Напольная акустика — Zu Audio DEFINITION 6

The Definition 6, called Definition Six on the maker's page, is a floorstanding loudspeaker from Zu Audio, the American maker known for full-range driver designs. It replaces the Definition Four and is priced at USD 27,000 per matched pair, above the Druid 6, Soul 6, Union 6 and Omen Def Supreme. Each pair is built to order and ships after about nine weeks, with a 60-day guarantee and a five-year warranty.

Key specs that matter

Each speaker combines two Zu nanotech full-range drivers with 10 inch paper cone substrates, derived from the driver of the new Soul 6, with a new supertweeter and a forward-facing Eminence LAB-12 bass driver. The full-range drivers are 16 ohm units wired in parallel for an 8 ohm system, and a 32 ohm version is available. With the Griewe implementation, their useful response extends to 35 Hz. The bass driver is powered by an internal Hypex UcD 400 V5 amplifier module with user-adjustable parametric tuning of the deep bass. The cabinet is 137 cm tall without feet on a footprint just under 33 x 33 cm.

Engineering and use context

The Griewe scheme is an acoustic impedance adaptive interface at the rear of the speaker, used in a Definition model for the first time, and an internal Griewe gap can be adjusted. Zu's design goal was maximum performance from a small floor footprint per speaker, with a focus on the voice range from 55 Hz to about 10 kHz, which the full-range drivers cover without a crossover. The new supertweeter is more extended and consistent than the Radian 850 used previously, according to Zu. Moving the LAB-12 from a downward to a forward-facing position changes how the bass couples to the room compared with the Definition Four. The Hypex module is suspension-mounted inside the cabinet to reduce noise. The okoume cabinet uses a stiff, light superstructure and a raked dual-wall design at 30 degrees, and it is significantly lighter than its predecessor. The standard finish is black-dyed okoume with black or silver aluminium trim, and options include natural, dyed and metallic finishes, with custom work taking about two months. Levelling footers, spikes and wooden shipping crates are included.

Pairing

The full-range section presents a load of fixed impedance to the external amplifier in either version, while the bass section has its own built-in amplifier, so the external amplifier never drives the woofer. A mains connection is needed for the Hypex module.

Alternatives

The Zu Audio Druid 6 is a smaller floorstander with one 11.25 inch full-range driver, 101 dB sensitivity and a price of USD 15,700 per pair.