Gale 401a speakers

Haven't seen one of these for a long long time. I used to own a pair with the matching stands in the late 70s. I drove them with a SAE 2600. In a right size room, they did sound big when scale was called for but they also sounded delicate with solo instrument. I love how they played violin concertos.

I had never gotten good result driving them with tubes. Mid range and above sounded great but if you want some real bass impact, it needs a big SS amp.

Have you ever rebuilt the crossovers? We can get much higher quality capacitors now, I suspect they will sound better than when they were new.

Yes crossovers have been rebuilt.
Also bypassing the attenuators and fuses helps free up the sound.Fixed value resistors have replaced the attenuators.
The woofers have had both surrounds and spiders replaced.New midranges from the last production run too.
Also the fibreglass damping can pack down so all this has been replaced too.
A lot of work and expense but the result is something pretty special.

Agreed not all tube amps will drive them.The Almarro318b has big SS type bass control.Also the humble but excellent Ming Da EL 34A/B drives them very well.

I bought a pair of reconditioned 401s about a year ago - to use as part of a seconday system while my house is having a major overhaul. Yes, they are extraordinary - even more so when one considers their age. Shortly after I set them up, a friend came over and thought the main system speakers(Apogees) were engaged. He soon appreciated his error, but it's astounding that those little boxes could even hope to briefly masquerade as big ribbons.

I played with them with a variety of amps - starting with the tiny Sonic Impact T-amp (which played for about 3 seconds before giving up!) Excellent results with the well-priced HLLY T-amp, but by far the best sound was with my Threshold s/500.

I agree with the reputation that the Gales have for liking power and current, but they do quite nicely on a leaner diet. Currently in the retro 70s back-up system with the era-appropriate Lecson AC1-AP1 (only 35 WPC) and Thorens 126. Amazingly non-boxy sound with a stunningly liquid midrange. I think these speakers are often forgotten, but with a little TLC to renovate them, they become easily competitive with current offerings at far beyond their price point!

Funflyer,
Of course these were pretty expensive in their day.They were slightly cheaper than the QUAD ESL 57 so in todays terms given the price of current QUADs this equates approximately to the cost of a small car.

Also their design aesthetics are timeless.People assume they are very modern.I also love the story behind their designer Dr Ira Gale.A very colourful character.When not running a speaker company he was Andy Warhols art dealer in London.

My pair of 401A has been reconditioned with new Clarity Cap capacitors, inductance free resistors and Van den Hul driver cables. The chrome cap ends have been reformed by a local Harley Davidson guru. I do not have the original chrome stands but to me this is not a fault since the originals were dancing with the music, if you know what I mean.
The sound with the right ancillary equipment is so fantastic with a great soundstage both wide and deep, the middle band has the clarity of a good electrostatic loudspeaker without the annoying beaming while the highs are so fresh and extended that you can feel the air like that of the K2.
They play everything with competence and conviction even if I feel that music with great dynamic contrast like rock is their house.
Fantastic!