**PLEASE READ CAREFULLY** 1) Please ask your questions of the Darko.Audio TH-cam community as I'm already off making the next video 2) Polite comments that advance the conversation are most welcome (but no URLs, please) 3) All comments are moderated by a third party: instagram.com/p/CTWcokaszpW/
Hi John. Nice video and again stripped of the typical non sense we see in the audiophile world! Just want to point out that when you mention moving the sub forward increases the arrival time, it's actually the other way around, it decreases (because it travels less distance) and therefore come at you earlier. I get what you tried to say but it just come out wrong!😉
I consider Darko Audio as one of my favorite products of 2021. You’ve increased my interest of audio and music hobby. I always enjoy your informative videos and incorporate them into my systems in order to explore them on my own. Thank you, John. Have a wonderful holiday season.. 🎵
OK manufacturers, you want my money? Stop brainstorming. Here is what I what. I want a "preamp only" product like the Bluesound Powernode and live my audiophile journey. It needs a streamer, a cross-over management between LFE/main, a LATENCY management between LFE/main (subs have latency which messes everything), latency tests, linear EQ (RME style). Two analogue inputs, coax and spdif input. I want to connect an external DAC (via USB, not coax, not spdif), an HDD with my FLAC, SACD, DSD, MP3, have a remote app on my phone/laptop. With this setup, I can grow and continue my audiophile journey. Cheers!
It seems I've stumbled upon the rare and elusive John Darko comment section! Perfect chance to tell you how much I appreciate the time and effort that must go into every one of your videos! Your style of reviewing really is special. You're clearly in a class of your own. Thanks, John!
On your exact same wavelength here John! In 2021 I bought a preamp explicitly because it has analog high- and low-pass controls. It elevated the sound and undeniably reduced low/mid busy-ness and distortion on the mains, on multiple types of loudspeakers, and lightened the load a bit on the amp. Adding and then better-integrating subwoofers upgraded everything. Thanks for your efforts! Cheers
Your theme of emphasizing the "System" approach via; 1) Room treatment, 2) Speakers + Subwoofer next, 3) And lastly Amplification with HPF & LPF to accommodate - Is forming IMO a new genre: "Deeply Integrated with Compensation". Not only is seamless sound integration a milestone, but efficiency and longevity as well. This may be the start of Holistically Designed Audio with Choice built-in.
Nice one Johnno. I like the whole of the picture approach. And mate, it's okay to say Christmas The festive season is what the holidays are for. So Happy Christmas and have a great Festive Season. Cheers.
Unrelated to the video but I wanted to say you, Dankpods, Z reviews, and other Audiophile TH-camrs is what gotten me into this expensive hobby. Thanks for providing quality content and methods of getting good audio sources from each devices, from mobile to home. Your vids are amazing!
I own the DW’s (latest 2021 generation w/ optional XO upgrade). It’s my first high sensitivity / impendance speaker. The rest of my speakers are 89 db or lower @ 4 ohms. The DW’s are great with my low powered tube amps. Glad I took the leap not just into Zu’s but also into a genre of speakers that are really sensitive. I was very concerned these speakers would sound “thin”. They certainly are not.
@@epi2045 Agree....Also a new owner of Zu DW, RUSTIC HICKORY, 2021 with Cap Upgrade using INSPIRE Fire Bottle KT88 by DENNIS HAD Amp, SP14-V22 Pre-Amp by Roy Mottram. Wonderful sounding system after 125hrs the music is around the room.
Thank you John, it’s about time some said what you have said at the beginning of this video. That we should not consider our home systems as being what we hear 👂🏾 live or in a professional public venue. There are several audiophiles I follow that constantly drive that idea home in every freakin’ presentation & it’s sickening, to be polite here. Thanks 🙏 again for one audio enthusiast that has freakin’ common sense.
Ahhh. Alva Noto. A man of exquisite taste I see😁😁. His earliest collaborations with Ryuichi Sakamoto, namely Vrioon and Insen, are my favorite from his catalog of work.
I bought the KC-62 after watching your review. I was in disbelieve for days!!! This tiny thing sounds far better and stronger than SVS SB1000-Pro that I had. The fact that that chassis doesn't vibrate means I can put it anywhere. I have it on top of my media cabinet and it still sounds good! Thank you so much for giving us these quality reviews!
