Official Anthony Gallo Owners Thread - Page 2

I have not heard the Ref AV along with the 3.1s. My AV ships tomorrow, so I'll post some impressions after I get some time with it.

You are right, the Gallos really shine with good power. My Earthquake is 300w at 8ohms and doubles to 600w at 4ohms.

Since you're doing HT, I would definitely keep the sub instead of just the SA. My F113 really fills out the bottom octave nicely. I have the Refs crossed at 40Hz.

Thanks Vishal, I'd appreciate that. Yeah, I can't wait until I get the rest of my mono amps .. right now I'm running my Ref's with a studio amp that has a fan and everything, but puts out some good power ... good for breaking in, not so much for dedicated listening. Those Eartquake amps are something else for sure; very sweet. Actually my multi-channel set-up will be used for more dedicated listening multi-channel music (sacd, dvd-audio) than movies, so that's why I picked a fast "musical" sub. For that, I don't need to plum the depths of hades, just fillin the lower freq. that I thought the Gallos might not "do" .... pretty good so far, WITHOUT however

You guys will never guess what happened ..... after unpacking my Gallos (with the grills still on), and leaving them to break in a bit, I bring them out to my living room, to set them up, and sit down to admire and realize ...... I have two of the same speaker, NOT mirrored pairs!! Even though they are marked "left and right" on the boxes! Great; now I STILL can't set 'em up properly as I may have to ship one out!! Not easy to do as I am in "cottage country" and the nearest city is two hours away! Oh well, worse things happen ..

First initial impressions: the Gallos sound good and neutral, but are a wee bit compressed right now ....... and bass needs tightening up a bit ..... but my listening room is far from prefect ... I'll have to wait and see what my dealer can arrange re: replacing the one speaker, so I can REALLY set 'em up properly ...only problem is, I'm going to have to break-in a new speaker to catch up with the other!

Bummer! They both look alike with the grills on. Are the serial numbers consecutive?

I checked this morning and my serial numbers are not consecutive but I do have a distinct left/right pair.

Yeah, thanks guys .... it IS a bummer!!

No, the serial #'s are NOT consecutive, but the boxes ARE labeled "Left and Right" so it looks to be a manufacturer issue. I phoned and left a message with my dealer (for the speakers ...... come on people, this is a family show here, no?) and he'll probably get back to me tomorrow .... so we'll see ...... when I look at it, it looks as though the woofers are held on with an Allen bolt (and thus, removable and easy {?} to flip around?), but I'll leave it up to my dealer & Gallo to decide what to do ...

Mine aren't either, I was just curious.

...well I'll find out Thursday what Gallo can do for me; the problem (two left or right speakers, not mirrored pair), has been forwarded to the Manufacturer, so this'll be a good test of customer service!!

I finally got a SPL meter to calibrate my system. I'm currently using 5 Gallo Micros, 1 SVS PB10 sub, and a Pioneer Elite VSX-81TXV receiver. Here are some interesting low frequency response tests for those interested in how well these 4" balls put out.

In-Room Response at listening position after calibration using AVIA sweeps and a RS SPL meter with a single speaker on the table mount:
> 115-200 Hz +/- 3 dB
> 150-200 Hz +/- 0.5 dB

For the -3dB point at 115 Hz, the response dropped off pretty fast after that. It was almost perfectly flat from 150 to 200 Hz (just flipping back and forth 1 dB). This holds pretty well to Gallo's claim of reaching 120 Hz.

Just for kicks, I measured a 1 meter test for Nucleus Micro on floor stand away from other objects, although it was taken indoors.
> 130-200 Hz +/- 3dB

For those interested in the sub, I reached -1 dB at 20 Hz in-room.

Hello all. First time poster. Was thinking of buying the Gallo 3.1s soon. Quick question: Are they biwireable? My current setup includes biwired Nordost Blue Heaven spkr cables and not anxious to change them out. Thanks!

