Zu Soul Supreme - Best Amp?

[atl-zu]

Hi, Everyone. I just pulled the trigger on some Zu Soul Supremes for my office. I'm also in the market for an amp and pre-amp. The Zu's are fairly sensitive ~92 DB, so I'm thinking of going with a Class A or Class AB amp. My listening is jazz, Radiohead, and Classic Rock. Medium volume. Sometimes I like to rock out. I will be streaming from Tidal (MQA).

I'm thinking about:
Schiit Aegir (amp), Schiit Saga+ (pre-amp), Schiit Modius (DAC) and iFi Zen Stream (streamer)
or
Schiit Aegir monoblocls (amp), Freya+ (pre-amp), Schiit Modius (DAC) and iFi Zen Stream (streamer)
or
Audiolab 6000a (integrated amp) and iFi Zen Stream (streamer)

Thoughts are welcome. Thanks.

 

[LTig]

Any amp will do as the load is very light - especially if you don't intend to play very loud. However, as the (truelly horrible) measurements at stereophile show, it makes sense to use an amp with a parametric EQ to fix the worst resonances. How about a cheap AVR?

Edit: Think about to hold some money back for room treatment. The off-axis response is very uneven so reducing reflections may help to get better frequency response at the listening position.

 

[atl-zu]

Thanks for your note. I'm new to audio and would appreciate your input.
I was looking at the Klipsch Hersey IVs. They are far less and it sounds like they may be a more forgiving speaker for my office (than the Zu Soul Supreme).
And my office can't be a dedicated listening room, so the room treatment will be hard.
What do you think?
And if I did go with the Klipsch Hersey IVs, I would go with the Audiolab 6000a Integrated.

Again, any and all thoughts are welcome.

And, while we are at it, I'm in need of a streamer. I just read the iFi Zen Stream is not gapless. Does anyone have any ideas of how I can stream Tidal MQA easily - gapless?

 

[LTig]

Thanks for your note. I'm new to audio and would appreciate your input.
I was looking at the Klipsch Hersey IVs. They are far less and it sounds like they may be a more forgiving speaker for my office (than the Zu Soul Supreme).

Do you have a budget? Does it cover speakers and amp?

And my office can't be a dedicated listening room, so the room treatment will be hard.
What do you think?

Get a speaker which does not go too deep (to avoid problems in the bass) and with a not too wide dispersion (to reduce reflections). What is the listening distance? Is there only one spot you want to listen, or does it need to cover a wider range?

And if I did go with the Klipsch Hersey IVs, I would go with the Audiolab 6000a Integrated.

Again, any and all thoughts are welcome.

And, while we are at it, I'm in need of a streamer. I just read the iFi Zen Stream is not gapless. Does anyone have any ideas of how I can stream Tidal MQA easily - gapless?

No idea, sorry.

 

[HorizonsEdge]

How will you be listening to these speakers? near field or are you trying to fill your office with sound?

How loud do you plan to go? How will it impact your neighbors (home office? work office?)?

What is your office layout and what will be the best placement options?


The answers should provide guidance on speaker choice.

 

[Goodman]

Hi, Everyone. I just pulled the trigger on some Zu Soul Supremes for my office. I'm also in the market for an amp and pre-amp. The Zu's are fairly sensitive ~92 DB, so I'm thinking of going with a Class A or Class AB amp. My listening is jazz, Radiohead, and Classic Rock. Medium volume. Sometimes I like to rock out. I will be streaming from Tidal (MQA).

I'm thinking about:
Schiit Aegir (amp), Schiit Saga+ (pre-amp), Schiit Modius (DAC) and iFi Zen Stream (streamer)
or
Schiit Aegir monoblocls (amp), Freya+ (pre-amp), Schiit Modius (DAC) and iFi Zen Stream (streamer)
or
Audiolab 6000a (integrated amp) and iFi Zen Stream (streamer)

Thoughts are welcome. Thanks.

Please let me know what you decide to use, I went thru a half a dozen amps with my Zu's , gave up and sent them to storage.

 

[AudioJester]

Please let me know what you decide to use, I went thru a half a dozen amps with my Zu's , gave up and sent them to storage.

That sounds like a speaker or room problem, not an amp issue. The Zu's are not at all hard to drive. Maybe you got the wrong speaker for you?

 

[Goodman]

That sounds like a speaker or room problem, not an amp issue. The Zu's are not at all hard to drive. Maybe you got the wrong speaker for you?

I got the wrong speaker for me, I wanted a hi fi speaker, I got a guitar amp speaker.

 

[LTig]

That sounds like a speaker or room problem, not an amp issue. The Zu's are not at all hard to drive. Maybe you got the wrong speaker for you?

This. Looking at the stereophile measurements (link in posting #1) tells enough. This is a truely bad speaker (quote stolen from @Floyd Toole ).

 

[Ryan200]

I'm gonna raise this thread from the dead because certainly someone else will want to know what to pair Zu speakers with.