Yes, we can say Christmas. Happy Christmas and New Year, John. Thank you for your great work and this excellent "Best of 2021". All the best, Rob in Switzerland
When you feed your signal path like this: analog audio signal, preamp, dsp incl. crossover, high passed signal back into power amp stage of your amp, low passed sub signal into power amp, into speakers/sub. You can use the dsp to alter your signal and do room correction etc. There is no need to spend 1000s of € for a whole new system or sound processor.
I've followed this channel for the last 2 or 3 years and both the content and production have steadily improved over this period. So while there may be a better reviewer of audio equipment on TH-cam, as I don't have the time to review every reviewer, I can't say that Darko Audio is the best. I can, however, say that Darko Audio is my favourite reviewer! Thanks for all the reviews this year and for making such excellent content available to everyone via TH-cam!
As a professional double bassist (consider how insanely variable my daily experience managing bass sounds) I am glad to see you open with this concept of live vs studio sound. Glenn Gould notoriously spoke out about the limitations of live performance vs studio expression. Imagine moving your hi-fi system to a different room every day, have someone else set it up, and then let them have the remote. The moment you play a note live you have lost control of your sound. Live is a collective experience. PA speakers, even the very best pale to what we listen to in our homes. It’s a very good point.
I think it has to do with the fact he's more in love with the music than the gear, so he's not up his own ass trying to prove he's some authority on the subject. He's a hobbyist like the rest of us, he just has the self-understanding to see and appreciate he's in a position of privilege where he can test out a lot of cool gear some/most of his viewers can only dream of demoing, let alone owning.
Nailed the 'live music' nonsense - you are absolutely correct in that you are often actually listening to a venue and its PA system. We've all heard some stunning gigs...but mostly been let down by a venues poor PA.
Thanks for the video John. I just wanted to mention that you have a very different take on integrating a subwoofer into two channel audio compared to Paul McGowan and John Hunter from Rel. They both advocate feeding the full signal to the sub rather than using a low pass filter, and certainly no high pass filter, as that deprives of the sound signature of the main speakers in the lower region. Of course I am not suggesting that your take is wrong, and it may be that both have their advantages and disadvantages, but I think it would be cool if you explored these different approaches in a future video, perhaps with a Rel subwoofer.
I remember FUN! Only reason why this hobby roped me back in really. I started listening to all my records purchased form show merch tables by my friends bands I used to follow around the small venues to go see on the regular. Listening to youtube bootlegs of shows Ive attended. Its more than music or even gear much as I love both, its recalling fond experieinces.
Dear John, Generally Speaking, thank you for keeping things grounded and being the voice of reason and not comparing Oranges to Apples in terms of HiFi sound reproduction.
I find that the best reference are actually real live instruments like Piano, chorale, violin, cello, wind instrument and the human voice in contrast to your introduction. Dynamic range of classical likely extremely high. If you remember the Absolute Sound with Harry Pearson and their generation, the actual vocabulary of audiophiles were developed then with the absolute sound in mind. We can't always be right on target specially if our audiophile journey haven't peaked yet as we develop our taste and ears over time. Happy Holidays. And yes the ultra high end systems that does voice, piano and classical properly also really rocks, of course. Like asking a jazz trained drummer if he can do riffs on the rock front.
You seem to be missing his point - almost all concerts, including all orchestral work, is mic’d, amplified and played to the audience via speakers. Only the odd live quartet or similar are actually live without some intervention.
I have been a fan of point source full range audio for years. Zu is located just up the road from me. I wish I had purchased a pair. Getting crossovers out of the signal path adds so much vitality to the music. I currently listen to fully restored JBL 4425 Studio Monitors and am enthralled. Let's have a cup of James Hoffmann coffee and listen.
I find it interesting that you describe the Soul VI's as "fun," a descriptor that both Sean Fowler and Jay used to describe the KLH 5. Interestingly, Guttenberg seems to have struggled with both pairs of speakers (at least until he angled the Zu's upward more in-line with his ears). As someone who recently moved cross country (Pacific coast to Atlantic coast) just a couple months ago, I'm about to create a new stereo system, and am looking at both pairs of speakers, along with Spatial Audio Open-Baffle M3's. Previous system had Klipsch Forte III's. Thanks for the Zu Soul VI review!!
I just picked up a gently used pair of Zu Omen Dirty Weekend speakers, circa 2017 from the original owner. These speakers are simply incredible. I see a pair of Zu Union 6's in my future.
