I almost bought a pair of Zu Omen speakers

last evening i saw an ad offering a pair of Zu Omen speakers and i went to check it out.
guy used a Rega RP3 n server as sources with a passive amp n a JOB 225 power amp.
he demoed vocals n classical music from both LPs n server and the sound was luring
and i started to get excited about these speakers.

then i asked him to play some rock music, he played Queen n Scorpions n the sound did
not come through for me, the electric guitar lacks body for my ears. as i play a lot of 80s
music, which include Queen, Scorpion, Supertramp, Foreigner, etc. its important that the speakers i will buy will be able to do well for this type of music.

surprisingly the seller too admitted he found for the Zu Omen speakers lacking
when it comes to rock music.

my issue is can Zu Omen do well for rock in a "correct" setup?

appreciate those using these Zu speakers or have used them to share on their matching front ends.

Thank you.

 

For Rock.

Double Impact

 

lol....totally outstanding
unfortunately we don't have this over this side of the planet.......
unless i self import a pair, like what i did for my PMC OBis

 

How big is your listening room?

 

5 x 4 mtr or 16ft x 13ft.
my current speakers are Dali Ikon 6 Mk2 driven by Conrad Johnson PV11 preamp n Classe CA400 power amp.

 

My room is 12x22x9. I bought a pair of Tekton Impacts (not double Impacts) for $1800. Delivered. These speakers blow away Zu Omen, Monitor Audio Silver 8's, and Tannoy revolution's
The Impacts put the musicians right into your room. The bass is solid down into the 20 hz zone. The mid range and highs are crystal clear, and the speaker is musical.
I am no way affiliated with Tekton. I am just very impressed with their speaker.
They do ship overseas.
Impact

 

That is a very nice system. Well balanced with good resolution and no fatigue. I find that speakers which use drivers designed for musical instruments and PA use to be very hard to listen to . If you are a musician, and the speakers are in a guitar amp where you only have a bit wider than midrange frequency range, it can be completely useful as the colorations of the amp and speakers can be tweaked by a tone stack to suit any output and the artist is creating sound, not trying to reproduce it. I would be very happy with the system that you already have.
-Bill

 

Have you had the opportunity to compare them with Pendragons (which I have and like very much)?

 

The design gives me trypophobia. Ugh I'm all creeped out just thinking about it. Wish Tektons were prettier.

 

I really wish I could audition Tekton or even Zu Audio speakers. I know they have a decent return policy. I'm not making an upgrade in speaker purchase any time soon, but I hope to by October maybe. I am really interested in the Tekton Lore, as I have posted in this forum before. I'm mainly interested in the price, the size footprint, the specs, and the cherry finish that I can get for my listening room. Are there others I should check out that fit that mold? Tekton or Zu Audio. Others have told me of other Tekton models, but the size of the speaker was just too large for my room. It's not that it wouldn't sound nice in the room, they just would be too large for what I have going on there (and my wife wouldn't like them).

 

I have not heard the Pendragons. I went with the Impacts since they have a 6 inch to handle the mids. Almost everyone that owns Pendragons love them though.
How do the Pendragons sound with voices?

 

It's interesting so many companies are going to less is more and then Tekton has like a gazillion drivers and tweeters.

 

They are stunning. It really is like having the performers in the living room. You hear the little details of movement, the breathing, and the timber. Add a great soundstage, placing Diana Krall's voice just over her piano and Michael Brekker's sax across from her, all just in front of the drummer. You can almost smell the scotch and soda. Equally great with Dame Kiri or an eighteen year old Mick Jagger.

 

I bought the Impacts based on the reviews; Many saying they sound as good as Wilson's. They are huge though. They do look a lot better in my listening room than they do in the pictures on the net, but I Like large speakers. Right now, Willie Nelson is picking a guitar at the end of my listening room.

 

That sounds exactly like the Impacts. I have a feeling that the Pendragons can rock a little harder than the Impacts, with two ten inch woofers. The Impacts are probably just a hair more detailed in the mids. I bet anybody would have a hard time telling them apart blindfolded though.

 

Do you all think the regular Tekton Lore's (full tower) can handle rock music and other genres, or are they maybe similar to the experience that the OP had with the Omens? It seems like the Impacts would be too large.

 

yes, in my years of buying n selling and changing hifi gears, i too feel the current setup is one of the best i ever had. the tube pre and SS power brings a very nice balance and the Classe CA400 is surprisingly warm n give an almost tube like sound. i know becos i used to hv a Prima Luna Prologue II and also a pre/power running 4 x KT88s in the power section. and the Dalis are extremely musical n can do all types of music... when i have Anne Murray on, my inside just "melts" and when i have Vivaldi on, my heart strings are tugged in harmony with the performing orchestra....
so like my hifi service technician said to me "old man.... be contend with what you have".... haha....

but times something comes up in the used market, its always tempting to try it... Zu speakers has some draw for me as i once had a pair of Fostex BLH full range speakers so i know the unique point of what a single driver full range can do for the sound.

 

as they say the pudding is in the eating... we wont know until we try it.
if i can retrace the audition of the Zu Omens, one of the factor for the "weak" rock sound could be due to using a passive preamp in the chain.
this is the 3rd audition i have been to where a passive preamp seems to be the weak link in the setup.
i went to check out a pair of B&W 704s a while ago and guy was using a passive preamp with a Krell power amp but yet the sound
came out wimpy...... i was in disbelief becos Krell is well known for a muscular sound, but what i heard that day, its far from expectations.
it may be coincidental but those time i listen to setup using a passive preamp, the sound didnt get me sitting up straight.

 

The Impacts are a large speaker. Call Eric at Tekton. Tell him that you want a smaller speaker that rocks. He custom builds at the same price (from what I read on a forum)
I agree with John Woo; passive preamps and rock do not mix. It sucks the life out of the music.

 

What people used to say about VMPS:

 

I have never heard a passive. Everyone who reviews Pendragons says they are not fussy about power demands. I imagine the Zus have similar attributes. I use a Rogue Sphinx and a concert level experience is a breeze. When I demo my system I usually start with Combination of the Two off of Cheap Thrills. It definitely rocks plus not too shabby vocals.

 

I thought the whole point of Zu speakers was to use them with a SET amp. Sort of the exact opposite of what you would want for rock music.

Although I have not heard a set, the reviews I read of their speakers in general seem to point to them being not that great - Zu Essence Floor Standing Speakers (To be fair this guy hates everything).

Not for me at all.

 

I have the Omen Definition's (original version), and they have no issues playing rock.

Home Theater Review, did a review of the Omen Definition's back in June of 2011.

"While my amp may have limited the OMEN DEFs output in terms of volume, it didn't limit their rock and roll spirit, for the OMEN DEFs are the first truly tube friendly speakers I've heard that don't sound out of place playing back Hendrix or Guns and Roses."

The reviewer had reviewed with a few different amps and HT applications in addition to stereo.

The amp in the review quote above is a 2-Watt Decware SET.

The Omen Definitions are rated at 98dB efficiency. They have very fast response rate. The 10" drivers are full range and they don't have a crossover in the way. They have a capacitor that blocks the lower frequencies from the tweeter, which kicks in around 10K CPS.

Because the OD's have two drivers, the sound output would be greater than the standard Omen, with only one driver.

I would think that the OD's would have a greater punch, that is much needed for rock.

 

I shouldn't have done a Google image search for this

 

My pens with their grills on sort of look like the monolith in 2001.