Anthony Gallo Ref 3.1's or ???

[AMG_Roadster]

The wife has started her monthly complaining about my older 'ugly' Phase Tech Speakers. They are larger than she likes plus have the 'old school look'. I love they way they sound.

Recently I started looking for speakers that would meet her looks requirements while meeting my sound requirements. I like large drivers and a full range of sound from my speakers. These speakers will be used for HT and music. Music wise we listen to everything, Classical, Heavy Metal, Alternative, Jazz, etc.

In my search I came accross the reviews of the Anthony Gallo Ref 3.1's. While I have yet to audtion them if they sound any where near as good as they look and the reviews say I will be happy to purchase them.

Now the reason for this post. I am concerned my room will not provide the best environment for the speakers. They will be on other side of a fireplace (no glass door) there is ~1 foot on the right side before a 32" entry way. On the left side there is ~3 feet before a 60" opening. Ultimatly there is a wall on the left side. On the right side there is a 6 foot recessed window with built in book cases. Then to make things even better the speakers will have to be placed ~.8' - 1.5' from the wall behind them.

Information like this leads me to believe I may not be happy with the speakers with my room configuration:

"If you evaluate a speaker such as the Gallo 3, keep in mind that it is almost omnipolar throughout the entire bandwidth. This means, that in order to get the proper effect with them:

(1) 4' minimum from back wall
(2) 2' minimum from sidewall
(3) Symmetrical distance/placement for each channel to each wall
(4) Standard rectangular or square room

Note: Dampening of 1st reflections: this type of speaker's impressive sound is in fact largely due to it's use of room reflections as a type of 'constructive' coloration, at least in regards to realistic space/ambience. If you significantly absorb or diffuse the 1st reflections from the side or rear walls, you will kill much of the unique sound effect that this speaker produces.

-Chris"



I was considering the Mythos, wife really likes the aluminum look, but I don't think their small 5 1/4" drivers will provide the full sound I am looking for.

So my questions are:
1) Will the Gallo's work for my room?
2) If not (or even if so) what speakers do you recommend?

My budget is ~$3k for the front pair of speakers. Very happy to spend less if I can get very near the performance. I don't want to overpay for what I am getting but don't want to regret that I purchased too little.

 

[AMG_Roadster]

Any thoughts or comments?

 

[WmAx]

Information like this leads me to believe I may not be happy with the speakers with my room configuration:

"If you evaluate a speaker such as the Gallo 3, keep in mind that it is almost omnipolar throughout the entire bandwidth. This means, that in order to get the proper effect with them:

(1) 4' minimum from back wall
(2) 2' minimum from sidewall
(3) Symmetrical distance/placement for each channel to each wall
(4) Standard rectangular or square room

Note: Dampening of 1st reflections: this type of speaker's impressive sound is in fact largely due to it's use of room reflections as a type of 'constructive' coloration, at least in regards to realistic space/ambience. If you significantly absorb or diffuse the 1st reflections from the side or rear walls, you will kill much of the unique sound effect that this speaker produces.

-Chris"



I was considering the Mythos, wife really likes the aluminum look, but I don't think their small 5 1/4" drivers will provide the full sound I am looking for.

So my questions are:
1) Will the Gallo's work for my room?
2) If not (or even if so) what speakers do you recommend?

That is my post that you have quoted. What I said applies to optimal presentation for the type of speaker. You can compromise by using sound absorbers/diffusers to remove/reduce the early reflections since they are so short in time in your application. You will simply not have the maximum sound quality(so far as spatial/sound stage/ambiance effects) that this particular type of speaker is able to produce as compared to other more conventional types.

-Chris

 

[AMG_Roadster]

Thanks Chris.

So given the fact that I will not acheive optimal sound quality is there another speaker that would be recommended? Or even with the compromised sound quality are the Gallo's still the way to go?

Obviously I will audition the speakers, just looking for other options to compare the Gallo's to.

 

[Sarius]

Hi,

You might consider jewelery or some other major bribe. If you really like your current speakers, you might be starting down a long expensive path leading to regretful memories of those wonderful speakers you gave up. My own experience has been that wives can be open to compromise..... speaking as one with two large bi-polar towers sitting 3' out flanking our fireplace and sounding great, and a 'tin ear' wife who isn't sounding out about that at all.

S

 

[AMG_Roadster]

Hi,

You might consider jewelery or some other major bribe. If you really like your current speakers, you might be starting down a long expensive path leading to regretful memories of those wonderful speakers you gave up. My own experience has been that wives can be open to compromise..... speaking as one with two large bi-polar towers sitting 3' out flanking our fireplace and sounding great, and a 'tin ear' wife who isn't sounding out about that at all.

