Definition 6
Twittering Machines / Favorite Speakers 2023!
Select black or silver aluminum tweeter lens and driver trim ring during checkout (no up charge). Note: Definition Six are packaged in crates and are shipped via freight.
Order to ship schedule [Updated 4/17]
Black Okoume - 9 weeks
Natural Okoume - 9 weeks
Enhanced Natural Okoume - 10 weeks
Dark Rubbed Okoume - 10 weeks
Red Dyed Okoume - 10 weeks
Blue Dyed Okoume - 10 weeks
Blue-Teal Okoume - 10 weeks
Sun Yellow Okoume - 10 weeks
Blood Orange Okoume - 10 weeks
Black Starlight - 10 weeks
White Starlight - 10 weeks
Mercury - 10 weeks
Other finishes - 10 weeks+
…And I can tell you that the Zu Definition 6 are wholly captivating in every way I want a loudspeaker to be, offering a sense of reach out and touch it intimacy, stunning clarity that recreates the human voice in seemingly material form, the speed and slam one expects from a high(er) efficiency speaker, and the power, force and low end reach of a true full range speaker. I’ve been tasting the speakers from Utah’s Zu Audio for more than a decade at hifi shows and always came away thinking. . .more. Spending real time living with and listening through the Zu Definition 6 proved to be intoxicating and spellbinding with unrestrained music as elixir. Bravo! - Mike Lavorgna - Twitter Machines Review
“On the Rolling Stones album Some Girls: Live in Texas ’78 there was something about the way the Definition Six just nailed Mick Jagger vocals… and Keith’s sting of his guitar… I was just digging it, it just had this drive, this power, that goes beyond the norm for audiophile speakers…. Maybe the best piano sound I’ve ever heard in my room…. Power, energy, drive, absolutely extraordinary on this speaker. When I was playing those Stones records, Frank Sinatra, Count Basie, it was just incredible, and that’s what I love about the Definition Six. –Steve Guttenberg Audiophiliac - Definition 6 Review [YouTube, excerpts]
Love the Defs[6]. Been waiting 50 years to get this sound…. No matter what you throw at it, it’s unflappable… It’s addicting –Customer Steve W. (Florida)
Twittering Machines / Favorite Speakers
…And I can tell you that the Zu Definition 6 are wholly captivating in every way I want a loudspeaker to be, offering a sense of reach out and touch it intimacy, stunning clarity that recreates the human voice in seemingly material form, the speed and slam one expects from a high(er) efficiency speaker, and the power, force and low end reach of a true full range speaker. I’ve been tasting the speakers from Utah’s Zu Audio for more than a decade at hifi shows and always came away thinking. . .more. Spending real time living with and listening through the Zu Definition 6 proved to be intoxicating and spellbinding with unrestrained music as elixir. Bravo!
…and this is one of the Zu Definition 6’s standout qualities—recreating a fully formed, perfectly sculpted singer standing in the Barn in vivid, dramatic relief. This is where the single driver quality comes into play, which I spent some years focusing on many moons ago, reviewing and writing about Lamhorns, Carfrae Little Big Horns, Auditorium 23 SoloVox, Cain & Cain Abby, and more. A single-driver speaker’s ability to carve out the human voice in room can be entirely captivating and addictive, I owned a few of the speakers listed, but the rub with many is their (in)ability to bring the rest of the frequency range to the table in as convincing a manner. While the Definition 6 are not single driver speakers, one look is all you need to know, and they do offer full-range performance to boot, their way with the human voice is as captivating as I’ve heard. Reach out and touch it real.
Definition Six
Standard finish is black dyed okoume with your choice of black or silver machined aluminum trim. Blemish-free matched natural okoume incurs a bit of a premium, as do the blue, blue-teal and red dyed okoume. Our gloss finishes represent show-level hotrod quality and require about two months of labor and curing—there is no way to speed this process up or make it less costly with out compromising quality.
Since it’s been well over a decade since the first deliveries of Definition 4, let's cover what’ familiar:
The classic Definition form factor. The ongoing Definition proposition is to deliver the maximum musical performance possible in about 1 square foot of floor space, per speaker. Hence, Definition Six retain the just under 13" x 13" [33 cm] square footprint of prior Definitions, but it’s a little taller—54" [137 cm] without feet, instead of the older speaker’s 49" [125 cm] height. Definition Six still features the dual Zu full-range drivers separated by a supertweeter. And that’s pretty much where the similarities end.