Thanks for yet another wonderful video John! It has been great to see you explore ways to experience the lower octaves in ways that integrate well with the main speakers. Merry Christmas😊
“Sleeved”, what a gorgeous word for it. And what a surprise to think that a subwoofer would be necessary to reach their full potential. I think they are beautiful and I am transported back to a Williamsburg record shop where I first heard some large Ohm Walsh speakers doing their thing. They were pure fun and stopped me in my tracks. How fun it would be to live in this kelp forest of sound, I thought. Some refined monitors on the desk with these in the living room. Not a bad life.
What I have really come to admire about your videos is that I come away feeling that we should as consumers ask for what we could possibly have in our hifi products before we settle for a standard of hifi products. That's what I take away & I agree with you- or maybe just myself, after watching your videos. So, thank you- or me, for this brilliant suggestion!
Happy holidays to you John and your team, and all the BEST for 2022. I look forward to your reviews insights ramblings and rants. Great to see stuff in video even if we can't hear or see it in the flesh.
Got the Bluesound Node 2i when it launched earlier this year and noticed the sub out. Never took the time to investigate if it would be the better option, but this video explained it and I instantly plugged in my sub and enabled the high and low pass filter. Sweet! Thanks! It can only set to 10hz increments and my speakers are 45hz so I set it to 50hz.
Yamaha WXA-50 costs about half the price and measures better than the PowerNode. I'm biased because I own one, of course, but just wanted to put it out there. I got mine on sale for just over $400 and it's great. My advice would be to order both and send the one back after A-B comparison.
Zu make such gorgeous stuff! I've always wanted a pair of those, but I can't get over the fear of what my kids would do to them. They look so fragile and exposed.
Thanks for your amazing review, even though I'm not in the market for any of theses products I watched the whole thing for its entertainment value. Oh and a very belated "Merry Christmas" to you 🙂
The point you make about live recording is an interesting one, but as you also point out the reference is claimed to be of unamplified music. I don’t think anyone is suggesting this should be the only music to which one listens, simply that in assessing the accuracy of equipment it provides a valuable benchmark. Of course, even with unamplified music there are ways the sound of musicians playing can be adulterated, through the microphones and their placement and the mixing desk, and there’s no such thing as a perfect replication of such a performance. But we’re talking about matters of degree here, not absolutes, and on the whole a good recording of unamplified music - sounds with which we’re familiar - does provide a useful means of determining how close to the original performance we’re getting.It’s not the only factor but it is important. If such recordings sound “right” it’s likely everything else you play will too. As for recordings of amplified gigs, you’re correct. What we hear is the PA system, often very cruddy in my experience, which can interact badly with the venue’s acoustic. However, recordings of such gigs are usually taken from the mixing desk, the sound before it reaches the PA amplification and speakers, with later studio mixing to get the balance right. I have a number of live albums of gigs I’ve attended, and the sound is very different.
Nice video John it is wonderful to be alive in 2021 for all kinds of reasons, but certainly my ears have enjoyed this year immensely. Congrats on another great year of reviews.👏👍 And as you said all the best from me in Australia for a wonderful holiday season with your loved ones.
I've only been to about 15 or so classical music concerts, inc' orchestral, chamber orchestras, octets & quartets and i do put values i hear from, say bassoons, cellos, violas etc that i hear live & always non amplified, on my own stereo. When an oboe, viola, clarinet, bassoon etc etc on record or cd sound like they do in a clasical music venue, it makes me happy that i'm on the right track, hi-fi wise. Of course that only applies to unamplified accoustic music. I occasionally play accoustic guitar with a friends on another accoustic & a small drum machine with built in 2" inch speaker & sometimes our bass player friend joins us on his semi- accoustic bass guitar in my living room & when i hear an accoustic guitar on recording sounding very close to "as live in room" ...that also gives me a buzz that i'm on the right hi-fi track. Of course, as you say, these values don't apply one bit to live amplified rock bands plugged onto the house P.A.'s or just their say Orange or Marshal or whatever amps but ive more classical records now than i have rock. P.S. "Remain in Light" is the best Talking Heads album with "Fear of Music" in 2nd place but "Remain in light" is the only one i still play now & then & uttetly enjoy but i may well sell the other 7 or so Heads albims i have & just keep those 2 mentioned. Talking Heads, imo, kinda got lost after Eno left tho "Speaking in Tongues" is a nln-Eno keeper. Roxy Music did get lost when Eno left, as did any band that Eno left, but i do not care for Eno's own albums one bit.
I don’t think a best of 2021 list “should” only contain products from 2021. If a product from 2020 that you can still buy, is better than a product from 2021, isn’t the 2020 product not still the best you can get in 2021?
