Schweikert VR4-Jr vs. Gallo Reference 3 with SA

It's about the 15th I've hear :p

I gave up about 6 months ago already. I am sitting very happily wit my Revel Gems :)

Hi There,

Interesting - I spoke to the importer of Gallo here in South Africa and he said that the SA is coming along with the shipment of Ref III's which are expected in 2-3 weeks. Has them on preorder even I think. Perhaps they have made the 220V version (thats the voltage system used here) but not the US 110V?? Not sure really.

X

Hi Guys,

Spoke to my dealer again. The shipment is leaving in 2-3 weeks. The amplifiers are apparently ready and waiting, it is the Ref III's themselves which are taking their time due to the high demand (and South Africa aint exactly high on the priority list of countries :)

So the questions begs: wait till end of year/beginning Jan for the Ref III's with amp, or go for a pair of VR4-Jr's which I can currently get at a roughly equivalent price??

Music I listen to is light rock (cranberries), light classical, new age (adiemus, vangelis) but the majority is female vocals.

X

Hi There,

I currently have an Electrocompaniet ECI-3 integrated amp. I really love it as it is SS but has a warmth and smoothness that is very tube-like. I also have a tube CD player which is very synergistic.

If I were going for the VR4-Jr's I would most likely add a an Electrocompaniet power amp and bi-amp (the ECI-3 can be run as a preamp with its own channels still functioning thus allowing bi-amping). However with the Gallo's I would not need to. The ECI-3 would power the Ref III's full range (minus the second voice coil) whilst the Gallo SA would take care of the subs. That would give me the tube like quality in the mids/upper range with the bass grunt handled by the SA.

X

I have give it a lot of thought and have pretty much decided on the Ref III's. There are a number of reasons including:

- I do not require a change in amplification (a headache on its own, not to mention the associated changes that may be required such as properly matched cables etc.)
- the proper amount of power will be supplied to the speakers to get their full potential (ECI-3 plus the Gallo SA) whereas I may find myself lacking with the VR4's
- I really prefer quick, dynamic sound especially with vocals and from all sources I have read/heard, the Gallo's excel here while the VR4's can sometimes be a bit 'heavy'

Those are nitpicks really. Some more important influences are:
- The VR4-Jr's I would need to import. That is an added, uncertain cost (until it lands I do not know final cost) and there is always a risk of shipping damage
- The warranty with the VR4-Jr's would require shipping back and forth (most likely at my expense) if a problem should ever arise)
- I do not have the luxury of checking the speakers physically myself (important since the VR4-Jr's I would be buying used or demos)
- The Gallo's I will buy new, from the official distributor, with full warranty. Buying locally saves many headaches and reduces many risks to imports. This is especially important since VSA is not distributed here anymore and thus I would have nowhere to go to with any problems (as unlikely as they may be).

To owner's of Gallo Ref III's, I have two requests please
1. If you can perhaps send me some photos or links to photos it will be much appreciated. WAF will seriously come into play and some convincing required methinks
2. Please let me know what spades the speaker terminals (speaker in and sub in) need - normal spades or oversized spades? I need to reterminate my speaker cables would like to change from banana to spade as I believe it is better.
3. What colours do you recommend? :) I am thinking of Steel Accents and either Black or Maple base.

X

Thanks! Do you know perhaps what spade size they would need for the speaker cables? Also do you (or any Ref III owners) perhaps have any hi-res photos (not the diminutive, low res shots from the web :)

Cheers,
X

Bgrzman - do you know how the SPM's are terminated?

X

Geoh, how are the comparisons coming along? Are you able to make any final conclusions yet?

Keep us posted!
X

In terms of amplifiers, I currently have the Electrocompaniet ECI-3 integrated, rated at 70W x 2 (very high current as is most Electrocompaniets). I have the opportunity to get my hands on a Classe CAP-151 integrated, which is rated at 150W x 2. Has anyone compared these two perhaps? Which one do you think would be a better match for the Gallo Ref III?

