SET amp for Gallo ref 3.1

I have been on a general tube quest for my Gallos as well. I currently run a PrimaLuna Prologue 3 as a preamp and Wyred4Sound monoblocks along with the Gallo Ref SA. I had a Prologue 5 tube power amp for a while but it just did not seem to have the juice at 30watts (or so) per channel to drive the Gallos.

I have been looking into the PrimaLuna monoblocks, the McIntosh 275, and the Cary 120. Anyone have any experience with these and their Gallos or others that are worth a look & listen?

(I know that this is a slight change from the OP, but tubes & Gallos seems mostly relevant)

I have the 3.1's hooked up to my Canary CA-339's. The sound is pure bliss. The 339 is a 50 watt 300B amp. It is a great match. My brother has the 25 watt version of the amps and they do a pretty good job as well. As somebody pointed out, we all hear differently. I must say that 12 watts just doesn't sound like enough. The Gallo's are not that efficient. I think there are better speakers out there that are priced similarly. Let us know how you make out.

I had the opportunity to hear the Gallo sub amp. It wasn't for me. It seems that amp goes both ways with people, some like it and some don't.

I am using a Music Reference RM-200II, using the four ohm taps, puts out a little more than 100 watts per channel. I also use the Gallo sub-amp. I love the amp very much on the Gallos, it is very neutral, and I've never run out of steam, and I listen to heavy metal cranked up about once a week. The amps do not deliver any tube bloom, but sound, to my ears, like a good neutral amp. should sound.

From the posts I glean that I seem to value SET "glory" over neutral sound....shame on me! The Music Reference have been on my list to listen for a while as they seem to be well built and powerful. The Canary would currently break my bank - although I would love to play with bias. Having a precision multimeter next to my poweramps all the time....

SET vs. push -pull: I have tried the push-pull KT88 (or 6550) based Triode TRV M88SE monoblocs (around 40Watts) on the Gallos with subamp and it sounds fine - its just lacking the magic that the the SET Audio Mirrors (6C33 based 45Watt design) can do. In my room at at my listening levels it looks as if 40Watt plus is ample for me. I could probably get by with some 20 clean and stable SET Watts from a 211 or 845 based amp.

Sub amp: I am using the Gallo subamp set for enhancing the below 40Hz region only. All other setting I have tried seem to mess things around 100 Hz up. Using a SPl I get decent output at 25 Hz and some at 20. Switching off the subamp takes the oomph factor out of good modern recordings (i.e. Eric Bibb) and makes orchestra play in smaller halls. I clearly could not live without the subamp. But then many people love speakers with little output below 40Hz.

Hanshhh,

I have gone thru somewhat the same experience as you. I owned a very high quality 300b amp and just totally enjoyed the listening experience even though my speakers were not really designed for a low powered SET amp. Being the typical audiophile I sold the 300b and bought a great 70 watt k88 tube amp looking for better sound. I enjoyed that set up for about a year and when on to a different speaker. 6 years later I have gone back to a 8 watt 300b amp and I could not be more happy. If you are drawn into the SET sound like I am then you must get a SET friendly speaker. You will never know how good a SET amp sounds unless you get a speaker designed for a SET amp. I now have a SET friendly speaker (96db) and the music to my ears is the best I have ever owned. So my suggestion is to buy a SET amp and see how it works on your current speakers, then down the road purhase a pair of speakers that really shine with SET amps.