I must add this. The Crescendos are a little more full sound then the others.
High level conection vs line level conection on Anthony Gallo Ref 3.1 using SA amp.
I recently bought a mint pair of 3.1s with the grills still in the original boxes and the SA amp for $1200. I have always been fascinated by these speakers. I parted with a set of Zu Audio Druid mk 4s. I really appreciate any input or advice you may have. My amp is a DK Designs Ref 1.
Question #1. I'm looking at hooking the SA amp up but I'm a little hesitant. I may be looking at this wrong but if I use the high level output, my main amp will power the speaker except for the second voice coil. If I use the Line in the SA amp will power both. Am I reading this incorrectly? The first thing that jumps to my mind is why have much of an amp if it's doing nothing but sending a signal and no power. It makes me wonder if I'm trading a better application for convenience. It makes me wonder further, why not have an amp that puts out a cleaner signal without a thought to power.
Second question is cabling. I have several sets of speaker wire. Straightwire Crescendos, kimber Kable 8TCs, JPS Labs ultraconductors, and a set of Wire World Helicon OCC cables. There is a difference between how each makes the system sound. I also switched out the interconnects between Kimber Kable PBJs, Nordost Red Dawn's and JPS Labs SuperConductors. My speakers are 2 feet from the back wall. 7 feet apart. One side is 5 feet from a corner the other is 10 feet. With the woofers facing out ward with the SuperCondutors it sounded a little constrained and muddy. Soundstage wasnt very wide. Voices recessed. Putting the PBJs on helped open up some but was still not ideal. I turned the woofers facing each other and it helped quite a bit. The downside is I lost some bass. The Crescendos now are not boomy. Heres my question will the different interconects have the same effect on the second voice coil?
So any one that can give me advice from their dealings and set ups please feel free on what I can do to improve this system.
Going back to question number one. Am I trading away quality of sound by using the SA to power the whole speaker as opposed to using a better quality amp.
Question #1. I'm looking at hooking the SA amp up but I'm a little hesitant. I may be looking at this wrong but if I use the high level output, my main amp will power the speaker except for the second voice coil. If I use the Line in the SA amp will power both. Am I reading this incorrectly? The first thing that jumps to my mind is why have much of an amp if it's doing nothing but sending a signal and no power. It makes me wonder if I'm trading a better application for convenience. It makes me wonder further, why not have an amp that puts out a cleaner signal without a thought to power.
Second question is cabling. I have several sets of speaker wire. Straightwire Crescendos, kimber Kable 8TCs, JPS Labs ultraconductors, and a set of Wire World Helicon OCC cables. There is a difference between how each makes the system sound. I also switched out the interconnects between Kimber Kable PBJs, Nordost Red Dawn's and JPS Labs SuperConductors. My speakers are 2 feet from the back wall. 7 feet apart. One side is 5 feet from a corner the other is 10 feet. With the woofers facing out ward with the SuperCondutors it sounded a little constrained and muddy. Soundstage wasnt very wide. Voices recessed. Putting the PBJs on helped open up some but was still not ideal. I turned the woofers facing each other and it helped quite a bit. The downside is I lost some bass. The Crescendos now are not boomy. Heres my question will the different interconects have the same effect on the second voice coil?
So any one that can give me advice from their dealings and set ups please feel free on what I can do to improve this system.
Going back to question number one. Am I trading away quality of sound by using the SA to power the whole speaker as opposed to using a better quality amp.
2 responses Add your response
The Reference SA is meant to give power to the second voice coil on the woofer (active crossover will only send the signal set from 200 Hz to 40 Hz and down), it is not meant to supply power to the other speaker posts. You will need either a Y connector or have a pre-amp with two sets of outputs. There is the option of running a third set of speaker cables which is what the second set of speaker connections on the SA are there for, eliminating the Y connect or second interconnect from pre-amp to SA. From the pre-amp connect to both amplifiers. Connect the speaker cables from your DK amp to the upper speaker posts (powers all speaker units but only the first coil on the woofer 34 Hz to 35 kHz iirc) and connect the speaker cables from the Reference SA to the lower speaker posts. The SA is meant to make the woofer into a subwoofer. Next, purchase "Get Better Sound" by Jim Smith. Your stereo equipment is only half of the system. The book will help you get the best set up possible and help you enhance the signal from source to ear. Interconnects and speaker cables are sound attenuators. Check out this article, https://galibierdesign.com/goldilox/ . Lots of other great posts on the site even if you are not into vinyl. The interconnect/speaker cable rabbit hole can get very costly. Gallo recommends trying the woofer in each configuration, facing in or out. They also recommend to try reversing the polarity at the amplifiers to see if it sounds better. The closer the woofer is to a boundary wall the more bass reinforcement. When you read Get Better Sound the first thing to get correct is the bass. No room is perfect (suck outs or enhancements) but the Gallo SA will help you to tune in the best bass response. |