Official Anthony Gallo Owners Thread - Page 90

Hello Bob(?),

In my experience the 3.5 is an improvement over the 3.1 in all aspects, but more notably in the bass region, with improved dynamics and impact. The mid and treble is improved as well, with more dynamics, detail and finesse at the same time. I was very pleased after the upgrade, and would definitely do it again.
Edited by barryecohen - 2/20/13 at 8:46am

Thanks D

Thanks for your input Barry.
My audio guru Walter Liederman from ( internet only)Underwood Audio thinks the LSA 2.1 Statements have much better high end than any Gallo, and he sells both.
I'm still keeping my options open. There is not a dealer within 200 miles of me where I can listen to the 3.5's. I hate making a decision w/o listening.
I'm going to audition the PSB Imagine T2's. I can't imagine they are better sounding than the 3.5's but a dealer promised me they do...but then again....he doesn't carry Gallo's any longer but does carry the T2's....so I have to take his opinion with a grain of salt.

Buying the 3.5's in 2013 at half the price many satisfied customers paid full price earlier...is another aspect that has me leaning to the 3.5's.

I'm getting so worn out trying to figure this all out, I just may keep my 3.1's and concentrate on the music.
Who am I kidding. I'm always looking for an upgrade.

Ciao

Bob

Duh!

If I were in the market for an upgrade from a 3.1, I would at least try some systems with a different design concept.....the 3.5 is evolutionary. But it is a really good deal now.

Bob, I could be wrong, but Gallo Direct has a 60 day No Questions Asked return policy...

http://www.roundsound.com/shop/reference-series/nucleus-reference-3-5-loudspeaker.html

The best place to audition is in your home

Does anyone know if Stein Audio are still manufacturing stands for the reference 3 speakers? I have sent them a couple of emails but have not received a response.

Not sure if Scott is still making speaker stuff, but can't you find a local cabinet maker to build you a set? I'd imagine shipping to you from the US would be as much as the stands themselves, or more.

If you were closer I have a set you could have as I no longer use them...

Those stands look high barry. When sitting down is the soundstage too high( over your head)?

No turntable?

Well, I can say that I have NEVER heard a speaker change so much during the break-in period (CL4's). When I first set them up I was convinced I'd made a terrible mistake. They were all over the place. Thin sounding on some tracks, peaky and shouty on others, sometimes the bass was flabby and overwhelming, and other times it seemed far away. They were a mess. There needs to be a big warning on them about how they will sound out of the box.

Now they've got about 40 hours on them and they aren't bad at all. They've come more into focus and the bass has tightened up considerably. They throw an amazing soundstage. The tonal balance isn't perfect yet but we'll see where they end up.

These are unusual speakers indeed.
Edited by Bry_E - 2/22/13 at 6:07pm

Bry, after 100+ hrs you'll love them even more! They seem to get more refined as they break-in more. The one thing that is always constant is that wonderful soundstage :-)

Hello all. I am looking for a new HT sub(5.1, 80% movies, 20% music). Found a TR-3 for a decent price. Is it a good sub? Other options are the Outlaw Audio LMF-1 EX or a Rythmik F12. Any feedback on any of these subs is greatly appreciated. What is a good price to pay for the TR3?

any news about ref4?

Bill Freid from Gallo said Anthony Gallo is just starting to work on his new speaker. I wouldn't look forward to hearing anything definite for at least a year.

Stradas on their way, yay. Do they take long to break in? Thanks

My recommendation is 100 to 200 hours of break-in time. Did you get the new Strada II or the originals?

After much debating went for the strada 2, supposed to be more efficient and I only have a small amp. I will be interested to hear how much better or woes than the kef uniQ they are at filling a room.

Congratulations. After break-in you will love them. If you are planning to do any critical listening a sub (even better, two subs) is a requirement.

My Strada 2 and TR3D sub just arrived. Currently burning in, I can't wait for it to get better.

I'm driving it using my 22-year old Denon AVR-3000. This AVR doesn't have a LFE or any bass management crossover. I'm putting together a new configuration and can really use some wisdom from this group. I want to use the pair of Strada 2 and sub for both music (80%) and movies (20%).

1. Thinking about getting the Emotiva XPA-5 5-channel power amp 200W (per channel). I might eventually get one more strada 2 for the center and a pair of Ref 4 when it comes out next year. Is 200W per channel enough? If not, how much should I get? The Emotiva XPA-1 500W monoblock seems overkill and I'm really new to all these.

2. Emotiva XSP-1 Differential Preamp and Emotiva UMC-200 7.1 Home Theater Preamp/Surround Processor; OR just UMC-200 is good enough? Is there any other suggestion that is comparable to the Emotiva?

Thanks!

Congrats on your purchase! I just looked up a picture of the back of your Denon receiver and it has a pre-out/main-in loop (which is joined by a set of jumpers). The TR-3D sub also has a Line-in and Line-out loop. You don't need any kind of bass management on your Denon for a nice 2.1 setup. Just connect the pre-out of your Denon to the Line-In of the TR-3D. Then connect the Line-out of the TR-3D to the Main-in of the Denon. The TR-3D will do the x-over! For example, if you set the x-over to 80hz, then all bass below 80hz will go to the subwoofer and anything above 80hz will go back to your Denon's amplifier to power the Strada. This way, your Denon won't have to produce the difficult lower frequencies and the Strada's won't strain either.

I've never owned Emotiva gear, so I can't give any advice on that.

Good luck and enjoy your new set-up!