Hi Kritt & welcome .... as I understand it, MOST if not ALL speakers are bi-wireable .... but I have to admit, I fail to see how it does anything (see an interesting article on this on the AUDIO CRITIC website ... I tend to agree with him) .... now bi-AMPING makes sense to me, I.M.H.O. ... but unfortunately, you can't bi-amp the Gallos either, unless you bi-amp with a specialized Sub Amp like the one they sell .... otherwise, you use the top speaker posts only .. I like the concept of tuning the lower bass with a fast sub, to take advantage of the vital room acoustics and not have to work against them, so I am not using the S.A. for my 3.1's .... but like always, this is just my opinion, and there are many others out there!!! Enjoy!

Kritt -

There are two sets of binding posts on the Gallo 3.1s. However, they are internally wired differently than most speakers. The top pair is connected to the tweeter, midranges, and the first voice coil of the woofer. The bottom pair is connected only to the second voice coil on the woofer. Therefore, you would not want to send a full range signal to the second pair of posts.

Hey Vishal!

Have you received your center channel yet and had some time to test it out? I'm curious as I may use a third Ref 3.1 in the front if I decide to keep the Gallos, if I need it, or get the AV as you have done.

Please let us know! I'm still waiting for some contact back from gallo re: my speaker situation ..... *sigh* ...

I received the center today. I will hook it up tonight and report back tomorrow with initial impressions. If you use the third 3.1 as a center, I guess you have solved your own speaker problem, you just need to order one more

That is like saying you only want to buy a new car that has the same size tires as the car you have now because you like your current tires and want to keep them.

Everyone asks which cable is best, but there isn't a best. The wire forms a synergy between the speaker and the amp. Some will work better than others and you won't know which sounds best until you choose your speakers and compare some different cables on them.

They are not biwireable as Vishal stated. If you want try hooking up a full range signal to the second voice coil, you can get pretty funny results. I had no idea a 10in woofer could play up to the 1khz range until I tried it...quite the shocker.

Question for all those Ref users out there, what do you guys use to amp the second voice coil? I had been using the SA amp for a little over a year and finally decided to try it with my Cinenova instead. I did measurements from 120hz-20hz and adjusted each speaker individually to try and get the flatest response. Long story short I got a flat curve that is +/-3db from 120hz to 18hz with the exceptions being a 5db dip at 80hz and a 6db dip at 100hz. This is with no Eq mind you, just making adjustments on the SA amp for phase and adjusting each speaker level independently.

Well for ha has I tried it with my cinenova, using 2 channels for the left and right and 2 channels for the 2nd voice coil. Thats why I know what it sounds like when you run it full range. Anyways the cinenova for those who know of it has crossovers you can enable, and I set mine somewhere around 40-70hz...hard to tell. I came out with almost the exact same graph, except the level from about 60hz to 20hz was up about 2db before, now it is even flatter then with the SA.

Just wondering if anyone else has tried other amps besides using the SA. I ask because I saw at least one member on here that uses the Gallos with a Cinenova.

Jared

Might give you a discount for your trouble.

Vishal and Iceman I like your thinking ..... it happens to be the same as mine!!

I'm waiting a call back from my dealer as we speak ... er, write; it appears that the serial number on the box is not matching one of the speakers ... which DOES match it's number written in the manual!? Weird but true!

It'll all work out fine ....... maybe if I told 'em about my upcoming music ezine they'd put an extra "rush" on it?? Did I say that out loud? No? *whew* good ....

Jared -

Your post was very interesting as I had a very different experience with regards to biamping my Gallos with the Earthquake. I do not have the Gallo sub amp but I do have 2 unused channels on my Cinenova so I decided to use the built-in xover control to biamp the Refs.

