Gallo 3.1 sounds slow and veiled...why?


I have just 'upgraded' to Gallo 3.1 from my Paradigm Active 40's and must admit I am less than impressed. I was running the Active 40 from a Benchmark DAC 1 via a Audio Research LS2b and thought the Gallos would be an improvement. I'm running the Gallos from the DAC 1 through a Unison Unico with Underwood LV2 mods. Interconnect is Kimber Silver streak and speaker cables are Kimber 8TC. The gallos sound slow and veiled compared to the Paradigms....quite a difference! What's going on? What's all the hype on these Gallos? Or are the Paradigm Active 40's THAT good?!!
templetech

Showing 3 responses by templetech

I pulled the Gallos out into the room and I gave the Unico a day to warm up....it sounds better...especially on treble heavy music like harp (Vollenweider)...the spacial effects gave me goose bumps but the system still sounds veiled in comparison to the Paradigms. I should note that both systems sound a bit thin in my room which is why I was experimenting with speakers to begin with. I don't think the Unico is under powered. It's 80 Watts of high current output and pushed my Monitor Audio GR20 to earth moving levels. I do have one tube (in the pre stage) that is kicking in and out but...don't see how that could cause the problem. One thing I should note...these were dealer demos and have less than 100 hours on them . I understand they take a long time to break in...maybe they will open up. I had planned to sell the Paradigms but I'm going to hold on until I'm satisfied the Gallos will outperform them. I should note the review by Arvind on the 3.1 in TNT audio. He drew the same conclusion as me (so far)...even with a broken in pair; brilliant treble but lack luster mid and bass compared to some others.
Alright folks...here's some new info.
A friend came by to audition the Gallos in question and agreed that the Paradigms were far more transparent and 'alive'. We were mystified as the difference shouldn't have been so great...regardless of wires. Now the Unico has been in storage for about a year and a half and it's been moved from Northern Canada to Vancouver Island...what if the amp were faulty? We took the Unico to his house and....it sounds the same (worse) on his speakers (Tannoy)...IT"S the FREAKIN' AMP...probably the tubes. I grabbed his Anthem power amp so now I can use the raw output from the DAC 1 into the Anthem / Gallo and the same output into the Paradigms (also using Anthem power inside) 'Apples to apples'....stay tuned for that test as the house is currently asleep.
I have now listened to the Gallos (powered from Anthem) compared to the Paradigms...both using the Benchmark DAC 1 as source and pre. The Gallos sound better but still not on par with the Paradigm Active 40's. The Gallos are perhaps a little more refined on the treble but mids are not as defined or as detailed and the bass on the Paradigms is vastly superior...tight, powerful and completely integrated. Now to be fair...there is no second power amp on the gallos to power the woofers but....that's a chunk more $$$ just to match the Paradigms. I'm not a Paradigm fan in general...find them rather clinical and lacking but...the actives may very well stay with me for good! I'm having my Unison retubed and checked over and will run the Gallos from that for a few weeks...see how that pans out.