Hi ron. I have dismantled some gallos before to install it in my bestfriends car to try it out. The mids dont have anything inside just real high quality speaker wire, if i am not mistaken silver solid wire.it also has some fill. The round enclosure is thin but strong because of its shape and size. So no crossovers for that just a real good driver. If you want to dismantle the mids just remove the grill. Its force fitted. Just use 2 sharp tools to lift it slowly around the edges of the grill and you will see the screws. Hope this helps.
I'm guessing when Galo says there is no crossover they mean on the mid drivers. They rely on the natural roll-off of the mid. That's the impression I got from what you read from their website.
The caps are a pair of MDL Metallized Polyester Film Capacitors (aka Mylar), bypassed with a Vishay MKP1837 Metallized Polypropylene Film Capacitor. Mylar caps are better than electrolytic, but are not really what you'd want to see in the signal path of a high-end speaker. The MKP1837 bypass doesn't add any functional capacitance, but is there to impart some of the sonic qualities of a good polyropylene cap. MKP1837 caps are a common and inexpensive tweak for the DIY crowd.
So they did that to cut costs i assume or is there an actual benefit by doing it like that because saving a few bucks on a speaker like that seems a bit strange
It's a bypass capacitor, usually to influence colour of sound. The tweeter is probably a curved ribbon unit, hence the transformer to compensatie for the low impedance (not quite well implemented given the very low impedance for the high range). Not really a problem, there is almost no energie in that range. The dip in the curve vertical (and horizontal also) is due to poor intergration of the units. 1st order or no filter applications seldom work due to poor phase intergration. A well designed 2nd or 3rd ( for mtm ) will have give a much better result. The statement that crossovers mess up sound, is true, the higher the filter order, the flatter the sound. If You can't get away with no filter or 1st order filters, it's worse then a well designed filter.
If you really want to disassemble the speakers further, you can. There is a screw that goes through from the back of the interior of the speaker body, into the back of the driver. This screw holds the driver against the sphere, and the sphere against the body. However, I don't know the torque spec needed for reassembly. Then there are 4 screws that hold the CDT housing to the main housing, and the CDT is just sandwiched between those.
I believe that the transformer is being used to step up the voltage to the tweeter, which is most likely a high impedance device, much higher than any normal transducer. It is possibly a design similar to an electret or piezoelectric microphone, but used in reverse. Other than providing a very wide horizontal dispersion at the cost of vertical dispersion, I cannot see how such a speaker could sound superior to an otherwise well designed system. As far a as crossover, there does not appear to be anything that routes the lows to the woofers and the highs to the tweeter. So I believe that Gallo is correct.
Looks like on the back side of the woofer metal cups is a Allen screw with a washer. Perhaps that needs to be taken off in order to get the woofers off and reveal additional hardware.
What your seeing is the high pass for the tweeter. Multiple caps to equate to one specific value that may not be available. The woofers are full range, tweeter is high passed. So the "woofers" are basically 2 of the nucleas orbs, with a tweeter to pick up the upper frequency. Not the worst setup but generally not the best.
Nicely done. I'd be the first one to admitt I know nothing about inner workings or measurements, but I can say I'm using the Strada 2 have for the last couple of years and I'm happy. Enjoy listening to music through them. I'm I saying their my last speakers, no but I could live with these for now.
Awesome video, and not strange at all! I have always been fascinated with these speakers and I am so glad that someone is finally reviewing it and opening it up. The only reason why didn't buy them is because I couldn't afford it at the time. So I am really excited what you have to say about them. A BIG thanks for making this video!
I think that the capacitors are a high pass filter (crossover) for the tweeter. This doesn't necessarily conflict with the Gallo statement that the midwoofer is "optimized to integrate... without the use of a crossover". A 2-way crossover is typically comprised of a low pass filter for the woofer and a high pass filter for the tweeter. This speaker seems to utilize only the high pass section - allowing the woofer to run 'wide open'. Just my impression as I don't have direct knowledge of this speaker.
I’d concur with the previous comment. I used to own some Gallo products but when I dismantled the to see which drivers were being used, I almost cried when I pulled out some pantyhose filled with fibers from the subwoofers I bought.... that was it. I don’t recall ever using another of their products. No doubt built like a tank, but I recall hearing a saying ‘pearls on a pig’ There is one exception, I heard the Gallo 3.1 floorstanders and was absolutely astounded. Looked like a set of dumbbells in the room but the soundstage was wonderful!