I used an XLR y-adapter from my Outlaw 990 and ran the connections to the Earthquake. I used a xover of approx. 60-80Hz (hard to tell like you said) on the amp module. The measurements below trace my progress:

First, a measurement of bass performance from my front-left channel. Only the top pair of binding posts were connected to channel 1 of my amp:



I then wanted to see if the resistor mod made any difference (it didn't):



Then I biamped as described above. Here is the result:



As you can see, there is some serious bass suckout. I then experimented by wiring the second voice coil out of phase:



An improvement, but hardly noteworthy over the original chart. I think the superior control provided by the Gallo SA would be worth it (phase, gain, etc.) in my situation. However, as I am not running them full-range I gather I don't need to spend the extra money.

After much more experimentation, I decided to leave the second voice coil disconnected as my sub (JL Fathom F113) is very capable of integrating well with my mains. Here is the result with the sub connected:



The Gallos are crossed at 40Hz and the results are very impressive. As you can see, I still have some bass suckout at ~140Hz because of my room. I will experiment with speaker positioning and perhaps some acoustic treatments to handle that.

Hey Vishal! How's the Ref center?? If you could drop a report, that would be great!!! I'm figuring out options for a potential center, and will be talking to my dealer tomorrow, if Gallo gets it's act together!! They are pissing around a bit with my "issue" of matching speaks!! I hope that this is not indicative of their customer service?!

Bushbison,

My experience with Gallo Customer Service has been excellent. I had a power surge that caused the Cinenova to go crazy, and sent a very high pitched loud signal to the Ref 3.1s, I thought it was a fire alarm. The tweeter on the right 3.1 went up in smoke, and I was devastated. I contacted Gallo and was given a RA# within 24 hours. 5 days to get it to them, 3 to fix it, and 4 back and I had my 3.1 back.

Vishal,

Can't get them big but this is what mine look like, first pic is just the first voice coil being run by the Cinenova:



Second picture is with both voice coils being driven:


for those who want to see larger pics

Looking at the larger versions you can see with the second voice coil that the peak at 60hz is non existent, the null from 40-50hz is less severe, and the small peak at 37hz is less.

More importantly there are large gains below 75hz with a roughly 80hz crossover. From top to bottom, from 75hz-60hz there is a 3db gain, from 60hz-47.5hz 5db gain, from 47.5-37.5hz a 6db gain, and the huge one, from 37.5hz to 16hz a 7db gain.

Not only are my peaks less severe and nulls pulled up but I have over a 5db gain from 60hz-16hz, pretty big IMO.

Of course this is only really important if you are not crossing over the Refs, I do not have nearly as nice of a sub as you, mine is just a Earthquake Supernova 12. It has lots of output and lots of power above 30hz, but after 30 it takes a nose dive, to the point where below 20hz my 3.1s are more powerful.

I am going to continue to experiment, I may also get the SA back out of the box and try running it with the phase inverted. I got similar results with the SA, but couldn't seem to get it as flat as the Cinenova first try.

Jared

Hey guys, sorry for the delay, I've been traveling all day.

Some first impressions of the center. Timbre match is excellent between the Center and the 3.1s. Vocals sound awesome, good depth and presence, especially for male voices (I have them crossed at 60Hz right now). I have it placed on a pedestal so that the tweeter is only 2 inches below the 3.1 tweeters. Cosmetically, they don't look nearly as nice as the 3.1s with the grills off, but I can live with that.

My biggest gripe is a result of my perception. I have been using a phantom center for the past 2 years, first with my Magnepan 1.6s and then with the Gallos. With the phantom center the dialog seemed to emanate directly from the middle (horizontally and vertically) of my projector screen. I found this to work really well. The only reason I decided to add the center was that in scenes with lots of music/action combined with dialog (Ship battle in Master and Commander for example), the dialog became a little strained at high volumes. The addition of the Ref center has solved this problem but there is no way I can get the image height to match that of the phantom center.

I have the speaker angled up towards the listening position and I will continue to experiment to see what works the best. As of now I am happy with my decision but am not 100% sure I am going to stick with it.

I hope that helps.

