Gale 401s -- failed project resurrected...

[Mr Tibbs]

Way, way back in 1977 I scrimped and saved until I had the necessary £400 to buy a pair of these. They served me well for about 15 years until a pair of ES14s replaced them. It was either that or buy (at least) a NAP250 to replace my trusty but somewhat overworked NAP110. I figured the Gale's were a bit tired anyway, so went the sensible route with the ES14s.

Five years ago I briefly brought the 401s out of storage, spent some time tarting up the cabinet bracing/damping, and fired them back to life. They lasted a day or two and sounded glorious - proper bass is a revelation that sadly the ES14s never really managed.

What went wrong? To put it bluntly, they fell apart. In a matter of seconds they went from sounding great to a farting, spluttering mess. The dreaded foam surround rot was the cause. I toyed with the idea of re-foaming them but bottled out and instead built a pair of James's rather fine Ergo-IIIs.

No1 daughter (who has just passed her driving test) has pleaded with me to fit some boom boom bass boxes in her little car. We got into a conversation where I tried my best to explain that 'boom boom' bass was not actually a good thing. It must have worked, because she's stopped the pleading. Only, she now wants speakers for her bedroom that do 'proper bass'. I showed her a picture of the 401's. She wants!

She will need some patience though, as you will appreciate from the attached photos;

Mr Tibbs

 

[Mr Tibbs]

Early advertisement;

Mr Tibbs

 

[RJohan]

I remember someone doing a 401 restoration on these pages before. Search the archive?

They where ultra cool looking, btw. Something to have together with Lecson amps, the Yamaha "designer" cassette deck and, of course, the Gale turntable for a true 1970's "show" system!

JohanR

 

[Rasher]

I've always wanted a pair of those, even though I've never heard them.
As a kid I saw them in the magazines and wanted them ever since.

 

[GWM]

I remember hearing the 401's in a dealers after I had just bought a pair of Mission 770.I was mortified to hear how much beter they were, easily one of the best around at their time and still good today.Great clarity in the mid and good tight bass from memory.
From time to time I look out for a good pair to use or restore I hope you get them going again.
Geoff

 

[Pulse Studio]

Mr Tibbs, may I make a suggestion to save yourself both time any money !!!

Sell those Celestion HF2000's super-tweeters on e-bay, they will fetch a descent sum, then with the funds buy your daughter a good pair of S/H speakers from AudioJumble, simpulz

Paul

 

[Mr Tibbs]

I remember someone doing a 401 restoration on these pages before. Search the archive?

They where ultra cool looking, btw. Something to have together with Lecson amps, the Yamaha "designer" cassette deck and, of course, the Gale turntable for a true 1970's "show" system!

JohanR

I searched, but the few hits mostly involve me somewhere in them.

The lecson amps do seem to be associated with Gale speakers. Meridian's early amps also seem to have been a common pairing. When I first bought the Gales I used a Quad 405 - it was hopeless as It couldn't cope with the load. A TVA-1 valve amp (using a Meridian 101 pre) worked pretty well. A Naim 42.5/110 was much better though (in a fairly small room).

I don't think I've ever seen a loudspeaker that looks as cool as the 401A. Ira Gale (a physicist) designed them, but the appearance was yacht designer Jon Bannenberg's creation.

I've always wanted a pair of those, even though I've never heard them.
As a kid I saw them in the magazines and wanted them ever since.

They (can) sound amazing. Great clarity and super tight bass are their hallmark, though much depends on what is upstream of them. Their ability to fry amps is almost as legendary as their good points.

I remember hearing the 401's in a dealers after I had just bought a pair of Mission 770.I was mortified to hear how much beter they were, easily one of the best around at their time and still good today.Great clarity in the mid and good tight bass from memory.
From time to time I look out for a good pair to use or restore I hope you get them going again.

I heard mine demoed against a pair of Yamaha NS1000s. Both are great, but the Yams didn't have the cool factor. LOL - I've just noticed you've almost exactly matched my description of how they sound. Thanks - I hope I get them sorted this time.

Sell those Celestion HF2000's super-tweeters on e-bay, they will fetch a descent sum, then with the funds buy your daughter a good pair of S/H speakers from AudioJumble, simpulz

I'm not even sure those tweeters still work!

Anyway, the girl has spoken. She wants the Gales - obviously because they are black and chrome and none of her pals have anything remotely like them

Mr Tibbs

PS I want to hear them again, too.

 

[Pulse Studio]

I'm not even sure those tweeters still work!
Anyway, the girl has spoken. She wants the Gales - obviously because they are black and chrome and none of her pals have anything remotely like them
Mr Tibbs
PS I want to hear them again, too.

