Amp/Pre-amp pairing for Anthony Gallo Ref 3.1??
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New member Username: Danyal711Post Number: 1 Registered: Feb-08 | Hi, I am trying to figure out what a good pairing would be for the Anthony Gallo Ref 3.1 speakers. I am relatively new to home audio however I know a decent amount of the terminology / technical stuff. Basically, I am debating whether to either get a pre-amp + amp or integrated. I should note that the music source will be a squeezebox (lossless music though) (which I plan to get modded from bolder). My budget is ~3K though I could go a little higher if there was a good reason. When I went to check out the gallos, the person helping me highly recommended the Rotel RB-1072 power amp + either the RC-1070 or RC-1082 pre-amp. That would cost some where in the range of $1400 - $2200. My other question is for that price range is it worth getting an integrated tube amp? http://www.raysonicaudio.com/amp/sp120mkII.html Looks really good but no reviews yet because its brand new... its around 2400 The only other ones that seem to be within my price range that I *have* read reviews for are the Cayin A-88T and the Rogue Audio Cronus. One of my concerns is that the Rotel will be pushing out around 100wpc whereas the tube amps I could afford will only do like 50wpc max... and the Gallos are known to need a lot of power because of their woofer (though I know I can buy the woofer amp for extra). Any ideas?? (I know im asking for a lot but since I am new I am overwhelmed with the amount of info out there). I know a lot of people say buy separates (pre-amp + amp) even if they are slightly worse because that allows you to upgrade later... Personally, I would much rather buy the most solid system I can buy now and not worry about it later (meaning if for the price I can get a much better integrated amp, then I would rather do that). Also one thing I am having some trouble understanding is what is more important, a high quality pre-amp or a high quality amp? (Meaning what would you put more money into if you had to make that choice?) Thanks! |
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Gold Member Username: Mike3Wylie, Tx USA Post Number: 1110 Registered: May-06 | Danyal, The Gallo's do like a lot of power. Do not incorporate any gear unless you are familiar with it and it presents to you what you sense you get when you listen to live music. I do not think Rotel is the best match for the Gallo's. I run mine with a Rogue Audio 99 tube pre-amp and a McIntosh MC-7300 300 wpc amp. I have the Gallo sub-amp but it is only for the second coil and drops the floor to around 20Hz. It does add weight to bass much higher up however. It does not make it any easier for your amp to drive the speakers. The sub-amp is specifically for the 2nd coil of the woofer and your main amp will run full range including the 1st coil of the woofer. It is my opinion that my pre-amp has more influence on my sound than my amp does. I have done some things along the lines of isolation to shore up my pre-amp which made a significant improvement in its performance. Check my profile for specifics. FWIW my suggestion to you would be to go and listen to this, http://www.rogueaudio.com/Products_Tempest.htm or perhaps find a way to demo it in your home. One way to get an in home demo is to put up your credit card on the gear. I am working off of limited information which you provided. If you could offer more, like what your listening habits are, the room in which you will set up your system, your experience with live music, you will find others here with additional recommendations. Lastly, do not use reviews or what I or anyone here tells you as a basis for your decision. You could use our suggestions as to what you should listen to, but only make a decision after you heard what you like yourself. |
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New member Username: Danyal711Post Number: 2 Registered: Feb-08 | Michael-- I am aware that the sub-amp only drives the second voice call. I just mean that the sub probably needs the most power which would lead me to believe that that is the aspect of the speaker that would suffer the most if I used an amp that didnt put out enough power. Why would you say the Rotel is not a good match for the Gallo's? The person I talked to at the store was raving about their quality vs. price etc... (obviously he is trying to make a sale but i feel like he would have suggested something else considering my budget is more than the price of the rotel equip). In regards to trying before I buy... I would like to but sometimes its hard to find the equipment I find online in an actual store... (for example raysonic only has 1 dealer in the US which u can order from). More info-- The room I will be listening in will be fairly small... 15 X 15 (max) i would say.... I listen to a very wide variety of music. I enjoy classical, jazz, world etc... but I also enjoy mainstream stuff (rock/alternative/rap) on occasion. Clearly those types of music is not where the system will shine. |
