Zu Audio - What is Going On?

[Geert]

Zu's are the favourite speakers of Steve Guttenberg...

 

[Killingbeans]

The good news is that your story stayed the same!

I feel for Kal. A good anecdote has a tendency to get duplicated

 

[mhardy6647]

Maybe Zu Audio is the present day Cervin-Vega (whose speakers I know only by reputation).

consider youself lucky.



Oh, by the way -- in their heyday, the name of the company was Cerwin-Vega! I don't think that the name comes from one of those click-languages (it's from the lateGene Czerwinski's name* -- not sure 'bout the Vega!), so the exclamation point was strictly marketing
https://www.stereophile.com/content/gene-czerwinski-founder-cerwin-vega-dead-83-1

 

[Kal Rubinson]

Uhm, Kal, I hate to tell you, but you already shared the same story in this thread.

I've told it a number of times where I thought it relevant.

The good news is that your story stayed the same!

Well, that's good news it is not due to a memory failure.

 

[Laserjock]

I probably wouldn’t have seen it had it not been shared a second time.

 

[mcdonalk]

In all fairness to Zu Audio, I believe that they are attempting to employ the principle of an Helmholtz Resonator to augment the bass output of the flawed (in my opinion) concept of a full range cone speaker. I can also see how the concept of a motorcycle muffler, which is derisively cited as Zu's inspiration elsewhere in this scientific forum, could point an aspiring inventor in that direction. (I will make it a mental note never to reveal the sources of any of my inspirations on this forum.)
When Zu was presenting before our club, I was reminded of the Hegeman omni-directional speakers from the 1970's. I never heard them, but they were somewhat favorably reviewed in print in an era that combined measurement- and listening-based tests. The Hegeman speakers employed a series of various sizes of vertical pipes as resonators for the bass frequencies.

 

[watchnerd]

In all fairness to Zu Audio, I believe that they are attempting to employ the principle of an Helmholtz Resonator to augment the bass output

Well, that's what bass reflex is.

Bass reflex port = Helmholtz Resonator

 

[mightycicadalord]

Yes, something of a tradition with Zu speakers.

Something of an anti-Harman approach to product design. I wonder how a pair of them would fare in Harman speaker comparisons? By the measured info they would be rated even lower than Ray's M-L's.

Here are JA's comments on another Zu model than the one above.

In many ways, the Zu Essence is an underachiever, measurement-wise. But the surprise for me, when I auditioned it in AD's room, was how much of its measured misbehavior was not too audible, other than the rolled-off highs and the lack of impact in the lower midrange. I suspect that Zu's designer has carefully balanced the individual aspects of the Essence's design so that the musical result is greater than the sum of its often disappointingly-measuring parts.—John Atkinson
Read more at http://www.stereophile.com/content/zu-essence-loudspeaker-measurements#LSrEJhzYFqVF4q75.99

Yet if you look at the measurements, they would suggest exactly what he described. Lacking highs, weak lower midrange, etc etc.

You can also see some suspect results of yet a third Zu speaker here.

http://www.soundstagenetwork.com/measurements/zucable_druid/

And another person's take on their unusual design choices.

http://noaudiophile.com/Zu/

Quite a ways down this page you can download recordings of the George Thorogood mentioned playing over these speakers, and one of a better speaker for comparison.

Kind of late to this, but man, if that is a recording of noaudiophiles selah speakers in room, he was one damn good sounding room.

The zu seem pretty inoffensive in the mid range in these recordings, but everything else is wrong.

 

[NightFlight]

Sheesh. I may have fallen onto the hype train. I have a pair of Zu DW MK II on their way here. They will be shooting out against a pair of Maggie LRS/Anthem Amp2 SE and/or pair of ELAC DBR-62. Fortunately there's a 60 day shipping paid return policy. I built a diyaudio Aleph J clone and I love its sound, but it desperately needs something efficient. I'm holding out hope these DW could fill that role.

I guess we shall see.

 

[AwesomeSauce2015]

If you're looking for something efficient, why not look into the bigger JBL passive monitors?

They seem to measure quite well, and based off the large horn and woofers, they should be fairly sensitive.

 

[PeterW]

Yes, something of a tradition with Zu speakers.

Something of an anti-Harman approach to product design. I wonder how a pair of them would fare in Harman speaker comparisons? By the measured info they would be rated even lower than Ray's M-L's.

Here are JA's comments on another Zu model than the one above.

In many ways, the Zu Essence is an underachiever, measurement-wise. But the surprise for me, when I auditioned it in AD's room, was how much of its measured misbehavior was not too audible, other than the rolled-off highs and the lack of impact in the lower midrange. I suspect that Zu's designer has carefully balanced the individual aspects of the Essence's design so that the musical result is greater than the sum of its often disappointingly-measuring parts.—John Atkinson
Read more at http://www.stereophile.com/content/zu-essence-loudspeaker-measurements#LSrEJhzYFqVF4q75.99

Yet if you look at the measurements, they would suggest exactly what he described. Lacking highs, weak lower midrange, etc etc.

