Anthony Gallo Ref 3.1's or ???

[AndrewLyles]

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.

For my current set-up I agreee with you that it's an either or. I'm in a small apratment, and the bi-amped ref. 3s have no problem preasurizing the room with low frequencies. I think if I were in a bigger space I would not be offended adding a subwoofer to the mix. I have to striaghten out my order for the Rives Test CD before I can start charting the Ref. 3.1 frequency response in my room though.

I can say from a HT viewpoint I have no problems with the second amplifier instread of a subwoofer right now. Musically it sounds incredible, but I know the speakers and amp are capable of much more once I have everythnig calibrated properly.

I should reiterate that I have not had any noticible effects from improper room reflections since I set everything up. I'm not telling anyone not to consider the effects, but I was pretty wound up about these sort of things when I upgraded, and honestly I'm very happy with how things turned out.

If it helps you put things in perspective, I auditioned, researched, and fretted for well over a year before making my purchase (in the nighborhood of 15 months.) I love getting into the details of this hobby so it was a joy, but 15 months is a long time. My brother and I were listening to a few albums this weekend and I'm still amazed at how well the Ref. 3.1's can project the soundstage, from instruemnts spreadout across the entire front of the room to vocals that I can swear are comming from directly infront of me. It still gives me goosebumps. The only downside is that now that I've been bitten by the "bug" I'm wanting to start upgrading my whole system again to see how much improvement I can truely achieve.

Goodman:
How far apart do you have the 3.1's placed in your set-up? I have mine placed approxamently 8 feet apart, toed in slightly. I'm just curious, I don't really have the room but I feel like if I could spread the speakers apart a bit more I could project an even larger soundstage.

 

[goodman]

Goodman:
How far apart do you have the 3.1's placed in your set-up? I have mine placed approxamently 8 feet apart, toed in slightly. I'm just curious, I don't really have the room but I feel like if I could spread the speakers apart a bit more I could project an even larger soundstage.

Because my room is only 13' wide, my speakers (Ref3s not Ref3.1s) are only about 8' apart, so I can only wonder myself. My speakers are essentially facing straight out, which tends to widen the soundstage.

 

[AndrewLyles]

Because my room is only 13' wide, my speakers (Ref3s not Ref3.1s) are only about 8' apart, so I can only wonder myself. My speakers are essentially facing straight out, which tends to widen the soundstage.

I have the same issue. I'll have to try reangling them outwards as I have them toed in about 15 degrees and angled upward to the listening position. I"m going to try resetting my setup a bit next weekend and see what happens sonically.

 

[AMG_Roadster]

Have you guys watched Master & Commander with the Ref 3's? How did they do filling the room with the cannon shots?

 

[AndrewLyles]

Have you guys watched Master & Commander with the Ref 3's? How did they do filling the room with the cannon shots?

Hmm can't say that I have, I passed on that movie when it came to DVD though did see it in the theaters. I did breakout my new copy of Gladiator, the new 3 disc extended edition, and it was utterly glorious. I was very suprised by the sound track for the HItchhikers guide to the Galaxy, as I saw it in theaters and the sound was impeccible with the Ref. 3s.... much better than I remember at the movies. Titan AE was engrossing as well, espcially the ice field scenes and the final battle.

If you're into Star Trek Movies I watched Nemisis a few weekends ago and was absolutely blown away. The scene when the Enterprise rams the Romulan warship was insane. Bass filling, room shattering, gut wrenching low end. I felt the two ships collide and could feel the metal tearing apart. I haven't broken out any of the LOTR movies yet, but Halo 2 has a whole new game play since I brought home the new speakers.

If there's any other movie you're curious about and I have it I'll be happy to do a run through. (Like its that big of a sacrifice :-D)

~Andrew

 

[AMG_Roadster]

Thanks Andrew. I need to flip through my stack of movies or borrow one from a friend that is known for its bass response and see if we have one that matches up with something you own.

I think I am going to try and go audition the Ref 3's sometime this week. Plan on checking them out at the show room to start with.

I have a friend who is in the process of getting a new venture up and running. If successful I will have access to some nice equipment at what should be a very nice discount. So I am trying to hold off until I see what kind of deal I can get on the equipment he will have access to. That being said I it is tough. I have gotten in the mindset for new speakers and I love the look of the Gallo's plus all the reviews and feedback have been fantastic.

