Anthony Gallo Acoustics Due vs Totem DreamCatcher

Could you perhaps drive to one of your dealers and actually listen to them? It sounds as if your mind is made up, especially with the built-in jingoism of Canadian brands vs US brands.

I would think 57 Hz with a 4" driver is really pushing it; how far down in dB response is it? Also remember, the Dues have two 4" drivers which would push more air, all things being equal, and drive up the actual manufacturing cost of the speakers. That may be a clue why they cost more, plus their unusual, non-drop-in tweeter. Would their enclosure cost more to make than a box? Who knows?

Having heard neither one of 'em,
Todd

I had Due's and sold them. They are good, but IMO, not great, and they are quite bright. That may or may not be your taste, but I ended up being much more happy with comparably priced (ok, a little more expensive) speakers from Linn.

The Due's were fed with some very nice gear, so it wasn't the front end.

I haven't heard the Totems.

Bottom line -- the Gallo speakers are certainly pretty and have their qualities, but you are paying extra for the fancy set up.

For less money, I'd look for a used pair of Soliloquy Sat 5's. They are a real killer for the size and price.

I have Totem Dreamcatchers in my den, hooked up to a NAD 762 reciever. TV and movies sound great. Music is good, certainly not reference. All and all, looks, sound, they are a really nice ssurround speaker package. Totem is a great company to deal with.

Tsouthworth (Todd),

Actually, the problem is the nearest dealer is not within 100 miles and I don't have a car so public transportation will not get me there.

My view on Canadian brands versus US brands was more that Totem is considered a high-end brand but is Gallo considered the same as their Nucleus Micro's are sold by The Good Guys which is a chain store that sells mass market stuff.

The Gallo Due's actually have two 3" drivers and not 4" drivers, it's the sphere that is 4". The A'Diva's is still the same 3" driver but the sphere is 5". As for the dB response rating, Gallo Due's are the ones who don't advertise the dB rating for the response. Totem is actually -3dB and may go even lower at -6dB or -10dB. I mean the other thing is Gallo has bigger marketing and labor probably costs more in the US to drive up the cost. It seems like lots of people like the Due's and lots of people like the Totems but the people have only heard one and not the other. The Gallo enclosure is probably a lot more heavy than the Totem as well since the Due is close to 9 lbs, not sure how much the Totem's weigh.

Rbirke,

Were the Due's fully broken in though since I thought that was one of the reasons people didn't like them at first. I guess the real question is on the Gallo Due's, was it a pretty transparent speaker sonically and what did people mean when it has no mid-bass or mid-range and is there any coloration in the sound? I'm just trying to figure what quality it's lacking in the sound as the Totem is the only other speaker at the same physical size that seems to be highly recommended.

Muzikat:

You're right that Totem is a great company to deal with since I have met Vince B of Totem at the Stereophile 1998 Show and he did give me some pointers. I have the Totem Model 1 Signature for the front L/R speakers and when I tried the Totem Rokk's out, they just didn't have that Totem sound or the Dynaudio sound. My friend used to be selling Totem's but that was 3+ years ago but he's no longer in the business.