Ooooh the youth of today eh, just have to be different, and why not indeed !! those HF2000's still sell even non working versions, but I appreciate your dilemma, good luck with that resurrection Mr Tibbs, rather you than me fella
Paul

 

[Mr Tibbs]

I've just ordered a complete re-foam kit from this handy UK site;

http://speaker-repairs.co.uk/index.html

I think I'll start with the Peerless KO 40 mid's as I have a feeling they'll be the trickiest items to get right. The bass units are not exactly precision engineered, so they should hopefully mend without a world of pain. The crossovers obviously need a straightforward re-cap, but I'd also like to get the mid/tweeter level control pot's working again as they'd prove useful in getting both speakers working evenly. I bypassed those pot's years ago (along with the fuses), but luckily I kept the wipers and knobs.

That leaves the tweeters. God knows what they're like by now!

good luck with that resurrection Mr Tibbs

Thanks, I'll be needing some luck alright.

Mr Tibbs

 

[Pulse Studio]

A very useful link, thanks those HF2000's should be OK, measure the static resistance which should be around 5.9 - 6.3 ohms, I have a pair of never used HF2000's and that is what they measure, I also use an old almost dead 1.5V AA battery to just check that the cone moves in the right direction when connected to the battery, it only needs to be touched momentarily on the battery terminals, fingers crossed for you

Paul

 

[GWM]

I guess you have seen this site, lots of info on the gales.Looking at the picks again they need a lot of work so good luck,looking forward to this might have a go if I can find a suitable pair.
Didn't Les use these at one time seem to remember him recomending mods.

http://groups.google.com/group/gale-audio

Geoff

 

[TimF]

Those Gales with the shiny metallic cheeks would make a great addition to Austin Power's pad, groovy baby! Looks like a nice project Mr. Tibbs!

 

[RustyB]

Great project, I'm jealous!

One thing to check Mr T: have a close look at the spiders on the AR woofers, make sure they haven't sagged. The spider should be flat, not concave, and the top of the cone should be about level with the flange where the surround attaches. Also check that the braids haven't frayed.

Those AR woofers may be crude, but rarely give any grief when rebuilding.

Cheers,

Rusty ( happy GS 301 owner).

 

[trancera]

Couple of 47uf electros in series to quick test the tweeters Tibbs?

 

[trancera]

Just had a look at those speakers OMG. Well if it doesnt work out you could buy two toasters, pop a pair of car speaker in the top and wrap the centre with vinyl

You're brave or mad Tibbs, impressive project.

 

[lexi]

I used to listen to them in a shop. They took a helluva power to make any noise

 

[Mr Tibbs]

A very useful link, thanks those HF2000's should be OK, measure the static resistance which should be around 5.9 - 6.3 ohms, I have a pair of never used HF2000's and that is what they measure

Oh dear, one of mine measures 4.5 Ohms, the other infinity

I think I might need to open them up and take a closer look. What the hell, in for a penny and all that crap -- I can't break them any more than they already are.

I guess you have seen this site, lots of info on the gales.Looking at the picks again they need a lot of work so good luck,looking forward to this might have a go if I can find a suitable pair.

Yep, spotted it - that's where I got the brochure scan from. There does appear to be a growing interest in these speakers compared to a few years back. Certainly more than when I searched some years ago. It might be a good idea to grab a pair before they start to gather too much interest.

One thing to check Mr T: have a close look at the spiders on the AR woofers, make sure they haven't sagged. The spider should be flat, not concave, and the top of the cone should be about level with the flange where the surround attaches. Also check that the braids haven't frayed.

Rusty, many thanks for that info. I'll check all that tomorrow and report back.

You're brave or mad Tibbs, impressive project.

The last attempt was a bit brave. This one is probably mad.

I used to listen to them in a shop. They took a helluva power to make any noise

They actually go loud with a relatively limited voltage swing, but the amp must be able to deliver plenty of current into the low impedance load, without overheating or becoming unstable.

I appreciate the thumbs-up from you guys. I hope I can get a good result this time and provide some useful info for anyone interested in having a go at bringing a pair of these beauties back to life.

Mr Tibbs

 

[Rico]

I'd love a pair of these - having heard a good pair years ago at Tony's, I thought them excellent.

back in the day a 250 would have been a better idea and stick with the 401s. a 110 into ES14s? uh uh.

You might have to send your drivers out to niu zild for Rusty to rebuild...

 

[Mr Tibbs]

back in the day a 250 would have been a better idea and stick with the 401s. a 110 into ES14s? uh uh.

Back then, I relied on my dealer (a good, trustworthy and knowledgeable guy) to direct me. I put it to him that ES14s needed a 250 to work properly. He replied by demonstrating ES14s driven by my 110 against the shop 250 - a dem that clearly dispelled the myth that ES14s really needed a 250 to work properly. Anyway, not a debate that holds much interest for me (or I guess those reading this thread) right now.

You might have to send your drivers out to niu zild for Rusty to rebuild...

I'm hoping Rusty can keep me 'on the straight and narrow' by remote control.

Mr Tibbs

 

[Mr Tibbs]

The broken HF2000 has been dismantled. The problem turned out to be a break in the VC wire at the point where it leaves the coil. I've simply unwound the coil by one turn to give me enough wire to remake the connection. Not yet attempted to rebuild the thing.

Some pic's of the stripdown;

Mr Tibbs