Preview of the Gallo Reference 3

The FM tuner on my Magnum Dynalab 208 receiver is currently breaking-in a new pair of Gallo Reference 3 speakers. A full review is forthcoming. However, the $2600 Gallo's sound so promising that I felt compelled to inform you about these potential giant slayers.

The Gallo Reference 3's are three-way floor-stand speakers that feature a number of technical innovations to be explained further in my full review. The most notable innovation is the Cylindrical Dispersion Tweeter. The CDT is a very wide dispersion element whose sound and action are reminiscent of the quasi-ribbon and ribbon tweeters of Magneplanars. Both speakers exhibit extended and effortless high frequencies that envelop the listener with air and musical images. For example, listening to classical radio for the first several hours was a completely fatigue-free experience. In fact, I will go on the record at this early stage of listening and state that the Gallo Reference 3 is a speaker ne plus ultra at this price level for classical music. The R3's closest competitor is probably the Magneplanar 3.6R for an additional $1400 up market.

The midrange quality of the R3's is totally transparent. Music seems to emanate from mid air. Locating the speakers with their stealthy hoods at night and the lights off is nearly impossible. The midrange timbre is slightly cool at this early stage and will require some time before loosening up.

Bass response of the R3's is also very impressive. The Gallo's low end is clearly more extended and articulate than my reference Marten Monks. Bass attacks and decays are speedy and well defined as typical of a sealed design. The R3's bass response is complete as delivered which makes the option of driving the woofers' second voice coil with Gallo's Bass Augmentation Module truly tantalizing. This option must be pursued before this evaluation finalized.

In summary, with only a few hours of listening the Gallo Reference 3 seems to have considerably raised the standard for what is possible at three thousand dollars. I look forward to listening to as much music as I can in the following weeks and the arrival of a BAM from Gallo. Stay tuned. Victor Chavira