 

[AndrewLyles]

No worries man. Enjoy the audition if nothing else. One thing that my dealer tomld me when I was buying was that the Ref. 3's were transparent with equipment, in the sense that you are able to easily notice improvements in the upstream audio equipment. So if you love the speakers, you can always get some incredible deals on components from your friends venture.

 

[AMG_Roadster]

Going to audtion the Gallo Ref 3.1's today. Going to take a friend along as a second set of ears.

I have been continuing to research the speakers. So far people have either loved them or been rather ambivalent towards them. There have been no response along the lines of "they are really good speakers but you might also want to consider.... Or nice speakers but for the same price or a little more you can get xxxx which is better imo."

Andrew what are you running the Gallo's with?

 

[AndrewLyles]

Going to audtion the Gallo Ref 3.1's today. Going to take a friend along as a second set of ears.

I have been continuing to research the speakers. So far people have either loved them or been rather ambivalent towards them. There have been no response along the lines of "they are really good speakers but you might also want to consider.... Or nice speakers but for the same price or a little more you can get xxxx which is better imo."

Andrew what are you running the Gallo's with?

I'm powering them bi-amped with a Pioneer Elite VSX-33TX THX Select receiver and the AGA SA Amplifier. The Pioneer is a pretty low end receier, so I'm sure what ever you have will be able to power them. Will they sound better with better components upstream? Most definately, but you can push them with less. FOr me that was a bonus simply becasue it meant I didn't have to upgrade my entire system at once.

 

[AMG_Roadster]

Went and heard the Gallo's today. First of all it was the most relaxed listening at an audio shop I have been to. Probably listened to them for about 3 hours, chated with the owner for a bit and drank a couple of beers while listening.

He was running the Gallo's with an adcom amp, marantz CD player, and a B&K preamp.

Impressions of the Gallo's:

Absolutley impacted by positioning (as stated by others on here). Get them too close to the wall and brighter but also a little flatter elsewhere in the range. The sound stage was also impacted.

Placement (too the ear) was not overly difficult. Did not seem to be to impacted by placement to the rear wall as long as they were a minimum distances away.

Fantastic sound stage. Very wide and clear.

The bass out of the 10" woofers was impressive.

While I have been very happy with my Phase Tech speakers these speakers made it clear that I am missing some pieces of the music.

The Gallo's are very bright. Brigther than a friends older Klipsch (if you can believe it).

The speakers really accentuated male vocals.

I kept expecting the speakers to get harsh but they never did. They are less harsh than the aforementioned Klipsch.

The speakers look even better in person. Size is great.

Now the couple of negatives:

While the speakers did not get harsh they did come close to the line of being too bright. Never crossed it but came close. When running these speakers you want to make sure you are running a 'warm' amp and not something bright. Do not run these things with anything from the Sony ES line.

It seemed that these speakers were missing something in the transition from the woofer to the midrange. Seemed like the speakers left a small hole in the frequency's.

Final thoughts:

Very nice speakers. Definatly in the hunt. They do not do anything bad and have lots of strong points. On the other hand I would not describe them as a grand slam. I am going to have to continue my hunt for speakers. Need to go listen to a couple of speakers in the B&W lineup, some Martin Logan's, and...well not sure what else but need to keep an eye out on other comparably priced speakers that will meet the WAF.

In short I don't think you can go wrong with these speakers the only question is can you do better for your money. That is what I am going to try and answer. Well within reason there a thousands of speakers I could look at and but plan on keeping it limited. All testing is informal and based on ear's and equipment provided at the auditioning facility. Before a final decision is made I will audition the speakers in house.

 

[WmAx]

While the speakers did not get harsh they did come close to the line of being too bright. Never crossed it but came close. When running these speakers you want to make sure you are running a 'warm' amp and not something bright. Do not run these things with anything from the Sony ES line.

.

It's pointless to modify frequency response by selecting a specific amplifier. In fact, most amplifiers are not going to audibly affect the frequency response by a substantial degree. Those that do so in any true (as opposed to sighted, highly flawed listening comparison) noticeable way are essentially garbage, since they can not do the very basic job of amplification without severe linear distortion. Also, you can not adjust the degree of response modification with such an amplifier. If you want to modify the frequency response, use the correct tool for the job: a precision equalizer.

