s, which seem coarse by comparison. This is the only area where I disagree with Roy Gregory in his Audio Beat review, IMHO there is no "harmonic leaness" (about the least accurate criticism to be levelled against Zu).
But don't be fooled if my words make you think that we now have a polite, twee sound. No , nothing of the sort, and I'll explain more at my next post...