Gallo Acoustics 3.1/3.0 and Acoustic Zen Adagio

[SolidSqual]

Venomclan, if the 3.1s image better than the AZAs, then I just have to have a pair. What's withe the mechanical crossover?

I can get a pair of 3.0s for $900 in 8/10 condition. Should I wait for the 3.1s?

I love the midrange and the imaging of my AZAs. The soundstage feels like it runs the height of the room and all the way around me. What made you buy the gallos over the AZAs?

[venomclan]

Venomclan, if the 3.1s image better than the AZAs, then I just have to have a pair. What's withe the mechanical crossover?
I can get a pair of 3.0s for $900 in 8/10 condition. Should I wait for the 3.1s?
I love the midrange and the imaging of my AZAs. The soundstage feels like it runs the height of the room and all the way around me. What made you buy the gallos over the AZAs?

I cannot say if the Gallos images "better" than the AZA's as I have never heard the AZA's. I can say that the Gallos have a horizontal image that is wider than any other speaker I have heard regardless of price. However, the image is not as tall as other speakers. Due to this, I know many Gallo owners that elevate their 3.0/3.1's to better fill the missing height.

Gallos only have 1 crossover at 300hz for the woofer. All other crossovers points are mechanical, creating a more seamless transition.

I was interested in the AZA's after I read a very positive review in TAS, as I was with the Gallos. However, I could not find an AZA dealer near me. Another thing was price, the AZA's being almost 30% more.

Even though I did not demo the AZA's one immediate hesitation was the lack of a larger driver, I had some B&W CDM7NT's at the time that were great, but limited lower octaves due to a 2.5 way crossover and smaller drivers. Not that smaller will not work, just my music tastes are ecletic and I like a littler more bottom end. That being said, I would still love to audition the AZA's.

I would hold off for the 3.1's. They seem to have a littler better overall performance. Check out 6moons.com for some nice writeups. They even do a shootout of 3.0 vs. 3.1.
Venom

[SolidSqual]

Just read the 6moons review. Yup definitely seems as though there are some meaningful upgrades worth waiting for with the 3.1.

In terms of bass, I would have to agree. The AZA actually has some very prodigious bass, but I prefer to use a subwoofer anyway to add a heavy kick in the gut when listening to rock. If rock is not your thing, then the AZA would have more than enough bass.

[venomclan]

If rock is not your thing, then the AZA would have more than enough bass.

I felt the same way about my B&W's. I still may use a sub with the Gallos since I do not use the optional sub amp. But I have heard good things about the amp, not as good as a sub but tightens the bass up and fills some holes. Try to demo some 3.1's if you can. Do the AZA's image to your liking? The reason I ask is that you are/were looking at ribbons also. There are a lot of guys that flip/flop between maggies and Gallos. Each have their followers. I find the Gallos to do most things right, some very right. I chose the Gallos over the B&W 804S's. I would love a pair of Sonus Faber Cremona's, but not at $9k/pair.
Venom

[SolidSqual]

The AZAs image better than any other speaker I have heard. They just work perfectly in my setup. Bear in mind, my listening experience is limited compared to others on this forum, but the soundstage is 15 feet tall and 20 feet wide when listening in my space (atleast that's the way it sounds). Instrument placement is great, especially once you get them dialed in properly and add some good acoustic treatments. I also found no need to toe the speakers in at all. This actually was a detriment to the imaging by shrinking the focus. The AZAs have made me fall in love with ribbons. More or less I want to try a speaker like one I have never heard. What better way than throw out cone drivers all together? The Sonus Fabers are one helluva speaker and so are the various Planars I have been looking at, but after hearing the AZAs, it's gonna be hard not to stay faithful and pick up there new model coming out. Basically, I want my next speaker to be full-range with presence and impact.

One issue I had with the AZAs in terms of increasing my system's full-range was the fact that the bass of AZA is so muscial and accurate. This of course is not a downside, but its hard to integrate a cheap sub with these speakers because they don't take well to the one note bass boomer subs. I finally found the James EMB-1000 integrated extremely well.

[SolidSqual]

The design of your speakers strike my interest quite a bit as well. The "round sound" design is quite amazing. Which direction do you have the woofers facing? I noticed the Lsi15s I used to own actually sounded better and had tighter fuller bass when the woofers were actually facing each other.

[venomclan]

The design of your speakers strike my interest quite a bit as well. The "round sound" design is quite amazing. Which direction do you have the woofers facing? I noticed the Lsi15s I used to own actually sounded better and had tighter fuller bass when the woofers were actually facing each other.

It is hard to find the perfect speaker in a given price range. I always love a giant killer product, like the AZA's and Gallo's. I have the woofers facing out right now, that is because I have a 36" CRT in between them but hope to move to another room in the house with a plasma for better imaging. A lot of people perfer the woffers facing each other. I will experiment. I toe my speakers in about 20-30 degrees. The tweeter has 300 degree dispersion but the other drivers do not. I also am forced to listen to them with the grills on due to a certain destructive family member. I heard that they really improve more than other speakers sans grill. I am impressed now so I can only think it gets better.
Venom

[SolidSqual]

How is the humidity where you live? I've been reading some things about how ribbon speakers are affected by humidity and really need a climate controlled room to shine? I think treitz3 also mentioned something about this to me. This would be something to consider if you do ever upgrade to something with a ribbon.

How about placement? Do the gallos work well far from the or close to the walls?

[venomclan]

How is the humidity where you live? I've been reading some things about how ribbon speakers are affected by humidity and really need a climate controlled room to shine? I think treitz3 also mentioned something about this to me. This would be something to consider if you do ever upgrade to something with a ribbon.

How about placement? Do the gallos work well far from the or close to the walls?

Humidity is high in S. FL. All my gear is in a/c controlled rooms. Humidity is higher in the winter here as the a/c turns on less, thus higher humidity. I do not know about the effect of humidity on ribbons. I figure for their longevity, lower humity is better. I keep the Gallos about 2.5 ft. from the rear wall. I think that they would like to be a bit further as the image is placed a bit behind them as opposed to my previous forward sounding B&W's. My room is very reflective right now so it is hard to figure placement in general. The Gallo A/V speakers that use the same tweet and midrange are also designed to hang on the wall and have received great reviews all around. I would not hesistate to put the 3.1's near the wall if needed and saw a few owners do that. It depend on the room as a whole imho.
Venom

[unc2701]

$900 is a steal for those 3.0's Hell, if you get them and don't like them, I might just buy them off you! Anyhow, I upgraded from 3.0 to 3.1 (it wasn't cheap, but I'm keeping these)... While it was an improvement, I wouldn't call it earth shattering and the price on those 3.0's is just too good.