We've made many improvements to our full-range driver since Definition Four debuted. Version Six uses full-range drivers derived from the new Soul 6 driver and we've selected a new supertweeter that's more extended and consistent than the Radian 850 that found first use at Zu in Definition Four. The Eminence LAB-12 bass driver returns to duty in the powered subwoofer section, but now as a front-facing element instead of the downfire arrangement in Definition Four. The subwoofer amplifier is updated and is mounted to the cabinet via a suspension to further reduce noise.
Completely new are the cabinet construction and first application of the Griewe driver-to-room acoustic impedance adaptive scheme in a Definition loudspeaker. Cabinet construction will borrow from the engineering investment in Soul Six, using a stiff, relatively lightweight internal superstructure to manage energy dissipation and thwart cabinet talk with less bulk than in Definitions past. Definition Six is significantly lighter than Definition Four due to the all-okoume cabinet.
All prior Definitions have been sealed box speakers, with powered subwoofer sections. The subwoofer reappears, of course, but for the first time, a version of the Griewe scheme used in every other Zu floor-standing speaker will be applied to each of the two full-range drivers in Definition Six. We've engineered an innovative new way to implement Griewe so that the acoustic impedance adaptive interface is via the rear of the speaker, rather than floor-facing. And we've incorporated an internal "Griewe Gap" adjustment. Incorporating Griewe in Definition Six means that the Zu full-range drivers will have useful response down to 35 Hz, so the subwoofer can more precisely be assigned its true, specialty task.
Previous Definition
Sporting our new nanotech full-range drivers, the fabulous Radian 850 based tweeter and our Event cable. It uses our Zu-Griewe acoustics technologies for the full-range drivers, and cabinet engineering that addresses noise and framework function across all fronts: materials, structural, bonding and building technique. The resulting combinations of engineered plate, hardwoods, damping compounds and metal alloys create a very inert structure.
Zu Custom Shop
If you have an idea, we can probably make it happen
Custom gloss, matte, and veneer finishes available
Custom color anodized driver rings and tweeter lenses available
Inquire for pricing, options, and lead-time
Reviews
Definition [Mk.IV] The Audio Beat by Roy Gregory
Definition [Mk.II] Six Moons by Mike Smith
Definition [Mk.IV] Positive Feedback by Danny Kaey
Definition [Mk.II] Positive Feedback by Danny Kaey
Definiton [Mk.IV] AudioStream by Michael Lavorgna
Definition [Mk.IV] Part Time Audiophile / Scot Hull / Deep Show Coverage
[DEFINITION Mk.IV [REV-A] LOUDSPEAKER SYSTEM AD COPY + SPECS]
The Old & New Definition
Old Definition’s rear-firing sub-woofers are replaced with a single massively motored 12” subwoofer driver, mounted on a super rigged, machined-from-billet 2” [50mm] thick block of aluminum, firing straight down into the floor—this is powered by our new deep bass amplifier built around the highly regarded Hypex UcD 400 module. This new on-board subwoofer amplifier system is not only as good as it gets in quality power, it also provides transparent filter processing of deep bass signals, most of which are user adjustable so you can dial-out room modes without compromising the analogue integrity of the music fed from your main amplifier. These components, and the sophisticated cabinet, work together to deliver what we genuinely believe to be the state-of-the-art in any loudspeaker south of $40k. It’s hugely dynamic, massively sensitive, capable of handling high power if you really want to die young, and so wonderfully, gloriously coherent, unflappable and downright true to the gorgeousness of music that we might as well retire now and go home.
The most visible change for Definition Mk.IV is the machined aluminum plinth and subwoofer assembly. And while the cabinet size and shape look very similar to previous Definition models, the Mk.IV cabinet design solves resonance and baffle issues in a completely new way, focusing on structural and materials engineering and only using weight and mass where useful. The substructure is a 30 degree raked dual wall superstructure that solves material resonance and acoustics issues through elegant design simplicity. The baffle is the most unsound section of any loudspeaker cabinet, yet it’s the portion of the cabinet with the greatest impact on fidelity. With Definition Mk.IV we use the massive tweeter assembly as a stressed member of the framework, compressing 10 pounds [4.5kg] of 1-3/4” [38mm] thick steel alloy and 1-3/4” [38mm] thick billet 6061 aluminum to constrain the cabinet core right between our two full-range drivers, exactly where all this mass and strength will do the most good. The cabinet core material is a combination of engineered and solid woods. Joints are first mitered then strong-backed. The plinth / bass assembly is bolted into the cabinet’s superstructure to realize a structurally strong, well-damped cabinet without the end result weighing a ton of bricks.