The "some pantyhose filled with fibers" you pulled out of your subwoofer were 'patented S2 damping control pods (that) guarantee the elmination of ear-fatiguing colourations such as enclosure resonance and distortion.' This statement is taken directly from their website. The "pods" replace any batting or foam panels normally used internally in speaker cabinets and work better at their intended job than either of those products.
johnny lee There is no way that those pantyhose dampeners or any dampening stuffing material can eliminate enclosure resonances. It can lessen the effects of acoustic standing waves and also make it appear that the enclosed volume is larger than it is, but it cannot totally eliminate resonances. Also a problem with any enclosure is the resonant modes of the enclosure itself, and stuffing material does nothing to address that issue.
johnny lee ok, well I’ve read all the info on their website and let’s just say that I am pretty skeptical about the 68Hz f3, but let’s see what Ron has to say about how it sounds.
I believe the transformer is an impedance matching transformer. The circuit board has a large cap with a small bypass, I think this is used to filter, crossover the tweeter. When they say crossover less, I think they only mean the mid-woofer. I believe the woofers are driven full-range. Thanks for the video.
Caps (two yellow and one small gray are in parallel) are there to act as dc decoupling filter for tweeter step-up transformer(transformers don't like DC), tweeter is based on Kynar, piezo film that change it's form if stimulated by voltage, but it needs higher voltage to be of same "efficiency" as woofers . "Woofers", better say MIDbasses, or even fullranges in this case, classic cone drivers, are directly connected to amp.
TOMISLAV GASPARIC I’m sure the caps are there to rolloff the lows to protect the tweeter from over excursion. Also there is no DC coming from the power amp, unless it fails and shorts to a power supply rail.
@@StewartMarkley tweeter is piezo type, not electrodynamic , so it is capacitive device and therefore kinda of high pass filter(crossover) on it's own. Power amps can have some dc on output , people in Gallo don't know what will peole use for driving their speakers so they put DC protection for step-transformer, not just to protect, to avoid any transformer core DC saturation. Best regards
TOMISLAV GASPARIC Yes, amps may have some DC on their outputs, but it would be in the millivolt range or lower. Not enough to affect a transformer and certainly not enough to saturate the core. The capacitance of the tweeter would not be a highpass filter, but rather a lowpass filter as it is capacitance shunted across the driver not in series. I maintain that the capacitors are a first order highpass filter for protection and lower distortion.
Great video Ron! Just love the aesthetics of them. I really enjoy these disassembly videos. You, and the family take care! Catch you on the next video.
Im curious for what though, I thought they only bypassed electrolytics with pp film capacitors to improve sound quality and if you use all pp film capacitors that you don't need them.
Gallo’s description means there’s no low pass crossover in the woofer circuit. They run full range and rely on the natural roll off of the driver to blend with the CDT. The crossover that IS inside is the high pass crossover for the CDT.
The tweeter is high impedance and your amplifier would struggle to drive it. The transformer is to match impedance so your amplifier can drive the tweeter. If you want more in depth stuff, look up transformers in crossover design.
Hi, I know this video is old. I just wanted your opinion in terms of how do these compare with what's around today. Espeically interested in terms of how this compares to speakers with "exotic" tweeters, like Martin Logans (bookshelves and towers), Goldenears, Swan, Emotiva etc. I do read a major con (thin sound due to lack of bass and that's a big penalty for me.) However, can't help but be exited about the way people have desrcibed this tweete's performance.
Maybe attempt to get the grills off, or turn the whole sphere (lug secured) if no screws are apparent - if not, they were designed this way for a reason. Including the material on the backing plate looks like they require a sealed unit/infinite baffling - the methodology appears pivotal to their design. No half arsed job like leaving banana plugs in it. Have a good day man, always enjoy your channel ✌🏽
Looks like Gallo has done what Epos and Dynaco did; engineer the main drivers to roll off acoustically, therefore negating the need for any crossover components in the bass section. This means that the amp is directly connected to the bass units ("no crossover") and, therefore, doesnt have its damping factor compromised. I think! I know that ribbon units usually need a coupling transformer, because the ribbon itself is usually a fraction of an ohm, but dont know if Gallo uses pure ribbon drivers in their speakers.
A large allen key will get you through the next step and thats a 10000 picofarad (.01 microfarad) cap which will normaly be used to cut out a sharp peak in the high frequency response or could be also be used as impedance/resistance loading for the transformer. (aka load matching)
Comments on crossover. Ron there is a crossover but it looks like it's a first order with a bypass cap or a cap in parallel to tweak the design somewhat on the Tweeter. The transformer looks to be a more natural break that causes something similar to a first order (electrical) on the woofer. Transformers put less strain on your amps and should sound smoother. Still need some kind of low frequency driver with that gallo setup.
that's the tweeter crossover including the transformer which basically is there in series with the caps instead of using resistors to reduce the efficiency of the tweeter(much better then any resistor), that little thing is a bypass capacitor in parallel with the tweeter crossover capacitors, there is no crossover for the middbass drivers
Circuit board may simply be a filter to a avoid the tweeter being damaged by low frequencies. The mid/bass units will run full frequency with a natural mechanical high frequency roll off. So technically there is no conventional crossover,
Better I suppose Yeah No, a crossover is two filters for a two way speaker and three filters for a three way speaker. The filters cross over or route if you like the appropriate frequencies to the appropriate driver. This speaker has only one filter to rolloff the lows to the midwoofers. The midwoofers have no filter but the design relies on the acoustical rolloff of the drivers to accomplish the effect of an electrical lowpass filter. You could say that the speaker uses an electro acoustical crossover though.
