https://www.decware.com/cgi-bin/yabb22/YaBB.pl?num=1364651891

....time to bring the Anthony Gallo 3.1's back in to the Listening Room!

They are enjoyable an kinda mesmerizing actually with the SE84CS & Super Zen CKC. However, they could use a little more juice. Plus, I want to drive them with the ZMA alone from my DAC for awhile, then apply the CSP3 with ZMA in to them. Tomorrow nights endeavor. It will be hard for me to move the SDA 1's out for awhile...but I love my Gallo's too.

Do they even make the Gallo 3.1's anymore?  It doesn't appear that you can buy them from their website at this time.

I picked up my 3.1's this past December for $1500. A great pair of Speakers and also, now part of Audio History. I don't plan on selling them...but if I do....they will hold their value.

Yes, Anthony Gallo has a new one coming out and Sandy Gross of Triton has one too. Both should be at Axpona(?)

Anyway, Sandy's will still fall in the category of "being able to run with small & larger Decware Amps" per the Decware thread I posted above. Sandy personally uses a 24 watt per channel SET to run any of his Triton's...including the new Flagship released next month (April).

It is all about balance LR....balance in your life. You're a young man...I see great things in your audio musical journey.

Now me, having turned 50 last month an getting peppered with AARP mailings...geeeeeez  ;D..... .  Balance, is the key....I still run 7 miles...3 times per week...so I can drink my Summit Extra Pale Ale and not get fat! The girlfriend comes up tomorrow...for the rest of the weekend...so I need to put in some quality time with my ZMA an Gallo's tonight!

I was able to get the Gallo's switched in this morning and just wrapped up a great session with them. Lets just say, they are staying in and I am glad I put 300+ hours on my ZMA & Kimber 3035 Speaker Cable (they now have 500+ hours)....before I put them in....the 3.1's do not disappoint with Tubes/ZMA!

Now, off to get something done today... . Goodnight Auberge....I must work while you sleep the day....(Chris Rea)...my metaphor for the day.

Yeah, I got the typical "any EE will tell you that's what the power supply does, regenerators are BS" thing.

I also believe the P5 and P10 have more firmware options, and the P10 has 70Amps of reserve current for dynamic passages.

Big difference between heavy current draw and peak draw, and I'm sure having the headroom doesn't hurt. Just like having the fat caps on the ZMA helps, having that extra juice helps.


Also, my ZMA isn't the only thing on the P10. I've got a whole whole theater (Receiver, HTPC, Oppo) with a 2000watt subwoofer.

As I said, the P10 has a 70 amp reserve, I didn't say it draws 70 amps.

I have been enjoying my Mystery Amp but as it is in my other place I only get to listen to it on weekends.  At this rate I will have 500 hours in a few years...

Off topic but my Headphone rig the Mini Torrie has now started sounding distorted.  I haven't changed the tubes since I got it.  Do tubes deteriorate over time or do they just stop working?  It sounds like crap right now with my LCD2's and any source.   If it is a tube problem would it most likely be the output or input or a regulator?  

Lon-I think it was the power tubes.  I had some 1958 RCA 6V6GT in there.  Swapped out with the JJ tubes it came with and it is sounding better.  I also think it is that I got used to the Mystery Amp and my Martin Logans and am now hearing the faults in my headphone rig.  Funny how once I was content.  More is never enough is it?

Another Mini-Update:

I've lost track of the hours on the ZMA - I'm somewhere between 250-300 I figure. I'm not really worried about it at this point.

Had a quick listening session with Palomino recently; when he comes over, I shut the subwoofer off and run the MG944 full range rather than crossed over (rather high at 120hz). I was pleasantly surprised by how big and punchy the bass was from the little MG944 speakers; I could actually feel it hit me in the chest! The ZMA and these speakers weren't doing this 100 hours ago!

I've been re-listening to some albums that I kinda got burnt out on while waiting for the ZMA, and when I first got the ZMA - Some Musica Nuda, ALT-J, Heart, Crosby, Stills, & Nash. I gave them all a spin over the past few days, and all sounded even better! The dry top end is starting to smooth a bit, which is good, because that was getting to me. The ZMA being "honest", really shows how accurate, but *dry* the Oppo BDP-105 is.

I'm no longer having the "Wow, I've never heard that before!" instances like when I first started putting hours on the ZMA, it's more like "Ahh, the smoothness, and air around the instruments".

