Gale 401a restoration

Post Reply
Terry
Posts: 234
Joined: Thu May 22, 2014 10:10 pm

Re: Gale 401a restoration

Post by Terry »

Ivor wrote:They look lovely Terry, lovely and original!
Very pleased with them Ivor, thanks. Drop up for a listen. Bring a bottle of my usual!

On the Accuphase Adrian... there's a rig for sale on the Bay right now... by a lad in Portlaoise as it happens. Far too many boxes for me and I wouldn't be at all interested in the tuner. Heaven can wait.

http://www.ebay.ie/itm/171524284980?ssP ... 1438.l2649

T
System 1. LP12/Mose Hercules/Ittok LVII/ATOC9III, Dynavector P75 MkIII, Denon DCD-A100, iPad/AirPlay, Accuphase e303x, Gale gs401a.
System2. iMac/Tidal, iFI Dac, Dynavector L200 pre, Croft Iosis, Sonus Faber Auditor M.
Dublinia123
Posts: 9
Joined: Mon Apr 01, 2013 4:21 pm

Re: Gale 401a restoration

Post by Dublinia123 »

Really looking forward to the comparisons and what they might highlight. Just the thought of seeing TWO pairs of 401s in the same room is pretty awesome. It's great that Terry & I are so proximate and can put these speakers in the same room.

Like Mr Tibbs - I have a pair of stands for the Gales, however as often as not I'll run them sitting on solid pieces of furniture just so they don't take up as much floor space.

Generally, from a personal and subjective perspective, I've found that the height the speaker sits at relative to the listener has a greater effect than the type / composition of the stand.

Roll on Friday evening.
Seán
Posts: 4884
Joined: Thu Jan 21, 2010 11:59 pm

Re: Gale 401a restoration

Post by Seán »

Oh well done Terry. They look magnificent. Many years ago a friend of mine who owned a Jazz record shop in the old Dandelion Green had a pair of Gale 401's. They were driven by Naim pre and power amps and he had a Linn Sondek LP12 as the source. The sound was superb, so musical. Noel had them in the shop on Leinster Road and and they were considered real high end kit in the late seventies. Enjoy.
"To appreciate the greatness of the Masters is to keep faith in the greatness of humanity." - Wilhelm Furtwängler
User avatar
Fran
Site Admin
Posts: 4114
Joined: Sat Jan 16, 2010 10:03 pm

Re: Gale 401a restoration

Post by Fran »

You know, all things move on and generally improve over time. But I do find that speakers that sound great tend to "last" longer in terms of how much people enjoy them. I do still think that vintage speakers are probably a better bet than vintage amps or sources in many ways...... so if they were "real high end" in the late 70s, then they will still give excellent performance now once condition is sorted.



Fran
Do or do not, there is no try
JAW
Posts: 834
Joined: Thu Mar 04, 2010 9:46 pm

Re: Gale 401a restoration

Post by JAW »

Seán wrote:Oh well done Terry. They look magnificent. Many years ago a friend of mine who owned a Jazz record shop in the old Dandelion Green had a pair of Gale 401's. They were driven by Naim pre and power amps and he had a Linn Sondek LP12 as the source. The sound was superb, so musical. Noel had them in the shop on Leinster Road and and they were considered real high end kit in the late seventies. Enjoy.
That's a strange coincidence Sean. I got my Gale 401's from the guy who used to own Disc Finder on Merrion Row. He was also a jazz nut. He was also using a Linn LP12 with a Grace/Supex combination. I think he was using Luxman pre/power amps. Maybe Gales are particularly suited to jazz, or only jazz fans could afford them back in the day?
Seán
Posts: 4884
Joined: Thu Jan 21, 2010 11:59 pm

Re: Gale 401a restoration

Post by Seán »

JAW wrote:
Seán wrote:Oh well done Terry. They look magnificent. Many years ago a friend of mine who owned a Jazz record shop in the old Dandelion Green had a pair of Gale 401's. They were driven by Naim pre and power amps and he had a Linn Sondek LP12 as the source. The sound was superb, so musical. Noel had them in the shop on Leinster Road and and they were considered real high end kit in the late seventies. Enjoy.
That's a strange coincidence Sean. I got my Gale 401's from the guy who used to own Disc Finder on Merrion Row. He was also a jazz nut. He was also using a Linn LP12 with a Grace/Supex combination. I think he was using Luxman pre/power amps. Maybe Gales are particularly suited to jazz, or only jazz fans could afford them back in the day?
Mick Fagan owned the shop in the Dandeloin Green. I remember Disc Finder on Merrion Row, it was a dusty wee shop too.
"To appreciate the greatness of the Masters is to keep faith in the greatness of humanity." - Wilhelm Furtwängler
JAW
Posts: 834
Joined: Thu Mar 04, 2010 9:46 pm

