Gallo reference /TAS vs Me

I agree with Rolloff 100%. I didn't think it possible to make them sound like Opalchip says they sound. After three months with mine, they just keep getting better and better. And yes, they are VERY tube-friendly. Dave

Well, I will be going back again to listen more with a friend. They never sounded harsh or strident to me, but they also didn't sound better in the treble than my modified Kindel PLS-As...but the trebles are my worst range of sound to hear well.

On break-in, I believe firmly that transducers definitely benefit from wearing in, a settling, of all the parts. What's still a question for me is if this pair is or is not broken in, since the shop owner sort of laughed when I asked him on the fone if they were broken in. I guess I'll have to hear them in my home with my equipment before I spend money on them.

I'm still inclined to believe they're excellent-quality reproducers and excellent values at $2600; we'll see.
.

I have my pair for only about 3 weeks, and I can say the sound opens up dramatically even with partial break-in. Of the several stores I visited trying to find them in stock, none on display were broken-in to the extent recommended by Gallo (100-300 hours) -- and you could hear it. Now at home, with music the harshness had smoothed out (to the point where I changed the tweater level from -2db to 0). With HT, the soundstaging is much more open and the spacial effects (or is that "affects" ) are more engaging.

I'll be amping my Ref 3's subwoofer inputs this weekend with a Parashound Halo amp and a Outlaw Audio ICBM cross-over. I'll let everyone know how it goes.

Teonyc,

How did the amping of your second voice coil on the Ref 3's sound?

The added amping of the second voice coil adds a nice tight depth to the sound. Surprisingly subtle at times, it obviously shows in bass-heavy material like hip/hop or dance. The ICBM unit works perfectly with an outboard amp to drive the second coils.

I would NOT recommend using the full-range Gallos in lieu of a subwoofer for HT, as suggested in the owner's manual. I've been testing various hook-ups with the new extended-version release of "LOTR--The Return of the King." You will still need an decent sub for the LFE effects. However running the Gallos full-range yielded a much-enhanced sound stage, and dynamic feel to the movie.

I've also replaced my rear surrounds with Gallo Dues which are a perfect match for the Ref 3s.

Ted