Official Anthony Gallo Owners Thread - Page 12

A question for those that know about the differences between the Ref 3.0 and 3.1.

I bought a pair of Ref 3.0 back around November 2005 which I believe was soon before they were phased out for the 3.1 (at least in Singapore, maybe the 3.1 was released in US already).

The old 3.0 use to have a toggle switch on them to roll off the high freq I believe. But my Ref 3.0 does not have this toggle but it is clearly labeled as Ref 3.0 and not 3.1

So it looks like mine were manufactured during the transition. What other changes happened between the models and if mine may be using the 3.1 design instead of the 3.0?

As I am new to this thread, just a quick run down on the rest of the system:

Ref 3.0 R/L Rec Center Channel and 2 A'Dive Ti for surround sound
Rotel RSP 1068 Process, Rotel RMB 1075 to drive the 5.0 channels, and a Rotel RB 1070 2 channel amp that takes the sub out feed from my process going to the second voice coil on the subs.

Has anybody else done this and do people find they prefer a dedicated sub woofer or use both a sub as well as another amp for the second voice coils on the subs?

I am in the process of going back to the beginning of this thread so sorry if I repeated some previous discussions

One of the local audio shops here (Singapore) had a 3rd party design some mounting brackets for these speakers. I didn't like the Gallo mounts as they didn't have enough range in movement. I will see about posting a picture over the weekend.

I don't have the specs around but I believe they are not the most efficient speakers and easiest load drive and it might have just been too much for the receiver (assuming the wires didn't short). But I agree, I am not sure why the receiver just didn't shut down on its own. I had a Yamaha integrated amp that would just shut itself off if it was driven too hard (or had a short in the wire in) without permanent damage.

Sorry for the bad luck

The main and most important differences between the old and the new version are as follows: The tweeter level control of the Ref 3 is gone. This is said to have improved high frequency micro dynamics as well as reliability. Gallo also replaced the non-polar electrolytic capacitor in the 1st-order series crossover with a metalized polypropylene equivalent said to eliminate a grayish coloration in the midrange as well as to enhance low-level information. Lastly, the midrange driver motor structure now utilizes a Neodymium magnet with an under-hung design. This allowed a shorter and lighter voice coil. According to Gallo, this reduced driver inductance and improved transient response as well as the upper midrange band for better integration with the tweeter. The smaller Neodymium magnet also increased air volume within the sphere and thus added lower midrange body.
I think you can email or call Gallo with your serial numbers and they can tell you if you actually have the 3.1.

I'm driving mine with a 140 watt receiver in a normal sized living room without any problems. I didn't wire mine out of phase either, just because I didn't see the point. I knew I was going to be repositioning them looking for the best placement and so I couldn't attribute any changes I heard to break in or movement. I can't see how wiring out of phase would blow you receiver either.

Someone mentioned trying out a 'high current' receiver in an earlier thread. I have the A'Diva Ti's (Left/Right) the REF A/V center and two micros in the rear, all driven by an H/K AVR 247, at only 65 wpc (stereo) and it sounds incredible. Will be upgrading the left/rights with the new 'Strada' when available later this year.

There might be a fuse in the receiver, you might want to check that first.

As suggested, best is to contact Gallo with the serial number, my box also say 3.0 but it is a 3.1. The eassiest way to tell, visually, if it is a 3.1 is the midrange driver. The 3.0 driver is flush with the enclosure, whereas the 3.1 has a little of the lip folding down the side of the enclosure.

is anyone running gallo 3.1's with an icepower amp? I am waiting for an NHT power5 to be shipped. Has anyone used this amp or one similiar to power 3.1's? Do you think it will sound better than a old carver tfm-35?

Given that this is a Gallo owner's thread, I thought I'd chime in with my system. 5X A'Diva Ti plus a AV123 UFW-10 sub driven by a Denon AVR-4308 receiver. This system is perfect for my current situation (living out of boxes, in an apartment slightly larger than a box, waiting for a house to be built). The system offers great sound quality for relatively nominal cost. I want to move up to 5X Strada as soon as they become available.

For those Gallo owners with speakers using the CDT tweeter, I have a question. Does the CDT "beam" its higher frequencies vertically? Given the relatively large size of the CDT, I would think this would be the case. A symptom of this would be treble roll off when a listener's ears are well above or below the CDT.

I ask because when I acquire the Strada, I plan to mount them relatively high in my room, so the CDT will be well above ear height when I sit down to listen to them. I just wondering if I should aim the CDT toward my seated listening position or not.

Thanks.

Eric

That is recommended for the REF A/V line, I'm sure it will be the same for the strada's..

I use Due speakers that are mounted above ear height (while seated), and I have tilted them downward so that the CDT is aimed at the ears. When I stand up, I notice roll-off in the high frequencies.

Jfklennon, Erik: Thanks for the feedback. It's no big deal for the Strada, as I envision using them in a small, dedicated listening room where I'll be seated most of the time. However, Gallo may have lost a sale for the living room because I was considering the Reference AV but in that space I'd like the speaker, to the extent possible, to sound the same standing up or sitting down so I may go with a coaxial design for there (KEF, Thiel...).

You might like these.
Reference 5LS

Don't have the ICE but have a Tripath base amp, the Audiosource 7T. It has incredible detail and bass that is very articulate and effortless. I think I'm a digital amp convert now. I think the combo with the CDT is a great match. I use to run it with a Bryston 4B-ST. The great thing is that the cost of the amp was around $300, couldn't believe the value ratio. Not exactly a audiophile label or price but don't let that deter you. Play with some tube pre for even better sound.

Another way to tell if you have the latest ball driver is to put a ferrous metal on the side of the ball. The newest drivers (neodymium) will not attract metal because of th eway the magnets ended up, the speaker is also shielded now. If the metal is attraacted by the magnet to the speaker, then it's an older model.

