Small. Decorator colors. Better sound than you typical "mini-micro" speaker.

Very pricey if you pay standard retail

This review should be read in the context of my actual use of the Gallo. I'm using one as a center channel to go with a Magnepan system because I need (as in NO-option) a very small speaker for the center channel. In that context, the performance is much better than I expected but not up to what I would like (i.e., a Magnepan center channel and the space to put it!). I experimented with a Bose micro that I dug out of a dark recess and also with a CSW from the same local. The Gallo presented clearer smoother voices than the two units just mentioned.

The biggest thing is that you have to place it right on top or right below the screen to use it as HT center speaker. If you even have it a couple of feet below the voices are very localized and don't sound like they are comming from the images. A real center speaker would be better, but this is actually a very good choice under the constraints I have.

NOW. Since I had two of them and some other dusty old micros around to compare them to I decided to set them up as a stereo pair and listen to all three. I did this without a "sub" as it is my opinion that micros should sound good on their own before messing with the "sub". Briefly, both the CSW and Gallos are way beyond the Bose. They sound both sound like real speakers while the Bose sound like they something you get with one of those "personal/executive" systems thingees. Between the the other two I would rate the Gallos superior but not by a huge margin. Mainly, they just seem (subjectively) to be better overall with vocals. Particulrly sibiliants and male chestiness are minimal. (CSW is pretty good too, just not quite as good.) I don't know whether they justify the additional cost realative to CSW or not -- I was lucky and got mine for a song.

Big however, despite being really good micros, they are still micros. They still sound like micros. I compare them to the two M&K systems I owned over the years which never sound like micro speakers even without a sub. (There are other brands that I'm sure I would feel the same way about if I ghad as much experience with them.) To me this is a big difference. The cheapest M&Ks have much more substance than the Gallos for fewer bucks. Hence my rating. These are very good, but very pricey. I think it noteworthy that the first time I ever saw a Gallo advertisement, it was in a design publication rather than an audio mag. And I have to admit -- on looks they are way cool, dudes.

Similar Products Used:

M&K (early 80's vintage). M&K K-5. Cambridge Soundworks Ensemble. Bose.

Size, Soundstage, Appearance

Ability to roll

All in all for the price these are great speakers. They are lacking in the extreme high end, but for Home Theatre that is not terribly missed.

I bought a 3 pack for HT, with the M1 passive sub, and tried them out with Classical music, Pop/Rock, Heavy Metal, and a number of movies.

The soundstage and volume are excellent in my medium sized room, and the Micro I am using for a center is performing flawlessly.

The M1 sub is increadible. The best sounding little sub I have heard. Not exactly a HT sub though, it will not give you that overemphasized bass that powered subs will. But for music it is increadible, it brings strings and percussion to life.

Be warned that you need to burn these guys in a bit. The sub took about 3 or 4 weeks before it really started performing (mostly casual listening, a real burn in would have taken much less time).
Also these little guys do want an amp with some oomph, I am currently using a cheap RCA reciever and can definitely hear the fact that it is not powering them well.

If you are looking for a good music system that can do HT well, and need something cute and small, these are really where you want to be.

Similar Products Used:

Paradigm, Phase Technology, Dynaudio, Tannoy

I recieved the Gallo Nucleus Micro system last night from Steve at Sunshine Stereo (305-757-9358). He was very helpful and responsive with my order, a good guy to do business with. I was up most of the night listening. These speakers are incredible. They truly do sound "as big as speakers ten times its size". I have auditioned the Mirage AVS, Energy Take 5 and definitve Technology Pro Cinema system in my A/V room (18' x 20')and am very glad that I waited for the Gallo micro's to come to market. It puts the other systems to shame. I feel like I just purchased $3,000+ audiophile speakers for $699 an unreal value.

Got the micros several weeks ago. They sound pretty good. I have been shopping around for speakers in the same price range(Energy , Klipsch , Polk ,NHT Definitive Technologies) So far the micros sound the most natural and seem to have a very big soundstage. I actually was just running them off a Denon DM5 mini system with only 30 watts per channel and they still sounded very full. I still have not gotten a chance to listen to the micros in an HT setting yet. But I liked them so much that I have bought a couple of sets. I am still waiting for the longer runs of speaker wires though. Give these a listen, they are definitely worth listening to.

Spent abput 30 minutes at a very high end dealer listening to these. The setup was ridiculous for starters. The speakers were being driven by about $20,000worth of amplifier and CD player. Get real. Noone in their right mind would have this combination of electronics with these speakers.

They definitely have the Bose beat and if space is yourproblem(probably a ball
breaker of spouse) then these may be the answer. I would still go for a small
bookshelf like the Dynaudio Audience 40. The sound was OK on Billy Joel but as
soon as I put on Wagner's Rienzi and some Puccini forget it. Little detail and
a muffled sound.

