July 1 Zu Omen Dirty Weekend Orders

Discussion in 'Audio Hardware' started by JPW87, Jul 2, 2020.

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  1. JPW87

    JPW87 Active Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    Philadelphia, PA
    Thought I’d see how many here ordered these along with me yesterday.

    Just got my invoice - 8/31 shipping date even though I ordered in the first 8 minutes of the onsale! Bummer. Time to start practicing patience...
     
  2. Ontheone

    Ontheone Poorly Understood Member

    Location:
    Indianapolis
    Just curious how much of a discount they offered during the sale? I think they are normally $999, correct? Sounds like they beefed up their backlog with the sale. Good for them.
     
  3. iluzun

    iluzun Forum Resident

    Blue/teal, Jupiter’s, Aug. 31. Anyone got the Jupiter’s in a set? Time frame works 4 me...
     
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  4. 5-String

    5-String μηδὲν ἄγαν

    Location:
    Sunshine State
    I got the Jupiter caps too. Mine is also scheduled for 8/31 and I ordered in the first 5 minutes or so.
    The delay does not bother me, I got plenty of speakers to listen too.
     
  5. iluzun

    iluzun Forum Resident

    Got say, Casey is a mad man... (-; May have 2 drive over to Utah & do a pick up n person.
    I’ve some Jupiter’s in a line conditioner feeding my music server, always sounds nice...

     
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  6. JPW87

    JPW87 Active Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    Philadelphia, PA
    I went with the clarity caps, rustic hickory.
     
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  7. struttincool

    struttincool Senior Member

    Location:
    USA
    August 24th
    Rustic hickory. I am having them do the driver ring and tweeter lens in anodized black. I got the clarity caps.
     
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  8. arem

    arem Forum Resident

    The sale isn't a price discount. They only offer this model 3 times a year, so if you are interested you have to be ready on sale day, which was yesterday. Next sale is October 1st, don't sleep if you want a pair.
     
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  9. Ontheone

    Ontheone Poorly Understood Member

    Location:
    Indianapolis
    Thanks @arem I'm not in the speaker market but was curious. I have to say I really do like the specs of the Dirty Weekends and would love to hear a pair someday. They look like a potentially really nice value and a great fit with many amps I like.
     
  10. Rattlin' Bones

    Rattlin' Bones Grumpy Old Deaf Drummer

    Location:
    Louisville, KY
    Zu certainly knows how to market. Creating an artificial shortage in market by only offering certain popular items as specials 2x a year. And they sure sell the sizzle (how the products look). Nothing wrong with that, you just have to recognize it for what it is. Like, have ya ever seen a truck commercial in last zillion years actually open the hood and show you what the engine in that shiny red truck looks like? No - auto and truck manufacturers sell the sizzle not the steak all day every day. Zu is great at it, too. I have never owned any of their products, but I've read too many negative reviews and negative blogs and threads out there from people who have owned their products, so many that I stayed away. A lotta hocus-pocus marketing sizzle. I think other products are more likely safe choices.
     
    Last edited: Jul 2, 2020
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  11. I got Rustic Hickory, and no cap upgrade. Wanted to hear without upgrades first, then consider upgrades later. I didn't get an ETA, for those who did, was it on your Invoice, or a separate email?
     
  12. JPW87

    JPW87 Active Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    Philadelphia, PA
    Yep, it’s there on the invoice if you look closely.
     
  13. I had to call Sean for my ETA, though he said it would probably be sent by email today. I'm in Sept. I ordered in the first 1/2 hour.

     
  14. Ontheone

    Ontheone Poorly Understood Member

    Location:
    Indianapolis
    Out of curiosity, is there a general theme among those who have negative things to say about Omens? What aspects are people most critical of? The specs seem great and they look good...do they not get the crossover right?...difficult room setup?...artificial sound? Just wondering, especially considering all the excited folks on this thread who made purchases presumably who did their homework and already have experience with these speakers.
     
    Donivey likes this.
  15. Rattlin' Bones

    Rattlin' Bones Grumpy Old Deaf Drummer

    Location:
    Louisville, KY
    I had the same thoughts. I was recommended on this forum to check them out because of their higher sensitivity. Actually recommended to check out all of them. The Cube, too.