I'm also trying out some power cables borrowed from Palomino - a PS Audio AC-12 and AC-5. I'm skeptical of power cables making a difference, and I'm not hearing any wiz bang changes; maybe just blacker backgrounds, and I swear more even sound across the audio spectrum. Which, IMHO, would be enough for me to spring for these cables if they didn't cost so much. The problem is, with the amp maturing as well as it is, the difference I heard on Sunday (the only day I had time to listen) could simple be the amp being the amp. I'm going to listen to the new power cables a bit more late tonight, then put my DIY cables back in and see if removing the cables makes me go "damn this sucks" or not.

I firmly believe the big caps on the ZMA negate much of the WOW factor that you get with the PS Audio Power Plant and PS Audio power cables. It's not perfect of course, but instead of a 25% improvement in sound with these devices and cables, I'm probably hearing a 5% improvement. Putting my little 2 watt Zen amp on the P10 made me go WOW, and Palomino keeps telling me how awesome his PPP and these cables are on his Rachel amps - which backs up my thoughts. (all hail the giant caps!)

I know I've mentioned this before, but the apparent volume of the ZMA has increased slightly as well. I find myself turning the output on my Oppo down. When the ZMA was only minutes old, I was at 80% and kinda disappointed, within hours of new the ZMA was off like a galloping horse and I was down to 75%. Fast Forward to today, and on average, I'm (casual) listening at around 55% and deep listening at 75%, both a good 20% lower volume than just six weeks ago!

Lastly, I've also heard told that the apparent volume on amps seems to go up with AC-12 power cables due to the blacker background. So I'm going to see what I see later tonight when I got back to my DIY Zen Styx style 10AWG power cables.

There is more I want to say here, but it's more about listening than the ZMA specifically, so I may start another thread rather than further clutter up this one. It's just another one of my audio theories that I need to flesh out a bit, and maybe talking about it in the forums will help me develop this theory.

There are now two pairs of Gallo 3.1 up on eBay now. I'm so very tempted to buy them, give them a listen, then flip them if I don't care for them. I've always wanted some AG speakers as the design just makes so much sense to me. Their little MTM speakers might actually make more sense, and de-clutter the front of my room a bit. (yes, I'm trying to talk myself into a set)

Plus, I have not tapped into the additional lower coil lying in wait with my Plate Amp yet! That gets you another 10hrtz down. I currently have the bass driver's facing out to diffusion panels off of side walls....Rock Solid bass as is right now. However, I have to hook up the Plate Amp....eventually. Curious George!

My 2 cents...  Some might be interested in my impressions running the ZMA with the JansZen zA2.1 hybrid ESLs.  I've got a lot of hours left to get into the ZMA's full value, but I've heard enough to know the match up is good.  Followers of this thread should remember David JansZen and Steve listening into the wee hours months ago with this combination.  See page 7 of this thread.  Steve was pretty strong with his endorsement and I don't disagree.

First just a bit about these speakers.  They are rated at 87dB sensitivity, but that can be as high as 90dB if you set the woofer and tweeter controls up all the way.  I have the woofer setting at +3 dB, but the tweeter control dialed well off full.  I may have raised the sensitivity to somewhere in the middle.  Regardless these are not HE speakers.  When I had the Torii it could play at levels I was comfortable with without any strain but the Torii would give out before the speakers would.  The same still holds true with the ZMA I'm sure, as output on paper should be only another 3 dB.  That is where the comparison ends.

The ZMA, as all who has one knows, is in another league with foundation/oomph/balls!  Watts is only part of the story.  The JansZen woofers are flat to 30 Hz and can reach into the 20s, no problem.  How twin 7" drivers do this is a testimant to David's engineering.  The ZMA has encouraged the bass in ways that flatter the speakers even more.  I can't believe how correct and tight the bass it.

The ESL panels do, well, exactly what ESL panels are noted for.  Being able to control the ESL tweeter bias level however is a feature I have come to really enjoy.  Like the tweeter and bass controls on the Torii III, you can voice these speakers with regard to tonal balance with a lot of range.  This is both a blessing and a curse, the later due to my inablility to leave the damn settings alone.  Kind of like tube rolling because you can.

The meters on the ZMA tell a lot.  I rarely listen above 80dB and the meters are stable at that level.  This last weekend I wanted to see "what she'll do".  At about 85dB the meters just started to twitch ever so slightly.  At 90dB they were moving visibly but not peaking or indicating stress, nor was I hearing any.  I decided to stop there simply because in my room 90dB is loud and I don't care if there is more headroom.  I won't be going there.  Frankly, I generally keep the volume between 65-75.  The speakers are fully engaged with solid bass at those levels.  The ZMA seems like plenty of amp for these speakers but the ZMA's design qualities are what make for listening magic, not the wattage.