Have been listening to the Micros for almost a month now. They continue to impress. Have had more than a few people over to listen to them, and they all liked them a lot. Couldn't believe the soundstage they threw. I don't know the problem that one person had, when he said they sounded muffled. But in my system at least, they have a very clear, detailed, sound. A friend of mine(who has considerably more into his system) was very impressed with the sound. I still haven't heard anything at this price point, that can compare.

I am a little reluctant to give an opinion of my experience with the Gallo Micro because it was a short and limited listening session. But since I consider myself to be an experienced audiophile, I guess I'll take a chance and risk my reputation with a summary of my first immpression of the Micro. I just got back from the high end store here in my local area and I must confess that the sound produced by these little balls was UNBELIEVABLE! My concern is that I may have been nitpicking these little guys because I was comparing them to the best I've heard instead of remembering that they are only a $699.00 satellite speaker system, and that they barely exist in terms of material substance. The most impressive thing about these little guys is that the sound is so big. I must confess that I think because of that fact, and because they do enough things right to capture you, that I may have missed their weakness. But for $699.00 they have no weakness. With the volume turned up on some material they sounded a little bright(hard) but the sales person said that they had less than 25 hrs of break-in time. All I can say is that I'm getting ready to go down to pick out my color and buy them even with this limited listening experience, because I do know value when I hear it notwithstanding they may have weakness. Comparing them to the highly rated NHT group, there is NO COMPARISON! The difference is that the NHT group has an impressive build quality that the sound does not live up to, and the Micro kind of has this cheap look that fools you because it delivers sound that exceeds your expectations. I've heard most of the hyped satellites including Bose, the afore-metioned NHT group and other name brand satellite speakers discussed here, but I've got to say that I'm impressed with the Gallo Micro. I'm going out on a limb here and say that I don't think there will be anything less than a 5 star rating for these speakers unless its a new product yet to be released, or your deaf, or that you already bought one of the aforementioned speakers which will force you into denial. They are in a class by themselves at their price range and enter into the class of much more expensive speaker quality sound. High end sound is now affordable and must terrify high end megabuck speaker companies. You have got to go hear them!

I looked at these speakers for my daughter, since I thought they would be ideal in a dorm room environment. I was very impressed with them... until I had a chance to hear the Vandersteen 1C and NHT Super Two. I found both to be far superior to the Gallos in terms of dynamics, tonal accuracy, and rendering of harmonics. While the Vandies are a tight fit in my daughter's dorm room, they sound so much better than the Gallo, we both thought it was worth the sacrifice.
The only reason I could see someone buying these speakers is if any bigger speaker is not a viable option.

Although I’ve needed new speakers for my modest HT system for sometime, I postponed my purchase until I could give the Micros a listen. Finally got a chance to audition them last weekend at a local dealer. Wow! These guys are small. Even smaller than I imagined. Perfect for my dual use living room. Though physically small, the sound was anything but. The Micros presented a huge soundstage combined with a warm, lush mid-range, and tight, full bass—impressive by any standards. But over extended listening, I came to feel something was amiss. Dialog became muddy, difficult to understand; cymbals and foley effects sounded “dull.” Suddenly it hit me—the high frequencies are rolled off too low; I’m missing the upper octave and with it, the “air” and shimmer required to transport me to hi-fi heaven. In the end, I decided on NHT Superzeros---far from perfect, but a good set of tradeoff’s to my ear. Though not to my taste, the Micro’s are certainly impressive and will likely thrill many listeners. An excellent value if you can live w/o the high frequency extension.

I saw the streams of reviews on this Micro and thought I'd talk a little about it. I just got my 1st shipment on these (I'm a dealer) and finally got a chance to hear them in my own system versus the CES show in Vegas which sounded better than in my home. Needless to say placement will be key and I plan to fool around with it this weekend.For starters these WILL impress you. I have a large (12' x 24') room and the sound stage filled them up nicely (I could play them loud). Anyone who can design so much in so little of a package should be aplauded for their engineering marval. I do caution people all though they do sound amazing for their size but these are NOT audiophile speakers and I think this is where some of the disappointment is comming. These Micro's are for people who want damn good sound but are willing to compromise on sound for size.
Here is what I mean. The highs do roll off a little more than I like and the seperation and detail is midfi performance. Yes they do sound incredible and yes, much better than Bose but you cannot defy the laws of physics by putting in audiophile caliber sound that fits in the size of your palms.
They also compare nicely to MidFi performing speakers like entry level NHT, Energy, A/D/S, etc. I listened to them after I unplugged my $4200 Girshman Accoustics and heard the sacrifices emmediately. I would have heard the same unfavorable sorts of things if I put in a pair of Super 1's after listening to world class performance.
Here is the bottom line... These are PERFECT for a bedroom or second system. They will be a conversation peice with all your freinds and family. You will be VERY surprised how well they sound unless you expect world class performance. If you want something that sounds a lot better than Bose and equal to other MidFi speakers, you will be very happy. If you want to put these into a main system and have a limited budget you will not be disappointed.
Hope this helps!!