Thoughts on Franken Zu speakers?

Hey all,

I've been for a while now mulling possibly replacing the drivers of my Zu Dirty Weekend mkiis with the Soul Superfly drivers that Zu sells on its Web site. I've been very happy with the DWs for several years now and would be the first to admit swapping out the drivers would be more to satisfy my curiosity on what it would sound like than any displeasure with the DWs.

I'm using the 10wpc LTA Z10 integrated amp in a small-to-mid-sized room (the triangle between the speakers and my listening spot is ~8 ft per side), and don't even come close to using its full volume with the DWs - most of my listening happens with the gain set at 10-14 out of 100 on the knob. I listen to a lot of acoustic jazz but will be also throw on some Stooges, Fugazi, Nirvana, Roots, etc.

Just wanting to hear if anyone else has put Superfly drivers in the DW. Any thoughts on the results?

 

I tried it briefly when I had both DW's and Superflys in my home. I would consider some cabinet upgrades with the drivers such as adding a layer of QuietCoat on the inside like Zu uses in the obelisk cabinets, and also maybe some doweling in the corners for extra bracing. There is a guy on the Decware forums who has done this. The 16 ohm drivers are substantially heavier than the 12 ohm drivers. Also you might want to shoot an email to Zu as I'm not sure the monopole cap filter for the supertweeter is the same that they use in the 16 ohm models (they might add a resistor in there).

The 16 ohm drivers give you a little better resolution and attack, but I think there's a bit too much cabinet noise from the DW cabs to optimize the sound without some further mods. Short answer is YMMV.

 

Thanks for that. I'll look up that Decware thread. The steps you mentioned don't sound too hard if it ends up being something I decide to pursue.

Do you still have either the DWs or Superflys? Just curious.

 

No but I still have a pair of Zu Defheads.

 

I think I found at least a to-do list for the DWs toward the bottom of this thread: Modding the Zu Omen MKII | Audiogon Discussion Forum .

I'll check in with the good folks at Zu as to what change in sonics it might bring.

 

Just checking in. Last weekend I installed dowels to brace the cabinets. Didn't notice too much of a chance, at least nothing that could have either been subtle or placebo.

Today I applied butyl rubber audio deadening pads to the inside of one cabinet (the right speaker) as per that DIY thread in the other forum. I just listened to some music, mono records so both speakers would be playing the same thing. The treated speaker definitely lost some chatter - the sound was clearer and more dynamic. I'm going to A/B on one more record and then figure if I want to treat the other speaker tomorrow.

I put in an order for the Soul Mk 1-B upgrade kit at Zu, but they won't have it ready till July.