First of all music is an artform and enjoying music is subjective. What's better a Ultra High Resolution photograph of Lisa Gherardini or a painting of her (Mona Lisa)?

If you're at all concerned with enjoying music through your speakers I recommend Nelson Pass designed gear like what Steve Guttenberg uses. I use a Threshold SL10 and Nakamichi PA-5 with my Dirty Weekend MkII's. This combo sounds so good I have a hard time turning it off.

If you prefer listening to frequency sweeps this forum has plenty of fantastic recommendations for that!

 

[BlackTalon]

purify eval here, powering a pair of Dirty Weekends. Source is a bluenode 2i. It's in a decent sized yoga room w lots of reflective surfaces. They look nice and are way better then the iPod speaker my wife was using before. Not a setup for critical listening, but I enjoy going down there and blasting some AC/DC occasionally.

 

[beeface]

What's better a Ultra High Resolution photograph of Lisa Gherardini or a painting of her (Mona Lisa)?

What a horrible analogy.

 

[Goodman]

I'm gonna raise this thread from the dead because certainly someone else will want to know what to pair Zu speakers with.

First of all music is an artform and enjoying music is subjective. What's better a Ultra High Resolution photograph of Lisa Gherardini or a painting of her (Mona Lisa)?

If you're at all concerned with enjoying music through your speakers I recommend Nelson Pass designed gear like what Steve Guttenberg uses. I use a Threshold SL10 and Nakamichi PA-5 with my Dirty Weekend MkII's. This combo sounds so good I have a hard time turning it off.

If you prefer listening to frequency sweeps this forum has plenty of fantastic recommendations for that!

Actually, the problem is not the amps used. Decades ago I owned both of these units, I now use amps and preamps that are as good or better: The problem is the speakers. Steve Guttenberg likes everything.

 

[Tom C]

I'm gonna raise this thread from the dead because certainly someone else will want to know what to pair Zu speakers with.

First of all music is an artform and enjoying music is subjective. What's better a Ultra High Resolution photograph of Lisa Gherardini or a painting of her (Mona Lisa)?

If you're at all concerned with enjoying music through your speakers I recommend Nelson Pass designed gear like what Steve Guttenberg uses. I use a Threshold SL10 and Nakamichi PA-5 with my Dirty Weekend MkII's. This combo sounds so good I have a hard time turning it off.

If you prefer listening to frequency sweeps this forum has plenty of fantastic recommendations for that!

I disagree. This is not the correct analogy. A better one would be more like this:
The Mona Lisa, or an ultra high resolution photograph of her, or any other work of art in their collection, is in the Louvre. It’s lockdown, and you aren’t allowed inside. As a public service, the museum will be broadcasting a showing of some of their works. Would you rather view the broadcast on a 4K monitor with HDR calibrated to accepted standards, or a cathode ray standard definition monitor that has been color tweaked by one of the curators to add his own interpretation to what DaVinci should have used for color and shading on the original work?
Some will choose both, of course.

 

[peanuts]

to me is doesnt appear like ZU knows how to design a speaker at all. one puzzling thing about soul supreme is the huge 2" 500hz capable compression driver, only used with a first order 12khz or something rolloff. i mean wtf? they would only need a cheap supertweeter which would increase dispersion above 7-8khz and possibly lower breakup frequencies etc.

 

[sergeauckland]

to me is doesnt appear like ZU knows how to design a speaker at all. one puzzling thing about soul supreme is the huge 2" 500hz capable compression driver, only used with a first order 12khz or something rolloff. i mean wtf? they would only need a cheap supertweeter which would increase dispersion above 7-8khz and possibly lower breakup frequencies etc.

A cynic (who me?) might say that Zu are a joke played on audiophiles. They know their loudspeakers are total crap, and want to see just how far they can take this before anyone guesses.

S

 

[Goodman]

A cynic (who me?) might say that Zu are a joke played on audiophiles. They know their loudspeakers are total crap, and want to see just how far they can take this before anyone guesses.

S

Actually, it is worse than that, the designer is also a motorcycle enthusiast, and he loves Harleys, that gives you an indication of his taste. In the motorcycle world, Italian and German enthusiast consider Harley Davidsons to be as sophisticated and comparable to agricultural equipment.

 

[Ryan200]

Try to recall the OP wanted advice on amplifier pairing. Frequency response charts from an anechoic environment are about as useful as a chocolate teapot. I'm assuming he's listening to music in a room using his ears like I am. For that scenario- Nelson Pass all day long

In defense of Harleys: they use [agricultural] single pin crank V twins because it's more fun and will turn your girlfriend on more than any Ducati or BMW.

 

[boXem]

 

[Ryan200]

I'm changing my recommendation. My Sansui AU-717 with Threshold SL10 sounds even better

Here's snake-oil moron Sean Casey talking to ignorant plebe John Atkinson talking about his design goals. He addresses frequency response if you can withstand cognitive dissonance