Understood. It’s trick isn’t it? I think for cleanliness one has to have a delineation point. In this case January 1st to December 31st. But I feel you.
My timing solution for the sub and main speakers is a bit simpler. The sub sits behind me. I have a large recliner and the subwoofer is on the floor behind me. I set the levels to match and the timing works great.
Tripped up on my headphone cable last year and tore my Dragonfly black out of the back of my PC's motherboard. The Dragonfly Black had a 90 degree bend in the USB, Beyer Dynamic 5mm jack bent 30 degrees and the port in the motherboard was a write off. So much damage, so quickly, oh dear...
hi,for someone who just bought their first sub your really into it now .one of your products of the year is a sub and another two products are mentioned because of there sub intergration.awesome lol
Most "ok" subwoofers have speaker terminal inputs and outputs that allow the sub to act as the "brain" in a system to split which tones will be played by the sub and which will be sent on to the speakers.
Funny to see that a good "hifi" speaker is actually a basic PA speaker. 10" coax bicone with a coax super tweeter, could be used as a small master, or a booth monitor for a bigger rig. Even the plywood construction and brand of drivers is straight out of PA.
Happy holidays and thanks for making this video's John. Tests on my wishlist for 2022, Finkteam Kim, Dynaudio Emit 20, Elac Unifi Reference and Velodyne Microvee X ☺️😉
I’ve spent years in both studios and live music venues of all sizes. If the record in question is a live recording then I want it to sound like that. If it’s a studio recording I want that. Both are great and are a delight, but I really don’t want for playback to muddy the distinction.
John, another fantastic video, I love your reviews. Have you ever considered reviewing the Linkwitz Sirius speakers? They're made in your backyard (Germany). Cheers!
glad to see you appreciating floorstanders…although they choose efficiency over full range (always a trade off between the two). I’d be curious to know if they are non fatiguing, a very important criteria for me (one of the the quality I cherish on my Wilson Audio Sophia Serie 1 from 2001, which have a rather low efficiency of 91 db for 2,83 volts at 1 metre, which I understand is the same as 86 db for 1 watt at 1 metre)
Merry Christmas to you and your Family & Friends, Follows.
I dont get why you couldnt say christmas anymore…weird
**PLEASE READ CAREFULLY**
1) Please ask your questions of the Darko.Audio TH-cam community as I'm already off making the next video
2) Polite comments that advance the conversation are most welcome (but no URLs, please)
3) All comments are moderated by a third party: instagram.com/p/CTWcokaszpW/
Hi John. Nice video and again stripped of the typical non sense we see in the audiophile world!
Just want to point out that when you mention moving the sub forward increases the arrival time, it's actually the other way around, it decreases (because it travels less distance) and therefore come at you earlier.
I get what you tried to say but it just come out wrong!😉
You're right: I got my words slightly mixed up on that one. :)
The bit about live music being the reference made me chuckle.. so true:)
I consider Darko Audio as one of my favorite products of 2021. You’ve increased my interest of audio and music hobby. I always enjoy your informative videos and incorporate them into my systems in order to explore them on my own. Thank you, John. Have a wonderful holiday season.. 🎵
OK manufacturers, you want my money? Stop brainstorming. Here is what I what. I want a "preamp only" product like the Bluesound Powernode and live my audiophile journey. It needs a streamer, a cross-over management between LFE/main, a LATENCY management between LFE/main (subs have latency which messes everything), latency tests, linear EQ (RME style). Two analogue inputs, coax and spdif input.
I want to connect an external DAC (via USB, not coax, not spdif), an HDD with my FLAC, SACD, DSD, MP3, have a remote app on my phone/laptop.
With this setup, I can grow and continue my audiophile journey. Cheers!
It seems I've stumbled upon the rare and elusive John Darko comment section! Perfect chance to tell you how much I appreciate the time and effort that must go into every one of your videos! Your style of reviewing really is special. You're clearly in a class of your own. Thanks, John!
Great video, as always. I can listen to you for hours!
The imagery you created of the person at an audio show was priceless. Thank you again for your perspective and music suggestions.
On your exact same wavelength here John! In 2021 I bought a preamp explicitly because it has analog high- and low-pass controls. It elevated the sound and undeniably reduced low/mid busy-ness and distortion on the mains, on multiple types of loudspeakers, and lightened the load a bit on the amp. Adding and then better-integrating subwoofers upgraded everything. Thanks for your efforts! Cheers
Your theme of emphasizing the "System" approach via;
1) Room treatment,
2) Speakers + Subwoofer next,
3) And lastly Amplification with HPF & LPF to accommodate -
Is forming IMO a new genre: "Deeply Integrated with Compensation". Not only is seamless sound integration a milestone, but efficiency and longevity as well. This may be the start of Holistically Designed Audio with Choice built-in.
