Gosh, the opinions.... if you are running 200 watts per channel that was sufficiently loud into your Maggies into these and they're barely above conversation level, then they're faulty. Period. Especially if you have your preamp turned all the way up. Unity gain (full power) in the majority of systems is at 1 o'clock or so on the volume dial. Where did you have it set for listening to the Maggies? |
ALL GALLO SPEAKERS DO THAT. I've owned Stradas as well a the Ref 3 and probably the Gallo Ultimates (from 1996) I'm using now (I bought this pair used, so the previous owner(s) did the break-in). It's right there in the owner's manual and you better believe it. All it takes to make them sing is around 100 hours, the more the merrier. Nothing else matters.
Stradas DEMAND a subfwoofer -- actually a woofer -- and do not sound as good as the Reference 3 variants, but not bad at all. Too bad the company is essentially defunct. I love mine. |
I have the Reference 3.1's driven by a Rowland M2 (75w/channel) in a 25 x 25 x 8 foot room and they can play much louder than I ever want to listen to. The Strada has a newer version of the mid and HF drivers used in the Ref. I do remember a considerable break in period and being concerned about my purchase, but not the extreme volume problems you are experiencing. Something might be wrong with your new Strada's. Contact Dan (US office located in Texas), email on the web site. He is very responsive. Gallo is not defunct. They are now located in Scotland. And the Stradas are not junk by a long shot.
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Markmuse, the Stradas (not Stratas) are definitely not junk. All of the Gallo speakers are and were worthy.
Anthony Gallo introduced the Strada2 variant a while before he sold the company to its European distributor some years back. Since then, I have not seen any new models introduced (someone correct me if I'm wrong), just the models that existed at the time of the sale. Note that I said the company was ESSENTIALLY defunct. I'd love for someone to show me a new model. |
alltrinnov7;Thank you. Your description of set-up and impressions is very helpful.
A few questions. Did you have the system professionally installed?
Is this exclusively a theater system and if not, how do the speakers perform playing source music? Assuming the system was initially installed by you, what was your first impression> That is, did the system require extended break-in time for full sonic quality?
Finally, what speakers did you prefer/own before the primary system you've described?
Your information will provide me substantial evidence when I ask my vendor to make his own evaluation of these speakers to determine return-ability.
-M
This system was NOT professionally installed. Well, I'm a professional corporate finance guy but that probably does not count. Right out of the box, the Stradas sounded great but they did sound marginally but noticeably better after a week or so of daily use. They replaced Boston Acoustics CR-8 speakers which are very large bookshelf speakers. Although the CR-8s are more efficient and have bigger bass drivers, the Stradas did not sound impaired in comparison. In fact, they sounded superior in every way except bass. A robust subwoofer easily solves that shortcoming. The system is used 90+% for UHD Blu-ray, Netflix, and PS4 gaming and below 10% for music. It sounds outstanding for all of the above. As I have upgraded components, the difference has been immediately noticeable through the Stradas. My wife and I use this system 5 or more days per week and I doubt we will ever part with the Stradas.
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