X

Update on the SA: spoke to my dealer (importer) yesterday. He confirmed that the speakers are going to be shipping end December, but the the SA amp will only ship in Spring (US Spring, thus March). Do you guys think it would be worth waiting for the SA (4 months minimum)?? I am still in a position to either:

1. Order the Gallo, receive the speakers in January and the amp in March.
2. Get the VR4-Jr, which I can get now.

Both will end up around the same price.

X

Thanks for that fantastic input. I assume you are in the US/Europe or somewhere else where you can pop over to a store and demo to your hearts content, have an almost infinite choice of speakers, have the ability to have a home audition etc. When you visit a country like SA which is (in the audio world at least) third world, with a fraction of the variety, no chance of home auditions and numerous other obstacles I assure you that your stance will change.

Hi There,

No worries :) As mentioned in my post it was simply me being inquisitive. I was just surprised that the Gallo's were touted as being more coloured as I thought that their complete lack of colouring was one of their strengths.

X

Let me explain why I am leaning toward the Ref III's. I think this info is important as it highlights the constraints within which I must work:

Living in South Africa the choices are very few and limited. Most things I would need to import. Products like cables are no problem and all my cables for example are imported. Speakers and electronics are a different story. With these larger purchases, peace of mind is always an issue. First there is the issue of shipping damages which are entirely on my shoulders, versus the importer (if there is one). Secondly is warranty and backup. If there is ever a problem, it is always good to have someone locally who can diagnose the problem and fix it at no cost.

With both speakers, I would previously have had to import them. However, the importer of Gallo Acoustics is now bringing in the entire range including the Ref III and Subwoofer Amp. For the same price as the VR4-Jr (a demo model which I would need to import) I can get the Ref III's with Amp locally, new, with full warranty.

Furthermore about the VR4-Jr's - I contacted VSA and they confirmed that in the case of a problem, it would be difficult to organize a replacement as they don't have official people here (authorized technicians) who can check the speakers and verify a particular problem. Any shipping of parts to/from VSA would need to be covered by me.

I hope this sheds some light on the situation. It is not at (seemingly) simple as it may be in much larger markets such as the US. There you can try before you buy, have home auditions etc. Those policies unfortunately do not work here.

X

I understand your viewpoint Ozzy. Bear in mind though that situations were constantly changing, thus being dragged on. For example, the recent turn in events that the Gallo Ref III would be brought in locally. This is one of a number of changing circumstances. If it were all static I can assure you I would be listening to music right now as opposed to posting here and AA.

X

I believe we have conflicting info then :)

My dealer confirmed that they are taking orders and shipping spring 2005 (March). I am not sure what to think anymore as no matter how much we trust the dealers they can pull wool over our eyes - after all business is business. However I tend to believe him as I sent an email seperately to Gallo and their sales rep (Mena) confirmed that they will ship in spring.

X

I believe all you need is a decent power amp with an external crossover. Connect the pre-outs of your preamp or integrated amp to the power amp's inputs and that should work, but is not ideal. The Gallo SA amp was designed specifically for it and thus completely optimized, and it is also a fully active crossover. Furthermore I do not think it would be worth going for a better 'brand' amp as it is only handling frequencies of around 40Hz and below. Sticking a Levinson/Krell/Plinius etc. on it is overkill as it is, after all, a subwoofer amp only.

Hi There,

Rob and Aaccss - please don't take this as argumentative, as I cannot actually tell (haven't heard the speakers) but rather as an inquisitive query: aren't the Gallo's meant to be even more uncolored and less smeared due to the absence of a traditional 'speaker box'?

X

Cinematic_systems: because Vivid audio is extremely expensive. For the same price they are asking for their floorstander I would rather looking into something like a Diva Utopia or Wilson Sophia or Dynaudio C4 etc. You are talking about the equivalent of over $10k, nearer to $15k actually.

Yeah, I hoped they would have been. But even if they were 5-10% less than overseas it wouldn't help much. They are simply in a higher league than the VSA and Gallo's. I have heard these and they are just incredible! To give you an indication of price, they are currently only distributed here and in Europe (US only beginning to mid 2006) and there the smaller speaker in the range (B1) retails for nearly 8000 pounds! Check it out here: http://www.hifichoice.co.uk/review_read.asp?ID=2816

Cheers,
X