Zu Audio Speakers

 zuaudio.com

Zu Audio (Utah) opened shop in 1999. They make loudspeakers, cables & a moving coil phono cartridge based on the classic Denon 103D. Their business model has been to sell direct to customers. While there is some logic to that in terms of pricing, it severely limits your ability to audition the speakers easily and get in-field support.

I approached Sean Casey of Zu in 2007. The design of the Druid & Presence (both available in a wide array of finishes) loudspeakers really caught my fancy. The speakers have a 10” FULLRANGE driver with no crossover in the road. I’ve done several years of home brewing FULLRANGE designs with very mixed results. I really wanted to hear what Zu could accomplish with real research and its own manufacturing facility. Sean was impressed with my persistence and thought if he could get a dealer with a passion for his product, as opposed to just dropping it on the sales floor, that we might be a good combination.

The Druid, $3400pr, has just landed and it’s remarkable! It is a floorstanding (50h, 11w, 6 1/2d), high efficiency (101dB) design. It has a super tweeter (unique mixture of cotton fiber with phenolic reinforcement!) with high pass network that drifts in at 12k. The dynamic range, transient response and image are about as good as it gets! The Druid is fast as lightning- but isn’t BRIGHT. Now that’s a great accomplishment. The bass is extremely tight- no sludge here!

While there are standard colors, they’ll make it in practically any color you want!

Since the efficiency is high, you can drive the Druid with literally any amp out there. If you’re after transparency, please audition the Druid.

 The Presence is due in mid July. The Presence has the same 10” FULLRANGE driver and tweeter on the front, but also has two powered 10” subwoofers within the enclosure. The Presence will run $8000pr.