Zu did an outstanding job of transforming their drab hotel room into a comfortable, swanky listening environment, utilizing Flor modular carpeting tiles, a nice lounge seat, and some sweet-looking gear: Zu’s Soul Superfly ($2600/pair), a 16 ohm loudspeaker with a claimed efficiency of 101dB, in dazzling green finish, looks right at home with Luxman’s SQ-38u integrated amplifier ($6000) and D-38u CD player ($4000) and a Peachtree Nova D/A integrated amplifier ($1199). At the time I listened, Zu was using Channel D’s Pure Music front-end software ($129) for iTunes as a source, and there was an easy, laidback feel to the music.

Interestingly, Zu’s Sean Casey and Adam DeCaria, who I’m used to seeing in jeans and t-shirts, were decked out in handsome three-piece suits and shiny shoes. There was an altogether more sophisticated vibe about the Zu room—no more records all over the floor, cans of beer replaced by a bottle of Johnny Walker Black. I spoke a bit with Zu’s new CEO, Kristian Pettengill, a former venture capitalist who said he fell in love with Zu’s approach and hopes to better communicate to the world the care and craft that Sean and Adam put into their speakers.