2. speakers
  3. 1204694214

Gallo Reference 3.1 questions...

Howdy,

Just toying with the idea of owning some Gallo Ref 3.1s...

TOYING!

The sub amp is described by some as mandatory, while others describe the speakers as bass rich even without it. Shall I merely infer from this that those who think it mandatory are big ol' bass fiends? Certainly with a 10" driver, I can't imagine it sounding at all anemic.

If a sub amp really is neccessary, does it HAVE to be the Gallo? Couldn't I just use any old amp to run the woofs? Not for nothing, but they need to have their speaker designers take 10 minutes off and help the amp dudes come up with a nicer looking amp. It looks like a DIY kit.

What would be smokin IMO, looks wise, is a Jeff Rowland Concerto integrated running the speakers and a pair of 201s running the subs.

Next Q... I have a tiny joint. Actually I stopped smoking. I have a small apartment. If I placed the Gallos in the hallowed 1.5 foot squares of floorspace I have allocated for speakers, with woofers facing each other, the left one would be inches away from my TV/audio stand, woofer pointing at the rack. The stand is open sided, not solid sided, but I wonder if this could pose a problem.

If I set them up with woofers facing away from each other, the right one would point into my kitchen area, but the left one would face a window about 2-3 ft away, with a big fat AC in it. In the summer the AC runs quite a bit.

OTOH, reviews seem to indicate that the staging on these is very wide (but short, I know), so I wonder just how critical placement is anyway.

Any insights?

Thanks

Rob
rkny
mcrosier
61 posts
 
Hello,

I own the Gallo Ref 3.1's and I have heard the Paradigm's in a store. So I am much more familiar with the Gallos. To my ears the Gallos come a lot closer to the musical sound I'm looking for. Particularly in the mid range where they really shine. I have never heard the Gallos sound congested once I finally got my room properly set up. I have my Gallos about 5.5 feet from the back wall and about 6 feet apart but my room is strictly for music. Although my room has similar dimensions, approx 9 feet wide and 22 feet long. Hope that helps a bit. The Gallos have a very distinctive sound so I really feel an audition would be necessary. They don't sound like a box and the don't sound like Planars or anything else I have ever heard. The go down very low but it isn't the hit in you chest low some people are looking for. It's what bass is like if you are listening to a baritone vocalist, cello, tuba etc live without amps. They are an amazing speaker but like everything else they are not for everyone.
luigy39
16 posts
 
Thank you for your response. I'm looking for effortless and open sound. I feel that The Paradigms in my room sound congested, They may be too big for my room, but something is not right with the overall sound. The Gallos may be the answer.
swanlee
8 posts
 
I had a pair of Paradigm Monitor 11's and Paradigm monitor center for 5 years and now have the Gallo's 3.1's and an AV center. So I can compare the monitors with the Gallo's fairly well.

I like the Monitor 11's but in comparison the Monitors had a bright and narrow soundstage while the Gallo's have a huge soundstage and sound very natural and neutral while still being very detailed.

The Gallo's do have a distinct sound but one that is very natural, very open and very effortless. To me they are quite musical.

The tweeters on the Gallo's are quite amazing where the Paradigms you could hone in on exactly where the tweeters were on the Gallo's they tend to disappear and just throw a huge sound image.

I'm very happy with my upgrade and will be sticking to the Gallo line of speakers for a LONG time.
luigy39
16 posts
 
Well, I finally got the Gallos 2 days ago, and with about 12 hours burn in they are already sounding better than the Paradigm studios ever did. Actually they sounded better than the Paradigms from the get go, specially the highs but the base still needs time to sound its best (I'm hoping)

If these speakers take as long as people claim to break in and indeed they get that much better with time, then they will walk all over the digms, and the 100s are not bad speakers at all.
swanlee
8 posts
 
Yeah the Gallo's are said to compete with speakers in the $10,000 price range, they've been said to be legit giant killers so it's not to often they wouldn't walk all over speakerrs that are around the same price.

I truly love mine and I really liked my Paradigms at one time as well.
More to discover