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Even though attainable SPLs with my Yamamoto 2wpc micro champ preceded by the Supratek Cabernet Dual in 101D mode were silly -- the attenuator sat at about 9:30 -- I got even better results with my 18wpc push/pull Melody I2A3 fitted with the fantastic JJ 2A3-40s. That's because the lower two octaves of widebander coverage spruced up with improved grippiness and jump factor. Loaded into a very small sealed enclosure above the tweeter, Zu' signature driver in the Presence naturally rolls off sooner than for example in the Druid. And yes, I could have tapped the Supratek preamp from its 6H30 outputs for improved bass even above where the Hypex amps could compensate. Still, the particular 101D midrange and treble magic would have disappeared - not a compromise I was willing to tolerate.

The Melody simply remedied the Yamamoto amp's small lack of cojones in the 80 - 200Hz band on the Presence. I knew those cojones to be brassy enough on the twin widebanders of the Definitions where they never telegraphed any lack. Once the Chinese amp hunkered down, presto and wowie: the telltale power zone reflexes I always associate with this particular 10-incher even in non-whizzer WLM implementation were back in action. Still madly in love after all these years with my single-ended Emission Labs solid-plate 45s, I didn't expect anything less than gushing thrills with the happy impedance and sensitivity of the Presence. Still, I fretted and moped about perceived lack of pep and gumption. Certain things are dead obvious off the bat. If they be vital to your perception of musical realism, nothing else will resurrect your half-mast flag if just one of those things has gone south.

Hunting my flag and still not suspecting the Yammy, I'd even gone bi, running the woofers off my 100-watt bridged AudioSector Patek SEs, with WLM's Sys VI active crossover performing filtering. The woofers were fed from a very steep 80Hz low-pass while the widebander could mirror at 80Hz or run open. Things in the upper bass were mildly fuller on open as you'd expect but the contentious higher band and the general gestalt in the upper bass/lower mid still needed more incision on attacks. In short, even relieving the 45s of low bass altogether in high-pass mode wasn't fully satisfactory.


I decided to go back to Square One then. I rewired the Presence as delivered with jumpers for semi-active drive and began swapping amps. Because I lacked long-enough interconnects to run off the Red Wine Signature 30.2's RCA outputs (its speaker outputs can't connect to another amp's inputs or you'll blow the T-amp), the 30.2 fell off the list. My eyes next ogled the Melody - for instant gratification as it turned out. With absolutely zero looking back and sans further ado, the following commentary on the Presence with Hypex power is based on the Melody I2A3 manning the helm.

First off, valves + class D can make a very happy marriage especially in this instance. The bass signal taps not merely off the main amp's outputs rather than a preamp; it even includes the bloody speaker cable in the loop. (Even the Zu jumper to the Hypex amp and the internal hookup wiring to the woofers are identical to what goes on upstairs). Whatever signatory THD and other elements the main amp and your speaker cables imprint on the upper drivers also passes to the woofers. Con arco cello and double bass don't betray seams, piano runs from left to right and back down don't cross an audible barrier that proclaims "woofers and sand amp over here, mids and tweets and glass amp over there". That's of course as it should be yet never guaranteed with hybrid approaches. The Presence aces that test.

Further assisting the erasure of seams are the shared doped paper cones handling wideband duty to 12kHz and bass to 20Hz with the twinned woofers. These drivers do speak with one voice, are even sourced from the same supplier - and it shows... well, sounds it. The Presence obviously exceeds my older pre-SuperPly Definition Pros in a few areas. One is tightening up a certain hollowness in the wider bass/lower-mid transitional area which the big boys suffer by comparison. Another is the mid/tweeter transition and what occurs above. Whether better parts, closer tolerance matching, a structurally quieter enclosure, the outcome is higher resolving power and more finesse. Put differently, focus has improved.


