Chapter 8: Back To Your Regularly Scheduled Programming
The "bug" bit me again and I ended up trying out some more equipment…
Rega P5 with Exact II...
I was searching for a more full range experience and since I can't afford the Canton Vento 890.2 DC's, I decided to give something else a shot.
Anthony Gallo Reference 3.1 speakers with the Mapleshade upgrade stands. I'll start with the Mapleshade upgrade stands - these are a real thing of beauty...they are absolute monsters that weigh in at over 50lbs for the pair. For some reason FedEx delivered them on a different day than the Gallo's so it gave me a chance to test the stock stands out before mounting the Mapleshade's. Here is a quick visual comparison between them:
I'll be honest, I had a really tough time deciding whether or not to get the stands because the original owner was willing to sell me the Gallo's on their own, but boy am I glad I went for the whole package. It isn't that the stock stands are bad - they have pretty solid feet, but the Gallo's really benefit from the incredibly solid foundation that the Mapleshade's add. With the side mounted subs of the Gallo's, adding the Mapleshade's plant them firmly to the ground. The massive front feet and solid 4" thick maple platforms provide the perfect platform to elevate the sound stage and tighten up the bass considerably. Like I said, I'm very glad that I got them. My only "beef" with them is that I didn't know that you're not able to mount the grills with these stands. Probably not a big deal as most people think these should remain grill-less anyway.
Aesthetically, the Anthony Gallo Reference 3.1's most likely fall into the "love 'em or hate 'em" bucket - personally I think they can be an acquired taste. And once you hear them, acquiring the taste becomes a whole lot easier
They really are a wonderful sounding speaker. The beauty of mine is that they're already broken in so I really just need to play around with finding the right placement. Mapleshade does a nice job in their stand manual with placement suggestions - I have them sitting 7' apart and about 6' away from my ears (they recommend 5', but I'm having a had time feeling comfortable pulling them out any further). The sound stage doesn't seem as wide as my Canton's, but I haven't got them dialed in yet. They sound wonderful - I've been listening to some Patricia Barber, Dave Brubeck, and various other artists and have been very impressed thus far. I'd like to eventually get that 2 x 4 Expedit out from the middle of the speakers and replace it with a simple equipment rack, but that might take a little while. I wasn't sure what to expect with the 10" woofers - they could have been boomy and over powering, but I'm very impressed so far. They are nice and tight...if anything, I'd like to get a little more from them. I thin I might be able to accomplish that with some room treatments, though. The build quality is fantastic - they seem very solidly built and are quite heavy for their size. Speaking of size...they look larger in pictures
but I had read that before they arrived so I knew what to expect. Honestly, with the Mapleshade stands, they are a very nice size in my opinion. My last comment for now is that they seem to take a little more "juice" from my Vincent than my Canton's do...but I think that is to be expected and the Vincent seems more than happy to oblige
Here's a quick shot of my new listening view...