S

I know what you are saying but I have been down the compromise path with the wife on this and just is not going to get me any place. Plus once I reconfigure the room the old speakers will look out of place in their new location. They are just too wide for the area.

I have been looking around at other speakers as an option but keep running into issues with them being too expensive, too tall, or having drivers that are too small.

On the positive side I do still have time. It is not like my current speakers are crap or blown. So I will continue to research.

 

[jaxvon]

Have you seen the newest Phase Tech flagship series? They have a very slim profile and come in a nice, understated Cherry veneer. They don't have the "modern" look like the Gallos, but they do sound great. There's a picture posted in my completely subjective review here:

http://forums.audioholics.com/forums/showthread.php?t=12415

The PC 33.1 is essentially a PC 3.1 turned on its side with the tweeter and midrange dome pod rotated for center channel operation.

 

[jcPanny]

Onix Reference 3's

Check out the Onix Reference 3's from av123.com. They are an audiophile speaker in your $3k price range and your wife will probably approve of the looks. They don't have the side firing design of the Gallos so the shape of the room might have less of an impact on their performance.

 

[AMG_Roadster]

Thanks for the suggestions.

I had considered the newer phase techs but right now am thinking I want to go a different route. As much as I like my phasetech's life is too short to stick with one brand of speakers.

The Onix Reference 3 end up more than I am looking to spend. The wife wants either black or aluminum. With the black piano finish they end up at $4k.

 

[AndrewLyles]

The wife has started her monthly complaining about my older 'ugly' Phase Tech Speakers. They are larger than she likes plus have the 'old school look'. I love they way they sound.

I had a similiar delimma when I moved to NYC. I was forced to leave my larger speakers behind in the move due to lack of space, but also because since there is really only one room to my apartment I didn't want to kill the look of the place with my oversized speakers.

In my search I came accross the reviews of the Anthony Gallo Ref 3.1's. While I have yet to audtion them if they sound any where near as good as they look and the reviews say I will be happy to purchase them.

I will bet that we read the same reviews, primarily the ones posted over at 6moons, as well as a few others scattered about. I was under the same impression about these speakers before I had gone to audition them. I had listened to Maggies, Energy, Def. Techs, Vanderstien's, Mirage, and a host of others before finding the AGA 3.1's. To be blunt, they sound incredible. I have them jammed into some acoustically unpleasent placings in my room, less than two feet in front of floor to cieling glass mirrors, the left speaker sits approxamently two feet of an oversized, 80" tall x 24" deep armouir, and the right speaker within two feet of a chair and end table. Needless to say it's not my dream set-up but the set-up I have to work with.

The best thing you can do for these speakers is to go audition them. I found a dealer in Summit, NJ... Audio Nexus, that was incredible. I auditioned the speakers in a decent size room, but the speakers themselves were burried amongst other towers on either side. The still sounded amazing. In my current positioning of my room they are incredible as well. Would they better in a differet set-up, most definately, but I am very pleased with them. One of the reasons I went with the AGA's is because I was focused on Magnepan speakers heavily during my inital search and realized that my room set-up could not support the acoustic demands of the speakers. The AGA's are robust in being able to still carry their signature sound in less than ideal circumstances. This is obviously my opinion and I urge you to audition them and form your own.

I am running the AGA 3.1's as my main left and right channels, I have the new Reference Center channel which matches the sound perfectly, as well as AGA A'Diva Ti speakers in place as surround channels. I also opted to bi-amp the front speakers which makes them even better. I've had this set-up for a little over a month now and have been thrilled with it thus far. I listen to Classical, bluegrass, country, Pop, Metal, and also use it for heavy duty HT work and Gaming as well. The set-up performs flawlessly. If you have any questions regarding these just ask, I'll be happy to answer whatever I am able. Good luck in your hunt, but I do suggest you give the 3.1's a listen.
Respectfully,
~Andrew

 

[WmAx]

Thanks Chris.

So given the fact that I will not acheive optimal sound quality is there another speaker that would be recommended? Or even with the compromised sound quality are the Gallo's still the way to go?

Obviously I will audition the speakers, just looking for other options to compare the Gallo's to.

The speaker would still work fine so long as you took care of the very early reflections. You just will not be able to have it work to it's potential. BTW, the Gallo speaker is actually better suited to an average room than most speakers, because it has very linear off axis response. This has been demonstrated in credible perceptual research to be a critical parameter that determines sound quality.

