Gallo 3.1 sounds slow and veiled...why?

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?

No, but I have auditioned them and considered buying them at one point and have also done some research and read comments by owners as part of that.

Never heard them on a set amp.

I do not doubt they do some good things with a SET, particularly at lower volumes and with some kinds of music, but it would surprise me if any speakers in their efficiency category could be driven to the max off a SET, although those few watts available with a set probably do deliver maximum bang per watt.

Whether or not that matters to any particular listener, particularly SET affectionados, is a different thing. I'm just stating a mainly technical observation based on what I know. I could be wrong....

Fair enough. Here's where I'm coming from. I was running Gallo
Reference Ultimates (the top of the line predecessor speakers) with
the same amps and pretty much assumed that the Reference 3s might
not have enough power. I then heard from a man who knew my amps
and was involved in final pre-production testing of the Ref 3s and
encouraged me to buy a pair, saying that my amps would be ideal. He
further said that 10 watt amps of his own design were used
successfully in this pre-testing process.

He also knows my room -- 18 x 40' with a sizable "L" off
one of the 40' dimensions -- so we're not talking about small spaces.
I do use the Gallo SA subwoofer amp on the woofers' second voice
coils but I often forget to turn it on.

As to "driven to the max," of course not. But I've never
knowingly clipped the amps even with big band and orchestral
classical LPs and CDs. Three friends have bought Ref 3s after hearing
mine, so the amps must be doing something right. I've heard Ref 3s
driven by pretty powerful solid state amps (Musical Fidelity) and was
not terribly impressed. Others might well be terrific with them. Dave

Edit: If I had gone solely by how the Ref 3s sounded in the shop
where I bought them, I never WOULD have bought them :-)