WHF finally 'review' the Gallos Balls...

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Bapapapa

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Took a bit of a caning - 2 stars.. :eek:

Strangely, the much derided Bose Acoustimass took home a far healthier 4 stars.. :eek:

Maybe Gallos didn't put enough in the editor's brown envelope..? :clown:
 
I can't comment on the balls as I've never heard them, so they could well be worth only 2 stars. However, I certainly don't trust What HiFi and haven't done for a long while. I have auditioned stuff they raved about and couldn't understand how they could possibly heap the praise on some of the products tested.

I find HiFi Choice and Home Cinema Choice far more interesting and (by impression) honest :)
 
Look at the review lists at the back. It says the rel q201 is alot better sound due to a better amplifier than the q200, but we all know that the only difference is a grille and feet (which rel has confirmed). HCC also makes this mistake in their review tho!

Their a1sr vs ax10 was a load of nonsense also. The ax10 uses 8 inferior 24/96 dacs and anolog devices old dsp (which the 3802, tag and a11sr uses) where as the denon uses 16 burr brown 24/192 dacs in dual differential and the latest "twice as fast" AD dsp (which the new tag will feature). Strange how they ignore the techie stuff when they are slappin on a best buy.

I only read what hi fi for a good laugh.
 
Its strange to see the denon 3802 getting a 5 star rating and nothing but pure praise from WHF but as soon as they crown a new king (Sony amp) suddenly the 3802 drops down to 4 stars.

So what, has the sound from the 3802 suddenly got worse?

Just to show people what a capable amp the 3802 is for the price, even uncle eric uses one in his living-room.
 
And if you read a review of the denon in i think it was the june/july 2002 issue (After they first reviewed the Sony 555)

5 stars, rave about it, and they say "It will be interesting to compare it to the sony"

So, they compare them, the sony is £1000, the Denon is £850, everyone seems to think they are on a par...

And the sony comes out on top?

£££

As Alan Partridge would say

"Cashback" :rolleyes:
 
2 out of 5!!!!

What a joke!!!!

Maybe the next thing that they review should be the skills of there reviewers, that would get a far lower score that the gallo's did......for sure!!!!!

I still can't believe that anybody could get a review that wrong!

The annoying thing is, that this is going to put people of even getting a demo of these speakers, and people are going to miss out on such a good product!
 
Originally posted by tk2001
Its strange to see the denon 3802 getting a 5 star rating and nothing but pure praise from WHF but as soon as they crown a new king (Sony amp) suddenly the 3802 drops down to 4 stars.

So what, has the sound from the 3802 suddenly got worse?

Thats the problem with trying to give something a rating out of 5 whilst in an ever-changing market.

Whilst the Denon may have been the best available at the time and hence probably worth 5/5, if the Sony appears and manages to move the goalposts sufficently, then a drop to 4/5 for the Denon may well be accurate.

(Note: I've not heard either amp)

All reviews are subjective anyway. I bet the Gallos and Bose were reviewed by different people.
 
If the Gallos are aimed at the mass market, then they have to be easy to setup, not complicated, and should not depend on the source.

Goodness its just a sub-sat system not a scientific experiment

Also when Gallo people set them up themselves and they sound a bit off, then this is bad marketing by Gallo. Alot of people say they don't sound really good - just normal ( including my listening at STUFF in London ).

The Bose speakers are plug and play practically and don't depend on the source alot and are quite cheaper than the Gallo balls ( and perhaps look better? )
 
Originally posted by z5461313

The Bose speakers are plug and play practically and don't depend on the source alot

Actually even Bose will admit that their Acoustimas speakers sound a lot better with Bose sources than they do with other AV amps. Bose equipment is warm sounding IMO and if you try their speakers with a bright amp like a Pioneer, they can sound harsh.
 
Originally posted by z5461313
If the Gallos are aimed at the mass market, then they have to be easy to setup, not complicated, and should not depend on the source.

The Gallos are not anymore complicated to set up than any other 5.1 speaker package. Just plug the speakers and sub to the amp, set the amp to small and you are away.

And isn't all seperates equipment dependant on the other equipment it is used with?
 
If a not so hot review comes out from a mag or comments from other people, the reason is because they are not set up correctly
 
The ax10 uses 8 inferior 24/96 dacs
I don't know where you get that idea from. Pioneer makes a huge fuss about how the AX10 uses hand-picked 24/192 Burr-Brown DACs.
 
Originally posted by z5461313
If a not so hot review comes out from a mag or comments from other people, the reason is because they are not set up correctly

There are many people here who are very satisfied with their Gallo system and you are heavily outnumbered in your love for Dr Bose and his equipment.

You may have a smile to yourself whenever one of the magazines that Bose support so heavily with advertising, rate their speakers highly but the rest of us live in the commercial world and can see straight through that ploy.
 
Sorry about that, it does use 192/24:

eight Burr-Brown PCM1704 192/24 DACs

Still inferior to the denons 16 pcm1738e dsd dacs.

The pioneer also uses the Analog Devices ADSP-21065L SHARC DSPs which the 3802 and a11sr uses and does not have dolby headphone and less power output.

The denon uses the newer dsp, which will be found in the new tag, which is twice as fast.

With the denon available for a little over £2000, you would be mad to buy the pioneer (denons also tend to have a higher resell value).

My humble opinion ofcourse.;)
 
I think that as a new product the Gallos have to market them also. It wouldn't harm.

They should make sure they are setup correctly at the shows

Why not give a demonstration like Bose do to capture the publics imagination
 
but as a new company to the UK at least, i doubt Gallo have the marketing budget of those Sunday Times supplement favourites Bose.

and do bose really capture the public's imagination?

as for hifi shows, its not really the ideal environment to put on an impressive show of what your product can really do. even well established market leaders like denon messed up this year.
 
