Gale 401's

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!

Ira Gale was my brother. I was about 16 when he was actively working on the speakers and wound up working for him when I was in college. One of his favorite albums to demo the speakers was Thelma Houston and Pressure Cooker, “I’ve Got the Music in Me”, an early direct to disc recording. I only recently stumbled across this post and thoroughly enjoyed reading the messages. I’ve come to know some of the names mentioned over the years, mostly thanks to John Mayberry, David from Vintage Audio and others through the Gale Audio Google Group. FYI, Ira was partial to SAE and Mark Levinson and definitely was a fan of “more power is better”. It’s so wonderful to read these posts going strong more than 25 years after his passing. I have been working on a book about his life for quite some time, nearing completion. Should anyone have met him personally or worked with him, I’d love to hear from you. I may be reached at bgalephd@gmail.com.

Best wishes,

Bruce