Nucleus Reference 5LS Loudspeaker is 6.5-feet tall

Trust us, we've seen tall speakers, but Anthony Gallo Acoustics' Nucleus Reference 5LS is downright towering. These floor standing loudspeakers measure in at 7-inches wide, 11-inches deep and a staggering 78-inches high, and each one manages to boast twelve aluminum, rear-firing 4-inch subwoofers, eight 4-inch carbon fiber midrange drivers and seven CDT II tweeters. Interestingly, the firm doesn't get specific with regard to power handling and frequency response, but we are told that a high-powered amplifier isn't required to fill a room with sound. No word on a price just yet, but look for these skyscrapers to get all up in your ceiling fan's business real soon.

[Thanks, Micah]

[enzo @ Dec 17th 2007 5:00PM]

I used to have a pair of their Reference 3 speakers and they sounded amazing, and reasonably priced (for high end audio.)
These probably sound absurd incredible.

[Jake @ Dec 17th 2007 5:07PM]

Those have got nothing on my 5' Magnpane Speakers...

[saycheese @ Dec 17th 2007 8:06PM]

I am sure they'll have something to say about mid-to-low bass response. Maggies are nice, but if you don't have a high current amplifier and at least 3-4 feet of separation from the back wall, Maggies suck air.

CDT makes some fine fine drivers, so combined with the legendary Gallo sound, this speaker should sound great.

[letstakeawalk @ Dec 17th 2007 9:00PM]

Nor to my Bozak 305's. Apples and oranges, my friend!

Thanks for the explanation of the phase issue with multiple drivers below...good stuff.

[mattwier @ Dec 17th 2007 5:10PM]

DAMMMMNNNN SOOONNNN

[trancer @ Dec 17th 2007 5:21PM]

took me a couple of minutes to count all those drivers, woofers, and tweeters.

[CharlieX @ Dec 17th 2007 5:26PM]

I don't really know anything about acoustic theory... but it would seem to me splitting up frequencies on more drivers would clean up your sound. Hence why a "full range" speaker almost always sounds like shite.

[Shane @ Dec 17th 2007 6:12PM]

Charlie:

Not necessarily...Granted, you can not expect a single 5" or 15" driver to reproduce the entire sound spectrum but in some regards less is more.

Some of the best sounding systems I have heard have been very simple. Why? Phase coherence. When you have multiple drivers in a system, it becomes more difficult to keep them time aligned properly. It can be done but it is generally more hassle than it is worth for anything other than large sound reinforcement systems.

It looks like these units (although essentially a 3 way system) are functioning as a line array where a number of smaller drivers couple closely together in order to minimize problems with phase coherence.

[Carl Lumma @ Dec 17th 2007 7:08PM]

Shane:

Another leading hypothesis for why full-range speakers may have a 'special sound' is the lack of certain time-domain artifacts introduced by crossover filters.

In this case, his goal is apparently to approximate a line source, which minimizes interaction with floors and ceilings, allowing a more pronounced stereo effect (more like headphones), as well as more even volume levels throughout a room (sound pressure falls off linearly rather than quadratically with respect to distance from the speaker). Another prominent example of this approach is the Bose Cylindrical Radiator (PA/monitor system for live music).

-Carl

[Mike Botros @ Dec 17th 2007 5:32PM]

I want these! how much?! I don't have room for them but I want them anyway!

[DT @ Dec 17th 2007 5:58PM]

You don't have 6.5' high ceilings? Ouch. Are you a hobbit?

[Mike Botros @ Dec 17th 2007 6:23PM]

haha.. there is no room for floor standing speakers next to my TV... to the left of my TV is the front door... to the right is the fire place... i only have room for small satelite speakers if anything...

[max andrews @ Dec 18th 2007 6:31AM]

Build your own man! I've built over 20 pairs of speakers with great results. To replicate this design, you'd be better off using the front array with a separate 15" sub (A 15" subwoofer has more area than those twelve 4" units, so will produce better bass).

Post it on the parts express forum and ask for help, lots of experienced guys there who'll steer you in the right direction:
http://www.pesupport.com/cgi-bin/config.pl

[Big Sam @ Dec 17th 2007 5:39PM]

Wow, speakers as tall as me? Anthony Gallo must be compensating for something...

[Xee @ Dec 17th 2007 5:46PM]

. . . says the person who feels the need to "casually" mention his own height.

[SwiftSam @ Dec 17th 2007 9:53PM]

... and have a screen name referencing his size

[gm76 @ Dec 17th 2007 5:42PM]

Why does this get news but not av123's own line source speakers (LS-6 and LS-9)?

Link

[gm76 @ Dec 17th 2007 5:45PM]

Oops I thought I could use HTML code for the link. My bad.

http://www.av123.com/products_category_brand.php?section=speakers&brand=61

[enzo @ Dec 17th 2007 5:53PM]

I think the technology and design aspect in the Gallos is much more interesting than AV123s high value, but frankly boring (to me) style.
That said, I currently own AV123 Reference speakers and love them. A lot.

[DT @ Dec 17th 2007 5:56PM]

Right, because no one earns their own money anymore.

[Yem @ Dec 17th 2007 6:56PM]

Cool, but what's the enclosure made of? Surely not flimsy acrylic..

[August Young @ Dec 17th 2007 7:50PM]

Bose L1 Model IIs
http://www.bose.com/controller?event=VIEW_STATIC_PAGE_EVENT&url=/musicians/index.jsp

[Ivand @ Dec 17th 2007 8:33PM]

pj fgs. dont compare bose to gallo

[teel @ Dec 18th 2007 1:02AM]

Almost 2 meters tall? Damn, that's taller than me :)

Looks pretty sweet otherwise too.

[max andrews @ Dec 18th 2007 6:38AM]

Nice design, but there are several flaws.
Firstly, using twelve smaller 4" "subwoofers" is a bad idea and unnecessary. A low distortion 15" driver has 20% more surface area than those twelve speakers combined and will be able to play louder and cleaner.

Secondly, when you do an array system, you want as little distance between the tweeters as possible, because high frequency sounds are directional and if placed too far apart they will create a "comb" pattern in the audio, which you will hear when you move your head from side to side. The correct placement would be to put all the midrange drivers as close together in a line as possible, and then directly to the right or left side of that line, put all the tweeters as close as possible in a line.