I recently found a great deal on a used Spectron Musician II amplifier which had been upgraded by Spectron to the Hybrid MK2. I work for a dealer (authorized Gallo dealer) and own a pair of the Reference 3.5's and Strada's for the center and sides. Although I had heard great things about Spectron amps, I never owned one due to price (and the fact that I couldn't get a discount since they sell factory direct). I've powered my Gallo's with many different amps (Audio Research, McIntosh, Bryston, etc.). One of my personal favorites had been the Bryston 4B-SST2.

After testing out this Spectron amp for the past week, all I have to say is WOW! This is the best sounding amplifier I have tested to date with the Reference 3.5. Powerful, accurate and excellent sound-stage. The Spectron is a very expensive amp, so if you ever find one on the used market, I urge you to try it out. They're usually snatched up pretty quick when they appear on Audiogon.

I'm now looking for a 3-channel amp to complete my set-up (center and rear). 80% of my listening is 2-channel, so I'm ok for now!

Given that on my Stradas I could easily hear the difference between a 0.5 metre and a 2 metre piece of the same PTFE sheathed silver wire, all that extra plug and socketry of going to them via the sub WILL degrade your sound and probably by quite a bit. Shorter wire was best. I could easily hear changing a resistor in each mono block amplifier from a metal film to a Vishay bulk foil.

These speakers don't hide any rubbish in your system. So my suggestion is don't put any in there and you'll have a nicer sound

It also seems that if you don't use these speakers often, they need running in again. After not using them for 8 months, mine sound terrible, very shrill and just hurt my ears, and I can't stand to put them on. Probably the same goes for the amplifiers though and the Stradas are simply showing up their need for running as well.

I wonder if those people from a few pages back who insisted that running in was something only in the imagination are reading this

I'm planning to buy cables from anti-cables. Quite a step-up from what I currently have. Anyone have impression or opinion on it? I don't think I want to pay too much $$$ for XLO cable or could find a dealer to hear the difference. There are people who claim that anti-cables is better than XLO or other expensive brand.

Talking about shrilling on the Strada. When I first hooked it up, it was all over the place, it's getting better and better now.

A complete waste of money. Snake oil, as are all expensive cables.

I've recently auditioned the Magnepan 3.7 and Gallo Ref 3.5 with the Bryston 4B-SST2. It's a very good match for both the Maggie and Gallo. Unfortunately, wife didn't approve the 3.7. The truth is I don't have the space for two giant wall in my tiny apartment. The Maggie will definitely require something powerful to drive it, which means more $$$... Another truth be told, I probably don't have the right room treatment to hear the difference between a $5000 Bryston 4B SST2 vs. a pair of Emotiva XPA-1 250W monoblock that'd cost me only $898.

Something I'm always afraid to do is to walk into an audiophile store and get hooked on some expensive "toys". Look what happened to my wallet... although my ears are happier now.

I thought anti-cables was supposed to be anti-snake-oil. What's the best value on cables if anti-cables are not?

Upon reading more posts in avsforum, I'm getting more confused... Maybe I should just buy cables from monoprice and stop reading forum posts.

Tired them. Didn't have to think about it, gave them straight back. They are simply enamelled low crystal, or single crystal, wire. This stuff should be available without the brand name inflating the price. A few times I've heard Copper have something of a harsh bright edge to it, I wondered if this single crystal stuff was smoother, but not really, if at all. The silver gave nuances and subtly, smooth but detailed. The Single crystal copper was better then expected and will probably be clearer and better than stranded coppers and thick cables, etc, which smear and blur, so I'm not saying that is a wire to avoid, just that it fell short of what we have, and our silver was cheaper too.

So, the copper was no competition to the silver wire I and friends have. That is just silver wire in PTFE sheath that I made up myself. There's no real mystery about cables. They each have their own sound and do make a very very big difference. Pick something that suits your system.

I've said it so many times, but mono blocks and as little speaker wire as you can get down to, a pal uses 9 inches, is best if you want realism, ie, dynamics, slam, clarity, detail. A 5 metre cable will give a big boomy bloomy fat vastly exaggerated bass and a lot of people prefer this to hearing what's actually on the recording.
Edited by Ian AS - 2/24/13 at 8:49am

You have to bear in mind that most people have crap-fi and are stupid and know nothing. They have no clue about anything and post garbage all over the internet.

Then there's the dealers, etc, who's job it is to part punters from as much money for as little product as possible. Dealers often are on 100% mark-up and will sell what makes them the most profit, not what is best or most suitable. They're not there to help you, they're there to help themselves.

Get some used cables that you can re-sell for the minimum loss. Then try a bunch and see what works for you

The plan I'm working to is to eliminate analogue cable from the audio chain. My very short speaker leads are soldered to the amp's output coils and I may eventually solder to the Gallo speakers. Brass terminal posts can sound nasty, as can RCA jacks and plugs which I've also by-passed by soldering direct . I want to try replacing interconnect with digital carrying perhaps I²S until something better comes along. Obviously that means DAC in the amps like Meridian have been doing in their speakers since the early '90's.
Edited by Ian AS - 2/24/13 at 9:07am

What's a good online source for used cables?

How do you eliminate analogue cables from the audio chain? Doesn't it eventually have to be converted to analog signals and feed into a power amp? I read about the NAD M51 digital preamp, but it still output analog signal.

You have to fit a DAC into each amplifier. It's not so easy really. Meridian have been using SPDIF digital output from their CD players to their speakers which have amplifiers built it.

I'm considering buying a DAC chip for each amp and using a PC sound card DSP and running digital to each DAC chip. Or using a USB receiver and sending digital from that.

For cables, I don't really know, friends have been using various forums and places. Audiogon, eBay, Hi-Fi for sale.com / audio candy classifieds. There's couple of others that I've forgotten.
Edited by Ian AS - 2/24/13 at 11:06am