I also think texture and articulation of the bass are better. What's smaller is ultimate scale and mass from raw displacement. Eight woofers simply energize more air than four. They also dig deeper into the micro pits of ambient data that live in perennial micro amplitude in the bassment. The Definitions thus reveal bigger space on recordings that have it encoded. Something akin remains true for the vocal band. There the MTM array of my Definitions has a minor edge in - um, presence. Still, the actual Presence counters with higher focus and finer upper harmonics. There's a bit of give 'n' take here in that comparison but on balance, the Presence unquestionably comes out ahead. It's the more refined and polished product as it should be. It benefits from lessons learned and a more advanced production line. In rooms sized like mine, the triangular brother from the same mother is the better performer than its square and more expensive elder. Having owned the standard Definition Mk1.5 before upgrading to the Pro iteration, I also declare the new plate amps wildly superior, dead quiet and rather more flexible in their range of adjustments.

While I can only imagine how these next-gen changes have advanced the top model (Les Turoczi's upcoming Definition 2 review will also weigh in on the evolution from the Pro which he owns), if I had to choose between my 2007 Pro at $11,000/pr (plus added bread for the mandatory bass amp/s) and the 2008 Presence at $8,000/pr, I'd pick the latter no doubt. The saved cashish would be a welcome bonus but not the primary decider.


On which subject, a side note. I positively adore the seafoam-green custom automotive lacquer of my big 'uns. When I  peeled off the protective shrink wrap on the first Presence, I was aghast. I thought it was a way ugly finish. But once in place and wickedly changing hues with lighting sans a single reflection, our household turned colors like traitors. To say that the delivered light-absorptive 'Dune' paint grew on these ex high-desert Taoseños would be quite the understatement. Today, I'd order a personal Presence pair in 'Moss' or 'Sage' Smooth Matte any day of the week (I have a thing for reed greens). With it, I'd bid the impossible maintenance of mirror glosses adieu. Sayonara merci bien too, swirl marks and dust magnets. Finally, good riddance scuff marks and scratches from endless reviewer shlepps in and out of the listening room. While the lacquers remain available, I predict the majority of future owners will migrate to Matte. If so, smart move on Zu and double smart on its customers for going practical, long-lived and beautiful over short-lived glitzy - er, glossy.

To complete the pre laundry-list sketch out, the equivalently priced Rethm Saadhana is probably the most precisely matched competitor to the Presence. Both speakers combine self-powered bass systems with high-sensitivity widebanders and copy the "bass signal from main amp past the speaker cable" recipe from each other. Both run their core drivers wide open without filters and stealthily sneak in the active bass below. Conceptually and practically, these speakers are virtually interchangeable. Sonically, they are not.


The Presence has more kick and concomitant feistiness and its front-firing bass array of bigger woofers creates higher mass and tactile pressurization. The Saadhana's resolution is higher and its microdynamic tracking even keener. Vocals with the Indians are more acute and intense, little swishes and swirls on drum skins and cymbals more deeply sculpted out. While soundstage scope is equivalent, presence lock or holography is greater with the Rethms. Judging from visitor reactions, cosmetic appeal is rather higher for the Zus and color/finish options virtually unlimited while the Saadhana is limited to four trim choices. In the areas of immediacy, coherence and disappearance as apparent sound sources, both speakers appear matched. For get-down boogie stuff like Ojos de Brujo's Techari Live [Pias Recordings] with its modernized Rumba Gitano matched to machine-gun Latino rap, Reggae, Cuban brass, Salsa piano and HipHop motifs, the Presence conjurs grander scale and more whup-ass impact. For vocal sex à la Dulce Pontes' Lagrimas, the Saadhana has that added ne sais quoi of thereness in the room.


Compared to the €8,800 passive WLM Grand Viola Monitor, the Presence eats its lunch on value and throws in free desert and drinks. For treble energy and upper midrange resolution, the broader dispersion of the Austrian twin-tweeter modules taking over at 800Hz wins out though some folks may find the upper treble of the WLMs nearly too pronounced. For low-bass reach, impact, ease of drive and sheer moxy, the Presence wins. In the context of what the Rethms and Zus offer for the money, the WLMs are grossly overpriced. They completely miss the boat when you have $8,000 to spend, want a complete speaker with no add-on outboard anythings required (like stands, subwoofers and bass-boost equalizer) and if you have somehow become hip to these specific other speaker choices.

First impressions, by a confessed admirer of the Zu sound, are thus a big thumbs up. To tease out finer distinctions and assess how offboarding with external bass amps and filters shifts the equation or not, continue on.