8:40 if only there were some markings on the circuit board that indicated what that component is and its value ;p It would have been cool if you'd managed to get the midranges out, it seems they are only held in by one bolt to reduce frame to enclosure vibrations, and to make it look more seamless of course.
i been thinking about this speaker for years, hard to get a hold of one without importing. it has many design ideas that i like, as sealed cabinet, wide dispersion tweeter and small woofers. but it also have some drawbacks that holds me back, like to many grills covering things up, i am pretty sure that the woofer grills can come off, or that might be the older version of the strada.... it also is hard to get a stand to work with them, i need 8 to 12 inch stands, and "feet" that comes with them dont sit very well on normal stands.
That's a filter board for the matching transformer (8 ohm to 1600 ohm which, by nature, would also step up the voltage), I would assume to drive the tweeter. Seems the midwoofers (full range drivers) are directly connected and use their construction and the enclosure design to roll them off naturally.The (2) 5 uF caps (yellow) in parallel make a 10 uF cap, and when driving the 8 ohm tap of the transformer gives you a first order 2 kHz crossover point (knee for the tweeter). The .01 uF cap sounds like a bypass cap to help pull much higher nasties out of the tweeter. That's the theory, at least, that could be confirmed with a study of the circuit board.And yeah, there's a hex-key head (Allen head) bolt on the inside holding the stainless cups to the main frame.
Is that "transformer" not a low-pass "Inductor" ? A large low-pass inductor can look very much like like a transformer except that an inductor has no "secondary windings" just an unwound link. P.s. The large caps & especially the inductor in my vintage B&W DM70's passive bass-cabs shocked me upon my first site of it, as it looks very much like a large 2'ish VA frame transformer (except for an abcense of any windings on a secondary) Just a thought because i cannot think what a normal tranformer is doing in there. (unless they were active version or to feeds matching sub or active bass driver add-on bits, or a step-down t/former for long 100'v/speaker lines? (v.long shot, or i missed something said, i should have re-run it 1'st really)
This might help with the transformer/crossover conundrum. Found it from The Absolute Sound review: www.theabsolutesound.com/articles/anthony-gallo-acoustics-reference-strada-2-monitors-and-tr-3d-subwoofer/
You mention in 5:40 that the back plate is steel. The website says the chassis is powder coated aluminum, the spheres are brushed stainless steel and the grilles are powder coated stainless steel. So, I think that back plate would be powder coated aluminum.
I think so too. It should be pretty obvious due to the weight of the object compared to its size/thickness. Furthermore can use a magnet to test, which he'd have heaps of. But I don't think this guy has done technical dismantling and understanding how things work very much.
Nicely machined piece of steel, disappointing inner findings (somewhat conflicted with the advertised layout), interesting tweeter but nasty comb filtering due to vastly separated "woofers" playing fairly high frequenncies. It looks atractive, it has very tempting ad, but measurment don't lie. What about listening expirience? Be like Sherlock Holmes of Hi-Fi :) You may guess who Dr. Watson is...
It's a nice sound but seems "scooped" because of the lack of mid energy off axis. For some people they may like this as a lot of stuff does tend to sound less strident imo
From what you said it sounds like they mean no crossover on the mid-woofers(you would have to trace the signal path to be sure it was straight though), also the little white component is another capacitor. It is weird seeing a transformer... They are rarely used in place of resistors as an L-pad which will lower the output, I'm guessing it's for the tweeter as it's different and may need something like this for the amplifier to see the proper impedance???. The substance filling the sock is... I forget what it actually is but it is basically claimed to increase the apparent volume of the enclosure. And I would think the foam on the back plate is to help stop it from ringing. Oh and love the full screen measurements,😜👍 Again love these teardowns and measurements!
