Gale 401's

Douglas Schroeder you do not have a clue regarding the potential of Gale 401s.When properly restored they are superb sounding things and will comfortably compare with good modern speakers in the $10,000 plus range.Which is about what they cost in real terms in their day .I have heard them side by side with Magico S5s and they do not lose much compared to them.The Magicos go a bit lower and have slightly better imaging but the Gales are just as seamless,dynamic and coherent and are more musically engaging but the overall sonics are quite similar.Like the Magicos they need a really good preamp and power amp to bring out their best.

They image better horizontal because the mid and treble are then aligned vertically.Best with the tweeter at the top which then gives good image height.

+1 jtgofish! The 401's are still a formidable system! And sound best horizontally.

@c27078

The Gale is a speaker that can sound great when paired with a powerful SS amp. Some on this thread have not heard the speaker or heard it with an amp that was not a suitable match. They may need some restoration to perform at their best, and you may want to add subwoofers for low end extension
 
Get the right amp and enjoy!

They also benefit from a really good tube preamp.I use a Supratek Cabernet 300B and it makes a huge difference-opening up the soundstage and allowing the beautiful tonality to come through.They are capable of really excellent timbre but like the Magicos this will not be revealed unless the preamp and power amp are up to it.Best power amps I have used is an Usher R1.5 which is a Nelson Pass design 150 watts /channel.A Musical Fidelity A5 was also very good [255 watts] but not quite the musicality of the Usher.I recently tried the March Audio p452 which is the latest classD Purifi and has heaps of power and drive and clarity but neither the musicality or soundstage depth or height of the better SS power amps .It is hard to make the Gales sound mechanical but the class D succeeds!