Official Anthony Gallo Owners Thread - Page 46

Originally Posted by jon joe

hi all, new here. can anybody tell me if the yam dsp z7 is good enough to power gallo ref 3s for fronts ref av center and ref av surronds. it would be used 70% movies 30% music. ilike to watch n listen to live recordings concerts etc. its either that or a arcam avr 5 or 600. iunderstand that the arcam would be better for the music, just not sure i can afford the price difference. i suppose i want someone to tell me that the yam would sound great anyway,that its powerfull enough. i am by no stretch of the imagination an audiophile and wouldn,t just sit and critic the the system. but i do want normal people myself included to think wow that sounds fantastic. sincerly and gratefully yours jon joe

Originally Posted by jon joe

hi all, new here. can anybody tell me if the yam dsp z7 is good enough to power gallo ref 3s for fronts ref av center and ref av surronds. it would be used 70% movies 30% music. ilike to watch n listen to live recordings concerts etc. its either that or a arcam avr 5 or 600. iunderstand that the arcam would be better for the music, just not sure i can afford the price difference. i suppose i want someone to tell me that the yam would sound great anyway,that its powerfull enough. i am by no stretch of the imagination an audiophile and wouldn,t just sit and critic the the system. but i do want normal people myself included to think wow that sounds fantastic. sincerly and gratefully yours jon joe

Originally Posted by jon joe

bu t these are all stereo amps arnt they? and as in my origally post movies are what i use it for 70% of the time

Originally Posted by jon joe

hi all, new here. can anybody tell me if the yam dsp z7 is good enough to power gallo ref 3s for fronts ref av center and ref av surronds. it would be used 70% movies 30% music. ilike to watch n listen to live recordings concerts etc. its either that or a arcam avr 5 or 600. iunderstand that the arcam would be better for the music, just not sure i can afford the price difference. i suppose i want someone to tell me that the yam would sound great anyway,that its powerfull enough. i am by no stretch of the imagination an audiophile and wouldn,t just sit and critic the the system. but i do want normal people myself included to think wow that sounds fantastic. sincerly and gratefully yours jon joe

Originally Posted by 1.3ollag

http://www.stereotimes.com/comm021310.shtml

Pick ye berries while ye may.

Originally Posted by Laurence Borden, Stereo Times

I am happy to report that as good as the Nucleus Reference 3.1 is, the 3.5 is considerably better. The improvements are not subtle, and do not require repeated switching back and forth between the two speakers to discern.

Originally Posted by jackte50

I just heard the Nucleus Micro speakers and was impressed with their sound. What is the difference in quality in the Micro TI and is it worth the extra money?

Originally Posted by 1.3ollag

http://6moons.com/audioreviews/gallo9/ref35.html

Pick ye berries while ye may.

Originally Posted by jakja83

I disagree, Styln. I have tried 3.1s with many different options performance wise and they are a totally different breed of speakers when hooked up with some serious power. They sounded best with 2 x 250 Class D-watts and Gallo subamp. Bryston 4BSST also sounded good, but anything below 150 real watts per channel aren`t able to get that 10" driver going properly. You get sound, but you aren`t anywhere near reaching the capability of the refs.

J

Originally Posted by barryecohen

Well, I guess being one of the first to purchase a set of speakers from an unknown manufacturer, and keeping in-touch, and becoming friends with the head of the company over time, has its dividends I got to be a beta tester for the 3.x to 3.5 upgrade process But better still, I was able to be involved for part of it. I say part of it, because while Anthony and I started on the process mid morning on a Sunday, we were unable to complete the process working well into the evening. I had no idea how complex these speakers are. There are a lot of parts that need to be assembled, just so, in-order for the things to work, and the interior of these speakers is far more confined than a typical box is. So while Anthony and I nearly completed the upgrade of one speaker that Sunday, he had his assistant complete the second during the week and I was able to pick-up both upgraded speakers the following weekend. This upgrade is a very labor intensive process; I'd say it's probably 8 to 10 man-hours per speaker.