-Chris

 

[AMG_Roadster]

I apperciate the info.

Andrew & Chris do you guys have the woofers facing each other or away from each other?

Also are you running the the amp from Gallo or another option?

 

[AndrewLyles]

I apperciate the info.

Andrew & Chris do you guys have the woofers facing each other or away from each other?

Also are you running the the amp from Gallo or another option?

I personally am running the woofers facing out from each other. When I initially did the setup I hap planned on switching them around to see which sounded best, but laziness and utter happyness swayed me from experimenting. I don't have any ill effects becasue of it that I notice and if you can imagine the setup I mentioned before the left woofer is firing into a large piece of furniture and the right speaker is firing into a chair.

I agree with Chris about the off axis response, this an incredible bonus with the Ref 3.1's. I am guessing that I can sit up to 120 degrees (or-so) off axis from the main speaker and still get a pleasing sound. Obviously the imaging might be a bit off but the sound quality is still top notch.

As for the SA... yes I went with the AGA amp. When I was speaking with my dealer we talked about using a third-partty amplifier and crossover, but it worked out cheaper and eassier for me to just go with the AGA piece of equipment. I am very pleased with its performance, though I still need to calibrate it... I'm still waiting on my test CD to arrive. When I auditioned the speakers at my dealer I was seriously impressed, when I had him kick on the second amp, I was absolutely floored.

I can tell you this about my dealer experience though, Ken @ Audio Nexus was a tremendous help. I believe the PC definition for him would be visually impaired, not so PC would be Blind, and after talking shop with him for a while he pointed out some nuancises I had not been able to hear on any of the other speaker systems I auditioned prior or after the Ref 3's. I learned to trust the man who sees with sound.

 

[AMG_Roadster]

Thought of another question for you guys.

Have you compared these to the B&W speakers? How do the stack up to say the 803D's? In looking through the B&W site these are probably the closest to the Gallo's.

 

[AndrewLyles]

Thought of another question for you guys.

Have you compared these to the B&W speakers? How do the stack up to say the 803D's? In looking through the B&W site these are probably the closest to the Gallo's.

I don't believe I compared to the 803's but I did audition s few different models of B&W speakers, from book shelf to towers. Now I may be simple, but I just didn't hear what some people rave about. I'm not saying their a bad speaker, or they're not worth the money. It's just that I wasn't impressed with their sound. They sounded like good speakers, there just wasn't a wow factor.

 

[T2T]

The Onix Reference 3 end up more than I am looking to spend. The wife wants either black or aluminum. With the black piano finish they end up at $4k.

You could always hold out a bit longer for either a used pair or "B" stock, which might bring the price down to your range.

 

[WmAx]

I apperciate the info.

Andrew & Chris do you guys have the woofers facing each other or away from each other?

Also are you running the the amp from Gallo or another option?

I do not have the Gallo speaker. I simply answered questions concerning it's physical properties and the related psychoacoustical issues.

-Chris

 

[AMG_Roadster]

You could always hold out a bit longer for either a used pair or "B" stock, which might bring the price down to your range.

That is certainly an option. Right now I am still leaning towards the Gallo's. The shape, construction quality, and materials have hooked me and the glowing reviews don't hurt either. I do need to audition them both at the store and in house before I make a final decision.

I am sure the Onix Ref 3's are great speakers but I am thinking they look too 'traditional' to fit what I am looking for right now. Altough I really do like the custom finishes.

 

[AMG_Roadster]

I don't believe I compared to the 803's but I did audition s few different models of B&W speakers, from book shelf to towers. Now I may be simple, but I just didn't hear what some people rave about. I'm not saying their a bad speaker, or they're not worth the money. It's just that I wasn't impressed with their sound. They sounded like good speakers, there just wasn't a wow factor.

This is my impression also. Been a long time since I have heard them but I don't remember them living up to all the hype. I would probably be very happy with them at a lower price point and without everyone I work with talking about the B&W's like they are the best speakers in the world. In fact one of the guys I work with feels that the B&W and a line of the Klipsh are the best speakers on the market.

 

[goodman]

I have had a pair of Ref3s for 1 1/2 years, and am quite pleased with them. They were easy to set up. I have them with their backs 52" from the front wall and 36" from the side wall with the woofers facing away from each other. I angle them in only a hair. I use them in conjunction with a large subwoofer, but wonder how they would sound with the SA amplifier powering the second voice coil. I think it's an either/or proposition: either power the second voice coil or use a sub like I do, but I'm interested in hearing other opinions and experiences, especially if you've experimented with both.