Zu Goes Its Own Way

Zu Goes Its Own Way

Jan 14, 2011
Utah-based Zu Audio does indeed goes its own way, with retro, almost-full-range pulp-cone drive-units used in high-sensitivity designs. (See Art Dudley's review of the $4000/pair Essence in the October 2009 Stereophile. All of Zu's speakers have been moderately priced, so I was not expecting to see and hear a design costing $40,000/pair when I went into the Zu room at T.H.E. Show.

The Dominance uses three 10" paper-cone drivers, each with a whizzer cone, to cover the range from 27Hz to 12kHz. Each is in its own sub-enclosure featuring Zu's proprietary ZuRG loading (See AD's review) with the outer two tuned identically and the central drive-unit adjusted to give a bit more upper-midrange energy. There is also a downward-firing 15" subwoofer, covering the octave below 27Hz, and completing the line-up are two horn-loaded ring-radiator tweeters operating above 12kHz. Unusually, these are placed at the top and bottom of the Dominance.

For the dem, the subwoofer was powered by a Pass Labs XA30.5 but the main drive-units were driven by a 1.5Wpc Yamamoto SET amp. Yup, just 1.5W, but the Dominances still managed to fill the room with sound. Lows were tight and extended; imaging was tangible; jump factor was startling; but I couldn't get away from a touch of character in the mid-treble imparted by those whizzer cones.

windows sound drivers for Ayre / USB async Dacs - results of some fiddling

Forums
Computer Audio
Submitted by neiltingley on

I've got the ASIO4ALL drivers installed finally after a bit of fiddling.

I tried the AQVOX drivers on my non-media server windows 7 PC and they installed easily enough but the beep every minute or so they impose on you with the trial version is extremely annoying and off-putting.

Sadly the uninstall does not work and did not remove the drivers from my system so I can't use my baby DAC until I figure out a way to properly clean out the installation.

windows sound drivers for Ayre / USB async Dacs - results of some fiddling

Forums
Computer Audio
Submitted by neiltingley on

I've got the ASIO4ALL drivers installed finally after a bit of fiddling.

I tried the AQVOX drivers on my non-media server windows 7 PC and they installed easily enough but the beep every minute or so they impose on you with the trial version is extremely annoying and off-putting.

Sadly the uninstall does not work and did not remove the drivers from my system so I can't use my baby DAC until I figure out a way to properly clean out the installation.

sonus faber choices

Forums
Loudspeakers
Submitted by neiltingley on

Hi All

Would you go for a used pair of Sonus Faber Guarneri Homage from 2002 or a new pair of a Cremona M Auditors.

Not sure how much I ought to pay for the Guarneri but they have not been used much I'm told.

I only listen to classical / jazz and have a Pathos Logos and Ayre DAC and some decent JPS Labs cables.

Any good alternative to Sonus Faber around to $5000-$7000 US ? Quads are an option but I don't have the space right now.

Advice please ?

Speakers Choice - In Limbo

Forums
Loudspeakers
Submitted by MeloB77 on

Brand new to the Stereophile so your advice and opinions are highly appreciated.

A couple of months ago I decided to build my first ever analog system. It, being a beginner system, and because economics, I am thinking about spending $2,000-$3,000 on it. Ideally it would have to include tube pre-amp and amp, but I realize that might not be realistic so a tube integrated amplifier would do (even this might be out of budged as far as I know). The room is about 18' by 13'.

Now those are speakers!

Now those are speakers!

Jan 13, 2011
Looking at the ginormous horn speakers in the Silbatone room, all I could think was "how did they get them through the door?" The speakers were a hybrid, the lower half being vintage Western Electric with field-coil–energized 18" woofers, and the midrange and highs being modern recreations from GIP in Japan.

I hadn't been aware of the Silbatone brand before this CES. Their website says that "The goal of Silbatone Acoustics is to recreate the musical enjoyment of the great theater systems in the home, creating practical realizations for today's serious music listeners." Okay. It turns out that their beautifully constructed power amplifiers ($150,000, depending on tube choice) are vehicles for unusual and rare tubes. The amplifier seen in front of the speakers, for example, used square-base Marconi DA100 broadcast modulation tubes (around $5000 each) for the outputs, with pre-WWII Siemens ED red-base tubes as the drivers. The audiophile air in this room was rarefied, indeed.

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