-Chris

 

[ggunnell]

AMG, I also recommend the Onix Ref3's. AV123 offers discounts in various ways -- I'd give them a phone call and ask them for a quote.

The Ref3 system I have will play large caliber gunshots with uncanny realism.
Master and Commander's cannons sound good to, although this is a sub thing.

The combination of the Vifa XT25 and the magnetostatic supertweeter is the best high end I've heard for the price.

The Ref3's will scale well to the larger room you mention in your sub post.

Have you considered mini-monitors + sub? I know Craigsub has had the ACI Sapphires. Another mini option would be Selah audio's latest 7" two-way, which he says is the best of that type he can build at this time -- Fountek tweeter and Scan Speak woofer. Not sure if it's on the Selah web page yet, it is being discussed in Selah's forum on Audio Circles.

 

[AMG_Roadster]

It's pointless to modify frequency response by selecting a specific amplifier. In fact, most amplifiers are not going to audibly affect the frequency response by a substantial degree. Those that do so in any true (as opposed to sighted, highly flawed listening comparison) noticeable way are essentially garbage, since they can not do the very basic job of amplification without severe linear distortion. Also, you can not adjust the degree of response modification with such an amplifier. If you want to modify the frequency response, use the correct tool for the job: a precision equalizer.

-Chris

First of all feel free to correct me on anything I get wrong. I do not claim to be an expert. Many (most?) people on this board are going to know more than me.

My comment about wanting to run these with a 'warm' amplifier is more directed towards be careful what equipment you run the speakers with. Not to modify the sound by your selection. My experience (alibiet limited) is that amps have have frequency ranges that they enhance or suppress or shift.

Now you may call the following examples garabage (it certainly is not the best equipment you can buy).

No audio equipment has given me a headache faster than listening to a set of Klipsch speakers being driven through a Sony ES receiver. I have heard the same speakers driven by Marantz and Sherwood Newcastle receivers without any issues. You can certainly ask the question why you would ever want to drive anything with Sony ES equipment. It is a valid question.

If you take speakers XXX (a good clear, well built speaker) and drive it with an Adcom amp, NAD amp, and a Denon amp the speakers will sound slightly different with each amp. May not be noticable if you are not running the speakers & amp combinations back to back but in such a test you would notice the difference.

 

[AMG_Roadster]

AMG, I also recommend the Onix Ref3's. AV123 offers discounts in various ways -- I'd give them a phone call and ask them for a quote.

The Ref3 system I have will play large caliber gunshots with uncanny realism.
Master and Commander's cannons sound good to, although this is a sub thing.

The combination of the Vifa XT25 and the magnetostatic supertweeter is the best high end I've heard for the price.

The Ref3's will scale well to the larger room you mention in your sub post.

Have you considered mini-monitors + sub? I know Craigsub has had the ACI Sapphires. Another mini option would be Selah audio's latest 7" two-way, which he says is the best of that type he can build at this time -- Fountek tweeter and Scan Speak woofer. Not sure if it's on the Selah web page yet, it is being discussed in Selah's forum on Audio Circles.

Thanks for the suggestions. While my wife would like the mini option (her book the smaller the better). I am a bit old school and prefer full range drivers. I use the speakers for 50% music and 50% HT. In my experience mini speakers with their small drivers just do not provide the presence that I look for in speakers.

 

[WmAx]

If you take speakers XXX (a good clear, well built speaker) and drive it with an Adcom amp, NAD amp, and a Denon amp the speakers will sound slightly different with each amp. May not be noticable if you are not running the speakers & amp combinations back to back but in such a test you would notice the difference.

These are specific brands that I am glad you brought up. Every one of these brands are known for producing highly linear amplification. It is extremely unlikely that most of the products from these named manufacturers will produce any true audible differences in frequency response. Probably this would be a psychological influence causing perceptual differences, not true audible differences. Or, the differences can be real audible ones, as a consequence of not level matching each amplifier with the other. Slight loudness variations result in human hearing altering the perceived frequency response, because human auditory perception is not linear. Being such, the differences would disappear in a level matched blind test.

-Chris

 

[jcPanny]

Onix Reference

If you like the looks of the Onix Reference, you might look for the Onix Ref 2's or Ref 1.8s and add the 10" or 12" sub.