Originally posted by Timmy B
Still inferior to the denons 16 pcm1738e dsd dacs.

The pioneer also uses the Analog Devices ADSP-21065L SHARC DSPs which the 3802 and a11sr uses and does not have dolby headphone and less power output.

The denon uses the newer dsp, which will be found in the new tag, which is twice as fast.

With the denon available for a little over £2000, you would be mad to buy the pioneer (denons also tend to have a higher resell value).

I reckon you'd be mad to buy an amp based on the specs of it's guts. "Twice as fast" or "less power output" may be great to brag about down the pub, may not sound very good in a demo.
 
Originally posted by Timmy B

My humble opinion ofcourse.;)

can't let this pass


Originally posted by Timmy B
eight Burr-Brown PCM1704 192/24 DACs

Still inferior to the denons 16 pcm1738e dsd dacs.

Why?1704 are one of the better DAC chip around. Why would anyone want / need a DSD DAC in a receiver?

Originally posted by Timmy B

The pioneer also uses the Analog Devices ADSP-21065L SHARC DSPs which the 3802 and a11sr uses and does not have dolby headphone and less power output.

The denon uses the newer dsp, which will be found in the new tag, which is twice as fast.

The faster processor delivers nothing more than additional horsepower that these other processors just don't need. Shall we go into all the chip faults in the SuperSHARC that Denon supplied products with. Tag for one, refused to use UNTIL AD sorted thee things out.

The ONLY reason for a change, outside of new features on say AV192 fro Tag with room eq, is that AD no longer supports the 65! This is WHY they have changed, no more, no less.

Re power, none of these have particualrly good amps, re the difference how much additional dB will be available and will this be even audible?

Originally posted by Timmy B

With the denon available for a little over £2000, you would be mad to buy the pioneer (denons also tend to have a higher resell value).

My humble opinion ofcourse.;)

Re sale value of both is poor, mad to buy the Pioneer, a bit harsh when the majority of the world think it a better processor.

Just My humble opinion of course.;)
 
Originally posted by James45
and do bose really capture the public's imagination?

Non AV minded public are sure Bose are the best you can buy, that's why when upscale car makers need premium ICE they choose Bose and make a point of it too.
Likewise Loewe, they are happy to market with Bose, the Loewe AV system and Loewe tvs share Bose technology.
Private jets, million dollar boats, glitter gulch motorhomes .... Bose.

Yet is there a hi-fi enthusiast anywhere with a high opinion of any of their products ? Nope.
Is Bose worried ? Nope.

Bose owners are usually delighted with them, don't suffer the nagging upgrade bug because they think they already have the best and can't wait to tell their friends.

The negative What Hi-Fi review is bad news for Gallo because as we all know, so many dealers cherry pick " Best Buys " to capitalise on the kudos generated. They stock five star winners in depth, advertise and push them often to the detriment of other products.

Uncle Eric and delighted owners, together with positive reviews from our respected members here must have served Anthony Gallo fantastically, particularly in tandem with a Power-Buy.
Now the Power-Buy has officially ceased, with Gallo threads likely to run dry I hope Gallo dealers will prove as effective in marketing these superb products.

Uncle Eric posted a new Velodyne sub /sat package which looked real tasty, no doubt another winner.
 
With the denon available for a little over £2000, you would be mad to buy the pioneer
While I've never had the opportunity to compare the Pioneer AX10 and Denon A1 head to head I got the impression that the amplification stage on the Pioneer may have an edge over the Denon.
 
gringottsdirect

I agree - the Gallos have to get their marketing going in the UK. But they must ensure they sound ok when demonstrating as this is also letting them down
 
Originally posted by NicolasB
While I've never had the opportunity to compare the Pioneer AX10 and Denon A1 head to head I got the impression that the amplification stage on the Pioneer may have an edge over the Denon.

This is subjective of course, but I listened to both and chose the Denon as I preferred its sound, but can understand why people would buy the Pioneer as well.

It since turns out that for me, I made the right choice. When you spend large sums of money on equipment, you expect them to work right. Since I bought the Denon, I have read several reviews and forums that have complained the AX10 cuts out. I then looked in the Amp forum a few minutes ago and we have another member complaining of cut-outs.

I took back my Arcam DV88 because of its annoying faults (even after the software upgrades). For a £2000 amp to have glitches is unacceptable. Me and my Denon are quite happy together ;)
 
Originally posted by z5461313
gringottsdirect

I agree - the Gallos have to get their marketing going in the UK. But they must ensure they sound ok when demonstrating as this is also letting them down

<gripe>
And the could start by having the sub, any sub, set up properly! Music without bass is meaningless... IMHO of course! And they could go on by using a decent amplifier/receiver able to do some justice to them.
</gripe>
 
Afternoon Gentlemen...

I am now in receipt of a letter from Andy Clough - Editor of WHF.

It basically states that the Nucleus Micro loudspeakers were thoroughly tested in their "suite of listening rooms" over a period of 7 days, they were set-up "correctly", evaluated by a number of reviewers (including Andy himself) and the outcome was that "sadly, the system sounded dull and lacked the excitement we would expect for home cinema use".

He states that WHF review on a "strictly 'sound-per-pound' basis " and that "If these speakers cost, say £500 then they MIGHT have got a higher rating".

So there we have it. Unfortunately there is little that we can do now, the review is in the public domain and WHF have pretty much washed their hands of the whole affair.

We will however try and maintain some optimism and continue to do our job which is to establish a strong brand with what we feel is a very strong product line. Some people will get it, some won't, thats life!

Thanks again for the kind words and support, it really is grately appreciated by us all.

All the best,

David Baxter,
AGA UK.
 
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