terrible.

Hi afcintra,

I recently set up a surround sound system for a customer using Anthony Gallos, the details may interest you:-

Old system: Beolab 1's (front), Beolab 2, Beolab 7.2 (centre), Beolab 3's (rear)

New system: Anthony Gallo Reference 3's (front), Pioneer sub (can't recall the model), plus Anthony Gallo Strada 3's (centre and rears)

The TV was a Pioneer Kuro 60" plasma, which stayed in place throughout the speaker swap, as did the Onkyo 906 A/V receiver.

Although this was a full surround setup with the speakers you queried in use as rears, the overall impression was massively different following the replacement.  Treble response was far crisper and clearer with the Gallos (although these had not yet been run in, so this will soften a little over time) and the Pionner sub (the top of their range) gave more bass weight and subjectively appeared to have a little more depth than the Lab 2 at the same volumes levels.  The Gallo Reference 3's were the main reason for the improvement, as they absolutely blew the Beolab 1's away!  These are absolutely awesome speakers and really crazy to look at (I loved them!)

The Strada 3 used for the centre channel (mono centre, table mounted below the screen) could not match the Beolab 7.2 for power or clarity, so my guess is that the rear channel Stradas would also have been lacking compared to the Lab 3's, had these been listened to side by side with no other speakers used.  However, the difference was not massive.  There is a very different tonal character between the Gallos and the Lab 1's, although less so between the Gallos and the Lab 3's and 7.2.

The bottom line with speakers is that you must hear them in your own home to decide if you like them.  What sounds good in a shop, or looks good on paper, often bears absolutely no resemblence to what you will hear in your living room.  Also, you should be willing to move around the speakers and/or your furniture to get the best sound.  Room acoustics are scarily complex, but if you try moving things around and listening, you will be amazed at the improvements you can make to the sound within a few minutes!

As an aside, my wife and I have a deal: When I buy new speakers, the living room is emptied.  The speakers go in first and I have a day to get the placement right.  Then the furniture goes back.  My good lady then has the right to change any furniture that she wishes and/or redecorate.  The result - we both get the end result that we want, although the total cost means that this is not an exercise we go through too regularly.....

So, to summarise, I can't answer your question directly, but I don't think a direct answer is really possible here!

Steve.

Sorry, I forgot to say:-

1) Welcome to the forum afcintra!

2) Yes, you CAN use Beolab 2 and 7.2 with a generic A/V processor, in case anyone was wondering, you just have to send the correct trigger signals to switch on the speakers when no B&O source is present.

Kind regards, Steve.

As always, in these cases, everyones opinion will be different. I've never heard the Strada's next to BL3's for direct comparison but I also haven't heard the Strada's described as "terrible" anywhere else! The few reviews of the Strada that can be googled all seem quite favourable (whilst also acknowledging the sometimes dubious credibility of the hifi press)!

My advice would be, don't take anyone's word for it and compare yourself - after all there's only you that needs to be happy after your choice!

Puncher wrote:

As always, in these cases, everyones opinion will be different. I've never heard the Strada's next to BL3's for direct comparison but I also haven't heard the Strada's described as "terrible" anywhere else! The few reviews of the Strada that can be googled all seem quite favourable (whilst also acknowledging the sometimes dubious credibility of the hifi press)!

My advice would be, don't take anyone's word for it and compare yourself - after all there's only you that needs to be happy after your choice!

Let's be honest chaps: they do look $h1t compared to BL3s. A bit like an over-sized motion sensor for a car alarm, or perhaps the dissected eyes from a huge robotic fly.

j0hnbarker wrote:

Puncher wrote:

As always, in these cases, everyones opinion will be different. I've never heard the Strada's next to BL3's for direct comparison but I also haven't heard the Strada's described as "terrible" anywhere else! The few reviews of the Strada that can be googled all seem quite favourable (whilst also acknowledging the sometimes dubious credibility of the hifi press)!

My advice would be, don't take anyone's word for it and compare yourself - after all there's only you that needs to be happy after your choice!

 

Let's be honest chaps: they do look $h1t compared to BL3s. A bit like an over-sized motion sensor for a car alarm, or perhaps the dissected eyes from a huge robotic fly.

I'd assumed the original poster was aware of both speakers aesthetics and was enquiring about their relative audio performance!

j0hnbarker wrote:

they do look $h1t compared to BL3s... or perhaps the dissected eyes from a huge robotic fly.

I assume the eyes were removed from the robotic fly's head: a BL3... 😎

afcintra: Welcome to BeoWorld!

As others have mentioned... have a listen at home if you can. Anthony Gallo is worth your attention!

It is interesting to see how people complain about how the hi-fi crowd treats B&O and do exactly the same when asked about some other equipment.

I am super happy with my BL3s (actually am listening to them now...), but this do not make bash other equipment just because theyar are, or look, different.

The Strada's have received some very good reviews and my question was directed to those persons who listened to both of them.

Thanks for those that gave a reasoned answer.