Gallo reference /TAS vs Me

Brian, point well taken, but you'd be surprised how many dealers and internet sellers are willing to ship a product to your home so u can evaluate them for 2 to 4 weeks. if u don't like, then you can return them for full refund less the shipping. this is how i bought all my equipment:) i do alot of research before ordering but in some cases it just doesn't work in your system so u regretably return them. but i find it hard to believe u can't find a Gallo dealer near u to have a listen. if your seriously interested, you'll find a way. but if your willing to risk several grand, it's your money but i wouldn't.

The link to the reference center description/pictures is here:

http://www.roundsound.com/refcenter.html

If anyone in the Ohio area would like to hear the Reference 3, go to Hansbarger Appliances in Greenville, Ohio (west of Springfield not far from Indiana border). I know it sounds crazy, but they have a pair on display. Ask for Josh, he is a good guy. One tip, you might want to take your own amp as the electronics they have don't really show what these speakers will do. I took a trip up there and hooked them up to by Berning ZH270 and WOW! they sounded great, and I don't they they are even fully broken in yet.

After reading so many different positive comments on the Ref. 3s, I had to hear them myself and did today at a local dealer. Driven with all Audio Research gear and of course w/o any bass amp, they sounded very nice but not much different than my modified Kindel PLS-As. When I asked if they were broken in, the dealer laughed a little and said yes.

I was surprised they were as short...small...tiny as they are. I had read all the reviews but I just wasn't prepared for their...er...itsybitsyness. These would make GREAT speakers for the 4 corners of a multichannel system in a small room! I think I'll be going back with a friend so I'll hear them again and get his opinion too. We'll see.

Also heard the big Quads (989s?) driven by Manley 250s(?) with the same music. DEEP soundstage, MUCH more bottom-octave bass...an astonishing (to me) amount. Wow!
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to Jeffreybehr -

There aren't really ALL that many positive comments here if you read with a grain of salt. Check out the remarks above by Banksfriend, Troutki, Toudou, Vladimir, Kalan, and Zog.

I have listened to these (already "broken in") and they are overrated in my opinion. On the upside - they are "fast", image well under some circumstances, and produce transients very well. They pack plenty of punch for their small size. And they look pretty cool. However - I found them to be quite harsh/strident. They produce a lot of detail but in an "etched" manner to my ears. So they're exciting in the showroom, but potentially very fatiguing at home. Tube amplification would definitely help - but at 88db efficiency, the Ref III's are not super tube-friendly.

I found them to be acceptable with small groups and solo instruments, jazz vocals and the like, but with anything larger they were sub-par. As musical complexity and dynamic range increased, the tonal accuracy in the lower mids broke down significantly - your basic muddiness, and the soundstage became confused. So we've got mild harshness on top and substantial muddiness in the mids, combined with a good but limited low-end. Not Class A or B in my book.

$2400 isn't much for NEW speakers nowadays, so I suppose they're a decent "value", but, of course, you'll also want/need the additional Gallo Bass module amp - so you're starting to look at REAL money. Brilliant marketing, eh? You buy "cheap" speakers at $2600 + tax and then 6 months later come back and drop another $1000 + tax to make the bass "even better"...

We could have an entire thread on this issue also - but I don't buy the "they need to break in" argument. At $3800 to $3900 with bass amp and tax, I'll look elsewhere.

They might work better for your ears. But keep in mind that $3900 will buy some superb, mint condition, used speakers - with little depreciation risk, here on Audiogon if one is patient.