geebo
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"Too bad that all the people who know how to run the country are driving taxicabs and cutting hair"
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Post by geebo on Oct 2, 2014 7:09:16 GMT -5
My brother-in-law back in Michigan is thinking about getting a pair of these used and wanted to know if I'd ever heard them. I haven't but I told him I'd ask around. (I always thought they look a bit odd but that's not what's important.) So for those of you familiar with the Gallo 3.x (I think he said 3.1s) how do they sound? Strong points? Weak points? Do they need a sub? He would be using them in a two channel rig with a UPA-2, UMC-200 and a CD player. The room is about 12 x 15 x 8 and carpeted. Oh, and what would be a fair price assuming good condition?
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Post by sct on Oct 2, 2014 8:41:11 GMT -5
There was a member who used to be a big proponent of these, RW was his name. Haven't seen him in a while. But I do have some experience with these speakers.
They are very good speakers and are a screaming bargain on the used market. I have seen very good pairs going for $1500 and they are worth 3 times that. They have a very wide sweetspot, it is possible to sit to the left of the left speaker and clearly hear the right speaker. This is due to their very wide dispersion midrange and tweeter, up to 300 deg. horizontal dispersion. Their bass response is quite good for a small floorstander, down to an honest 35Hz or so. And if you power the 2nd voice coil, they are flat down to 22Hz. This is astonishing performance from such a small footprint speaker.
They are time and phase aligned and are crossoverless from 125Hz on up. And the lower end crossover is a very simple 1st order design. All in all, these speakers are an exceptional value and one of the truly great speakers created in the last 40 years.
One caveat: they do require very good upstream components, they are brutally revealing. And they respond best with a high current amp of 150+ watts/channel. If you mate them with gear such as this, they will reward you with one of the finest recreations of the musical event that you will find anywhere. And I would strongly recommend that they be driven with a 2nd amp/crossover to power their bass unit's 2nd voice coils.
SCT
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geebo
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"Too bad that all the people who know how to run the country are driving taxicabs and cutting hair"
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Post by geebo on Oct 2, 2014 8:51:08 GMT -5
There was a member who used to be a big proponent of these, RW was his name. Haven't seen him in a while. But I do have some experience with these speakers. They are very good speakers and are a screaming bargain on the used market. I have seen very good pairs going for $1500 and they are worth 3 times that. They have a very wide sweetspot, it is possible to sit to the left of the left speaker and clearly hear the right speaker. This is due to their very wide dispersion midrange and tweeter, up to 300 deg. horizontal dispersion. Their bass response is quite good for a small floorstander, down to an honest 35Hz or so. And if you power the 2nd voice coil, they are flat down to 22Hz. This is astonishing performance from such a small footprint speaker. They are time and phase aligned and are crossoverless from 125Hz on up. And the lower end crossover is a very simple 1st order design. All in all, these speakers are an exceptional value and one of the truly great speakers created in the last 40 years. One caveat: they do require very good upstream components, they are brutally revealing. And they respond best with a high current amp of 150+ watts/channel. If you mate them with gear such as this, they will reward you with one of the finest recreations of the musical event that you will find anywhere... SCT Thanks, So, would a UPA-2 be enough to drive them to decent levels in an average carpeted room? (125wpc into 8 ohms and 225wpc into 4 ohms) |
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Post by sct on Oct 2, 2014 8:53:32 GMT -5
Yes, that would suffice, providing he's not a headbanger <g>. The Gallos are around 6 ohms nominal, so he'll be seeing about 175 watts/ch. If he could obtain another UPA-2 and then use the UMC-200's crossover to power the 2nd voice coils, he'd be in 7th heaven...
SCT
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geebo
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"Too bad that all the people who know how to run the country are driving taxicabs and cutting hair"
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Post by geebo on Oct 2, 2014 8:55:48 GMT -5
Yes, that would suffice, providing he's not a headbanger <g>. The Gallos are around 6 ohms nominal, so he'll be seeing about 175 watts/ch. If he could obtain another UPA-2 and then use the UMC-200's crossover to power the 2nd voice coils, he'd be in 7th heaven... SCT Thanks again, I'll pass along the remarks. He is planning an amp upgrade next year. Most likely an XPA-2. |
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Post by sct on Oct 2, 2014 9:04:36 GMT -5
Those speakers will kick some serious ass with an XPA-2. But a pair of UPA-2s would also provide a very satisfying experience. Or, a couple of XPA-1Ls for the mids/tweets and the UPA-2 powering the 2nd voice coils.
SCT
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geebo
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"Too bad that all the people who know how to run the country are driving taxicabs and cutting hair"
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Post by geebo on Oct 2, 2014 9:14:38 GMT -5
Is 1700 a good price for a good pair of 3.1s?
