Gallo 3.1 sounds slow and veiled...why?

Dop,

Are you saying the impedance curve is near flat 8 ohms at all frequencies?

If so that would indicate more tube friendliness in general.

Most things I've read about the gallo's suggest using high quality SS amps and the more power the better for the bass. that would suggest a less than flat impedance curve with lower impedance at lower frequencies, not an uncommon thing with speakers these days.

It's hard to know these things for certain unless it has been measured and reported for a particular design. have you seen something like this for the Gallo's?

When I heard them, a tube pre-amp was used with a higher end NAD SS amp, not sure the model. This combo also drove a pair of Quad ESLs very well in comparison.

I would really like to know this for sure. I have considered experimenting with a SET amp in my house, but I do not believe most of the speakers I currently run to be particularly tube friendly. Despite that, I could see it working well perhaps in a smaller bedroom system or such even with the less than optimal speaker matching.

That's what I'm saying. But for the life of me, I can't remember where I heard or read it. Stands to reason, though, given my own experience -- remember, I have a BIG room -- and that of a friend using the same amps on his own Gallos. And the reports of others here and on AA who power them with tubes and love the results.

Just a coincidence, but this friend came into a pair of Quad ESL-63s and I heard them in direct comparison with the Gallos, which we both preferred, especially in the highs. FWIW, he Gallos were slightly louder at the same preamp gain setting than the Quads. Dave

PS I do hope the OP isn't upset that we high-jacked his thread :-)

Or are the Paradigm Active 40's THAT good?!!

I think you answered that...at least far better than the Gallos at least for your tastes.

If you hear what you see then the Gallos are a work of art and will generate plenty of comments from guests.

I did do a comparison of the gallo's when I auditioned them with the top of the line Quad ESLs, which cost 4 times as much.

They were slow and veiled I suppose in comparison, but many speakers are.

Maybe a good SET amp can fill the bill if lifelike SPLs and a larger room is not in the equation.

I landed on my newer OHM 5s which ended up costing me about the same as the Gallos with sale price and trade-ins using refurbed cabinets.

I pulled the Gallos out into the room and I gave the Unico a day to warm up....it sounds better...especially on treble heavy music like harp (Vollenweider)...the spacial effects gave me goose bumps but the system still sounds veiled in comparison to the Paradigms. I should note that both systems sound a bit thin in my room which is why I was experimenting with speakers to begin with. I don't think the Unico is under powered. It's 80 Watts of high current output and pushed my Monitor Audio GR20 to earth moving levels. I do have one tube (in the pre stage) that is kicking in and out but...don't see how that could cause the problem. One thing I should note...these were dealer demos and have less than 100 hours on them . I understand they take a long time to break in...maybe they will open up. I had planned to sell the Paradigms but I'm going to hold on until I'm satisfied the Gallos will outperform them. I should note the review by Arvind on the 3.1 in TNT audio. He drew the same conclusion as me (so far)...even with a broken in pair; brilliant treble but lack luster mid and bass compared to some others.