Gallo Ref III Amps/impressions
I have had the Gallos for several months; and coincidentally, I just recently hooked up an older Parasound amp to the second voice coils. I am by no means an expert; but I feel that this set up is far and away better than using a sub(s). I only wish I had tried it sooner! In a previous system, I had a pair of ACI subs, and I could never get them to integrate seamlessly. The bass on the Gallos is smooth, quick and deep... My main amp is a Rogue Tempest II. |
The answers to your questions are: 1. Yes 2. Yes Mark Hampton of ZCable also has these. At least, this is what I was told when I visited the ZCable room at T.H.E.05. The sound of the Gallo III's is nice but you should hear the sound that Mark Hampton was able to coax out of these speakers. I almost had to pick my jaw from the floor, especially considering the fact that the other components in the chain were not-so-special Sony. Mark was demonstrating his own process of re-recording music. He played some a capella choral music and the layering of the soundstage is breathtaking. Lots of air, enabling the separation of each individual voice to mesh within a large body of sound. Overall, transparency, resolution and enhanced micro-dynamics were the hallmark. I'm sure the Bright Star Audio Gallo Stands and the felt strips also helped. Mark Hampton is currently still refining this re-recording process so this is all I can mention. The 6th generation CD-R copy sounds better than the original if you can believe it! The difference was night-and-day. How did I find this out? I was referred by Empirical Audio to check out the ZCable room for a demo. I have no relations to ZCable, Bright Star Audio or Empirical Audio. |
Gaudio I second your opinion of that room, astounding and high value, if not, absurdly because of the system cost and components, some of the best sound of the show. I spent far more time there than in the Maxx2/Arc room right next door and was absolutely floored by the sound. Interesting that they spent more money on vibration isolation (Magix)than they did on the system itself! Of note, the BPT Balanced power tech power treatment was everywhere in that room, and perhaps a major contributor to the result... In fact, I think they had a BPT on EVERY component! |
Pretender, how are you setting up the crossover and high/low pass with the Parasound to the second coil? Also, did you just split the LFE output into left and right to do it? What about speaker cables? Can I use less expensive cables, or do I need to pony up for another set of similar cables? Thanks for your help. I am definitely going to go this way. |
Well, fortunately, my Tempest integrated has an active pre-out that I hooked up to the Parasound's inputs, using a pair of FMod 50 Hz in-line low pass filters. (See the review on 6Moons website.) My Parasound has level controls on the back, but right now, I am running it at full output. I picked up a used pair of Analysis Plus Oval 12 speaker cables for a reasonable price, and they seem to work fine. Maybe I just got lucky, but I am getting much better bass than I did with the subs... Also, there is a thread on Audio Asylum in which Ric Schultz states that he has good luck reversing the speaker wires... |
Anyone have the SA amp yet? Is it available, or are we still waiting? Last I heard, March was the date. Anyone know any different? When I first bought these speakers, I thought I would need it. Now that mine are broken in, I'm not so sure. They are very well balanced just the way they are. I am looking for others opinions, but the SA's are going to have to be pretty good. Unless they make a huge difference, I will leave the speakers just the way they are. |
One good reason for getting the SA is that it gives you the ability to adjust bass output parameters to remove low frequency room modes. The same capablity is built into Vandersteen 5A's and Infinity Prelude MTS, some of the best sounding speakers available. I'm saving my pennies for Rives PARC, which will do the same thing for any pair of speakers. |
David: The Rives PARC is an analog parametric equalizer. It goes between pre-amp and amp. Using a test CD and SPL meter, the owner measures frequency responses in the listening room below 350Hz, and then programs the PARC to yield flat frequency reponse. It's the best thing since womens beach volleyball. Many CES exhibitors rely on PARC to tame room breathing modes. My dream is to own a pair of Meadowlark Blue Heron 2's, and Rives PARC. Check out the Rives website for more information. Best wishes, Jay (This is a two channel signature.) |
Not much recently on the Gallos.But wish I knew if it was the end all and be all.It won product of the year from so many sources like 6 Moons,Absolute Sound etc.I was thinking of many speakers that are compacty which I haven't heard like the well reviewed Gershman RX-20 and have experience with ,B&W,Audio Physics etc.I was thinking of maybe used Quad 988,used Preludes, or a number of others but when you look at the price versus claims maybe Gallo is worth a shot.I had a pair of Ref II's and liked them but they weren't the perfect speaker.And I thought the Bose compteing little Nucleus spheres (even with the better 150 sub) sucked almost as bad as Bose.So I am slightly wary.Was just hoping more folks had gotten out thjere and given them a listen. chazzbo P.S> fully checked the threads and there are over 150to go through so I mispoke.Just want to know if it's the reall deal value/performance wise or another payola thing the way the early little spheres were. |
Like Mikey said "Try it you'll like it" Seriously, I listened to my Ref 3's waiting for the SA and enjoy them quite a bit without activating the 2nd voicecoil. Whenever I added another amp with Fmods etc,I could never tame the bass to my liking. Albeit I did not have seperate volume controls...With that said I really enjoy the SA. The SA takes the speakers into another league. The bass is strong and firm,you can feel through out the room but not punchy or viscereal like a ported Speaker. Very tight and deep. What the Bass Amp really does is correct room or listening environment issues. You can tailor the Crossover and Bass boost with seperate Volume and phase to your Heart's content. Just do'nt get to carried away to lose that sweet midrange and unbelievable imaging and high end. IMHO Highly recommended YMMV |
Wow, I have to tell you that I only kept my Gallo's for about 3 months, then moved on to Maggie 3.6R's. The SA amp was not available yet, and I was powering the second voice coil with an older Parasound amp. I did not have the Granite Audio stands either, that raise and solidify the Gallos. That said, I thought they were great!! For the money I thought they were the best speaker I had ever heard. But, I did switch back to Maggies. Sorry, I just like the sound of planars much better. |