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Post by monkumonku on Oct 2, 2014 9:30:58 GMT -5
There was a member who used to be a big proponent of these, RW was his name. Haven't seen him in a while. But I do have some experience with these speakers. SCT That was "RLW" not "RW" if I remember correctly and indeed he was a Gallo fanatic. I think he was hired as a reviewer for some audio publication if I'm not mistaken. My only experience with Gallo speakers wasn't all that good. They had an exhibit room at the Newport Beach audio show but they only brought these little speakers with their low-end sub and it was not very impressive. Granted, this was on the lower end so you couldn't expect much but they also did not deliver much. I was really disappointed that they didn't bring their higher end products to demo. |
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menez
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Post by menez on Oct 2, 2014 11:24:58 GMT -5
Hi,
The 3.1's are excellent speakers. I've been using these for a few years now and never felt the need to look for something else. Sound fantastic with a pair of XPA-1Ls here. I use mine with a sub crossed at 50hz, but they are quite bass-capable on their own.
I see them go for $1400 - $2000, so $1700 seems fair for a good pair. Enjoy!
-menez
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DYohn
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Post by DYohn on Oct 2, 2014 11:40:31 GMT -5
Gallos sound great when they are carefully setup. IMO they are very susceptible to room interactions and speaker position anomalies. If he's a "set them against the wall and let it rip" type of person he may be disappointed. However if he likes to tweak toe-in and can move them away from walls, etc. then they can sound very good indeed. A good friend of mine recently choose a set of 3.5's over systems costing ten times more.
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geebo
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"Too bad that all the people who know how to run the country are driving taxicabs and cutting hair"
Posts: 24,183
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Post by geebo on Oct 2, 2014 11:44:55 GMT -5
Gallos sound great when they are carefully setup. IMO they are very susceptible to room interactions and speaker position anomalies. If he's a "set them against the wall and let it rip" type of person he may be disappointed. However if he likes to tweak toe-in and can move them away from walls, etc. then they can sound very good indeed. A good friend of mine recently choose a set of 3.5's over systems costing ten times more. Not a problem in moving them around. It's a fairly dedicated listening room with a TV. I'm going to recommend he get them. |
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Post by garbulky on Oct 2, 2014 12:20:03 GMT -5
$1700 is fair but you may be able to get it for $1500 if it's local.
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geebo
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"Too bad that all the people who know how to run the country are driving taxicabs and cutting hair"
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Post by geebo on Oct 2, 2014 12:41:28 GMT -5
$1700 is fair but you may be able to get it for $1500 if it's local. I'm going to suggest he offer the guy 1400 but not to pass on 1700 if the guy holds firm. |
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Post by ews0899 on Oct 2, 2014 21:37:01 GMT -5
Geebo-
Don't know that I can add much to what has already been discussed, I have the 3.5's for the last 18 months or so and have been very pleased. They are driven by 1L's and Gallo's proprietary SA sub amp with fantastic results. The 2nd voice coil really opens up the speaker as they are fast and accurate. As Dyohn indicated and, was spot-on, they are extremely revealing "crap in--"crap out" rings true here.
They took some fussing with toe-in and placement of sound panels with terrific results. I actually went from an XPR2 to the 1L's for the class A---the result was terrific. I might suggest advising your relative to add the Gallo sub amp as it offers detail a standard amp cannot. (level, phasing and crossover makes a big difference)
I'm getting antsy to try something different eagerly awaiting pending release of Emotiva's new line. If the Stealth 8's passed the WAF factor I'd buy in a heartbeat! I like the simple design and less is more approach. Hope this helps and don't hesitate to contact me if I can be of any help.
Best,
Ed
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Post by Dark Ranger on Oct 2, 2014 21:42:48 GMT -5
There was a member who used to be a big proponent of these, RW was his name. Haven't seen him in a while. Oh, trust me. He's still around.  |
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bootman
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Post by bootman on Oct 2, 2014 22:53:16 GMT -5
The " tweeter" unit used is first class stuff.
properly setup and driven, these are very high end!
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bootman
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Post by bootman on Oct 2, 2014 22:54:54 GMT -5
There was a member who used to be a big proponent of these, RW was his name. Haven't seen him in a while. Oh, trust me. He's still around. He got a job at secrets and honestly I miss his posts here.  |
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geebo
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"Too bad that all the people who know how to run the country are driving taxicabs and cutting hair"
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Post by geebo on Oct 3, 2014 6:57:51 GMT -5
Looks like he may get them @ $1,600 for the pair.
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Post by ocezam on Oct 5, 2014 22:18:00 GMT -5
Oh, trust me. He's still around. He got a job at secrets and honestly I miss his posts here. Yeah, I miss RLW also, but SCT seems as knowledgeable, at least on the subject of Gallo speakers. I'd say to him, "good on ya!" |
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