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Gold Member Username: Mike3Wylie, Tx USA Post Number: 1111 Registered: May-06 | Danyal, I personally do not think the Rotel is the best mate for the Gallos from my experience with listening to Rotel. Another forum member just had a little contest with NAD, Rotel, and Bryston facing off against one another. Read the post from Sunday, February, 18, 2007 6:50pm. https://www.ecoustics.com/cgi-bin/bbs/show.pl?1/449968 Among the Gallo's strengths are its cohesiveness and soundstaging. It is a very well balanced speaker which will handle whatever music you choose. You emphasize Classical and Jazz which I do not find Rotel being strong with. I do not want to sound as I am bashing Rotel but there are other things it does better, Rock for example. Your room will be a challenge with its dimensions moreso than its size. I suggest studying up on speaker placement in order to overcome those challenges. The room size is such that you would not need gobs of power to adequately fill the room with sound. As to why the dealer would suggest Rotel when you could afford more, I can only speculate. Perhaps in the set-up they have that was the best combination they heard. Maybe that is where their biggest mark up is. I really cannot answer that one. I understand the difficulty in finding gear but perhaps you could reverse your strategy. Instead of finding things online and then not being able to listen to them why not find dealers in your area and listen to what they have new and used? Where are you located? Perhaps we can advise you of some dealers we are familiar with in those parts. |
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Gold Member Username: Nickelbut10Post Number: 1207 Registered: Jun-07 | I completely agree with Mr Wodek on this one Danyal. The Rotel stuff will fall flat on its face with the Gallos. It may sound just "OK", but eventually the Galo's will reveal the Rotel, and for your type of music you will be hard struck to like what you hear. Michael Wodek knows what the Gallos sound like with many brands of gear. I would listen to what he has to say. Cheers. |
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New member Username: Danyal711Post Number: 3 Registered: Feb-08 | Thanks for the great advice. I am located in the Bay Area (California). The only place I have been to so far is Century Stereo in San Jose. In your opinion what would be a good pairing for the Gallos? I know you mentioned the Rogue audio integrated amp... any other suggestions that I should listen to? Though I mentioned classical and jazz, I should note that in reality I really listen to all sorts of music... I enjoy rap, rock, bluegrass etc etc. So i really want a setup that is quite versatile. I looked into room size again and yah I am thinking 15X15 - 15X20... around that size. You mentioned that is a difficult size to work with? Why? Thanks! |
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Gold Member Username: Mike3Wylie, Tx USA Post Number: 1112 Registered: May-06 | Because of standing sound waves. You have more points of cancellation with rooms that are mathematically simple, i.e. perfect squares, rectangles that have length by width which have common denominators. Again, look up speaker placements in a search engine. It will offer you more assistance than I can here. The Gallos are ideal for what you want to listen to, they are very versatile. I can tell you to look at McIntosh, Rolland, VTI, Classe, Evergreen, Naim, Bryston, and others. What does that mean to you? Expensive gear but not much else. I know what I like and what I would do. That is what works for me. There are others here with a lot more experience at this than me, and they know what they would do. What matters is what you like, not what I or anyone else likes. Buy quality not quantity is as fair a recommendation I can offer. You have purchased an excellent pair of speakers. You seem very well intended. Trust yourself more than anything else. I believe you hit a home run with the speakers and you have a plan of what you want to do. Danyal, you are well ahead of others at this stage. Just listen to the gear for the music and do what feels right for you. Then there is this synergy thing to consider. Well, that and vinyl.  OK, one more tidbit. https://www.ecoustics.com/cgi-bin/bbs/show.pl?1/441466 The links Jan posted on here are required reading for you. I cannot think of anything more helpful for you. |
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Platinum Member Username: Jan_b_vigneDallas, TX Post Number: 12278 Registered: May-04 | . What equipment had you been using before you purchased the Gallos speakers? Where did you hear the speakers and what equipment was the dealer using for demonstration? |
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New member Username: Danyal711Post Number: 4 Registered: Feb-08 | So I haven't actually bought the Gallos yet, I have read a lot about them and listened to them once (I plan to go listen again though, but I really liked them when I compared them to the few other speakers I listened to in the price range (B&W)). I do not currently own a system and listen to all my music through decent 2.1 computer speakers (so not really much of a comparison). The dealer demoed the Gallo's on the Rotel pre-amp + amp I mentioned above. |
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New member Username: Danyal711Post Number: 5 Registered: Feb-08 | Does anyone have opinions on Red Wine Audio? The 30.2 has excellent reviews however I am guessing not enough wpc to drive the Gallos. Another option is the 70.2 mono blocks however they are a bit out of my price range at $4200. |
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New member Username: Danyal711Post Number: 6 Registered: Feb-08 | Another brand I was just recommended was Naim. They seem to have a pretty wide selection of amps/preamps. Don't know anything about them though. The SUPERNAIT Integrated amp looks interesting... Also just read a bit about the LFD LE III Integrated Amp... No remote though? And finally, what about the Bel Canto S300 dual mono amp...? |