I have been reading with some interest regarding people's experiences with PS Audio's power products.  I use their older Quintet conditioner and it does a great job on my low voltage stuff.  I plug the ZMA in the wall.  The power supply on the ZMA is the reason to buy the amp, not its wattage rating.  I had enough power with the Torii but the ZMA provides support/foundation/whatever you want to call it that is great and that provides the blackest background and transparency I've heard yet in any system I've had.  It has been interesting to read that the ZMA doesn't benefit strongly from using a power regenerator.  The JansZen's ESL panels really reveal this.  My ZMA is also as quiet as any SS amp.  No transformer hum whatsoever.  Thanks, Steve.  I'm pretty happy with this amp/speaker combo if you can't tell.

It's a shame David has raked MSRP up to $8,750, but I'm not sure you can equal the sound quality at that price.  No doubt recently strong published reviews have emboldened David to aim higher.  I am so grateful I met David early on in his rollout.  I won't say what I paid but I feel like a thief.  He also has introduced a new stand mount model just under $5k that he will be showing off at the Chicago Axpona show next month.  I may try to attend just to hear these.  They use the same components just less of them in a smaller form.  Shows unfortunately don't show these speakers off well.  Setup to get them sounding their best takes a little work and frankly time with the controls.  I can say the same about many speakers.  If they bode well at a show it is often a fluke or the design takes the room out of concern like Steve's ERRs.  In home or at somebody else's home who has achieved good setup is the best way to hear gear.

Edit:  BTW, I also use a Cary SLP-98P active preamp in the mix.  Very nice together.  Really nice dynamics!!!!

This picture is older when I still had the Torii MK IV.

[img][/img]

Very nice, thanks!
The Janzens are really beautiful. Odd seeing an electrostatic speaker in a more traditional cabinet. May have to investigate. Can they "rock" when called for? Never know when I want to spin some Wu Tang!

i now have the CP3 hooked up.  I am now completely happy.  It added more than enough gain.  Stone it Pushes the ML ESL's sounds great!  Thanks Steve.

farmboss...thanks for the update.  sounds like the pre-amp was just what you needed.

jsm..i'm curious if you have tried running your digital source direct into the ZMA.   if so, what were the results?  if not, would you be willing to try it and report back?  

stone...have you received your pre-amp yet?  looking forward to your impressions....

Nice System jsm.

Thanks for the update Farmboss!

Dave, I get mine Wednesday and it will be hooked up ASAP.

I own three Decware Amps....all needed understandable burn in. However, I can't believe how good this Pre is out of the box. Sound Stage depth with even better definition and shimmer an decay of ride an crash cymbals....an the gain?.......oh yeah. As I said above, top to bottom definition......................................................................
..  .

Over & Out...time to jam...I will leave the pontificating to you all....... .

-Stone of Tone

No doubt Lon-no doubt.

I will try it for sure with my Zens.

The PS Audio fits just right.  All my other cords - no.

I have some 1" that would work on just the inlet portion of the plug.  I just tried it and it fits.  Might help.

Next time you visit the temple...

I new I needed the CSP3 for my ZMA....because you need the CSP3 to get the proper definition out of the ZMA at 78db to 92db SPL. Where as, my SE84CS & Super Zen CKC are fine with the my volume attenuated DAC at 68db to 80db SPL because it will clip beyond this SPL.

However, the glorious holographic music you get at those SPL levels with the CS & CKC is stunning...I will keep both of these Amps indefinitely.

But, my point being.....you need the CSP3 to run the ZMA = period, if you want to hear all it can be. Another suggestion would be multiple Speakers for playback with the ZMA...at least two pair....preferably four...to really know what the ZMA can do!  In for a penny...in for a pound. If you settled on just high efficiency speakers for your ZMA...then you are at a loss.

Add the XLR for your Tape...and you already have the RCA...and get the Pre...ask Steve to send you home with the in house CSP3...you don't need to tell us  8-).  You will want one IMHO.

Hey, I am ordering the CROZ CD.....a must!

I was just going to buy the balanced plugs and make the cables myself using the 20AWG version of the Decware Styx cable. If it turned out to be a real winner (using balanced), then I'd probably buy something better.