mac has made some incredibly ordinary speakers, but the xr20's are one of many exceptions(sounds better all the time). mapman has good advice as well.
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Yeah, I know what you mean about the "classic" sound. If you look at my system you'll see I built some speakers that are a nice blend of new tech materials using CAD in an old school sealed box cabinet. I use them for my surround speakers (I play 80% stereo). Occasionally I listen to them as my main stereo speakers, just to get that warm rich baffle resonance :) Am even thinking of going to that next level and buying a tube amp to drive them: all just for nostalgia! Now there is no doubt that both the Gallos Ref 3.1s I currently own and the KEF 104/2 I previously owned are better sounding speakers. No doubt at all. I love 'em, wouldn't trade'm and listen to them for hours on end. But every now and then, I do get nostalgic for warm overtones and resonance. Go figure!? |
I've been working on placement, makes it rather fun as I have a warp in the floor around my speaker area, tons of laughs....not. I have them positioned right now so that each speaker points on its respective side about a foot away from where my head sits. I still can't decide if I like the closer or further apart though. On the plus side I drug out a pair of old Infinity's and having them in the room created a really nice bass effect. |
Right Dan, because those are close to the price range of the others ha. I love the Gallo's, but every once in a while I miss the big full boomy sound of the old school speakers. Maybe I should just buy the sub amp that I have been resisting. Then again, might be smarter to save my dang money in this economy. |
http://www.roundsound.com/reference-5-ls-speakers.html This is what I'd be auditioning if I was interested in buying a new pair of line sources. |
The Macs were extremely expensive, huge and only decent sounding. Even if price were not an issue, the Gallos are still much more musical. One could call the Gallos ugly or retro or interesting... but no one could call the macs anything more than ugly and old school looking. Mac was never able to compete with speakers-this should tell you something. You'll never resell them either due to shipping. |
Wow, two radically different designs, apples and oranges to compare really. Never heard these particular Mcs, but the line arrays in the Mc's would lend themselves better to listening from more of a distance in a larger room I would expect. The Gallo's (which I have heard) are smaller and will provide a radically different presenatation from those Mcs I would think, in particular listening from more of a distance again in a larger room. The Mc speakers I have heard are OK but nothing spectacular. The Gallo's in general are regarded more as overachiever's in their price range. |
I have to think getting replacement parts for these long out of production speakers could be an issue. I used to sell Mac gear back in the late 70s - early 80s and let's just say that McIntosh had much more success when they stuck with electronics. Their speakers were nothing to write home about... Gordon Gow sure knew how to host a dinner, I think our group consumed over 20 bottles of vodka that night. And Gordon had some GREAT stories to tell! -RW- |