As far as the sound goes, well I've now finally had a chance to listen to the Nucleus Reference 3.5s in MY system, and I can say with confidence that they are a game changer! After I sold my original aluminum sphere Nucleus Reference system, and replaced them with the Reference 3.1s, I was never 100% sure I'd done the right thing. In my system, I feel there was an immediacy and liveliness, that I felt I'd lost with the change. The sound stage was there, accuracy was there, but I think the PRaT and dynamics were somewhat missing. So reading about peoples' experiences with high powered amplifiers started me thinking in that direction, but I never pulled the trigger. With the 3.5 in my system that "life" is back in spades! These things are amazing; the increased immediacy has also increased the depth of the soundstage both in front of, and behind the speakers. I thought listening to Peter Gabrial's "Growing Up" from "Up", on the 3.1s was pretty impressive, with the sound seeming to come from far behind the speakers and as far forward as half-way into my room. With 3.5s the sound caused my room to disappear, with sound coming from places far beyond all the walls, even seeming to come from behind my listening position. Listening to NIN's album "With Teeth" put Reznor front and center in my room about 2 feet in front of the plane of the speakers with the band spread out behind him. Listening to Filter's "Title of Record" when track 2 "Welcome To the Fold" begins without any pause from track 1 "Sand", the thwack on the Tom-Tom caused me to jump out of my seat. The 3.1s never elicited as strong a response. Listening to EMI Classics Mstislav Rostropovich J. S. Bach Cello-Suiten 1, 4 & 5 I could hear all the detail as the bow was being dragged across the strings, I could hear Mstislav inhale and take a breath between notes, I don't recall hearing some of these little details as clearly with the 3.1s. Listening to Tori Amos' "Little Earthquakes", the drum on the opening track "Crucify" is wonderful, with an obvious sound of the head of the stick hitting the skin, and then a slow rumbling decay, and all of it can be heard and felt.

I've been listening to more music than I have in a while, because the 3.5s are giving me more to listen to. In my opinion the upgrade from 3.1 to 3.5 is significant, and while the cost difference isn't insignificant, you owe it to yourself to at least audition them. Anthony isn't expecting to sell as many of these due to the higher price, but I think he may be surprised

Originally Posted by Styln

That is so awesome that you spend quality time with AG

Thanks for all the info on the upgrade process and the sound. I'm interested in the upgrade, too. Any idea on the cost and also when it will be generally available? Just FYI, I'd be interested in an option where the the parts are shipped out and I perform the transformation/labor.

Styln

Originally Posted by IcemanDallas

Thanks for posting your experiences and thoughts. Did you get an opportunity to audition the 3.1 and 3.5 side by side? Not doubting what you heard but this is definately a situation where I would want to A/B a speaker and I doubt I'd get that chance at the local dealer. Are you bi-amping the 3.5's?

Originally Posted by barryecohen

Quality time with Anthony he says I only come over to get my "Dog Fix". He's got a wonderful Staffordshire Bull Terrier, Dante, that I always spend time playing tug-o-war and fetch with when I visit.

Anthony wasn't sure yet about final pricing on the upgrade. One of the reasons I got to be a Guinea-Pig, is that he needed to get a feel for doing an actual upgrade on a stock 3.1. Running through a full upgrade is different than tweaking a speaker over the course of its development. But I think Anthony is nearly ready to begin accepting speakers for upgrade. He said they'll be doing upgrades on both the east and west cost to cut down on shipping charges.

FWIW, the tweeter gets modified, and the other 3 drivers are replaced. Also replaced are the mid-range housings and the tweeter mounts. The internal wiring gets modified, along with the cross-over for the woofer. It really is a very involved process. There is a good amount of sealant/glue inside the speaker that is there to seal openings and prevent screws from coming loose over time. The old stuff needs to be removed, and new sealant applied during assembly. Anthony had offered me a couple of A' La Carte options to save me some money, but I didn't take them because he demonstrated the differences on a set of test mules he had on hand. The by-pass caps on the woofer cross-over cost me a few hundred, but they are absolutely worth it, and I sincerely doubt that commercial upgrades will be anything less than 100%.

As far as a kit goes, I'd thought about going the DIY route myself, but after seeing all that's involved, I'm very glad Anthony suggested otherwise. For reference, I've fully rebuilt the suspension on, and pulled and replaced the motor in my TwinTurbo 300zx in my driveway a couple of times, so I'm pretty mechanically inclined But I'll be sure to let him know the interest is there for DIY upgrade kits.

Originally Posted by bostonbean

Thanks Barry, couple of quick questions. You say the tweeter gets "modified" instead of replaced. What does that mean? Is the modified tweeter the new CDTIII tweeter? And what about the base? Was that replaced and if so what do you think of it. Thanks again.

Originally Posted by barryecohen

I never A/B'd them in my system, but I did A/B 3.1 against 3.5 a number of times at Anthony's and the results were similar. I even got a chance to A/B my 3.5s against 3.1s when I picked them up. I think it was more dramatic for me noting the changes in my system because I'm obviously more familiar with the sound I get here. A/B'ing at Anthony's is similar to going to a demo someplace, you get the gist of the differences in the sound but none of it is fully familiar so it's harder to really judge.

Originally Posted by asap200x

snip...

Also, 6moons just posted their full review of the stradas:

http://www.6moons.com/audioreviews/gallo10/strada.html

Originally Posted by asap200x

Jak,

Nice pic..can't wait to get mine. Can you comment on how they sound really close to the wall? I'll be wall mounting mine, wondering how much of the soundstage i'm going to lose out on.

Also, 6moons just posted their full review of the stradas:

http://www.6moons.com/audioreviews/gallo10/strada.html