Gallo 3.1 sounds slow and veiled...why?

Templetech - Mapman is right. It might be something with amplification since Gallos are described in this review http://www.6moons.com/audioreviews/hyperion/938_3.html as sharper sounding than Hyperion HPS-938 that I have.

Active 40's are very good speakers. Keith Richards demands to have them as monitors at every session.

i have heard that some people can be dissatisfied with them until they amp the subwoofer seperately, but i don't have any first hand knowledge with that.

i have the reference avs (which i love), however they took a LONG time to break in. the little spheres are filled with some kind of material, if i recall, and it takes quite a while to smooth them out. months, if i remember.

I doubt that it's a power issue. I've been running mine with 12 wpc SET monoblocks for 5 years and they never sounded remotely like that. A friend is using another pair with the same amps. They should sound fast, open, detailed, and very involving. As to the Class D idea, I've tried two Class D amps with the Gallos and they both sucked all the life out of the system, but system synergy can be an elusive goal.

I'd start by replacing the speaker wire (I used to have Kimber 8TC) with something from Morrow Audio, but it sounds like a bigger problem than can be addressed with speaker wire. Do you have them well out into the room? They're superb speakers and worth your experimentation. Dave

PS You're not trying to bi-wire them are you? The lower pair of speaker inputs is NOT for bi-wiring.

Well, I might expect a SET to do some things well in theops area of concern with those speakers, but it would surprise me if a set could drive them to their max.

I do not believe these speakers to be inherently tube friendly though and I also do not believe an 80 watt tube integrated, no matter how nice a piece otherwise, to be capable of driving them to the max.

Class D done right might still not be a match to a tube amp affectionado's preference, but it is a viable option that can sound very good done well and can also be most cost effective. Big high current monster SS amps like Krell or similar others are another option for sure if pure size and power consumption is not a concern.

Mapman, do you own a pair of Gallo Ref 3s?