Successfully refurbished my GALE GS401C. Lots of pics.

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Rustam Babayev

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Mar 11, 2013, 5:40:40 PM3/11/13
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Hello guys!

I'm glad to share my pictures of these beautiful speakers after restoration. I refoamed woofers and mid range speakers, replaced 3.3 Ohm resistors and covered the body with Danish Oil.
I think I'm the first and may be the only owner of 401's in Russia. Unfortunately I haven't listened these speakers much because my amplifier (Sugden A48) got fired after a week of listening.



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John Mayberry

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Mar 11, 2013, 6:09:35 PM3/11/13
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Gorgeous.   You are not the first to be lured into playing them loud and blowing an amplifier, believe me.

 

Would you mind if I published a photo or two on the Gale website?

 

Thanks,

 

John

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Rustam Babayev

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Mar 11, 2013, 6:15:41 PM3/11/13
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Hi John!

You can use all pictures you need but get them from my flickr account, because google heavily compresses them during uploading and their quality is much lower than on flickr.

Toby Carter

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Mar 11, 2013, 6:23:17 PM3/11/13
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Now there's a name I've not heard of in a while 'Sugden'! I imagine if its of some age and hasn't been recapped it was only a matter of time with any speaker. A lot of amps have protection systems to prevent overloading but unfortunately the older stuff generally doesn't. Quite interesting to see my 70's Technics stuff has protection systems which still appear to work well and thankfully I've lost neither speakers or amp (SE-A1) so far! :)

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Tel  Toby - 07767 205205
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Clyde.

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Mar 11, 2013, 6:26:03 PM3/11/13
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Looking good!

 


From: gale-...@googlegroups.com [mailto:gale-...@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of Rustam Babayev
Sent: 11 March 2013 21:41
To: gale-...@googlegroups.com
Subject: Successfully refurbished my GALE GS401C. Lots of pics.

 

Hello guys!

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John Mayberry

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Mar 11, 2013, 6:59:16 PM3/11/13
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How did you get all those books to color match?

 

Our bookshelves look like a bomb went off in them.  

 

The good news is they make a wonderful Schroeder diffusers.

 

 

Just listened to Steve Hackett’s Genesis reinterpretations.   Quite interesting.

 

John

Dr.John

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Mar 11, 2013, 7:06:03 PM3/11/13
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Great job!

Rustam Babayev

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Mar 11, 2013, 7:23:52 PM3/11/13
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The colored books are the collection of the most impressive works from
the world literature. These books were published in the USSR from 1967
to 1977. There are 200 volumes.
These books have fabric covers with gold lettering. I just took off
dust covers.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/rus_tam/5418687295/in/set-72157625503215789

Tasso Papaelias

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Mar 11, 2013, 10:05:31 PM3/11/13
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Very Nice!


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Vincent

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Mar 11, 2013, 10:23:39 PM3/11/13
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Nice Gale in a very nice room!!
Congrats!

musthave

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Mar 12, 2013, 9:22:23 AM3/12/13
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Fabulous Comrade! - like something out of a design mag !  But who knows whats lurking in the Kremlin basement!  Ira would be tickled orange to see these pics!

Peter Fleming

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Mar 12, 2013, 9:42:24 AM3/12/13
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I really do like the look of the 401C’s.

 

I have owned 5 x sets of GS401A’s, but the best sounding Gales were these GS401C ’s.

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Mike

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Mar 12, 2013, 10:55:07 AM3/12/13
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I have to say that I agree with you, Peter, about the look of the
401c's, which are the model that I possess, so I may be biased!
Though the 401a's certainly have "Glossy magazine appeal," and were
objects of desire to me back in the seventies when I could only afford
to buy hi-fi magazines to see them. I do prefer the wood look to the steel.
I am surprised that you note a sonic difference however. I've never
heard 401a's so I'm not in a position to comment on the audible aspects.
I'd be interested to hear what difference have you noted?