I have now the Stradas 2 and I had the Solos and the Reference II in the past. And I had to open and repair the references due to a tweeter cable being disconnected - so I am familiar with what is inside. The tweeter (the "CDT") is itself a capacitor. I measured it with a multimeter. I haven't the notes I took with me, so I can't tell you the exact value. I think it was 0.1 uF but of course newer designs can have a different value. The way it is connected (loudspeaker post - capacitor - transformer - CDT) is in series. As the CDT is a capacitor, the effect of the front capacitor is NOT as a filter, but as a voltage divider - so that the CDT gets the "same share" of the incoming voltage, no matter the frequency. With a resistive tweeter, you may need a sometimes a "padding" resistor to adapt the loudness of the tweeter to that of the woofer; in this case, you need a capacitor to perform the same task. So, in short: in purity, this is NOT a filter; this is akin to a padding resistor. (But in an "extended" definition of crossover, I would say it IS a crossover)
A crossover is a lowpass filter for the woofer and highpass filter for the tweeter. This speaker has no lowpass for the woofers, the highs are acoustically filtered by the rolloff of the woofers. The capacitors form a first order highpass filter for the tweeter to rolloff the lows, but since there is no complementary lowpass filter for the woofer, there is no crossover in the usual sense anyway. You could say that the speaker has an electro acoustical crossover though.
Those directivity measurements kind of confirm what I was hearing, and this would be similar to the Reference 3 I got to listen to. It's why I didn't end up buying them, because as nice as they sounded, that off axis made the sound seemingly lack some midrange, though it did make everything "sound polite". And every time I stand up the uppers mids/treble disappears
Using this in a car and having a real hi end dsp headunit we were able to e.q. the highs to bring it up. The silver wire is also used so the highs dont roll off as early
I belive those transformer are for LF filter..just like an inductor..the 3 capacitor as HF in 1st order design..cap are all in parallel and the small one is what we call as shunt
Hmm... Those are just kinda odd overall and cool at the same time. I wonder why there’s 2 capacitors in parallel rather than just 1 cap of the intended value. I also wonder if it’s just a cost cutting measure or a space saving thing? Above the MDL caps was another .01uf cap. I think Vishay. As usual, ya did do a great job with the measurements. Thanks, Ron. Good job, man!
So funny to see all these guys spend Thousands of $$ on speaker cables, then look inside the sepaker and see Plain off the roll wire ! LOL Proves my point all the time...
The tweeter is very low impedance, I’ll guess .5 Ohms so the transformer is used to increase the impedance to a higher impedance so you don’t destroy your amplifier.
James Warren The transformer has an 8 ohm winding which would be the primary side connected to the amplifier. The secondary has several taps from 1000-1600 ohms, one of which I can’t tell is connected to the tweeter. So the transformer is a step up transformer and an impedance matching transformer for the high impedance of the tweeter, which is likely a piezoelectric transducer.
Stewart Markley I was guessing it was similar to ribbon tweeters that have, a strip of aluminum measuring very low impedance. Have you seen quality speakers that use a piezoelectric transducer? I thought those were reserved for super cheap speakers?
James Warren I’ve only heard of piezo drivers being used as super tweeters but these seem to have been made large enough to lower the frequency range a lot. I have also heard of piezo transducers being used as inexpensive phono cartridges and one as well in an expensive design.
@@trekjudas it should work better with a subwoofer than most speakers since it has less bass. then you can add some subwoofers and cross them over higher than normal and get that big tower speakers sound. but what was your issue integrating a subwoofer i may ask?
Hi ron. I have dismantled some gallos before to install it in my bestfriends car to try it out. The mids dont have anything inside just real high quality speaker wire, if i am not mistaken silver solid wire.it also has some fill. The round enclosure is thin but strong because of its shape and size. So no crossovers for that just a real good driver. If you want to dismantle the mids just remove the grill. Its force fitted. Just use 2 sharp tools to lift it slowly around the edges of the grill and you will see the screws. Hope this helps.
I'm guessing when Galo says there is no crossover they mean on the mid drivers. They rely on the natural roll-off of the mid. That's the impression I got from what you read from their website.
The caps are a pair of MDL Metallized Polyester Film Capacitors (aka Mylar), bypassed with a Vishay MKP1837 Metallized Polypropylene Film Capacitor. Mylar caps are better
than electrolytic, but are not really what you'd want to see in the signal path of a high-end speaker. The MKP1837 bypass doesn't add any functional capacitance, but is there to impart some of the sonic qualities of a good polyropylene cap. MKP1837 caps are a common and inexpensive tweak for the DIY crowd.
KEF "loves" M.D.L. caps too. And Bennic cemented resistor.
[IMG, link] noaudiophile.com/KEF_Q300/KEF_Q300_Crossover.jpg
www.mdl.com.tw/en/info.html
Well, with Metallized Polypropylene Film (KEF)
So they did that to cut costs i assume or is there an actual benefit by doing it like that because saving a few bucks on a speaker like that seems a bit strange
It's a bypass capacitor, usually to influence colour of sound. The tweeter is probably a curved ribbon unit, hence the transformer to compensatie for the low impedance (not quite well implemented given the very low impedance for the high range). Not really a problem, there is almost no energie in that range. The dip in the curve vertical (and horizontal also) is due to poor intergration of the units. 1st order or no filter applications seldom work due to poor phase intergration. A well designed 2nd or 3rd ( for mtm ) will have give a much better result. The statement that crossovers mess up sound, is true, the higher the filter order, the flatter the sound. If You can't get away with no filter or 1st order filters, it's worse then a well designed filter.
