Hmm, interesting comments on the negative sound from the Gallos. My own experience was that my pair needed over 200 hours of break in before they stopped changing their sound and just sounded wonderful. Admittedly, I bought the Gallos based partly on the reviews, as in general, speakers will vary their sound depending upon the room they're in. That being said, the pair that I heard was broken in for over a month at the dealers, and was in a room devoid of room acoustic treatment. When I was shopping, I was prepared to spend up to about 5 times the cost of the Gallos, but after hearing them, I couldn't begin to justify it. They're that good. Yes, they need a long break-in. Yes, for me, they improved their imaging with the Brightstar stands. I think that was wholly dependent upon my room, and would probably be for you too. The sub amp is a bonus, but I don't always turn it on, and I remember thinking before it finally arrived from Gallo, that the bass, as is from my 120 watt tube monoblocks, was superb. You can just tweak it that last little bit with the solid state driving the second voice coil.
Unless someone's listening to a lemon pair, or a pair that's not broken in, I can't imagine a bad review of these speakers. Certainly not given their price, though as I said, for me they're value far exceeds their cost. Then again, brain imaging studies have shown that people will associate quality with cost or a product name, as they are evaluating products and given a relative value of the sample. Maybe, some people just can't get past that part of their brain to enjoy the sound from these speakers? That's not a negative comment towards anyone who doesn't like these speakers, it's just a comment on human physiology. In the end it doesn't matter. No one should feel talked into liking the sound of a product. Buy what sounds good to your own ears. For me though, this is one product I won't be replacing any time soon.
