It sounds like the pair you listened to were not fully broken in. The speakers improve remarkably after about 80-100 hours. I didn't believe it and now that i have the speakers over a month, they sound incredible. Check out the review at audioasylum and read the comments on the link. These speakers sound far better in my room that my Maggie 1.6's ever did. For the price, the Gallos are a steal. I waited over a month to get mine and I was getting pretty frustrated waiting but they were worth the wait. Incredible soundstage depth, width and imaging along with accurate midrange, well defined bass and great clarity . These speakers impress me more than any speakers I have owned so far- that includes Vortex Screens, ML Aerius and Magnepan 1.6's... YMMV but the Gallos far exceeded my expectations.
Gallo reference /TAS vs Me
I spent a fair amount of time listening to the new reference speakers from Gallo a few months ago and dismissed them as closed in-particularly in the mids- and opaque in the soundstage and generally disapointing. Now TAS puts out a review which goes against everything I heard. Am I losing my hearing or are TAS and I listening to two different speakers? FYI the dealer used Musical Fidelity electronics with the Gallos and I listen with Maggie 3.5s and BAT electronics.