If you really want to disassemble the speakers further, you can. There is a screw that goes through from the back of the interior of the speaker body, into the back of the driver. This screw holds the driver against the sphere, and the sphere against the body. However, I don't know the torque spec needed for reassembly. Then there are 4 screws that hold the CDT housing to the main housing, and the CDT is just sandwiched between those.
I believe that the transformer is being used to step up the voltage to the tweeter, which is most likely a high impedance device, much higher than any normal transducer. It is possibly a design similar to an electret or piezoelectric microphone, but used in reverse. Other than providing a very wide horizontal dispersion at the cost of vertical dispersion, I cannot see how such a speaker could sound superior to an otherwise well designed system.
As far a as crossover, there does not appear to be anything that routes the lows to the woofers and the highs to the tweeter. So I believe that Gallo is correct.
Yup
Looks like on the back side of the woofer metal cups is a Allen screw with a washer. Perhaps that needs to be taken off in order to get the woofers off and reveal additional hardware.
What your seeing is the high pass for the tweeter. Multiple caps to equate to one specific value that may not be available. The woofers are full range, tweeter is high passed. So the "woofers" are basically 2 of the nucleas orbs, with a tweeter to pick up the upper frequency. Not the worst setup but generally not the best.
Nicely done. I'd be the first one to admitt I know nothing about inner workings or measurements, but I can say I'm using the Strada 2 have for the last couple of years and I'm happy. Enjoy listening to music through them. I'm I saying their my last speakers, no but I could live with these for now.
Awesome video, and not strange at all! I have always been fascinated with these speakers and I am so glad that someone is finally reviewing it and opening it up. The only reason why didn't buy them is because I couldn't afford it at the time. So I am really excited what you have to say about them.
A BIG thanks for making this video!
I think that the capacitors are a high pass filter (crossover) for the tweeter. This doesn't necessarily conflict with the Gallo statement that the midwoofer is "optimized to integrate... without the use of a crossover". A 2-way crossover is typically comprised of a low pass filter for the woofer and a high pass filter for the tweeter. This speaker seems to utilize only the high pass section - allowing the woofer to run 'wide open'. Just my impression as I don't have direct knowledge of this speaker.
Just read further and Allan Redpath beat me to it.
I’d concur with the previous comment.
I used to own some Gallo products but when I dismantled the to see which drivers were being used, I almost cried when I pulled out some pantyhose filled with fibers from the subwoofers I bought.... that was it. I don’t recall ever using another of their products.
No doubt built like a tank, but I recall hearing a saying ‘pearls on a pig’
There is one exception, I heard the Gallo 3.1 floorstanders and was absolutely astounded. Looked like a set of dumbbells in the room but the soundstage was wonderful!
The "some pantyhose filled with fibers" you pulled out of your subwoofer were 'patented S2 damping control pods (that) guarantee the elmination of ear-fatiguing colourations such as enclosure resonance and distortion.' This statement is taken directly from their website. The "pods" replace any batting or foam panels normally used internally in speaker cabinets and work better at their intended job than either of those products.
johnny lee I don’t don’t doubt it!
johnny lee There is no way that those pantyhose dampeners or any dampening stuffing material can eliminate enclosure resonances. It can lessen the effects of acoustic standing waves and also make it appear that the enclosed volume is larger than it is, but it cannot totally eliminate resonances. Also a problem with any enclosure is the resonant modes of the enclosure itself, and stuffing material does nothing to address that issue.
@@StewartMarkley If you wish to debate your opinion on Gallo's acoustic engineering I suggest you contact them at roundsound dot com.
johnny lee ok, well I’ve read all the info on their website and let’s just say that I am pretty skeptical about the 68Hz f3, but let’s see what Ron has to say about how it sounds.
I believe the transformer is an impedance matching transformer. The circuit board has a large cap with a small bypass, I think this is used to filter, crossover the tweeter. When they say crossover less, I think they only mean the mid-woofer.
I believe the woofers are driven full-range.
Thanks for the video.
Caps (two yellow and one small gray are in parallel) are there to act as dc decoupling filter for tweeter step-up transformer(transformers don't like DC), tweeter is based on Kynar, piezo film that change it's form if stimulated by voltage, but it needs higher voltage to be of same "efficiency" as woofers . "Woofers", better say MIDbasses, or even fullranges in this case, classic cone drivers, are directly connected to amp.
TOMISLAV GASPARIC I’m sure the caps are there to rolloff the lows to protect the tweeter from over excursion. Also there is no DC coming from the power amp, unless it fails and shorts to a power supply rail.
