What don't you like about these speakers?


I will soon be able to audition the following speakers: Von Schweikert VR-2, Gallo Reference 3.1, and the Dynaudio Focus 220. My limit is $3000. I am not going to consider other speakers. I am not going to buy used. I want to support the retail audio shops. I live far enough away that I will have to drive 3 hours to Kansas City to a dealer who has all three set up. These speakers all get rave press and positives here, however, I am interested more in the opinions of those who didn't like them. I have Dynaudio 70s, which I like, but want to step up to an even better speaker. It's easy to get lots of positives, after all, we like what we listen to and have spent good money to buy. If there are specific problem areas, I would be interested to hear about them. Thank you in advance for your replies.
tgrisham
I really appreciate the opinions so far. To answer several of the questions posed....I will take my Dynaudios with me to sit next to the speakers, I am going to Primus Audio and he strikes me on the phone as the perfect guy for me, and he has the right equipment, I currently have inexpensive Outlaw Audio monoblocks but am looking to change out to something else this year. Whichever speaker I choose, I will take with me to audition the amps. I'm not a tube guy, so I will shop for something SS. My Dyns (or my ears!)took 2-3 months to break in, so I assume the same for theses Dyns. To be truthful, I took my Dyns into a dealer in St. Louis and compared to the Focus, there was not a great deal of difference. Some on the high end, a little in the midrange, no difference in the low end. Maybe I'm so used to the ones I have....... I will have an entire day to listen to speakers while my wife does her shopping. It's not easy for me to spend $3000 and I want to make the right decision. Again, I appreciate the opinions so far. Is there anyone who just didn't like any of these speakers? It would be quite a statement if these speakers were so uniformily liked.
I only know the VR2s. I think they have a sweet top end not grainy in the least but I use very good tubes mine are also pre China production so the tweeter could be different, They are as a rule quite "musical" and have a fabulous midrange but agree deep bass is definitely not their strong point. However my wife who was a professional musician found the tone and timbre very appealing, the rear firing tweeter is a gizmo that they claim gives a true "ambient" sound, I am not sure what it really adds. A used pair is well within the more affordable speaker catagory also excellent WAF. One more fact they are very easy to drive I use a 40 wpc pp tube amp amp even though they are rated at 89db/M/W sensitivity. Just don't expect to get hair removal SPLs out of a set up like that.
I am in Omaha and I am curious where you are located that makes KC the choice to go to for gear?

entrope
The Gallos will require 175w/ch plus to get them off the ground.Many have found the SA crossover/amp to mate poorly with some high quality amps.I am intimately familiar with the virtues of the CDT tweeter,but please realize that a 300 degree tweeter will throw sound into ALL parts of the room.The reflectivity of your room may affect the tonal balance.Happy listening, and remember to take a break and let what you've been listening to settle on you.
Tpsonic-always good advise to just listen and enjoy. The problem with auditioning speakers in a store is that it's not your room, there is a breakin period and the mind gets confused comparing speakers, but it still is a blast to listen to great music reproduced by great equipment!
Entrope- my home is an hour west of St. Louis. I bought my VR-1s from Primus and liked the experience. I have been around St. Louis long enough to watch retail audio stores go by the wayside-some fine ones too. A sad consequence of mega electornic stores and the WalMart phenomenon of buying cheap stuff, even if it breaks in 6 months. St. Louis still has a few stores left, and I like to visit them. I fear one day they may not be there either. I have been guilty of some mail order purchases, but only a few. The majority has been from local shops. Thanks for the responses so far. I look forward to hearing more about these speakers.