100%
Really unique best of, great work as always!
Nice one Johnno. I like the whole of the picture approach.
And mate, it's okay to say Christmas The festive season is what the holidays are for. So Happy Christmas and have a great Festive Season. Cheers.
Of course you can say Happy Christmas! I’m definitely not offended.
Unrelated to the video but I wanted to say you, Dankpods, Z reviews, and other Audiophile TH-camrs is what gotten me into this expensive hobby. Thanks for providing quality content and methods of getting good audio sources from each devices, from mobile to home. Your vids are amazing!
Everything you said about the Zu Soul 6 applies pretty well to the Zu DW'S. I have the DW'S and absolutely love the sound!
I own the DW’s (latest 2021 generation w/ optional XO upgrade). It’s my first high sensitivity / impendance speaker. The rest of my speakers are 89 db or lower @ 4 ohms. The DW’s are great with my low powered tube amps. Glad I took the leap not just into Zu’s but also into a genre of speakers that are really sensitive. I was very concerned these speakers would sound “thin”. They certainly are not.
@@epi2045 Agree....Also a new owner of Zu DW, RUSTIC HICKORY, 2021 with Cap Upgrade using INSPIRE Fire Bottle KT88 by DENNIS HAD Amp, SP14-V22 Pre-Amp by Roy Mottram. Wonderful sounding system after 125hrs the music is around the room.
Would love to see a best of 2021 music.
Love that you take the time to explain things like soundstage and other terminology, removing the pretentiousness
Very informative review John. I love the look of those speakers. Have a great Christmas and keep them coming.
Thank you John, it’s about time some said what you have said at the beginning of this video. That we should not consider our home systems as being what we hear 👂🏾 live or in a professional public venue. There are several audiophiles I follow that constantly drive that idea home in every freakin’ presentation & it’s sickening, to be polite here. Thanks 🙏 again for one audio enthusiast that has freakin’ common sense.
Great video and great songs in the video! Eagerly waiting for best budget components for 2021 :)
Ahhh. Alva Noto. A man of exquisite taste I see😁😁. His earliest collaborations with Ryuichi Sakamoto, namely Vrioon and Insen, are my favorite from his catalog of work.
I bought the KC-62 after watching your review. I was in disbelieve for days!!! This tiny thing sounds far better and stronger than SVS SB1000-Pro that I had. The fact that that chassis doesn't vibrate means I can put it anywhere. I have it on top of my media cabinet and it still sounds good! Thank you so much for giving us these quality reviews!
Yes, we can say Christmas. Happy Christmas and New Year, John. Thank you for your great work and this excellent "Best of 2021". All the best, Rob in Switzerland
Good to see you back mate. Hope all is well and thanks for the content. Peace. Ed
When you feed your signal path like this: analog audio signal, preamp, dsp incl. crossover, high passed signal back into power amp stage of your amp, low passed sub signal into power amp, into speakers/sub.
You can use the dsp to alter your signal and do room correction etc. There is no need to spend 1000s of € for a whole new system or sound processor.
I love watching these older videos. Some age so well!
Dear John, thank you for a whole year's great videos. Definitely on my short list for this year's yt channel. 🎄
I've followed this channel for the last 2 or 3 years and both the content and production have steadily improved over this period.
So while there may be a better reviewer of audio equipment on TH-cam, as I don't have the time to review every reviewer, I can't say that Darko Audio is the best. I can, however, say that Darko Audio is my favourite reviewer!
Thanks for all the reviews this year and for making such excellent content available to everyone via TH-cam!
Yes! You wouldn't want your speakers to sound like live music, which means like a PA system, at least for amplified music.
Love the Zus! Been looking at them to pair with my Leben. Thanks for the round up!
All the best for the coming new year.
Merry Christmas!
Bought the Powernode 2021 based off your review. Extremely happy I did!
As a professional double bassist (consider how insanely variable my daily experience managing bass sounds) I am glad to see you open with this concept of live vs studio sound. Glenn Gould notoriously spoke out about the limitations of live performance vs studio expression. Imagine moving your hi-fi system to a different room every day, have someone else set it up, and then let them have the remote. The moment you play a note live you have lost control of your sound. Live is a collective experience. PA speakers, even the very best pale to what we listen to in our homes. It’s a very good point.