@@StewartMarkley tweeter is piezo type, not electrodynamic , so it is capacitive device and therefore kinda of high pass filter(crossover) on it's own. Power amps can have some dc on output , people in Gallo don't know what will peole use for driving their speakers so they put DC protection for step-transformer, not just to protect, to avoid any transformer core DC saturation.
Best regards
TOMISLAV GASPARIC Yes, amps may have some DC on their outputs, but it would be in the millivolt range or lower. Not enough to affect a transformer and certainly not enough to saturate the core.
The capacitance of the tweeter would not be a highpass filter, but rather a lowpass filter as it is capacitance shunted across the driver not in series. I maintain that the capacitors are a first order highpass filter for protection and lower distortion.
@@StewartMarkley Ok, you are sure in your theory, I can't change that.
Great video Ron! Just love the aesthetics of them. I really enjoy these disassembly videos. You, and the family take care! Catch you on the next video.
Thanks so much for watching!
I'm learning with you buddy. Love your approach to the subject matter.
It is a 10 nanoFarad cap,which seems as a bypass fot the big ones!
Yup..its a shunt
Correct.
Correct
They said they didn't have/need a crossover on the midrange units. Not the treble unit it will need one.
Im curious for what though, I thought they only bypassed electrolytics with pp film capacitors to improve sound quality and if you use all pp film capacitors that you don't need them.
Thumbs up for Sarah! Ron you are a lucky man 👍🏻
Amen to that!
Gallo’s description means there’s no low pass crossover in the woofer circuit. They run full range and rely on the natural roll off of the driver to blend with the CDT. The crossover that IS inside is the high pass crossover for the CDT.
The tweeter is high impedance and your amplifier would struggle to drive it. The transformer is to match impedance so your amplifier can drive the tweeter. If you want more in depth stuff, look up transformers in crossover design.
Hi, I know this video is old.
I just wanted your opinion in terms of how do these compare with what's around today.
Espeically interested in terms of how this compares to speakers with "exotic" tweeters, like Martin Logans (bookshelves and towers), Goldenears, Swan, Emotiva etc.
I do read a major con (thin sound due to lack of bass and that's a big penalty for me.) However, can't help but be exited about the way people have desrcibed this tweete's performance.
Maybe attempt to get the grills off, or turn the whole sphere (lug secured) if no screws are apparent - if not, they were designed this way for a reason. Including the material on the backing plate looks like they require a sealed unit/infinite baffling - the methodology appears pivotal to their design. No half arsed job like leaving banana plugs in it. Have a good day man, always enjoy your channel ✌🏽
The little white box is a 0.01uf capacitor and it looks like around 160v rating (hard to read) Just used to bypass the bigger yellow film caps.
Looks like Gallo has done what Epos and Dynaco did; engineer the main drivers to roll off acoustically, therefore negating the need for any crossover components in the bass section. This means that the amp is directly connected to the bass units ("no crossover") and, therefore, doesnt have its damping factor compromised. I think! I know that ribbon units usually need a coupling transformer, because the ribbon itself is usually a fraction of an ohm, but dont know if Gallo uses pure ribbon drivers in their speakers.
A large allen key will get you through the next step and thats a 10000 picofarad (.01 microfarad) cap which will normaly be used to cut out a sharp peak in the high frequency response or could be also be used as impedance/resistance loading for the transformer. (aka load matching)
Comments on crossover. Ron there is a crossover but it looks like it's a first order with a bypass cap or a cap in parallel to tweak the design somewhat on the Tweeter. The transformer looks to be a more natural break that causes something similar to a first order (electrical) on the woofer. Transformers put less strain on your amps and should sound smoother. Still need some kind of low frequency driver with that gallo setup.
It would also appear there is a large nut inside the enclosure to release the stainless pods.
that's the tweeter crossover including the transformer which basically is there in series with the caps instead of using resistors to reduce the efficiency of the tweeter(much better then any resistor), that little thing is a bypass capacitor in parallel with the tweeter crossover capacitors, there is no crossover for the middbass drivers
Circuit board may simply be a filter to a avoid the tweeter being damaged by low frequencies. The mid/bass units will run full frequency with a natural mechanical high frequency roll off. So technically there is no conventional crossover,
but what is the definition of a crossover. Isn't it, simply put, a filter.
Better I suppose Yeah
Yes, in the simplest terms, it is a type of filter.
Better I suppose Yeah No, a crossover is two filters for a two way speaker and three filters for a three way speaker. The filters cross over or route if you like the appropriate frequencies to the appropriate driver. This speaker has only one filter to rolloff the lows to the midwoofers. The midwoofers have no filter but the design relies on the acoustical rolloff of the drivers to accomplish the effect of an electrical lowpass filter. You could say that the speaker uses an electro acoustical crossover though.