    DW = Harsh. Forward. Fatiguing. Those are the most common descriptions of users who found them unsuitable. Other reviewers likened The Cube to a guitar speaker, and a few as I recall showed pics of poor workmanship inside The Cube.

    Typical negative review of DW: Review Zu Audio Omen Dirty Weekend Mk.ii and my experience with Zu Audio : audiophile

    I will say I think most of the negative reviews are of The Cube, which is a totally different animal. That may have skewed me away from Zu such that I didn't fairly consider the DW line. I believe most of what I have read about the DW has been fairly positive.

    An alternative competitor is the high sensitivity single driver speakers from Omega, which seem to get excellent overall reviews without the marketing hype and sizzle.

     
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  16. JPW87

    JPW87 Active Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    Philadelphia, PA
    You know this is a thread for people who just spent money on these speakers, right?

    Talk about a buzzkill! :wave:

    The positive reviews seem to largely outweigh the negative ones. Steve Gutenberg is probably the one that sold me, along with someone I know personally. The cap upgrades, which most here got, seem to also help with any “harshness.”

    In doing my research, these speakers generally seem to be ones people who don’t own them love to hate, for what reason I’m not sure. Maybe it’s the “sizzle,” aka a speaker that actually looks nice.
     
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  17. Philo Beddoe

    Philo Beddoe Mechanic at Joe’s Garage

    Location:
    Indianapolis, IN.
    I have a pair with the clarity cap upgrade and they sound fantastic. I mostly listen to Zappa, Prog Rock and Jazz and these speakers can rock hard with Led Zeppelin or allow Bill Evans’ piano to sound light and clear with equal aplomb.
     
  18. Mad Dog

    Mad Dog Forum Resident

    Location:
    Chester County, PA
    Ghost black hickory with clarity caps. August 10th.
     
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  19. MattA

    MattA Well-Known Member

    I ordered Zu Omen DW during their April window and, while I didn't keep them, I'd like to assure everybody who ordered that the speaker is well worth an audition. You're in for a unique experience that you just might like. If you ultimately don't choose to keep them you will understand what you're looking for that much better.

    The folks at Zu are great to work with if you'd like help making the most of the speakers, and they are cordial and professional if things don't work out. All you are out is $100 shipping if things don't work out, after trying them out for up to two months!

    I found that the DW played music both loud and soft well. In other words, playing things at quiet/background level still retained some bass and the entire musical picture was there. Some other speakers collapse and don't really come aloud until played louder.

    They were especially well composed at high volumes -- almost an effortless quality to them. It felt like they expanded the music, with a wider dynamic range than I've heard in other more traditionally hi-fi speakers. (FWIW, I've never heard Klipsch or Tekton, which I understand may be similar) I found that I, personally, liked them playing for long periods at louder volumes than I typically like with other speakers.

    They were able to image well, though hi-fi clarity is not really what they're going for. They're more about rocking out than revealing how so-and-so's lips sounded as they parted between phrases. I played a huge variety of my favorite songs and liked the way almost all of it sounded (jazz, blues, all sorts of rock, etc.).

    My wife didn't like their sound very much at any point. She played her music on them and didn't like what it did to her songs. All she could say was that something was off. We've lived for 8 years with B&W PM1 speakers, which are a very clear, coherent, and composed speaker more in the typical hi-fi british tradition, though they have reasonable punch at higher volumes. That works for her, and I get the sense that Sean Casey very much does not design for that more refined hi-fi sound. She did, however, really like the way they looked.

