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Gale 401s -- failed project resurrected...

Perhaps the angle of the photo is deceiving but I can help but wonder if there's further improvement to be had from elevating the speakers so the left one has more clearance above the arm of the sofa? However I appreciate that doing so without compromising the elegant aesthetic of the stands will be difficult.
 
Aye, it's not an ideal arrangement. The pukka stands are a little lower than the wooden tripods, but the top tray actually leans back a few degrees so the end result means the speakers are actually dead on axis with ear level from about 3.5m away, and as such both sound pretty much the same with a mono source (though I've already had the mid and treble tweaked up a little on the LH side for some time now as the sofa is obviously absorbing some sound). BUT ... as part of a long planned room redecoration that sofa is soon heading for the nearest recycling centre! In its place there may be a long low level record/cd storage unit, with possibly a bench top and padded seating and cushions to help kill reflections and accommodate the occasional visitor to my den :)

Mr Tibbs
 
Hey gang, new member here. I grabbed some gale 401c's the other week. I can't get any sound from the mids. They read ok on the multi. I have also cleaned the pots on the ?variable resistor. Truth be told I'm am an electronics dunce so I'm not sure where to go from here. Any ideas?
 
Tony L said:
There is someone making perfect reproductions of the original chrome Gale stands now (link). My Gale loving friend has just had his 401s refurbished (refoamed etc) and bought the stands and they’ve never sounded better to my ears. Great to see this classic speaker made a viable option for folk who don’t DIY.
Click to expand...
I love the way they make a point of "using new laser cutting technology". They're bent tubes! :D
 
Link:
http://theaudiostandard.net/thread/93/rebuilding-pair-classic-gale-speakers
Scroll down and this shows rev3 of the 401C x-over. If the 34uF capacitor (from memory, reading Mr Tibbs excellent thread, it is composed from 60uF and 80uF non-polar electrolytics in series) is dried out / open circuit you will get no sound. Disconnect the mid-driver and try a 1.5V AA battery on the terminals. By connecting and disconnecting the battery you should get a "pop" out of the driver or physically see it move in / out.
AP
 
Thankyou for the advice. I replaced the resistors and the caps and now they are singing! Had a bit of trouble getting all that stuffing back in! Very bass heavy speakers. Maybe they need to be off the ground?
 
I am running them with an nad 352. 80w so maybe more current/power will get them a bit snappier. What's the consensus on upright vs sideways?
 
They seem 'designed' to be sideways if you have the chrome end cap variety. The Wood end can look OK upright - and you can choose to run the tweeter as 'inny' or 'outy'. But do not forget that the tweeter in this case is only half way up the speaker, which might affect your choice of stand height.

Mine are sideways on the original flexi stands that were designed for them.
 
I have the C's . Everyone has gone to bed now but I'll have a play with positioning tomorrow. Thanks again for everyone's help.
 
Hi guys , been a 401a owner since the early 80's , now living in Perth Australia where many Gale speakers were sold and onto my second pair.
I am now at the point where I wish to refresh the crossover and have ordered up Clarity cap CSA's and Jantzen super res resistors to do the rebuild. I am also rebuilding a pair of AR90's for a pal and one of the recommendations for those speakers is to set all the inductors at 90 degrees to each other to minimise interaction. Has anyone tried this with Gales ? Any hints and tips for maximiseing the quality of the crossover rebuilt will be greatfully recieved.
 
awkwardbydesign said:
I love the way they make a point of "using new laser cutting technology". They're bent tubes! :D
Click to expand...
Only the bloke who previously ran the chop saw would have an appreciation for the new laser cutting technology.

Not to mention the poor fellow who was responsible for de-burring the cut ends.
 
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