Hey, I'm another guy who made the Ref 3.0 to Ref 3.5 transition. I had a hard time believing the 3.5 could be that much of an improvement, but it is. They "disappear," which is what a speaker is supposed to do. I bought the 3.0s with the Gallo Ref Subwoofer Amp. With the amp I had at that time, it was critical. I'm now running NuForce Ref 8 v2 monoblocks that have a wicked low end. Arguably, the Subwoofer Amp isn't "required" any more, but I'd never give it up. These puppies really will get down around 22 Hz. It's fun to play them for visitors because they're always startled to hear so much bass from such relatively small speakers. Also, I recently upgraded my DAC from the excellent PS Audio DL3 to the mind-blowing NAD M51. With the M51, I drive the NuForces directly. Improvement was way beyond expectations. But the pleasant surprise was the Gallo Ref 3.5s rose to the occasion. My old DAC (and pre-amp) had been holding them back!
Short Gallo 3.5 review
Category: Speakers
Let me start by saying I really, really loved my Gallo 3.1 speakers. They were very transparent, imaging and staging were wonderful, awesome tweeter, good mids and great bass. I believed that the 3.1’s were real giant killers.
Well 3.0/1 Gallo owners, I hate to tell you this but the Gallo 3.5’s are far and away better sounding speakers. The mid-range with the new Stradas on top is awesome. Coherence, clarity, resolution, etc, is magnificent. Voice on the 3.5 is jaw dropping. Some way or another the voice on the 3.5’s is somehow separated from the supporting instruments but at the same time is still part of the music giving me the ability to listen to words in songs that I could not clearly hear before.
Tweeter, no big change from what I can hear, still great.
Woofer, this is a bit more nuanced. Quote from 6Moons review, “More important than ultimate bass extension and output is articulation of course. Here the 3.5 seems to go farther than its predecessor which—comparatively speaking—was more one-noty instead.” This really sums it up nicely. I now hear with much greater clarity the plucking of bass strings, the mallet hitting the skin of a bass drum.
The soundstage on the 3.5’s is wider, deeper and much, much higher. No more need to tilt, or elevate off the floor in an attempt to raise the soundstage. Imaging is much more 3 dimensional where instrument and voice placing is more discernible.
Also, the 3.5’s not only disappear, they vanish. The 3.1’s were good at disappearing but I could always hear a little bit of a sound difference when an instrument was recorded to only come out of one speaker. The 3.5’s do a much better job in this area where it can be impossible to differentiate between what may be coming out of one speaker only with the rest of the soundstage, i.e., solo guitar and the rest of the band playing.
Another quote from 6Moons, “with speakers as time-tweaked as these”…the timing on these speakers is awesome. I am tapping my foot to music from C.P.E. Back for crying out loud. This is also an important issue for those of you thinking of doing the upgrade with regards to the plinth. If you have for example a Mapleshade base and would like to use it or you would like to save a few dollars on the plinth and keep the one you have on your 3.0/1’s I would check with Gallo to see if this would affect the timing aspect of these speakers. May not be an issue at all but it wouldn’t hurt to ask. I believe, though, that Gallo’s new plinth should be used.
Finally, the 3.5’s do look nicer, i.e., rounder/smoother lines. The 3.1’s look gangly by comparison.
Regarding the price increase I can’t quantify the price of any speaker whether it be $900 or $50,000. All I know is the $6,000 that I paid for the 3.5’s feels the same as the $3,000 I paid for the 3.1’s, they are both bargains for the sound I get from each.
Equipment –
Spectron Musician III SE MK2 amp
BAT REX pre
BAT VK-D5SE cd player
Elrod power and speaker cables
Let me start by saying I really, really loved my Gallo 3.1 speakers. They were very transparent, imaging and staging were wonderful, awesome tweeter, good mids and great bass. I believed that the 3.1’s were real giant killers.
Well 3.0/1 Gallo owners, I hate to tell you this but the Gallo 3.5’s are far and away better sounding speakers. The mid-range with the new Stradas on top is awesome. Coherence, clarity, resolution, etc, is magnificent. Voice on the 3.5 is jaw dropping. Some way or another the voice on the 3.5’s is somehow separated from the supporting instruments but at the same time is still part of the music giving me the ability to listen to words in songs that I could not clearly hear before.
Tweeter, no big change from what I can hear, still great.
Woofer, this is a bit more nuanced. Quote from 6Moons review, “More important than ultimate bass extension and output is articulation of course. Here the 3.5 seems to go farther than its predecessor which—comparatively speaking—was more one-noty instead.” This really sums it up nicely. I now hear with much greater clarity the plucking of bass strings, the mallet hitting the skin of a bass drum.
The soundstage on the 3.5’s is wider, deeper and much, much higher. No more need to tilt, or elevate off the floor in an attempt to raise the soundstage. Imaging is much more 3 dimensional where instrument and voice placing is more discernible.
Also, the 3.5’s not only disappear, they vanish. The 3.1’s were good at disappearing but I could always hear a little bit of a sound difference when an instrument was recorded to only come out of one speaker. The 3.5’s do a much better job in this area where it can be impossible to differentiate between what may be coming out of one speaker only with the rest of the soundstage, i.e., solo guitar and the rest of the band playing.
Another quote from 6Moons, “with speakers as time-tweaked as these”…the timing on these speakers is awesome. I am tapping my foot to music from C.P.E. Back for crying out loud. This is also an important issue for those of you thinking of doing the upgrade with regards to the plinth. If you have for example a Mapleshade base and would like to use it or you would like to save a few dollars on the plinth and keep the one you have on your 3.0/1’s I would check with Gallo to see if this would affect the timing aspect of these speakers. May not be an issue at all but it wouldn’t hurt to ask. I believe, though, that Gallo’s new plinth should be used.
Finally, the 3.5’s do look nicer, i.e., rounder/smoother lines. The 3.1’s look gangly by comparison.
Regarding the price increase I can’t quantify the price of any speaker whether it be $900 or $50,000. All I know is the $6,000 that I paid for the 3.5’s feels the same as the $3,000 I paid for the 3.1’s, they are both bargains for the sound I get from each.
Equipment –
Spectron Musician III SE MK2 amp
BAT REX pre
BAT VK-D5SE cd player
Elrod power and speaker cables
- ...
- 18 posts total
- 18 posts total