Have you considered the ICE amps from rotel? If I understand this correctly, ICE amps and digital amps are synonymous? I've always wondered about the sonic characteristics of ICE amps, since they're normally significantly cheaper in price than traditional amps. Any thoughts?

I have a couple of 500W BASH Digital amps I'm going to try this weekend. They are selling for under $200 at Parts Express. I'll post a review early next week.

Looks like the new Due's are on the way!

http://www.pocket-lint.co.uk/news/ne...2088/13112/ant hony-gallo-acoustics-strada-speakers.phtml

I actually listened to them twice at CES 07 and 08. I have to tell you, and I was surprised by this, I wasn't terribly impressed. I don't know if it was the room or electronics but to my ears, they sounded good, but not great. Given the price point, I expected great. It's too bad because I love their look and dimensions. If I can find a local dealer who has a pair set up for playback I'll certainly give them another listen down the road. However, I think I've come up with a nice alternative for the near-term: http://**********/index.php?page=shop...mart&Itemid=37. I did get the chance to listen to the LS9s at the 07 Rocky Mountain Audio Fest in Denver and they delivered the sonic goods for significantly less coin than the Ref 5LS. Now, if money were no object (which certainly isn't true in my case) and I were convinced that the 5LS sounded at least as good as AV123's LS9 (which I'm not at this point), I'd have to give the 5LS a serious look because of their hip cosmetics. Given the size of both speakers, they will have to go in the living room, so looks matter. To the LS9's (and by extension AV123's) credit, what they lack in physical preportion is somewhat compensated for by their fabulous venners.

can i use the 2 surround channels on my 5 channel amp to push the second voice coil on my reference 3.1's? I have a marantz 8002 as a pre-pro, and a 5 channel NHT power5 amp. Can i just use the sub pre-out on my receiver, run it to the amp, then run the amp to the lower posts on the speakers?

I see no reason why. The only concern is the surround output channels of the amp. Are they at least 150W into 4 ohms? And check your user manual specs carefully to be sure that the amp will put out 150W at 4 ohms with all channels driven. Many amps are spec'd for only 2 channels to get better marketing numbers ( fewer channels driven will output more wattage than all channels on many receivers.) The NAD is likely a more honest spec.

My amp is 200x5 RMS, all channels driven at 8 ohms. This has been tested, not just info taken from the manufacturer, so power shouldn't be a problem.

This is what I do, I have a 5 channel Rotel amp and a 2 Channel Rotel all rated at 130 Watt/channel. My Rotel processor has 2 sub outs and I run this to 2 channels on my 5 channel amp to drive the lower post on the speakers.

I am not sure what the best x-over point would be but at the moment I am feeding it 45hz and below. Maybe somebody with more exp can advise good cross over points for the upper and lower binding posts.

Are you using an external EQ at all, or just using the xover from your pre/pro?

Thought I'd chime in, I now have a Gallo Reference AV center and a pair of Reference 3.1's. I'm driving them with a Lexicon 512\\Bryston 9BSt 5 channel amp and they sound really really good. I have Magenpan MCM1's for my rear speakers and the Gallo\\Magenapn combination work really really well.

The Gallo tweeters are second to none as far as I've ever heard.

Well, I purchased a new pair of 3.1's. Picking them up tomorrow after I get my Pioneer Elite Kuro calibrated.

Funny how this all started. I bought the HDTV in January. I then decided my old Sony receiver was not good enough so I replaced it with a Pioneer 94 TXH. Good decision. The sound it generates is so much superior to the Sony. But the Pioneer receiver, along with the new Pioneer Blu-Ray player , exposed the weakness of my Boston Acoustics Micros. Nice little speakers but they had trouble handling some singers voices, particularly David Gray. So I have been researching the last couple of months new speaker systems.

Never heard of Gallos until I ran across the name here in AVS when looking at forums on Pioneer equipment. Read the rave reviews for the 3.1's and the A'Divas and I was also impressed with the price. So I found out that a dealership for Gallos, AudioLabs, existed in Cambridge, MA, I live in Boston, so I decided to give the Gallos a listen. I listened to the Micros, store didn't have A'Divas, and they sounded great, handled David Gray's voice well and they especially sounded well playing movies. The store also had the 3.1's and I was blown away. A small caveat, the store, like most, had the speakers hooked up to some pretty high end equipment. The store owner said that my Pioneer should have no problem driving these speakers. No surprise there I suppose. He also metioned that Sony receivers are garbage.

Anyways, I decided to go with the 3.1's and "build" into them utilizing my Micros for surround sound in movies and just using the 3.1's for two channel music listening which is much more important to me. I will need to update the whole surround sound setup down the road. Maybe I will get the SA amp or a new sub-whoofer. I wouldn't mind getting the AV Center but it is just too darn big dimension wise. All these companies are building these huge center speakers that I don't think make sense for the normal home owners. Maybe one of the A'Diva's would make a good center speaker. Any thoughts on this idea.

Sorry to go jabbering on but I am excited about getting these new speakers.

Well, I certainly hope they work out because I am too broke to do anything else now.

Uppers terminals are run full range, no external crossover required, but the lower must be crossed over ( 40hz or lower best, 60-80 is ok) or driven by a LFE out from a standalone preamp or the pre-amp outputs of a receiver.

If you wait until this summer, the Gallo Strada should be coming out- it's the top part of the 3.1 in a vertical or horizontal (center) orientation (think Reference AV with only two spheres). It would probably match the system better than an A'diva Ti, yet retain the smaller size people may look for. However, the A'diva Ti is no slouch- my system will be A'diva Ti for fronts/center and Micro Tis for surrounds/rears (already have two A'divas, rest is on order).