My third pair of 401a
jtgofish
This pair was very generously given to me by Tasso.
What an interesting pair these were.
At some stage the crossover had been configured for triamping.Then
returned to full range.
The crossover was already completely rebuilt on an MDF board so was
completely hard wired with attenuators and fuses removed from the
circuit.
I remember attending a hi fi show at the Herdsman Hotel in Perth
Western Australia in about 1976.I was still at school.I remember
hearing a system using Gale 401a s triamped by three Accuphase power
amps.Perhaps this was the pair! One of the best sounds I have ever
heard.
I had Jason Boyd rebuild the crossover with new Bennic capacitors and
resistors and also configure it for biamping.
I have to say I have been a bit dissapointed with the sound
biamped.Perhaps I need to use two of the same power amps rather than a
SET valve amp on the mid and treble and SS[Accuphase P300 ] on the
bass.
They sound better when driven full range just by my Almarro 318b SET
amp.Only 15 watts but it is surprising how well this amp will drive
the Gales.The Accuphase is a great amp but the Almarro is really
something special.By far the best sounding amp I have owned.
Anyway this is now my best sounding pair.
Refurbishment was....New figreglass damping,New midranges from the
last production run.New surrounds and spiders to the woofers.Kimber
cable rewiring.Bennic capacitors.
On balance the best sounding speakers I have owned.and I have owned
plenty.
Thankyou once again Tasso.
You should come for a listen.
Jon
Tasso Papaelias
I have often toyed with the idea of bi-amping Gales after experiencing the big improvement in sound when bi-amping speakers that that are already wired for this purpose. I wondered however what it would do to the delicate balance set up by Ira gale to fine tune the Gale sound. It would be difficult to get it perfect and I suspect Ira had taken into account the negatives of single amping when selecting crossover points, drivers etc.
When I installed new speakers into my home cinema, I had the Chinese speaker company Aurum Cantus custom make some speakers for me. It was not radical - I had them build their Volla speakers for mounting on their side - Gale style, which meant that the large ribbon tweeter would be re-oriented. They tested the design before agreeing to do this as they were of course concerned about their reputation. Those speakers were already bi-ampable and I asked them to redesign
their excellent centre speaker, the Rhythm, for the purposes of bi-amping as well. They agreed to look at it but first added that they had originally rejected the idea of bi-amping this speaker because "it wasn't necessary". Anyway they eventually agreed to do this after discussions with their designers but stated that it probably wouldn't make the difference that it did to their other speakers and respectfully suggested that with a decent amplifier I would not discern any difference.
To cut a longer story short, I didn't go with the bi-wiring on their advice and did replace my one box AV processor amp with separate pre/pro and power amps. They were right, the single wired centre speaker was an ideal match for the bi-amped front speakers. I'm sure a carefully redesigned bi-amped speaker would sound better but it sounds like a very tricky process.
BTW, I will definitely be coming down to check out your setup as well as Carl's. Put a couple of beers in the fridge and I'll be on my way!
Jon
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Tasso
Tasso Papaelias
Ph: 0439 003 933
jtgofish
On Jan 10, 9:34 am, Tasso Papaelias <papael...@iinet.net.au> wrote:
> Actually I was at the same Hi-Fi show and saw that amazing demonstration. I remember it blowing all other systems away. Gale speakers were very expensive at the time and Accuphase amps have always been so. It was something to aspire to I can recall thinking when I saw and heard it all.
>
> I have often toyed with the idea of bi-amping Gales after experiencing the big improvement in sound when bi-amping speakers that that are already wired for this purpose. I wondered however what it would do to the delicate balance set up by Ira gale to fine tune the Gale sound. It would be difficult to get it perfect and I suspect Ira had taken into account the negatives of single amping when selecting crossover points, drivers etc.
>
> When I installed new speakers into my home cinema, I had the Chinese speaker company Aurum Cantus custom make some speakers for me. It was not radical - I had them build their Volla speakers for mounting on their side - Gale style, which meant that the large ribbon tweeter would be re-oriented. They tested the design before agreeing to do this as they were of course concerned about their reputation. Those speakers were already bi-ampable and I asked them to redesign
> their excellent centre speaker, the Rhythm, for the purposes of bi-amping as well. They agreed to look at it but first added that they had originally rejected the idea of bi-amping this speaker because "it wasn't necessary". Anyway they eventually agreed to do this after discussions with their designers but stated that it probably wouldn't make the difference that it did to their other speakers and respectfully suggested that with a decent amplifier I would not discern any difference.
>
> To cut a longer story short, I didn't go with the bi-wiring on their advice and did replace my one box AV processor amp with separate pre/pro and power amps. They were right, the single wired centre speaker was an ideal match for the bi-amped front speakers. I'm sure a carefully redesigned bi-amped speaker would sound better but it sounds like a very tricky process.
>
> BTW, I will definitely be coming down to check out your setup as well as Carl's. Put a couple of beers in the fridge and I'll be on my
>
> --
> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Gale Audio" group.
> To post to this group, send email to gale-...@googlegroups.com.
> To unsubscribe from this group, send email to gale-audio+...@googlegroups.com.
> For more options, visit this group athttp://groups.google.com/group/gale-audio?hl=en.
>
> Tasso
>
> Tasso Papaelias
>
> Ph: 0439 003 933
>
Tasso,
You would be most welcome.
Jon
John Mayberry
What are the driving directions to you house from Los Angeles?
John
jtgofish
West by south west until you hit Australia and then another 3500km
further west.When you get to the Indian Ocean you are there.So only an
ocean and a continent away.
Same climate as L.A. just reverse seasons.