The Zu review was great. The whole episode was outstanding too. Your channel is my best audiophile channel of the year!
Thanks Darko
You talk absoloute sence
Greetings from Bali
Merry Christmas, John! Thank you for yet another year of amazing reviews and guidance through the cluttered world of audio.
Somebody has caught the subwoofer bug in 2021!
Merry CHRISTMAS!
The music in your TH-cam vids make my speakers sound better than most songs :D
What is it about this dude’s vibe that is so relatable
I think it has to do with the fact he's more in love with the music than the gear, so he's not up his own ass trying to prove he's some authority on the subject. He's a hobbyist like the rest of us, he just has the self-understanding to see and appreciate he's in a position of privilege where he can test out a lot of cool gear some/most of his viewers can only dream of demoing, let alone owning.
@@TheDealer1228
Agree
He’s a good everyday, easygoing young man 😂
A video worthy of applause and a standing ovation. Encore!
Thank you for a great years hard work and content. Have Merry Chtistmas.
Nailed the 'live music' nonsense - you are absolutely correct in that you are often actually listening to a venue and its PA system. We've all heard some stunning gigs...but mostly been let down by a venues poor PA.
Happy holidays to you john. as well as to olaf & jana
Hi fi NOW is a TRIUMPH, agreed! 100% well said.
Thanks for the video John. I just wanted to mention that you have a very different take on integrating a subwoofer into two channel audio compared to Paul McGowan and John Hunter from Rel. They both advocate feeding the full signal to the sub rather than using a low pass filter, and certainly no high pass filter, as that deprives of the sound signature of the main speakers in the lower region. Of course I am not suggesting that your take is wrong, and it may be that both have their advantages and disadvantages, but I think it would be cool if you explored these different approaches in a future video, perhaps with a Rel subwoofer.
Peter Gabriel: hell yeah!
Another wonderful video, John. I enjoyed your systems approach to the 'best of', and Nils Frahm now too. Many thanks!
I remember FUN! Only reason why this hobby roped me back in really. I started listening to all my records purchased form show merch tables by my friends bands I used to follow around the small venues to go see on the regular. Listening to youtube bootlegs of shows Ive attended. Its more than music or even gear much as I love both, its recalling fond experieinces.
Dear John, Generally Speaking, thank you for keeping things grounded and being the voice of reason and not comparing Oranges to Apples in terms of HiFi sound reproduction.
I find that the best reference are actually real live instruments like Piano, chorale, violin, cello, wind instrument and the human voice in contrast to your introduction. Dynamic range of classical likely extremely high. If you remember the Absolute Sound with Harry Pearson and their generation, the actual vocabulary of audiophiles were developed then with the absolute sound in mind. We can't always be right on target specially if our audiophile journey haven't peaked yet as we develop our taste and ears over time. Happy Holidays. And yes the ultra high end systems that does voice, piano and classical properly also really rocks, of course. Like asking a jazz trained drummer if he can do riffs on the rock front.
You seem to be missing his point - almost all concerts, including all orchestral work, is mic’d, amplified and played to the audience via speakers.
Only the odd live quartet or similar are actually live without some intervention.
I have been a fan of point source full range audio for years. Zu is located just up the road from me. I wish I had purchased a pair. Getting crossovers out of the signal path adds so much vitality to the music. I currently listen to fully restored JBL 4425 Studio Monitors and am enthralled. Let's have a cup of James Hoffmann coffee and listen.
I find it interesting that you describe the Soul VI's as "fun," a descriptor that both Sean Fowler and Jay used to describe the KLH 5. Interestingly, Guttenberg seems to have struggled with both pairs of speakers (at least until he angled the Zu's upward more in-line with his ears).
As someone who recently moved cross country (Pacific coast to Atlantic coast) just a couple months ago, I'm about to create a new stereo system, and am looking at both pairs of speakers, along with Spatial Audio Open-Baffle M3's. Previous system had Klipsch Forte III's.
Thanks for the Zu Soul VI review!!
Finally someone who gets it! You want the speakers to sound like the PA because that's what U get on a concert.
Happy Christmas, Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Holidays, Seasons Greetings, they are all good! Many ways to celebrate this time of year.
Your cactus is heavily etiolated, it needs much more light. 🥺
I just picked up a gently used pair of Zu Omen Dirty Weekend speakers, circa 2017 from the original owner. These speakers are simply incredible. I see a pair of Zu Union 6's in my future.
