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GALE GS401A's incoming

cooky1257

cooky1257

pfm Member
Snagged a pair off AOS t'other day, looking forward to collecting what have been a bit of a 'bucket-list' speaker since I first set eyes on a pair in Harman Audio, Liverpool in the 70's. These look in ok condition, mids and tweeters are original, will inspect/restore everything anyway.
I know they have a rep for frying amps but am probably ok with the ML No 333 on duty- I wonder how the Quad 240 or even a Rotel 956AX would cope?
 
A lot of modern amps should be no problem. Back when they were first made, decent power SS amps were not so common. I run my pair (fully restored by Dave Smith) pair on a Roksan K2 integrated. More than enough muscle in a domestic room.
 
Which color did you get?

iu


Wait, those are the new portable ones...

:p
 
Hooked them up this afternoon and initial impression was tooth enamel stripping mids and treble but once I'd dialled both pots all the way back they sound bloody good.:)
Very clean and clear sound- monitor like tbh, bass is very dry, lean and tight- very tight. I like them.
 
cooky1257 said:
Hooked them up this afternoon and initial impression was tooth enamel stripping mids and treble but once I'd dialled both pots all the way back they sound bloody good.:)
Very clean and clear sound- monitor like tbh, bass is very dry, lean and tight- very tight. I like them.
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I'm surprised the HF2000s aren't blown if the pots were cranked to max! Maybe the previous owner only listened to them at sedate SPLs. How much adjustment do the pots provide, is it similar to the likes of the JR149's +/-1.5dB?
 
cooky1257 said:
Hooked them up this afternoon and initial impression was tooth enamel stripping mids and treble but once I'd dialled both pots all the way back they sound bloody good.:)
Very clean and clear sound- monitor like tbh, bass is very dry, lean and tight- very tight. I like them.
Click to expand...

Have you checked the drivers for foam rot? They are notorious for it and that might explain a lack of bass and hard sound.
 
Tony L said:
Have you checked the drivers for foam rot? They are notorious for it and that might explain a lack of bass and hard sound.
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The foams look good from the ad pics, although the woofers look like they've been doped with a shiny opaque substance. I don't know much about this model though so it could be normal for them to look like that. They've also apparently been recapped so that might be contributing to the brightness if films/polys have been used in place of electrolytics?
 
Tony L said:
Have you checked the drivers for foam rot? They are notorious for it and that might explain a lack of bass and hard sound.
Click to expand...
Foams are good, drivers are the later doped Peerless ones I believe. I guess lean is a relative term! They are out into the room for now so no reinforcement. They can sound a bit shouty on some tracks thus far and the treble can still bite a bit. An earlier ad for this pair on hififor sale said the crossover caps had been replaced lytic for lytic which I will have to sort. Listening to Kaya and the ithrees backing is a shade ear rattling. It's not the amp in trouble as they're on the Levinson.
Clearly a bit of dialling in to be done. The pots are for factory calibration but are far wider than 1.5 db
 
Well - if they have been recapped - then someone has been in good and proper, since you can only get at the crossover by taking the ends off, the wrapping off and removing drivers.
 
JensenHealey said:
Well - if they have been recapped - then someone has been in good and proper, since you can only get at the crossover by taking the ends off, the wrapping off and removing drivers.
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Rather conveniently the end caps aren't glued in place so delving further will be easy, there is a lot to like sound wise here :)
 
This is the only FR graph for the GS401 I can find on the web, it suggests warmish voicing with somewhat pushed midband. Don't know how representative this is but it might come in useful as a reference when you're fettling yours:

file-2.jpg
 
I’ve always felt Gales were pretty neutral, quite ‘flat’ and with plenty of bass and scale for their size. A good friend has had them off and on since the early ‘80s so I’ve heard them in a lot of different systems and rooms over the years. I’ve always enjoyed them. I’d not describe them as bass light at all, they can pack a real punch down there in the right location! Certainly tight and funky (their owner is a drummer and wouldn’t accept anything else!).
 
Tony L said:
I’ve always felt Gales were pretty neutral, quite ‘flat’ and with plenty of bass and scale for their size. A good friend has had them off and on since the early ‘80s so I’ve heard them in a lot of different systems and rooms over the years. I’ve always enjoyed them. I’d not describe them as bass light at all, they can pack a real punch down there in the right location! Certainly tight and funky (their owner is a drummer and wouldn’t accept anything else!).
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I never said they were bass light I said lean- without any flab, I expect them to fill out down low as I push them back towards the walls/ corners.
They produce a wide deep soundstage that's room filling- another positive.
These comments aren't generic comments about Gales they are about the ones that have just fired up in my room.
 
cooky1257 said:
I never said they were bass light I said lean- without any flab, I expect them to fill out down low as I push them back towards the walls/ corners.
Click to expand...

It was the fact you had to back the mid and top right off that rang some alarm bells, the implication being the bass output is less than the other drivers. I know one pair of Roger’s had the controls bypassed, so I’ve no idea where he had them set, but I’d certainly expect some adjustment in both directions on a stock pair. In one place he had them right out into the room on Sara stands, but this was in pre-CD days so maybe a different tonal balance upstream.
 
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