8:40 if only there were some markings on the circuit board that indicated what that component is and its value ;p
It would have been cool if you'd managed to get the midranges out, it seems they are only held in by one bolt to reduce frame to enclosure vibrations, and to make it look more seamless of course.
i been thinking about this speaker for years, hard to get a hold of one without importing.
it has many design ideas that i like, as sealed cabinet, wide dispersion tweeter and small woofers.
but it also have some drawbacks that holds me back, like to many grills covering things up, i am pretty sure that the woofer grills can come off, or that might be the older version of the strada....
it also is hard to get a stand to work with them, i need 8 to 12 inch stands, and "feet" that comes with them dont sit very well on normal stands.
That's a filter board for the matching transformer (8 ohm to 1600 ohm which, by nature, would also step up the voltage), I would assume to drive the tweeter. Seems the midwoofers (full range drivers) are directly connected and use their construction and the enclosure design to roll them off naturally.The (2) 5 uF caps (yellow) in parallel make a 10 uF cap, and when driving the 8 ohm tap of the transformer gives you a first order 2 kHz crossover point (knee for the tweeter). The .01 uF cap sounds like a bypass cap to help pull much higher nasties out of the tweeter. That's the theory, at least, that could be confirmed with a study of the circuit board.And yeah, there's a hex-key head (Allen head) bolt on the inside holding the stainless cups to the main frame.
Isn't it just a single allen bolt and washer in the center of the rear of the driver securing it in place?
those components may be load matching for the transformer connection but 5uf at 8 ohms would correlate with a 3k first order high pass.
Is that "transformer" not a low-pass "Inductor" ? A large low-pass inductor can look very much like like a transformer except that an inductor has no "secondary windings" just an unwound link. P.s. The large caps & especially the inductor in my vintage B&W DM70's passive bass-cabs shocked me upon my first site of it, as it looks very much like a large 2'ish VA frame transformer (except for an abcense of any windings on a secondary) Just a thought because i cannot think what a normal tranformer is doing in there. (unless they were active version or to feeds matching sub or active bass driver add-on bits, or a step-down t/former for long 100'v/speaker lines? (v.long shot, or i missed something said, i should have re-run it 1'st really)
Tear em all down brother, we’re in!
Hi Ron. Great video. It would be great if you colour coded the off-axis response using ROYGBIV. On the assumption the software allows you change them.
Great video tnx 👍
Ron I was just looking at the thumbnail for this video. I cannot believe how much Georgia has grown up! Wow time flies!
This might help with the transformer/crossover conundrum. Found it from The Absolute Sound review: www.theabsolutesound.com/articles/anthony-gallo-acoustics-reference-strada-2-monitors-and-tr-3d-subwoofer/
You mention in 5:40 that the back plate is steel. The website says the chassis is powder coated aluminum, the spheres are brushed stainless steel and the grilles are powder coated stainless steel. So, I think that back plate would be powder coated aluminum.
I think so too. It should be pretty obvious due to the weight of the object compared to its size/thickness. Furthermore can use a magnet to test, which he'd have heaps of. But I don't think this guy has done technical dismantling and understanding how things work very much.
Nicely machined piece of steel, disappointing inner findings (somewhat conflicted with the advertised layout), interesting tweeter but nasty comb filtering due to vastly separated "woofers" playing fairly high frequenncies. It looks atractive, it has very tempting ad, but measurment don't lie.
What about listening expirience?
Be like Sherlock Holmes of Hi-Fi :)
You may guess who Dr. Watson is...
It's a nice sound but seems "scooped" because of the lack of mid energy off axis. For some people they may like this as a lot of stuff does tend to sound less strident imo
From what you said it sounds like they mean no crossover on the mid-woofers(you would have to trace the signal path to be sure it was straight though), also the little white component is another capacitor. It is weird seeing a transformer... They are rarely used in place of resistors as an L-pad which will lower the output, I'm guessing it's for the tweeter as it's different and may need something like this for the amplifier to see the proper impedance???. The substance filling the sock is... I forget what it actually is but it is basically claimed to increase the apparent volume of the enclosure. And I would think the foam on the back plate is to help stop it from ringing. Oh and love the full screen measurements,😜👍
Again love these teardowns and measurements!
Gallo speakers🏆🥇
I have now the Stradas 2 and I had the Solos and the Reference II in the past. And I had to open and repair the references due to a tweeter cable being disconnected - so I am familiar with what is inside.
The tweeter (the "CDT") is itself a capacitor. I measured it with a multimeter. I haven't the notes I took with me, so I can't tell you the exact value. I think it was 0.1 uF but of course newer designs can have a different value.
