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Zu DWX video review

  • Zu Audio calls it ‘medium format’. I call it ‘large format’; because, by modern standards, the DWX is a super-sized standmount loudspeaker. Its 10″ driver simply wouldn’t fit into the more slender cabinets demanded by the modern consumer where 5″ and 6″ mid/bass drivers are more typical. The DWX measures 12″ x 12″ on the base and stacks 23″ high to put 19kg on the scales.

    Also running against the grain is how the 10″ driver – designed by Zu – is allowed to run its entire natural range without any crossover intervention. Only the neighbouring tweeter is high-passed and with a 1st-order slope. And yet even that takes place at a higher-than-usual 12kHz handover point. Perhaps this is why we refer to it as a super-tweeter. Most modern two-way standmounts see the mid/bass driver hand off to a tweeter somewhere in the 2 – 3kHz range.

    And the trend-bucking keeps on trucking: the DWX aren’t made in China like many of their similarly-priced rivals (Nǐ hǎo PSB, Wharfedale and B&W) but at Zu Audio’s factory in Ogden, Utah where they are sold directly to the customer with a time-limited satisfaction guarantee.

    The standard DWX heads out the door for US$1400. The Superfly version upgrades the internal wiring to Zu’s own Mission, better matches the drivers, puts a Clarity capacitor on the super-tweeter’s filter and adds 100 hours on extra burn-in for an extra US$399. The top flight Supreme version pushes the internal cabling to Event MKII level, gets more granular with driver matching, puts a Jupiter Copper capacitor on super-tweeter’s filter and doubles the additional burn-in time for a US$699 premium. The Ruby Red hickory finish adds another US$300 to bring the total price of the DWX Supreme seen in this video to US$2400.

    We’re not done with Zu’s DWX quite yet. 6moons’ Srajan Ebaen also has a pair — and he and I will be discussing our experiences with this large format standmount in an upcoming episode of the Darko.Audio podcast.

    🎥 Camera: John Darko / Olaf von Voss
    🎬 Editor: John Darko
    🌈 Colour: Olaf von Voss
    🕺🏻 Motion GFX: John Darko
    💰 Ad segment: Jana Dagdagan

    🎵 Song IDs? Playlists of all music heard in this video – and other videos – can be found on PATREON: http://www.patreon.com/johndarko

    Further information: Zu Audio


    👉 As seen in this video…

    Zu DWX intro video
    📺 http://youtu.be/8lqUg8nTTPA

    Zu Audio factory tour (2016)
    📺 https://darko.audio/2016/01/fifteen-feet-of-pure-white-snow-a-zu-audio-factory-tour/

    Srajan Ebaen’s DWX review
    📖 http://6moons.com/audioreview_articles/zu-audio-dwx/

    B&W 705 S3
    🛒 http://howl.me/ckghPkPKp80

    Wharfedale Linton
    🛒 http://howl.me/cjSVVjMuQX0

    PSB Passif 50
    🛒 http://howl.me/cisaDsEiObo

    Audiolab 6000A Play
    🛒 http://howl.me/ckanjd3sVPi

    Cables and power products by AudioQuest
    🛒 http://howl.me/ckbW8ZBoZAg

    Hi-fi furniture and speaker stands by Solid Steel
    🛒 http://howl.me/ckbW9947Hdi

    Room treatment by Vicoustic
    📖 http://vicoustic.com/

    Darko.Audio may earn a small commission from items purchased via affiliate links, which are indicated with a ‘🛒’.

    Written by John Darko

    John currently lives in Berlin where he creates videos and podcasts for Darko.Audio. He has previously contributed to 6moons, TONEAudio, AudioStream and Stereophile.

    Follow John on YouTube or Instagram

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