Update: 9/4
All back orders are now in packaging and ship by September 10.
Orderes placed now will ship the first week in October.
US review schedule:
Steve Guttenberg (cnet, Audiophiliac, ToneAudio, Sterophile...)
Art Dudley (Stereophile)
Thad Aerts (Hi-Fi Reader)
Jeff Day (Positive Feedback)Sam Tellig (Stereophile) Lost interest due to the delay, can't say we blame him.
UK review schedule:
Alan Sircom (editor Hi-Fi+)
David Price (editor Hi-Fi World)
Reviewers in the queue have been informed that the review pairs will ship in October.
Soul Superfly delivers on performance, full of attitude when needed and always confident. Second, finish is out-of-sight. Our objective with the Soul Superfly is simple—make it so good, so right, and so price competitive that those that were thinking about that new mountain bike, set of clubs, flatscreen, or whatever, will be enticed back to the music with just one look or listen. Soul is not about competing with other loudspeakers, Soul is about competing for discretionary dollars outside audio.
Soul Superfly loudspeakers that will last a lifetime. And we ain't talkin' William Shatner's lifetime either, guess he could always leave them to family when he goes. "Superfly" is an under-the-hood performance package, complete with Zu silver alloy B3 cabling, Mundorf Silver/Oil capacitors, Cardas pure copper binding post, and Zu Superfly cabinet composite treatment process minimizing cabinet resonance.
Quick Specs
Efficiency: 101 dB 1W/1m (see measures)
Impedance: 16 Ohm nominal (see measures)
Height: 38" tall + footers (1.0 meter)
Footprint: 12" square (okay, 12-9/64" to be exact)
Tube and solid-state friendly!
Cabinet: MDF + V81 V1 binder + polyester + QuietCoat + Alexit
Manufactured in Ogden, Utah, USA
Please download the specs page for full list (link at bottom left of page)
The Nitty-Gritty / What's The Technology... Read On
Soul Superfly, like all Zu products, is built around the critical human voice (A1, 55Hz, through A6 and all the possible harmonics, to approximately 10kHz). Serving this critical region of tone is Zu’s 4th generation High-Output 10” paper coned full-range driver. And despite what many audiophiles might think about it based on price, Soul is a true, state-of-the-art high-end speaker that fits in any room and costs less than the majority of decent mountain bikes.
Third Generation Zu Griewe (ZuRG-Twist) Cabinet LoadingZu Griewe cabinet loading applies to loudspeaker design and acoustics a principle developed for motorcycle engine exhaust systems for improving power output through pulse and pressure management within an increased bandwidth (wider power band). More on this as we get our technical stuff together.
New Zu260FRD/G4 HO Full-Range 10" Driver
More to be posted but the new driver has a lighter cone, bigger and stronger magnet (60 Oz.), improved flux density in and around the gap, and better finish! The phase plug is a carry over from the research and testing we did with Essence, which gives Soul Superfly a more linear management of high frequencies and broader dispersion from the directly-coupled-to-voicecoil inner cone. And as dynamic contrast (to the max shove and pop) were of primary importance, we mated the new HO driver with the Definition tweeter assembly, reworked a bit to blend super smoothly with the new 10" driver.
For music lovers of every era—technical, '70s soul, or otherwise
Soul Superfly is complete in form and quality of sound. Order your pair today, with full no-questions-asked 60 days return privileges. Pull the stuff you really listen to from the depths of your CD, LP or download music collection, including Sly & The Family Stone / There's A Riot Goin' On, and let the Soul work its magic. Soul is the speaker that will amaze and delight the most bleeding-edge USB-DAC'd computer audio evangelist, vinyl bottlehead vigilante and silver-disc bits-spinner equally. If you love music in your own home, alive with all the passion the artist originally put into it, pick up a pair of Soul.
Amps, Engineering and Design
We love tech and engineering, but more we love music! Soul Superfly, like our other speakers was designed by ear first and foremost, using engineering and measures to help isolate and realize solutions for audible improvements. Once we get any loudspeaker sounding sweet we standardize it, including the test and measures procedures and systems used to ensure the highest possible matching and quality.
Soul Superfly is very sensitive to amp matching. Soul matches up very well with tube amps with both 8 ohm and 16 ohm taps, and if you have both options please connect to the 16 ohm taps for best power transfer. Soul seems to also work very well with solid state, but not always, you need to try and see. Some solid state will sound lean and edgy when matched up with Soul. Japanese mid-fi products seem to matchup pretty well for those building around such amps or receivers. If you have an amp you like and would like to know how the matchup might be please give us a call, as well as the amp manufacture, and be sure to refer them to the below listed Soul Superfly impedance plot, this will help the amp designer better predict the matchup.
So what amps did we use in the development of Soul, amps that gave us a good idea of matchups, amps we had kickin' around:
Audion Black Night 845 (nealy all 845 based amps are going to rock with Soul!)
Allnic A-6000 (with 16 Ohm option, excellent match, you like it loud and solid, this is it!)
Allnic T-1500 (also with 16 Ohm option)
Bryston LP2 (a touch thin in the bass, excellent value)
Denon PMA2000R Mk4 (solid, easy to like, easy to use, easy on the wallet)
Dynaco ST-70 (awesome in the mids, and for its price and age, NOS Mullard tubes for best fidelity)
Leben CS-300 (sweet and detailed, solid. Experiment with tubes)
Manley Mahi/Mahi
McIntoch MA6600 (super solid top to bottom, very easy to enjoy, great matchup)
Melody I-2A3 (awesome, best bang for the buck intigrated, no remote)
Melody M-300B (super awesome with WE-300B tubes)
Panasonic XR-25 (solid, really)
Pass Labs XA30.5 (also trying the J2, which is killer on Essence!)
Peachtree Nova (nice matchp, warm and still high res, easy, nice value)
Redwine 70.2
Yamamoto A-08S (get 16 ohm xformers, Emission Labs tubes; awesome! limited volume)
Best Value: Dynaco Stereo 70, no mods, with original Mullard tubes. Yeah, it's awesome, use the 16 Ohm tap and get ready to rock! Sure, a touch grainy on the extremes but considering, does it matter that much....
Cosmic Carbon? Is It Gray, Graphite, Charcoal...
Cosmic carbon is just a shade or two lighter than anthracite. Formulated and blended in-house to have a soft and smooth touch. We use the German Mankiewicz Alexit 90FH.1 base stock, a few neat chemicals and then mix in neutral pearl so it will reflect the hues and color temperatures of the light in the room. In a dark room cosmic carbon will appear nearly black, in a room with large windows and lots of sunlight cosmic carbon will have a much lighter graphite look. Rooms with lots of cool tones will impart a cool tone, warm colors will also impart a warming hue.
RoHS compliant
Limited 5-year warranty
Made by Zu Audio in Ogden, Utah—USA