Points of Engineering & Performance
Zu nanotech full-range 16 ohm drivers parallel-wired presenting an 8 ohm system impedance to the amp (32 ohm latent option for amps needing such a load e.g. OTL)
Radian 850-based tweeter assembly (if there’s better... we haven’t found it).
Completely new cabinet design using expanded materials pallet.
Zu-Griewe acoustic design principles applied to internal damping.
Event B3 based cable harness.
ZuB3 interface via speakON 8-pole.
Hypex 400UcD V5 based internal bass amplifier.
User controls and parametric tuning of deep bass.
Machined aluminum enclosure for electronics.
Engineered for in-field serviceability.
Definition Mk.IV is real high-fidelity, a sincere expression of our musical values—of what we create and build at Zu. You can see the strategic use of the mixed materials pallet, judicious use of silver in the cabling and high-pass network, and the uncompromising and intense focus given to all the drive units and the way in which they work together as a whole and interface with the cabinet—and how the whole loudspeaker system works within the room.
Like all Zu products, Definition Mk.IV is centered and weighted around the critical human voice (A1, 55Hz, through A6 and all the possible harmonics, to approximately 10kHz). Serving this critical region of tone is our nanotech 10” paper cone substrate-based full-range driver—the same developed and used in the Dominance. So with tone, texture and definition realized in the meat of the range, we’ve set about redefining the frequency extremes with Definition Mk.IV—in very real terms as evidenced in the driver selection, and demonstrably evident to your ears, chest, and soul.
Third Generation Zu-Griewe Electroacoustics Loading
Zu-Griewe driver / cabinet / room loading technology as applied in Definition Mk.IV exploits the high efficiency full-range drivers’ bass performance. This affords a seamless integration of the subterranean tone and textures reproduced by the system’s subwoofer.
Zu-Griewe technology was developed by Ron Griewe and Sean Casey, with its beginnings in competition two and four-cycle motorcycle engine exhaust systems for improving power output, with increased bandwidth, while reducing noise and sound pressure levels over convention. More on the Zu-Griewe tech can be found in the FAQ section.
New Nanotech (Zu103ND/G1-16) Full-Range 10” Driver
This new Zu driver delivers stunning attack, shove, resolution and bandwidth—as they should, being lifted straight from our flagship loudspeaker, Dominance. Features include a maximal motor for expanded dynamic contrast and reduced harmonic distortion; a lightweight neutrally hung voice-coil assembly featuring a paper/Kapton former; a linear in-line layup of the inner cone for best resolution of detail; a diamagnetic shorting assembly for dynamic damping of the moving mass when playing at concert levels; nanotech paper cones designed to support wide bandwidth; and a billet phase cone with concentric maximal length sequence diffusion for smooth high frequencies. All this is anchored to a heavy cast aluminum alloy frame with overbuilt bonded and riveted yoke/magnet/top-plate assembly.
In 2004 we began to experiment with cutting-edge DuPont nano-engineered coatings and solids. The initial reasons were to realize the best possible gloss finish and one that would also be far tougher. These nanotechnology engineered liquid solid ceramics, fibers and synthetic resins performed as promised—so naturally we got busy experimenting on driver applications. Here’s what we’ve achieved: the driver’s cone is a paper pulp substrate, processed with a liquid solid matrix utilizing several nanoengineered materials. Some key components and compounds include: nanosphere ceramics, synthetic epoxy, cristobalite, plus the use of amorphous fumed silica and aircraft dope. The nano materials and application process reduce weight and increase strength and propagation velocity without incurring any sacrifices in damping. The end results are stunning—our new nano-sanctified full-range drivers sound dramatically better than any previous generation Zu FRD. Expect to see a lot more of them!
We continue to watch and experiment with new fibers and mats as they are very promising, especially what’s being done with buckypaper. For us however a tone-promising pulp-free combination of these new materials has not yet been identified. Nothing has proven to be as well behaved as natural fibers. There’s just something about paper. Its balance of strength, propagation velocity and damping all contribute to that tone, texture and fidelity we pursue. But add the right combination of old coating technologies plus nanoengineered materials and adhesives... paper maintains its advantages well into the 21st century.