Re: Gale 401a restoration

Post by JAW »

Seán wrote:
JAW wrote:
Seán wrote:Oh well done Terry. They look magnificent. Many years ago a friend of mine who owned a Jazz record shop in the old Dandelion Green had a pair of Gale 401's. They were driven by Naim pre and power amps and he had a Linn Sondek LP12 as the source. The sound was superb, so musical. Noel had them in the shop on Leinster Road and and they were considered real high end kit in the late seventies. Enjoy.
That's a strange coincidence Sean. I got my Gale 401's from the guy who used to own Disc Finder on Merrion Row. He was also a jazz nut. He was also using a Linn LP12 with a Grace/Supex combination. I think he was using Luxman pre/power amps. Maybe Gales are particularly suited to jazz, or only jazz fans could afford them back in the day?
Mick Fagan owned the shop in the Dandeloin Green. I remember Disc Finder on Merrion Row, it was a dusty wee shop too.
Disc Finder was owned by Joe Conway. He had a huge collection of jazz records at home. When he closed the shop he had a small studio built in his house and recorded jazz shows for various local radio stations, I'm not sure which ones.
I remember that shop in Dandelion Green, I'm pretty sure that I bought a Barbara Thompson album there.
User avatar
Ivor
Posts: 4176
Joined: Sat Jan 16, 2010 11:21 pm

Re: Gale 401a restoration

Post by Ivor »

Seán wrote: I remember Disc Finder on Merrion Row, it was a dusty wee shop too.

I remember it well. I'm sure I still have some of his stock in my collection! Great little shop. Nice guy.
Vinyl -anything else is data storage.

Thorens TD124 Mk1 + Kuzma Stogi 12"arm, HANA Red, Gold Note PH 10 + PSU. ADI-2 Dac, Lector CDP7, Wyred4Sound pre, Airtight ATM1s, Klipsch Heresy IV, Misc Mains, RCA + XLR ICs, Tellurium Q spkr cable
Terry
Posts: 234
Joined: Thu May 22, 2014 10:10 pm

Gale 401a restoration

Post by Terry »

Thanks Seán and I'm delighted so many are getting a kick out of thIs. Really looking forward to tomorrow evening. Claus has come up trumps and rowed in with his MF Nu-Vista M3 so we'll have plenty of power on tap!

Couldn't resist putting that sort of clout (275 wpc) through the SF's before putting them out of the room! The Auditors are really stunning! They soaked it up. V tight and focused. Sparkling. Will leave them in place for the lads to hear. Apologies for the grainy pics.

Room for two more souls. If interested pm me this evening. KO tomorrow Friday, Ranelagh 7.30/8.00.

TImageImage
Last edited by Terry on Thu Nov 06, 2014 7:27 pm, edited 1 time in total.
System 1. LP12/Mose Hercules/Ittok LVII/ATOC9III, Dynavector P75 MkIII, Denon DCD-A100, iPad/AirPlay, Accuphase e303x, Gale gs401a.
System2. iMac/Tidal, iFI Dac, Dynavector L200 pre, Croft Iosis, Sonus Faber Auditor M.
User avatar
Ivor
Posts: 4176
Joined: Sat Jan 16, 2010 11:21 pm

Re: Gale 401a restoration

Post by Ivor »

Terry wrote:
Room for two more souls. If interested pm me this evening. KO Ranelagh 7.30/8.00
Sadly I'll be around the corner until very very late :(
Vinyl -anything else is data storage.

Thorens TD124 Mk1 + Kuzma Stogi 12"arm, HANA Red, Gold Note PH 10 + PSU. ADI-2 Dac, Lector CDP7, Wyred4Sound pre, Airtight ATM1s, Klipsch Heresy IV, Misc Mains, RCA + XLR ICs, Tellurium Q spkr cable
Post Reply