The way it is connected (loudspeaker post - capacitor - transformer - CDT) is in series. As the CDT is a capacitor, the effect of the front capacitor is NOT as a filter, but as a voltage divider - so that the CDT gets the "same share" of the incoming voltage, no matter the frequency. With a resistive tweeter, you may need a sometimes a "padding" resistor to adapt the loudness of the tweeter to that of the woofer; in this case, you need a capacitor to perform the same task.
So, in short: in purity, this is NOT a filter; this is akin to a padding resistor. (But in an "extended" definition of crossover, I would say it IS a crossover)
very informed reply.
My thoughts are that maybe instead of having a conventional type crossover the woofers have a low pass and and the tweeter has a highpass.
I dont get it..Its still a crossover
A crossover is a lowpass filter for the woofer and highpass filter for the tweeter. This speaker has no lowpass for the woofers, the highs are acoustically filtered by the rolloff of the woofers. The capacitors form a first order highpass filter for the tweeter to rolloff the lows, but since there is no complementary lowpass filter for the woofer, there is no crossover in the usual sense anyway. You could say that the speaker has an electro acoustical crossover though.
Appreciate the full screen measurements 👍
Those directivity measurements kind of confirm what I was hearing, and this would be similar to the Reference 3 I got to listen to. It's why I didn't end up buying them, because as nice as they sounded, that off axis made the sound seemingly lack some midrange, though it did make everything "sound polite". And every time I stand up the uppers mids/treble disappears
i see a permanent overhead camera in your future.
That´s in not a transformer, is an inductor E I type.
Mr. Gallo will talk to you on the phone and answer all your questions. He also gives setup advice.
Mr Gallo sold and retired from the Company. If you know of a way to talk to him please relay that info. Many thanks
@@steveavaughn1 sorry, it was a few years ago. If you know where to get the blue gel feet he sold with his classic line, I would like to know.
it's a 10nf bypass cap to ground. 1$ cap.
Using this in a car and having a real hi end dsp headunit we were able to e.q. the highs to bring it up. The silver wire is also used so the highs dont roll off as early
I belive those transformer are for LF filter..just like an inductor..the 3 capacitor as HF in 1st order design..cap are all in parallel and the small one is what we call as shunt
Hmm... Those are just kinda odd overall and cool at the same time. I wonder why there’s 2 capacitors in parallel rather than just 1 cap of the intended value. I also wonder if it’s just a cost cutting measure or a space saving thing? Above the MDL caps was another .01uf cap. I think Vishay. As usual, ya did do a great job with the measurements.
Thanks, Ron. Good job, man!
14:29 Why you should avoid MTM speakers...
weird and definitely interesting
So funny to see all these guys spend Thousands of $$ on speaker cables, then look inside the sepaker and see Plain off the roll wire ! LOL Proves my point all the time...
And even if there is good cable inside, it still ends up in very thin copper or aluminium wire at the voice coil :)
Technically it's not a crossover, only a high pass filter (to keep bass frequencies from blowing out the tweeter).
I remember seeing the inside of those... It just comes down to a bigger hammer....😆☑️
I have a strange feeling Danny Richie is Ron's Father.
lol no
UFO ,lol , unidentified filter object.
Love it
10nF itty bitty capacitor
.01 micro farad, It's a cap Ron. (:
The tweeter is very low impedance, I’ll guess .5 Ohms so the transformer is used to increase the impedance to a higher impedance so you don’t destroy your amplifier.
James Warren The transformer has an 8 ohm winding which would be the primary side connected to the amplifier. The secondary has several taps from 1000-1600 ohms, one of which I can’t tell is connected to the tweeter. So the transformer is a step up transformer and an impedance matching transformer for the high impedance of the tweeter, which is likely a piezoelectric transducer.
Stewart Markley I was guessing it was similar to ribbon tweeters that have, a strip of aluminum measuring very low impedance. Have you seen quality speakers that use a piezoelectric transducer? I thought those were reserved for super cheap speakers?
James Warren I’ve only heard of piezo drivers being used as super tweeters but these seem to have been made large enough to lower the frequency range a lot. I have also heard of piezo transducers being used as inexpensive phono cartridges and one as well in an expensive design.
The measurements are AWFUL. Thats some crazy dip relative to 1khz even on axis. Wow... just wow.
These Gallos really should be sold with a subwoofer. It is absolutely worthless with one.
I’ll be talking about that in my review
New Record Day it’s my fault. I bought a pair of speakers based totally on reviews I read.
everything needs a subwoofer so that is to be expected.
@@sudd3660 Subwoofers can be a nice audition but the Gallos just plain don't work with one!
@@trekjudas it should work better with a subwoofer than most speakers since it has less bass. then you can add some subwoofers and cross them over higher than normal and get that big tower speakers sound.
but what was your issue integrating a subwoofer i may ask?