You can also see some suspect results of yet a third Zu speaker here.

http://www.soundstagenetwork.com/measurements/zucable_druid/

And another person's take on their unusual design choices.

http://noaudiophile.com/Zu/

Quite a ways down this page you can download recordings of the George Thorogood mentioned playing over these speakers, and one of a better speaker for comparison.

How do you come up with the idea to use a bass guitar speaker for hi fi?
They recommend tube amplifiers because the coloration makes the distortion palatable.
I have tried a dozen different amps, no tube.
I persist because of the good comments from the so called expert reviewers. Not the worst speaker I have ever heard, but close.

 

[PeterW]

I really don't understand why anyone would own a pair, amongst my least favourites I would include Devore and Audio Note UK, any number of horn loudspeakers ,and I like horns , Zu comfortably holding the top spot though.
Keith

Devore Audio is a clone Dynaco A25 in a nicer box for large money. Zu speakers are based on guitar amp speakers with no bass.

 

[PeterW]

Welcome to the wonderful world of Zu. The company that answers the question "Should Harley Davidson mechanics start their own speaker company?"

The answer of course is "Oh, hell no."

NoAudioPhile nailed it years ago.

http://noaudiophile.com/Zu/

Btw, isn't a "whizzer cone" just another name for a kazoo?

Harley Davidson mechanics should not even be motorcycle mechanics.

 

[PeterW]

Zu's are the favourite speakers of Steve Guttenberg...

Steve Guttenburg likes everything.

 

[beagleman]

I finally found the ideal comparison, after hearing my first pair of ZU speakers, through an acquaintance.....


They sound for MOST intents very like a Zenith Allegro MC3000 Speaker from the 1980s!!!

I mean VERY similar. I see WHY some like them, but not very accurate or easy to listen to for any long periods.

The Zenith runs a 10" woofer, with NO low pass crossover, and after time, the upper end of it grates on your ears. They are also quite efficient, but partially through the large amount of mid and upper mid break up.

In other words, LOUD< but in a "Semi bad" way, how a mid cost P.A. Speaker can be quite loud, but not great fidelity.

 

[fpitas]

I've seen the Zus tested for FR numerous times, so the "secret" is no secret. Sometimes I wonder if Zu is preferred by those with high frequency hearing loss.

 

[mhardy6647]

I finally found the ideal comparison, after hearing my first pair of ZU speakers, through an acquaintance.....


They sound for MOST intents very like a Zenith Allegro MC3000 Speaker from the 1980s!!!

I mean VERY similar. I see WHY some like them, but not very accurate or easy to listen to for any long periods.

The Zenith runs a 10" woofer, with NO low pass crossover, and after time, the upper end of it grates on your ears. They are also quite efficient, but partially through the large amount of mid and upper mid break up.

In other words, LOUD< but in a "Semi bad" way, how a mid cost P.A. Speaker can be quite loud, but not great fidelity.

I don't know about the '80s, but in the '70s the Zenith Allegro loudspeakers (bundled with all in one or quasi-component stereos of fair to middlin' quality, actually) used a smattering of different Foster (Fostex) tweeters of generally pretty good quality.
Nothin' wrong with allowin' a woofer to (ahem) free range, as long as it was designed to do so (or, at least, not aggressively designed not to do so, as such drivers are nowadays).

Winslow Burhoe did this, famously and quite effectively, starting in the early 1970s with his EPI/Epicure loudspeakers.

 

[fpitas]

I don't know about the '80s, but in the '70s the Zenith Allegro loudspeakers (bundled with all in one or quasi-component stereos of fair to middlin' quality, actually) used a smattering of different Foster (Fostex) tweeters of generally pretty good quality.
Nothin' wrong with allowin' a woofer to (ahem) free range, as long as it was designed to do so (or, at least, not aggressively designed not to do so, as such drivers are nowadays).

Winslow Burhoe did this, famously and quite effectively, starting in the early 1970s with his EPI/Epicure loudspeakers.

Yeah, the old Dynaco A25s were like that. Pleasant to listen to, if not real resolving.

 

[manisandher]

I bought a used pair of Zu Druid IV speakers about 15 years or so ago, intended for my home office. They sounded absolutely dreadful - a cheap transistor radio would have given them a run for their money. I put them up for sale as soon as I possibly could (took a small hit). I was so embarassed when the new owner came to pick them up... but fortunately he was already familiar with the Druids and was totally unconcerned with the way they sounded.

Replaced the Druids with a pair of Quad 2905s... never looked back.

 

[mhardy6647]

Yeah, the old Dynaco A25s were like that. Pleasant to listen to, if not real resolving.

Very pleasant indeed.
One of those sins of omission loudspeakers.
They sold zillions of them, too.

Actually, Epicure Products sold a lot of EPI 100s, too, as they were a Consumer Reports recommended loudspeaker model at one point.
The photo I posted above is one of a nice (it's all relative!) pair of EPI100V (the cheap, vinyl-clad morph of the 100) that I keep in the collection as an homage to Win Burhoe and his long legacy of good quality, easy to drive, high value loudspeakers.
(FWIW)