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Zu Druids and Harbeth HL5s

B

bourney

pfm Member
how will these differ in terms of presentation and fussiness about positioning etc. I can't get an angle reading flowery on line reviews.

I'm using a little Leben 300 with the Harbeths which is great at low to medium level, not so hot when the wick gets turned up and was thinking of a possible amp change ( i love the little thing though so i have been trying to live with the volume constraints!) but find myself being tempted by the Druids in the classifieds - they would look so much better in our lounge! slim!!! mmmmmm

anyone have experience of them both?
 
Hi Bourney,

I have Zu Druids and also Zu Essence and run them from a Primaluna Prologue 2 integrated valve amp, and find the combination exceptional, Zu's were designed with valve amplification in mind, source is Rega Isis.

If you are any where near Manchester, drop me a PM you are more than welcome to bring along your Leben for a listen.

Best

James
 
i am not that far away actually...Stoke. Thanks James, thats very kind.. I'll see what comments come back on what differences i should expect before i took any of your time James
 
No need to worry about the time, that is why we are all here to help, assist with fellow music enthusiasts.

Feel free to drop me a PM about meeting up.
 
Bourney I though you were a SHL5 evangelist? Don't chuck them out because a little tube amp can't cope with them! Maybe you should have got that Nait XS after all.
 
I like them a lot, but i like the Leben a lot too. Just looking at my options really and in no rush at all.I could keep the Leben and find speakers to work wiith it and the room ( arse about face i know!) or keep the Harbeths and find a new amp...which is probably the most sensible option. But then sense doesn't come into it most of the time....Whims get their way! the Leben and SHL5 combo is still lovely to listen to at lower levels.
 
I'm just thinking of your story here. Former C7 owner with Super HL5's but rather attached to valve amps finds that the 5's just can't seem to do what everyone says they are supposed to. Where is the bass? Where is the weight and size they should be providing? Ring any bells?
 
Not really, plenty of bottom end, in fact listening to Finlay Quaye last night i did a bit of a double take when passing through the room as to how deep and full they sounded. Nothing wrong with them sonically apart from they are quite large physcially so stick out in the room more than I'd (and the wife) would like but i can live with that if get most of the sonic compromises covered. Visually thay have that Retro appeal that makes them ok to look at ( sorta). The only real issue is the amp doesnt take them loud enough comfortably for my occasional blasts.
 
Ok, I was just hinting that I feel you might be repeating Tony's Super HL5 narrative (and mine in a slightly different way), and I think it would be a mistake to get rid of them until you've heard the best they can deliver. You say nothing wrong sonically, but previously you mentioned volume constraints. That's why I think you should hear them with a beefy solid state amp. I heard them with the Krell 300i in one demo and they sounded great. Have you considered that? They seem to crop up second hand pretty often. No shortage of power there.
 
I prefer the SHL5s to my older 7ES's...but they were the older model ( Tony's old ones). I find them tighter and more airy sounding, strangely...for a larger speaker!

maybe i should have said tonally and balance wise they are fine, just a power and control issue when combined with the Leben at higher volumes.

getting diverted here methinks and i dont want to get into the amp thing on this thread :) anyone who has experience of both the Zu and the 5s and can describe what they would expect to different?
 
bourney said:
anyone who has experience of both the Zu and the 5s and can describe what they would expect to different?
Click to expand...

Ok I'll say no more, except that everything anyone says about these 2 speakers will be very dependent on what they are driving them with, so I don't think you can separate the amp question.
 
you really need to hear ZU speakers at your home before spending the money.

ZU make very ...


(sitting on the fence)


idiosynchratic ! (good word)


speakers.
 
In the time that I had Zu speakers, I found that, though they worked with low powered amps, they really only came to life with more watts. Perhaps because my musical choice is rock/blues orientated and I like it loud at times but they did seem to need a bit of wick.

To make sure about the match, you really should listen using your Leben.
 
I find with the Druids that they are not firing the sound at you. They fill the room from floor to ceiling with a wonderful sense of space. They also project well beyond the speakers and portray depth out beyond the windows. A play a lot of 1950's mono jazz and there is a superb separation of the musicians.

Picture004.jpg


R.
 
'listening to Finlay Quaye''....well, there's a voice from the past. Whatever happened to him? Re the Leben/hl5, this is a familiar tale (in various guises) which many of us struggle with. One other option, upgrade to the Leben 600. I have one and it has plenty of guts with a pair of Audionote E spe he (the high efficienmcy version). The smaller Leben didn't really manage. So, good luck. Peronally, I'd keep the Harbeths and get a 40 watt el34 based amp. But then I rarely listen to my own advice, so why should you!
 
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