Mike

On 12/03/2013 13:42, Peter Fleming wrote:
>
> I really do like the look of the 401C�s.
>
> I have owned 5 x sets of GS401A�s, but the best sounding Gales were
> these GS401C �s.
>
> *From:*gale-...@googlegroups.com
> [mailto:gale-...@googlegroups.com] *On Behalf Of *musthave
> *Sent:* Tuesday, 12 March 2013 9:22 PM
> *To:* gale-...@googlegroups.com
> *Subject:* Re: Successfully refurbished my GALE GS401C. Lots of pics.
>
> Fabulous Comrade! - like something out of a design mag ! But who knows
> whats lurking in the Kremlin basement! Ira would be tickled orange to
> see these pics!
>
> On Monday, 11 March 2013 13:40:40 UTC-8, Rustam Babayev wrote:
>
> Hello guys!
>
> I'm glad to share my pictures of these beautiful speakers after
> restoration. I refoamed woofers and mid range speakers, replaced 3.3
> Ohm resistors and covered the body with Danish Oil.
>
> I think I'm the first and may be the only owner of 401's in Russia.
> Unfortunately I haven't listened these speakers much because my
> amplifier (Sugden A48) got fired after a week of listening.
>
> More hi-res pictures:
> http://www.flickr.com/photos/rus_tam/sets/72157625503215789/detail/
>
> --
> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google
> Groups "Gale Audio" group.
> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send
> an email to gale-audio+...@googlegroups.com
> <mailto:gale-audio+...@googlegroups.com>.
> To post to this group, send email to gale-...@googlegroups.com
> <mailto:gale-...@googlegroups.com>.
> Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/gale-audio?hl=en.
> For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.
>
>
>
> No virus found in this message.
> Checked by AVG - www.avg.com <http://www.avg.com>
> Version: 2013.0.2904 / Virus Database: 2641/6163 - Release Date: 03/10/13
>

Jack Ward

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Mar 12, 2013, 1:15:22 PM3/12/13
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I LOVE my 401c's and I always have, ever since I laid eyes and ears on them in the 70's. The A is obviously the icon of the brand, but I admit I love the shape and wood finish of the C. Everyone who has sat and listened to them in my home has had a look of shock when I crank them up and the universal comment has to do with "like you're sitting in front of the band or orchestra". The funny thing is, no one feels that they are loud, even though the Citation 19 amp is right below clipping when being played.

I admit that most of the time when I put vinyl on to impress guests, it's usually the Direct-to-Disc, Sheffield Lab-3 of Harry James "King James Version" which was and is still one of my all time favorite records. It was recorded in a church in Hollywood at the end of July in 1976. If you're a fan of Big Band, then I recommend you search out a copy of this record and try it yourself. There are a few unopened copies still floating around as well as some lightly used ones. It WILL give your turntable and cartridge one hell of a workout, but it's worth every minute of play.

Jack Ward

John Mayberry

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Mar 12, 2013, 3:51:57 PM3/12/13
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Back in October of ’82 I was at the grand opening party for EPCOT Center.   Tuxes, champagne, and every big band in the world.

 

Bottom line is I sat and talked with Harry James for over an hour under Spaceship Earth.    He was a hell of a chain smoker, and obviously not doing very well physically.

 

I talked to him about that disc.  He said “you should’ve heard me when I had my pipes”.

 

Talked a lot about Betty Grable.  

--

timhum

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Mar 12, 2013, 5:21:57 PM3/12/13
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Hi Rustam,
The speakers look great! They sound even better as you know so do let the group know what amp you get to make them sing. As you found out the hard way, the speakers are a heavy load on amplifiers so make sure your new amp is happy into 4 ohms and you should be fine.

timhum

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Mar 12, 2013, 5:33:22 PM3/12/13
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Hello Jack, You raved about this recording some time ago and I got the CD version, the vinyl being unobtainable at the time. Thank you so much for recommending this recording, it is one of my favorites now. It does not surprise me that it is an Olympic standard workout for a cartridge. Luckily the transfer to CD was a good one, I played it through the gales and Lecson set up at an event and it gathered a crowd! (until I was told to turn it down)... Philistines!

with apologies to all Philistines who may be reading this

John Mayberry

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Mar 13, 2013, 11:42:24 AM3/13/13
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So a friend gave me the FLAC files of all the Beatles albums.

 

Without trying to incur the wrath of the faithful, I have to say I was never a huge fan of the group.

 

That being said, I am enjoying listening to them some Gale 401C’s- vast improvement over a typical shopping center background music system.

 

Rather impressive.

 

John

 

Sean Gibbins

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Mar 13, 2013, 12:16:55 PM3/13/13
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On 13/03/13 15:42, John Mayberry wrote:
Without trying to incur the wrath of the faithful, I have to say I was never a huge fan of the group.

I've yet to hear a Beatles album all the way through...

Sean

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Toby Carter

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Mar 13, 2013, 4:58:50 PM3/13/13
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I used to listen to them avidly as a young teenager, I blame my parents for that, had all their albums! Now not listened to them for years....but my taste is now very varied!


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Jack Ward

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Mar 14, 2013, 8:58:50 AM3/14/13
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Was this something he produced or something available commercially as a download like "Society of Sound" recordings through B&W?

