Originally posted by giggsy
Uncle Eric,
I find it hard to see where your coming from
Do you now. Ok, can you see where these industry guys are coming from?
The Perfect Vision (These guys a sort of well respected
)
Issue #31 July/August 2000
"Its gracefully spherical shape, the softness of its silhouette, and its comical softball size made the Gallo system a crowd pleaser"
"So utterly disarming to the eye and ear that people would sit before it, listen to music and never guess they were the source of the sound."
"This single driver satellite performed exceedingly well, favouring neither male nor female vocals"
"Almost scary in its ability to disappear out of the soundstage and remarkable in its ability to convey nuance and detail"
"The powered subwoofer is a gem, as fast as quicksilver and as dynamic as a vial of nitro."
"Bone crushing dynamics of the Das Boot variety-the Micros were still outmanoeuvring those depth charges at over 95-dB levels!"
Stereophile Magazine Stereophile Website
"The amazing Nucleus Micro filled a seemingly empty and untreated room with big, bold sounds." - Kalman Rubinson
"The price/Performance Ratio Award had to go to Gallo. The Micro produced a far bigger and better sound than either their diminutive dimensions or their price tag would suggest." - Lonnie Brownell & Richard Rosen
"Gallo blew me away with their Micros...The sound from these speakers was amazingly big and dynamic offering some of the most realistic production I've heard at a show." - Robert Reina
"Everything fell into place, so much so that Rick felt it offered one of the best sounds at the show. The portrayal of the piano was one of the most lifelike they'd heard. Consonant with the most revealing systems elsewhere at the show." - Lonnie Brownell & Richard Rosen
IN A WORLD RIFE WITH IDENTIKIT SPEAKERS
JAMES BROOMFIELD IS GLAD TOO SEE AN AUDIO COMPANY WITH SOME BALLS
There might be a few strange looking sub and satellite systems around, but in any company the Gallo Nucleus Micro systems would stand (or rather roll) out of the crowd.
That's because the Nucleus satellites are four inch spheres, available in many colours. which look like ornamental paperweights. Their size suggests they've been designed to be almost invisible in a home set-up but, when attached to their stands, they¹re cool enough to command some attention.
For shelf mounting, small rubbers rings have tow important functions. Firstly, they stop the spheres rolling off the shelf and secondly, they isolate the speaker so that vibrations aren't passed on and the sound remains untainted.
It must also be said that the Nucleus spheres are best suited to a small room. Handling 100W of power makes the balls punchy and loud but they don't disperse a wide enough sound to create a coherent surround effect in larger, more spacious environments.
The subwoofer, while being small, does resemble an industrial vacuum cleaner. A squat, black cylinder that is actually two units stacked, the subs amplifier and crossover are housed in the upper portion with the driver firing downwards out of the base. It's an unusual, if not exactly pretty, design that you might want to keep on display purely for curiosity value.
The spheres have miniature binding posts on the rear, although the wires supplied are small gauge, solid core copper.
Wiring up poses some options; you can go the normal route, wiring each satellite directly to an amp and taking a line-level signal to the sub. The alternative method is to route a speaker level signal for the front stereo into the subwoofer and then out to the speakers in the normal way.
This method allows the sub's crossover to cream off the low frequency signals and leaves the sat's with the high and mid-range work. This method is preferable as the physical size of the speakers makes them better suited to the upper ranges. Asking a single three inch driver to cover the full sound spectrum is no small request. You run the risk of having to compromise performance at both ends of the scale. To Anthony Gallo's credit, these satellites are incredibly capable but there¹s no harm in having the subwoofer back up the front stereo pair.
Using this method then, we auditioned the Gallo Nucleus system with Driven, another in our extensive 'bad film, great sound' catalogue.
The satellites impress straight away with the accuracy of their effect placement, particularly so when you consider there's no dedicated tweeter to spot the high-frequency sounds (the most noticeably directional). Their clarity is also a joy to listen to, even when pushed to high volume. That said, the centre channel can be a touch forceful with voices and this becomes more diverting the longer you listen. It's a matter of preferences but this reviewer found himself longing for something more subtle after spending a while with the spheres.
The real star performer here is the subwoofer assembly . It slams out tight , precise bass without ever overpowering the satellites. It can do restrained too, adding an ambient rumble that creeps up on you when you¹re not expecting it. As a counterpart to the Nucleus spheres' highly directional effects, it's perfect. The price does make the purchase of these speakers a definite lifestyle choice - for £1,250 you can buy a decent set of full-sized cabinet speakers. However for those who have a fair bit to spend but lack the space (or, more importantly, a tolerant spouse) to go for the big in-your-face ones, the Nucleus system is a wise and stylish buy.
Soundstage.com - full review text
"The perfect apartment speaker - an ideal balance of style and substance extremely good at the price. The micro is the best looking and sounding speaker system of its type that I've auditioned."
"Resolved instruments with proper weight and impressive detail. Voices sound surprisingly real. Rendered bass guitar with excellent definition and attack."
"The satellites and subwoofer integrate very nicely and sound like a cohesive, single unit. Never edgy or hashy and always highly listenable."
"The subwoofer sounds tight, fast and controlled, it can really shake its bottom end and boogie with excellent rhythm and drive, which brings realism to the music."
Doug Schneider
e-town.com - Micro System | Micro (solo) | MPS Subwoofer
"It's damn near impossible to reconcile the big, bold, articulate sound I'm hearing from these orange sized speakers"
"When compared to anything near their size, these guys are in a league of their own"
"I was jazzed by their imaging capabilities...these tiny speakers are capable of throwing an ultra-wide, yet razor sharp soundstage...Delicious tactile details abounded, drums and percussion felt very alive and real"
"Bass is startlingly deep, taught and rhythmic...Mid Bass definition was frighteningly good."
Steve Guttenberg
Beautifully made, five finishes and each is gorgeous
I was impressed by the speakers' overall balance, excellent midrange and remarkable coherence
Exceptional neutrality and detail, low level and ambient information is heard easily
Deep, powerful, yet highly tuned bottom end, a combination of amazing detail and truly thrilling impact. I dig this subwoofer. I dig everything about it: the way it looks, the way it sounds, the brains behind the design, the whole kit and caboodle.
Performs beautifully, looks awesome, highly affordable-my discovery of the year
It's nice to see small companies achieve great results by thinking smarter, one of the coolest looking and best sounding sat/sub rigs there is Wayne Garcia etown.com
EnjoyTheMusic.com
"Looking good is one thing, but do they deliver the sonic goods? In two words You bet!"
"What you get is a glorious middle-frequency where the heart of most music exists."
Steve Rochlin