Hey all; thanks for the report back, Vishal. The reason I was so interested in your opinion so soon was that I was hoping to talk directly to my dealer today, but he left a message stating that a new pair of 3.1's will be in next week ... I was hoping to barter for returning my two spare Due's for a AV center or to put their value towards another 3.1 for the center front (or just keep both speakers that I currently have and pick up a mirrored single) ... but I won't be able to get hold of him until Monday ....

Yeah, I am VERY picky about these things (timber matching, image height, etc.), so I understand what you are talking about, Vishal. Just curious, if you DO raise the center to the same tweeter height as your 3.1's, does the image height match or is it still off due to the horizontal (and "un m-t-m" .. new term? )layout? If the image is still off, I would probably forgo a dedicated center until I can get another 3.1 or wait until the "new" Due-esk (? ... & vertical M-T-M layout) surround and centers come out (which I understand won't be until 2008).

And thanks for the comments re: customer service, all. I will wait and see what it is like for us few in the North!

Vishal,

Is the center below the screen angled up, or in back of the screen. I would think if you had an acoustically transparent screen and image height was a problem you could go with one Ref AV instead of the center. I imagine the center disperses well in small rooms and the height isn't a issue, but far away with a projector I could see how it would become one. The AV would sound larger height wise as it is oriented vertically, but would sound smaller in scale left to right, but I imagine it wouldn't be a problem as you were happy with the center fill using a phantom center. Just a thought.

Jared

Selling my Gallo sub amp if anyone's looking.

Hi,

Recently purchased the Adiva 5.1 home theater system.

Here is the setup.
1. Standard in-wall 14 gage home depot speaker wire (I believe wire is wire but I am open to all suggestions)

2. An Onkyo TX-SR502 AV reciever (Fairly low end and I expect this is the problem)

3. The Adiva 5.1 home theater system.

When I am playing music that is demanding, lots of highs and lows, everything sounds fine then the music cuts (All goes silent for about a second) then I hear a crack crack crack or click click click (Always the same sound at the volume level I was listening to) then the music is heard again sounding fine. Notice that the 1.5 seconds of music is lost or not heard. Also notice that although the more demanding the music the more likely this issue will occure it does very a bit for a given song ( I can't repeat it by playing the exact same point over and over again). Also notice that song volume level does not seem to affect or contribute to this issue. No other crackling or static is heard. Just wondering since the speakers are new and the reciever is old, before I hurt my speakers should I throw out the receiver?

Also, some crakling/shorting was noticed with my last pair of speakers, but I figured since they where old maybe they where the problem That is why I bought the Adiva's (Different wire used then)


Last but not least I have the receiver set up consider the adiva's small not large speakers and my crossover point is set to 100.

=)

I've got a pair of A'Diva Tis and a Reference Center on their way.
Hope all goes well.
I'll be adding some reflection treatments to my room this week since I have the panels lying around, but no money for more bass traps just yet.
Moving the speakers out into the corners of the room helped bass response in the listening position a lot. It's a small, square-ish room so everything is a compromise until I can fully treat the room.

I am about 70 hours into my breakin on a pair of Ref 3.1's, a Ref AV Center and Adiva TI surrounds. All I can say right now is Wow. They sound better than I expected (much better than at my dealer, how often does that happen?).

Like Vishal, I would say that the Ref AV Center is a great match for the 3.1's. Perfect panning, timbre match dead on, deep, clear and precise dialog. Just an awesome center. Surprisingly, the Adiva Ti's are a good match in the rears, again better than expected. Gallo has just done a good job with voicing and timbre match across the board.

If I ever get a larger space, the Adiva Ti's will be moving to surround backs and a pair of Ref AV's will replace them in their surround duty for improved 5.1 high res audio.

What amplifier do you guys have with your Ref 3s/3.1s? Does these speakers need a lot of power? How would they work with an av receiver (marantz sr7001)?

anyone have a DUE in black and/or a pair of black Micro Ti's or A'diva ti's for sale? let me know.