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John Mayberry

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Mar 14, 2013, 9:52:46 AM3/14/13
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Probably the ultimate collector’s item for Beatles fans…

 

http://www.amazon.com/The-Beatles-USB/dp/B002VH7P4O

 

 

John

Sean Gibbins

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Mar 14, 2013, 10:56:00 AM3/14/13
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On 14/03/13 13:52, John Mayberry wrote:

Probably the ultimate collector’s item for Beatles fans…

http://www.amazon.com/The-Beatles-USB/dp/B002VH7P4O


Hi John,

Not sure if your tongue was in cheek as you posted that, but I am guessing maybe it was.

The very nature of digital media renders the phrase 'collector's item' utterly obsolete, since it can all be reproduced bit-by-bit with the exception of the USB drive which is, after all, just another USB drive in a fancy case at the end of the day.

I can get excited about the idea of turning up an original Beatles album in a charity shop or whatever, and even understand why someone might want to spend a fortune on one at auction, but as a technologist by trade (and an early adopter of digital downloads), the appeal of digital media leaves me completely cold.

Clyde.

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Mar 14, 2013, 10:59:37 AM3/14/13
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Good grief…..

 


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John Mayberry

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Mar 14, 2013, 2:28:42 PM3/14/13
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I did find we had one Beatles’ CD (One) in the house and listened to the same track for comparison.

 

There is no question that the remastered FLAC version is a quantum improvement in quality over the CD.

 

No LP version to use as a compare to both sadly. 

 

Personally I’d rather have Soft Machine 3 for listening but there’s no accounting for taste.

 

 

 

I did chastise Apple in the WSJ for not providing native FLAC support in iTunes…  I know they have their Apple lossless equivalent but it doesn’t help.

 

With 4 TB drives now costing under $200 here it would seem most of the storage issues are moot.

 

Still would like to have Flash on my iPad and still don’t understand their reluctance to include it-  but each to his own.

 

John

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

From: gale-...@googlegroups.com [mailto:gale-...@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of Sean Gibbins


Sent: Thursday, March 14, 2013 7:56 AM
To: gale-...@googlegroups.com

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Sean Gibbins

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Mar 14, 2013, 3:52:52 PM3/14/13
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On 14/03/13 18:28, John Mayberry wrote:

I did find we had one Beatles’ CD (One) in the house and listened to the same track for comparison.

There is no question that the remastered FLAC version is a quantum improvement in quality over the CD.

No LP version to use as a compare to both sadly. 

Personally I’d rather have Soft Machine 3 for listening but there’s no accounting for taste.

I did chastise Apple in the WSJ for not providing native FLAC support in iTunes…  I know they have their Apple lossless equivalent but it doesn’t help.

With 4 TB drives now costing under $200 here it would seem most of the storage issues are moot.

Still would like to have Flash on my iPad and still don’t understand their reluctance to include it-  but each to his own.


My comment about the desirability of the Apple USB device wasn't based on the audio quality of the files, so much as the long-term desirability of the object itself, although ultimately I guess it is all highly subjective.

Also, I am a bit odd where remastered CDs and additional tracks are concerned, since I generally the favour the original album even if it is technically inferior, but again acknowledge that as a personal preference that I would struggle to defend with logic!

As for flac, I believe Apple run scared of things like open source software and interoperability with non-Apple products because their admittedly clever and successful business model is largely dependent on attracting customers with shiny gadgets and then selling them minutely improved versions of the same thing for as long as possible. As such built-in obsolescence is essential, hence we see iPods emerge with blanking plates for cameras that then magically appear in the next release, or storage capacity limited at the time of manufacture. I'm not knocking it, and there may even be good arguments for it, but I personally run a mile from Apple products for those reasons; for example I detest iTunes and favour the drag 'n' drop solution offered by Cowon, despite their atrocious user interfaces.

Flash is widely regarded as proprietary garbage in the Linux world (albeit quite useful and widely-accepted proprietary garbage!), so I am not sure whether to praise Apple for taking a stand on that one or look for a darker motive! ;-)

musthave

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Mar 15, 2013, 7:43:13 PM3/15/13
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Hi Rustam - I loved your room and made a comment earlier but there is something  missing!!  Its taken me ages to figure it out!  You need a pair of Sonab Red & Black Headphones resting on top of the Gales or at least a photo on the wall!  Have you seen them?  Look here

http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5257/5463970031_9c76c5d28e_z.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.flickr.com/photos/1040st/5463970031/&h=426&w=640&sz=108&tbnid=Flj4e30A1eRHxM:&tbnh=90&tbnw=135&zoom=1&usg=__OK0bHAew_70bxOMW4VXqWJYH6GQ=&docid=58hdAC3F1ppAlM&hl=en&sa=X&ei=RbFDUYLNBIHDO-bRgdAM&ved=0CEcQ9QEwAw&dur=35

 Took me years to find a pair but I did it eventually! If you could find the black ones I could exchange with you!! Good hunting
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