I use my Emotiva XPA-1's with my Revel Salon 2s and they sound sweet. I have given away my Revel F12's. My second system is Zu Essence speakers combined with a Dayens Menuetto amp. I love this amp. The combo is perfect with Zu.
I was just curious of your thoughts on the Zu's. I love the looks of all the Zu speakers, but I've never heard a pair and don't see many people's review that have owned them. How is the sound compared to the Revels or anything else you may want to compare them to? I'm about to pull the trigger on a pair and would appreciate your thoughts. Would you recommend them? Thanks
The Dayens amps are amazing. I picked up an Ampino and I'm absolutely floored. Much better than all the Tripath amps I've tried including Virtue and RWA.
Great pics! Mine never come out that nicely. Really loving the Zu's speakers (very nice finish choice but ditch the cheap Emotiva gear, it is totally outclassed.
I have added a new integrated solid state amp from Dayens to use with the Zu Essence speakers. The Dayens Menuetto sounds just perfect to me. Now I am running two systems in my house. Mike Gill the Dayens representative was a breeze to work with. I first got the Dayens Ampino but it was a defective unit. Dayens quickly replaced the amp with an even better unit. Go Dayens!
The best way to contact the person who made the wood trim for me is through the Emotiva message board. His screen name is Kazoo. He was very easy to deal with.
I had the wood pieces custom made for the amplifiers. I don't have a lot of experience with other amplifiers or CD players so I can't give a review based on comparisons. Regarding my speakers I do enjoy both brands but I prefer the Zu over the Revel. The Revels don't have the high end that the Zu's have. The Revels have a dry characteristic to them. I am looking forward to hearing the Revel Salon 2s soon. I live in a warm part of California so even though I do have a fireplace I don't use it.
Handsome system, would like you to post further impressions of your gear. How you can get away with components in front of fireplace is another question.
Nice. How big is your space? The Zu's are sensitive enough so that a 300B amp should drive them to very loud volumes. I use an 845 based amp with mine, and they can get painfully loud. Looking for a decent 300B amp to try them with now.
I had the wood pieces custom made by another Emotiva customer. I do use both speakers for different music. The Zu's have a more open, airy midrange and more extended highs than the Revel's. I like the Zu's for rock music and the Revel's for classical. The Revel's have a dry sound to them but the staging is good.
Donzi, very interesting setup. Curious as to how you use the system. Does one pair of speakers sound better with certain types of music, or do you just enjoy the variety? My brother also has a pair of Zu (Definitions) and a pair of Revel (original Studios). They are very different so he is trying to figure our which he likes better. So I was impressed to see you using both! Enjoy!!
