As a reviewer I get to hear lots of speakers, and I immediately forget most of them.
It's not that they're bad, just unexceptional. Here's a Top 10 list and photo gallery of the very best-sounding speakers I've heard for less than $3,500 per pair. The brands may be unfamiliar, but each speaker is a stand-out winner. I will at some point do a Top 10 without price constraints. For now I want to highlight more affordable speakers that you can buy new.
Zu's newly reworked tweeter and woofer
(Credit: Steve Guttenberg)You can't make your Nikon D200 DSLR into a D300. If you want the new one, you must buy it.
Even Steve Jobs can't transform last year's iMac into the latest, greatest iMac. And you can't add HDMI switching to your 4-year-old Sony receiver. But...that's exactly the sort of upgradeability that some high-end companies offer.
Take Zu Audio. The company offers an upgrade kit that'll transform any Druid speaker built from 2001 forward into the current Druid Mk 4/08 model for $600 ($800 upfront, with a $200 refund with return of original drivers). Since a pair of new Druid MkIV/08 go for $3,400, the $600 fee seems very reasonable to me. Complete new Zu speakers are sold factory direct with a 60-day money-back guarantee. They are manufactured by Zu Audio in Ogden, Utah.
Last year, I raved about the Druid MK IV speakers and dubbed them Speaker of the Year. So I was eager to install the kit and see for myself if the smart folks at Zu could actually improve this great speaker.
The upgrade kit includes a pair of new woofers and tweeters and all of the necessary tools to get the job done. Examining the quality of the parts and build integrity of the Zu's designs from the inside of the speaker only increased my respect for the design.
New woofers and tweeters
(Credit: Zu Audio)Zu even produced a how-to DVD that shows the installation in real time. Druid owners who'd rather not roll up their sleeves can ship their speakers back to Zu and have the pros handle the job--for free--but the owner pays for shipping. I needed around 50 minutes to complete the upgrades, and I was taking my time. I wanted to get the job done right. The first time.
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The Speaker of the Year!
(Credit: Zu Audio)The Zu Audio Driud Mk. IV is the Audiophiliac's Speaker of the Year! As a former hi-fi salesman and now as a professional audio reviewer for twelve years I've heard thousands of speakers, but the Druid hit me hard. A total rock & roll animal, the skinny monolith/tower feels tremendously powerful, and my samples look extremely cool decked out in brilliant red metallic paint. I initially reviewed the speaker in the March, 2007 issue of Robb Report Home Entertainment. I'm still listening.
A number of American and Canadian speaker manufacturers now outsource production while maintaining sky high pricing, but Zu's home grown speakers are built with outright lavish quality standards and still sell at the low-end of high-end pricing (starting at $1795 a pair for the smaller Tone speakers). Zu also offers a center channel, surround speakers and subwoofers for home theater fans. All are sold factory direct, with a 60 day money-back satisfaction guarantee.
The Zu Druid Mk.IV is a large speaker, 50 inches tall, 11 wide, but since it is just 6.3 inches deep, it does not seem all that imposing. Yes, at $3,400 a pair, it ain't cheap, but it's less than some folks paid for a pair of scalped tickets for last night's Led Zeppelin concert in London. And I have a feeling Druids will still sound great long after a $3,400 flat screen display winds up decomposing in landfill. High-end audio is built to last--video not so much. It certainly gets old real fast, anybody out there still have their $15K first generation plasma set?
Zu speakers are assembled and finished in Ogden, Utah, and almost all of the parts are made in the US including the Druid's 10-inch full range driver and tweeter (Zu assembles and tests the drivers in-house). Keeping production at home allows Zu to offer all sorts of custom options and finishes, and you won't find any plastic parts in a Zu design. The speaker's internal silver alloy wiring is made by Zu, and instead of typical speaker wire binding posts, the Druid features a nifty copper clamping system to secure the speaker cables. Every detail of the design is first rate.
Zu's design methodology is more musical and less measurement oriented than most, which is not to say Zu's engineering is completely seat of the pants, just that the end result produces a sound that is, well, different than what I am used to. That said, the rhythmic pulse of jazz, reggae and all sorts of dance music is communicated with an energy that is far ahead of any I've heard from speakers of the Druid's size and price class. And yet the speakers' poise on classical music reveals a wonderful sense of refinement.
Voices emerge fully formed, more believably human: Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Sinatra, Jack White, Jeff Buckley, and Bob Dylan all but materialize in my living room. Stereo imaging is another strong point. On disc after disc the Druids display an uncanny ability to disappear as sources of sound. Depth and spaciousness are truly excellent. They sound great cranked way up loud, and yet sound awesome teamed up with the puniest of amplifiers.
Zu is clearly a force to be reckoned with.
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