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Platinum Member Username: Jan_b_vigneDallas, TX Post Number: 12280 Registered: May-04 | . Reach in and pull another name from the hat. Are you doing this selection by reading reviews? That's not how you put together a top rate system and no one on this forum can offer assistance if you're just going by numbers and how things look on a page. Did you read those links MW posted? If you haven't bought the Gallos yet, why don't we try putting together a very good system that works well together instead of choosing piece meal from advertisements? Do you listen to live music? Other than tight bass, yada yada ..., what is important to you in a system's reproduction? . |
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Gold Member Username: NuckPost Number: 9810 Registered: Dec-04 | And the Gallo's might be a huge invstment for little return, if the rest of the electronics do not measure up. If there is a price point, I might suggest looking at investing in the source, then the switch, then the amp, then the speakers. Starting with speakers is cart before the horse, although I love the Gallo's, I have invested more heavily beforehand than you might expect to do,Danyal. Cheers. |
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New member Username: Danyal711Post Number: 7 Registered: Feb-08 | Hey, Just got through all the posts. Very informative. I should rephrase what I am asking. I am more interested in whether the brands/models I mentioned above are technically a good fit for the Gallos, as well as general opinions/experiences. Just as Michael immediately pointed out (his opinion) that Rotel isn't a good match for the Gallos. That is what I am looking for (along with the reasoning behind it). Though I am pulling names out of a hat (based on reviews that I read), I plan to visit as many dealers as possible to listen to these components. I mainly want to know if its even worth my while / what other components I should listen to. Nuck-- My source is going to be lossless audio files from a PC via either a (modded) squeezebox or a USB DAC. I was planning on starting another thread/searching regarding those options because I want to focus on 1 thing at a time. What I found very intriguing about the Gallos vs. the B&Ws is that it was very hard to tell where the sound was actually coming from with the Gallos. Not sure what the term for this is, maybe soundstage? |
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Gold Member Username: NuckPost Number: 9812 Registered: Dec-04 | The Gallo's have a very wide dispersion field. While the pinpoint focus is a great thing, the Gallo's throw a wide soundstage that need not be Captn. Kirk's chair alone. I think wide dispersion field is a virtue of the Gallo's. |
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Platinum Member Username: Jan_b_vigneDallas, TX Post Number: 12290 Registered: May-04 | . It's almost impossible for us to tell you what equipment is a good match for any particular speaker unless there is a problem that exists with a particular speaker or amplifier. And it is worthless for us to tell you why we hear something if you don't know what you're listening for in reproduced sound. It's much simpler if you tell us you don't care for cilantro and we can tell you what dishes will typically include cilantro. If you tell us you prefer garlic, we can tell you whether our impression of a given component included garlic. However, what we have heard is usually a specific component in a particular system. You don't know what we like so it's normally not very important whether we liked or disliked a product. That's what reviews are for. If you want to know what someone thinks of a specific Bel Canto amplifier, read a few reviews of that amplifier. Then go listen. Pay attention to what the dealer says and shows. They know their equipment. They probably don't know other people's equipment. Find a dealer willing to sell you what they have and not a dealer willing to knock the other guy's products. "What I found very intriguing about the Gallos vs. the B&Ws is that it was very hard to tell where the sound was actually coming from with the Gallos." I don't know what this means. Are you saying the B&W's let you know where they (the speaker) sat or are you saying the Gallos didn't define a position for the performers? You cannot easily build a system one component at a time unless you want it to sound as if you chose each component separately from the others. That approach often leads to a group of decent components that do not make good music together. What other qualities are attractive to you in a music reproduction system? Do you listen to live music? . |
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New member Username: Danyal711Post Number: 8 Registered: Feb-08 | When you ask 'do you listen to live music?' do you mean do I go to concerts or do I listen to recordings of live music? In any case, I do both. I don't listen to a lot of recorded live music though. "the B&W's let you know where they (the speaker) sat" Yes, this is what I meant. The sound from the Gallos did not seem as directed meaning I wasn't inclined to look up in the direction of the speaker ("it was hard to tell where the sound was coming from") |
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Platinum Member Username: Jan_b_vigneDallas, TX Post Number: 12293 Registered: May-04 | . OK, there are other speakers that can do this trick with ease. And the B&W's should be capable of this feat when set up properly and driven by good electronics. What else is important to you? |
