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Druid Mk4 gap height Gap height refers to the space between the flooring and the bottom side of the Zu Druid Mk4 loudspeaker. Setting the gap height on this specific model is essential in getting proper performance, most noticed in the bass region of the music. Improper gap height destroys the advantage gained in the ZuRG loudspeaker technology. Too little or too much gap height and the ZuRG will not function. Note that optimum gap height will change from amp to amp. Minimum / maximum measures for gap height are:Min. 5/64” (2 mm) Max. 5/8” (16 mm)  Average sweet spot is 3/8” (10 mm) one standard sized CD jewel case. Increasing the gap height, depending on amplifier, usually results in increased bass weight in kick drum and wood timbre, but it nearly always results in less output in deep bass. More gap height usually increases bass noise as well, causing the timbre to be a bit thick or wooly sounding. Less then 3/8” (10 mm) will increase bass articulation / attack, increases bottom octave amplitude, but does reduce overall bass amplitude a bit. Typically, I find my gap height to be just about 3/16” (5 mm), which is the size of those skinny half-height CD jewel cases, perfect for a quick and easy gauge. I would say 95% of Druid Mk4 users are going to find their system sounds best somewhere between one CD jewel case gap height and half CD jewel case gap height. But again, each amp will respond differently as the gap height influences the load impedance. Sweet! Because you can now better match amp and speaker, and room. Damn, because there’s one more thing you can fiddle with. But here is a super great time saving idea regarding adjusting your Druid’s gap height....Insider’s info on how to make adjusting gap height simple. We, like you, have music to listen to, and really hate fiddling with the Druid’s gap height—getting down on your knees, looking up at the bubble level, checking to make sure all four spikes are solid... it gets old fast. So, once you get your speakers where you like ‘em—making sure the left and right channels are spaced the same distance from the listeners center line, that they have the same toe-in, that they are both level, and that the spikes are equally weighted, with no cabinet wobble—set the gap height to roughly 3/8”, the thickness of one standard CD jewel case. Likely they will sound great, but still, you should mess around with the gap height, with some amps it makes a huge difference. The easy, and best way to do this is shimming the gap with standard letter sized paper. The paper will be placed on the floor, centered under the Druid, center between all four spikes, don’t lift the speaker up, you don’t want your spikes on the paper, you want them firmly coupled to the floor. Best place to start is with a stack of paper that will take up roughly half the gap space, listen and go from there. You might want to take some sheets out, increasing the gap height a bit, or add a few reducing the gap height, experiment. Do the gap height shimming with just your left channel connected (or right), it reduces the work to half. After you get the left side sounding the way you want, mirror the changes on the right channel. You might find the difference to be huge, we usually do. It’s easy and free, mess with it, there’s nothing to loose. |