I just bought the same speakers a week ago in black. My Rotel rb 971 powers them along with 2 rel t5x subs.
You could do a GOAT list. I’m sure that’d be welcome.
Thanks John! Always a pleasure to watch your content. The room correction treatment; how did that factor in making your decision on best of 2021.
Thanks for yet another wonderful video John! It has been great to see you explore ways to experience the lower octaves in ways that integrate well with the main speakers. Merry Christmas😊
“Sleeved”, what a gorgeous word for it. And what a surprise to think that a subwoofer would be necessary to reach their full potential. I think they are beautiful and I am transported back to a Williamsburg record shop where I first heard some large Ohm Walsh speakers doing their thing. They were pure fun and stopped me in my tracks. How fun it would be to live in this kelp forest of sound, I thought. Some refined monitors on the desk with these in the living room. Not a bad life.
Brilliant! I’ve been following you for a few months now. I really love your channel. Keep up the great work. Have a great Christmas.
I've got the powernode running my Kef q950 and I love it
Absolutely loved the video and the approach. Season's greetings!
These are absolutely bloody beautiful! I don’t plan on having children so maybe I could afford these one day 🤔
If only Zu speakers were more affordable, I'd buy em.
Look at the dirty weekend from Zu
They look like daleks to me.
What I have really come to admire about your videos is that I come away feeling that we should as consumers ask for what we could possibly have in our hifi products before we settle for a standard of hifi products. That's what I take away & I agree with you- or maybe just myself, after watching your videos. So, thank you- or me, for this brilliant suggestion!
🤗. THANKS JOHN FOR SHARING YOUR EXPERIENCE WITH OBJECTIVITY 👏👏👏😍😍😍
Happy holidays to you John and your team, and all the BEST for 2022. I look forward to your reviews insights ramblings and rants. Great to see stuff in video even if we can't hear or see it in the flesh.
Got the Bluesound Node 2i when it launched earlier this year and noticed the sub out. Never took the time to investigate if it would be the better option, but this video explained it and I instantly plugged in my sub and enabled the high and low pass filter. Sweet! Thanks! It can only set to 10hz increments and my speakers are 45hz so I set it to 50hz.
Yamaha WXA-50 costs about half the price and measures better than the PowerNode. I'm biased because I own one, of course, but just wanted to put it out there. I got mine on sale for just over $400 and it's great. My advice would be to order both and send the one back after A-B comparison.
The Yamaha WXA-50 is a bargin. Just add a better dac and its a awsome solution.
Still my favourite hi-fi channel!
Zu make such gorgeous stuff! I've always wanted a pair of those, but I can't get over the fear of what my kids would do to them. They look so fragile and exposed.
Your videos are one of a kind, well-produced, knowledgeable and so fantastically informative!
Want those Zu speakers so much!!
Thanks for your amazing review, even though I'm not in the market for any of theses products I watched the whole thing for its entertainment value. Oh and a very belated "Merry Christmas" to you 🙂
John and team, another excellent presentation. I like your idea of looking at your “best-of” componens in a system approach.
Happy Holidays! 🎄❄️
Delightful system-oriented review! I loved everything about this.
The point you make about live recording is an interesting one, but as you also point out the reference is claimed to be of unamplified music. I don’t think anyone is suggesting this should be the only music to which one listens, simply that in assessing the accuracy of equipment it provides a valuable benchmark. Of course, even with unamplified music there are ways the sound of musicians playing can be adulterated, through the microphones and their placement and the mixing desk, and there’s no such thing as a perfect replication of such a performance. But we’re talking about matters of degree here, not absolutes, and on the whole a good recording of unamplified music - sounds with which we’re familiar - does provide a useful means of determining how close to the original performance we’re getting.It’s not the only factor but it is important. If such recordings sound “right” it’s likely everything else you play will too.
As for recordings of amplified gigs, you’re correct. What we hear is the PA system, often very cruddy in my experience, which can interact badly with the venue’s acoustic. However, recordings of such gigs are usually taken from the mixing desk, the sound before it reaches the PA amplification and speakers, with later studio mixing to get the balance right. I have a number of live albums of gigs I’ve attended, and the sound is very different.
Nice video John it is wonderful to be alive in 2021 for all kinds of reasons, but certainly my ears have enjoyed this year immensely. Congrats on another great year of reviews.👏👍
And as you said all the best from me in Australia for a wonderful holiday season with your loved ones.
I'm with you. Reviewers should start doing "my favourite stuff from the year xyz" instead of "best". And a very Merry Christmas!