    A few deal breakers ultimately sealed the deal for them going back:
    1. Their dynamic range, ultimately, was a bit too much. We'd watch a movie and there'd be a gunshot or something and it'd be way too loud and jarring for our comfort. Not so much a problem for music, and I'd probably have been okay with this, but nobody else in my family liked it. This will be a matter of taste. Are large dynamic volume swings your thing?
    2. Their clarity/coherence wasn't up to what I was looking for. This showed up in a few ways. TV/movie dialog was harder to understand, and we sometimes had to replay sections of dialog (even after a month of break in with long days playing them continuously). Some human voices just sounded wrong i.e. different than I'd ever heard them hear on any other speaker. This was really obvious when we first got them, dramatically improved in the first few days, but never went away entirely. It seemed to happen with male voices most, such as Samuel L. Jackson not sounding like he's ever sounded to me before.
    3. When sitting close the tweeter didn't seem particularly well integrated into the whole sound. For this reason, I don't think nearfield listening is their strong suit. Sitting 10 feet back or more made this issue go away entirely. Closer, and I felt like I could hear a separate sound coming from the super-tweeter, which kinda detracted. (I ran the ClarityCap upgrade)
    4. Extreme off-angle listening was dramatically colored. The Omens sound best within a "reasonable" on-axis listening position. Most speakers I hear might have reduced treble off axis, but they hold the sound more coherently together than the Omens do, even if you walk behind them. If you expect to place the Omens in a room and have thing like chairs sitting beside them the sound heard there might be more colored/uneven than you want.
    If I were living along, maybe younger, or otherwise in a position where everyone around me loved the way the Zu presented sound in such an energetic/fun way, I'd have kept them. In my situation they needed to be not just a "fun" speaker but one that more than just me happy.

    System: NAD C390DD fed by Mac mini (muic) and PS4 (movies) over optical. Coming from B&W PM1 speakers.

    P.S. The PM1 speakers were $3.5K with stands new, so pitting them against $1K Omens was a tough slog. I don't think my family wouldn't like any Zu speaker, but I was tempted to trial one of Zu's higher end speakers to see if they fixed some of the clarity and "Samuel L Jackson wrong" problems.

    P.P.S. Yes, first post. I don't aim to trash Zu with a drive by post. The opposite. The company has made DW for years and is in business for a reason. It is very easy for me to imagine many folks happy with these speakers.
     
  20. iluzun

    iluzun Forum Resident

    That is the ‘smart’ buy. U will learn, plus you could drop most any 1uf in their, lots to choose from. I’d b tempted to bypass w/the Dueland .01 tinned copper caps, only about $35 through parts connection... these will be fun to play 4 sure. I’ve heard the bigger Definitions a ways back play the Bands, ‘Out of the Blue’. Never heard the opening line hit so hard. The Zu guy working the room walked over, as it was my cd, and asked who it was. Unreal sound. We chatted a bit and he offered he thought the bigger Defs needed at least 30watts or so to come on song.
     
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  21. iluzun

    iluzun Forum Resident

    I like that Ghost black. Looks sharp, will look good in any room...
     
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  22. iluzun

    iluzun Forum Resident

    Danko, Fields, & Andersen, great cd.

    https://www.amazon.com/More-FJELD-A...jeld+&+Andersen&qid=1593744420&s=music&sr=1-3
     
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  23. iluzun

    iluzun Forum Resident

    That’s an honest review. Zu’ s aren’t ‘pipe & slippers’ speakers. Zu’ s wanna see if you r paying attention. Check your pulse. Zu’ s have character, Zu’s r fun. Zu’s r a guilty pleasure. I am interested in how they will match up w/my Mystere PA with some nice EL34’s, 40 Watts or so of pure pentode. Mystere’s have a higher output impedance that ‘should’ match up w/the 12ohm Zu’s. At least that the theory. Zu’s seem old school, current driven speakers, not the voltage driven speakers of today. Every speaker collection probably deserves a set. The upper models must b very nice indeed. I already own ADS, ProAc, Castle, Elac, Daedalus, Kef, these should be mucho fun...
     
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  24. Classic Car Guy

    Classic Car Guy - Touch the Face of God -

    Location:
    Northwest, USA
    Interesting... Any news from our delivery boys? Mr. Casey didn't even tell me any ETA. I hope I didn't pay an internet actor/scammer otherwise I'll be waiting for a hot air.
     
  25. You should have gotten a follow up email within a few days with a shipping ETA. If you didn't receive, I'd recommend calling or emailing them. I ordered in the first 25 minutes, (basic finish, no cap upgrades), but my ETA is in Sept.

     
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