Gallo Reference 3.1 questions...


Howdy,

Just toying with the idea of owning some Gallo Ref 3.1s...

TOYING!

The sub amp is described by some as mandatory, while others describe the speakers as bass rich even without it. Shall I merely infer from this that those who think it mandatory are big ol' bass fiends? Certainly with a 10" driver, I can't imagine it sounding at all anemic.

If a sub amp really is neccessary, does it HAVE to be the Gallo? Couldn't I just use any old amp to run the woofs? Not for nothing, but they need to have their speaker designers take 10 minutes off and help the amp dudes come up with a nicer looking amp. It looks like a DIY kit.

What would be smokin IMO, looks wise, is a Jeff Rowland Concerto integrated running the speakers and a pair of 201s running the subs.

Next Q... I have a tiny joint. Actually I stopped smoking. I have a small apartment. If I placed the Gallos in the hallowed 1.5 foot squares of floorspace I have allocated for speakers, with woofers facing each other, the left one would be inches away from my TV/audio stand, woofer pointing at the rack. The stand is open sided, not solid sided, but I wonder if this could pose a problem.

If I set them up with woofers facing away from each other, the right one would point into my kitchen area, but the left one would face a window about 2-3 ft away, with a big fat AC in it. In the summer the AC runs quite a bit.

OTOH, reviews seem to indicate that the staging on these is very wide (but short, I know), so I wonder just how critical placement is anyway.

Any insights?

Thanks

Rob
rkny
Thanks Bean, could you please be more specific: which albums do you recommend to highlight the Gallos dynamism? In genres I'm familiar with I'd recommend a few SACD CDs. One is Flim & the BBs Tricycle. It's old but well recorded GRP digital sound that goes from dead silence to 100% saturation on several songs. I think they were really enjoying the ability to record the full dynamic range with zero distortion for the first time. Next I'd recommend Weather Report Heavy Weather, Beck's Sea Change (multi-channel) or Pink Floyd's Dark Side Of the Mood (love the clocks!), and/or Dire Straights Brother in Arms. On that last album the song "The Man's To Strong," has a stun guitar that provides a dynamic assault that will knock you out of your chair! If you don't have SACD I'd recommend Steriophile's Rendezvous disc which has a very wide dynamic range and you'll love that trombone in The Mouche.

So there are a few I'd recommend and I'd really appreciate some specific recommendations for classical well recorded and played albums with startling dynamics. I simply don't know where to start but want to hear them on the Gallos. Thanks in advance.

As a side note I've been listen to the Ref 3.1s all day (and night) long. What a joy! Pure musical emotion, no fatigue :) I am really so very happy with these speakers. It did take a while to get here, and I had my doubts about the midrange, too. But with some attention to setup details it has met my lofty expectations as a worthy replacement for my aging KEFs. I have been able to successfully replace a highly regarded speaker that I truly cherished. Now I have new speakers as good and in some cases better (bass) that should last another 10+ years.
If you sit 4 or 5 ft from these speakers, no wonder why you love them. Specially over the Paradigm 100's. With the 100's sitting closer then 8-9ft would result in hearing to much top drivers, and likely more box sound. I did like the gallos at 4 ft listening(I recommended for office) but thought they paled to other 3k speakers at typical listening distances.
I know this is crazy but just found a brand new in box pair that was up in the racks at upscale Audio! Breaking them open this weekend!
@stereofro 

Does your Gallo's have the tweeter switch? Curious if its the 3.1 with 3.0 label
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