Unrelated except for Zu. A friend recently auditioned at his house Zu Dirty Weekend, Buchardt S400 mk2, and Mofi Sourcepoint 8 to go w his new Naim integrated (can’t remember Naim model but cost like $3k-ish).
He ended up w the Sourcepoint 8 for its all-around merits (everything sounded good, if not great). But the Zu’s were incredibly confounding. One track, particularly w vocals, could sound amazing — like totally engaging and alive. Another (more often more than one other) could sound terrible. It was very odd, but I also think that’s a not uncommon experience w/ those.