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Platinum Member Username: Jan_b_vigneDallas, TX Post Number: 12294 Registered: May-04 | . Let's rephrase that and ask, what do you hear from live music that makes it interesting? What do you find important in live music that you want to recapture in your home system? |
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New member Username: Danyal711Post Number: 9 Registered: Feb-08 | Jan -- "It's almost impossible for us to tell you what equipment is a good match for any particular speaker unless there is a problem that exists with a particular speaker or amplifier." But Michael seemed to tell me that the Rotels wouldnt be a good match right off the bat? That is what I'm looking for for. So the thing is, in live music I like being able to hear the subtle nuances like fingers sliding over strings etc... granted this is not the only thing I enjoy, it really just depends what mood I am in. Also this ties in to the fact that since I listen to so much variety, I really want an all around performer, rather than a setup that just does 1 or a couple things well (though I would suspects this wouldn't be the case anyways, I just wanted to point it out.) |
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Silver Member Username: HawkbillyNova Scotia Canada Post Number: 157 Registered: Jul-07 | You can hear subtle nuances in music with $350 speakers. You can also get a very good soundstage and imaging. There are also things you won't get in most $350 speakers. That's what we're trying to get at. What was it about the Gallos you liked other than imaging ? And how many other brands have you listened to, so that you have something to compare the Gallos speakers to ? Many of the amplifier brands you mention are excellent, but only if your preferences align with what they do well. |
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Platinum Member Username: Jan_b_vigneDallas, TX Post Number: 12326 Registered: May-04 | . "But Michael seemed to tell me that the Rotels wouldnt be a good match right off the bat? That is what I'm looking for for." You'd like us to tell you what to buy? You don't seem to understand that it is Mike's opinion the Rotel is not a good match for the Gallos. That is all any of us have to offer and someone else might tell you the Rotel is a good match for the Gallos, as a matter of fact, if I remember correctly, your dealer told you just that. Let me put this rather bluntly. It is pure stupidity to buy something based on what anyone else tells you is or is not a good match. That's not really what this forum does. We might steer you away from a component or speaker if we think you're headed toward disaster but otherwise we pretty much advocate listening and deciding for yourself. "So the thing is, in live music I like being able to hear the subtle nuances like fingers sliding over strings etc" Then you don't care about the music?! You need close mic'd recordings not an expensive system. You've told me you have chosen the Gallos due to their imaging and you like the sound of fingers on strings. Neither of those things have anything to do with the music, Danyal. They are, in the case of imaging, a function of the recording, the speakers and room. In the case of fingers on strings, a matter of how the instrument was recorded and how close the microphone sat in relation to the strings. String sounds are not "nuance" since they have nothing to do with the performance. You need to buy recordings that have these qualities and most any decent system will manage to play back those fairly broad qualities of sound. It sounds as if you are newly infatuated by the possibilities a nice system offers and you haven't been paying attention to the music at all. I really don't know what to tell you. I can't suggest an amplifier that "images" since it must be on the recording and the speakers and room must play a large part in that function. Some fairly inexpensive PSB's, NHT's or Paradigms can pull off this trick. I don't know how to tell you what amplifier will play up fingers on strings. Most high quality equipment will do these things and not cost you the price of the Gallos and the amplifier to drive them. At this point, my suggestion would be to listen to your own music through a lower price system with the Rotel and a pair of B&W's or PSB's. These components should image and produce the sound of fingers on strings. Then compare that system to the Gallos and whatever amplifier the dealer can find to play them. If you cannot hear an improvement in imaging and string sound with the higher priced system, stop listening and buy the lower priced system. If you believe the higher priced system is better at playing music, then we might be able to help you. Come back and tell us what the higher priced system did that made the music more interesting. Until you're listening to the music and not the system, I can't tell you much. No matter what, I cannot tell you what amplifier to buy with a specific brand and model number. If that's what you want, I can't help. . |
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Gold Member Username: My_rantzAustralia Post Number: 1844 Registered: Nov-05 | Danyal, you may be interested in what John Potis from 6 Moons has to say about the Musical Fidelity A5's synergy with his Gallos in this review. Also, what he explains in this review (as do many other reviewers) might give you more insight into what Jan is saying to you. Many amps and speaker systems can sound 'good' but you should try to put together something that can bring you the closest to a real musical experience. http://www.6moons.com/audioreviews/musicalfidelity/A5.HTML M.R. |
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