I've only been to about 15 or so classical music concerts, inc' orchestral, chamber orchestras, octets & quartets and i do put values i hear from, say bassoons, cellos, violas etc that i hear live & always non amplified, on my own stereo. When an oboe, viola, clarinet, bassoon etc etc on record or cd sound like they do in a clasical music venue, it makes me happy that i'm on the right track, hi-fi wise. Of course that only applies to unamplified accoustic music. I occasionally play accoustic guitar with a friends on another accoustic & a small drum machine with built in 2" inch speaker & sometimes our bass player friend joins us on his semi- accoustic bass guitar in my living room & when i hear an accoustic guitar on recording sounding very close to "as live in room" ...that also gives me a buzz that i'm on the right hi-fi track. Of course, as you say, these values don't apply one bit to live amplified rock bands plugged onto the house P.A.'s or just their say Orange or Marshal or whatever amps but ive more classical records now than i have rock.
P.S. "Remain in Light" is the best Talking Heads album with "Fear of Music" in 2nd place but "Remain in light" is the only one i still play now & then & uttetly enjoy but i may well sell the other 7 or so Heads albims i have & just keep those 2 mentioned. Talking Heads, imo, kinda got lost after Eno left tho "Speaking in Tongues" is a nln-Eno keeper. Roxy Music did get lost when Eno left, as did any band that Eno left, but i do not care for Eno's own albums one bit.
I don’t think a best of 2021 list “should” only contain products from 2021. If a product from 2020 that you can still buy, is better than a product from 2021, isn’t the 2020 product not still the best you can get in 2021?
Understood. It’s trick isn’t it? I think for cleanliness one has to have a delineation point. In this case January 1st to December 31st. But I feel you.
Of course, you can say Merry Christmas. Merry Christmas! I live in Utah so Wilson and Zu are local speaker manufacturers (RBH also). Great review.
Great one John, keep up the good work. Wish you the best.
My timing solution for the sub and main speakers is a bit simpler. The sub sits behind me. I have a large recliner and the subwoofer is on the floor behind me. I set the levels to match and the timing works great.
Happy Chrimbus and Dog bless you all
I've been really happy with my Zu Omen DWs after a Schiit Vali + Schiit Aegir! Not as nice as the Soul, but good enough for myself.
Nice to see a good design on the Zu, 95% speakers look terrible (irrespective of sound) its mad we can't have both
Tripped up on my headphone cable last year and tore my Dragonfly black out of the back of my PC's motherboard. The Dragonfly Black had a 90 degree bend in the USB, Beyer Dynamic 5mm jack bent 30 degrees and the port in the motherboard was a write off. So much damage, so quickly, oh dear...
hi,for someone who just bought their first sub your really into it now .one of your products of the year is a sub and another two products are mentioned because of there sub intergration.awesome lol
Most "ok" subwoofers have speaker terminal inputs and outputs that allow the sub to act as the "brain" in a system to split which tones will be played by the sub and which will be sent on to the speakers.
Funny to see that a good "hifi" speaker is actually a basic PA speaker. 10" coax bicone with a coax super tweeter, could be used as a small master, or a booth monitor for a bigger rig. Even the plywood construction and brand of drivers is straight out of PA.
Any similar pa speakers you know of? thanks
Happy holidays and thanks for making this video's John. Tests on my wishlist for 2022, Finkteam Kim, Dynaudio Emit 20, Elac Unifi Reference and Velodyne Microvee X ☺️😉
I'm 64 and bought my first system in 1975. I can't imagine using a wireless connection for anything.
Same age here and I’ve evolved
The convenience is sublime
I’ve spent years in both studios and live music venues of all sizes. If the record in question is a live recording then I want it to sound like that. If it’s a studio recording I want that. Both are great and are a delight, but I really don’t want for playback to muddy the distinction.
It’s 99db!!!!! That’s awesome
John, another fantastic video, I love your reviews. Have you ever considered reviewing the Linkwitz Sirius speakers? They're made in your backyard (Germany). Cheers!
Frohe Weihnachten und einen guten Rutsch 😀🎁👍
Danke gleichfalls :)
glad to see you appreciating floorstanders…although they choose efficiency over full range (always a trade off between the two). I’d be curious to know if they are non fatiguing, a very important criteria for me (one of the the quality I cherish on my Wilson Audio Sophia Serie 1 from 2001, which have a rather low efficiency of 91 db for 2,83 volts at 1 metre, which I understand is the same as 86 db for 1 watt at 1 metre)