Mainer,
Glad you came around to the right decision. I'm pleased with the fast & large response you received. The AIIIi's are older, but they are tough to beat. I doubt you could find a replacement that meets the smaller size need and still have something that sounds acceptable.
I have two pair of Type A's...an AI (actually a late model AI that equals the AII, per Mark at Snell) & a pair of AIII's. Snell will rebuild the woofers on any A or replace the smaller drivers if you need to. The bite here is that Snell is charging ALOT for the woofer rebuild...a stunning amount actually. I'll be having Tri-State Loudspeaker in Pennsylvania do my AIII woofers. Redoing the foams is something like $40, reconing & foams is less than $150, if memory serves. TriState has been highly recommended to me, though no doubt there are other good shops.
I know the specific midrange model numbers if you ever need them. The early A's had a Philips/Norelco driver. The AIII & AIIIi had a SEAS driver. Neither driver is commercially available, but they can be found in the aftermarket. I haven't nailed the tweeter's model numbers yet..if anyone knows please post or email me.
Vjay is right...you can upgrade components all you want up front & the Snells will step right up...they won't be the weak link. I find this a great advantage as they are sort of a one-size fits all speaker, within the realm of 86dB sensitivity. The speakers themselves don't cost alot(my AIII's ran me $350 & need the woofers done, the AI/AII's ran me $550 with fresh woofers) & the money you would have spent on speakers can be invested in front-end components...one of the best deals going. If you can afford 12-18 inches from the wall that's plenty to let them sing. Toe them in slightly and they'll dissapear. I set them up on a equilateral triangle(by sound alone until I measured the distances & they are all equal within a half inch). A tube pre & ample SS power is a good combo to drive them. Some say they are ugly...I've never thought so...form follows function...they are a loudspeaker after all. If they need to look like they do sound right it's OK by me. Speakers that look great, but sound medoicre are pretty useless.
Hold on to them, you won't be in the apartment forever. If/when you want to upgrade speakers then upgrade the A's wiring, crossover caps..etc. If you ever do want to replace them email me first & then listen to the new speakers for a while before actually getting rid of the Snells. Better to try new speakers and dump them than to dump the Snells and wish you had them back.
Glad you came around to the right decision. I'm pleased with the fast & large response you received. The AIIIi's are older, but they are tough to beat. I doubt you could find a replacement that meets the smaller size need and still have something that sounds acceptable.
I have two pair of Type A's...an AI (actually a late model AI that equals the AII, per Mark at Snell) & a pair of AIII's. Snell will rebuild the woofers on any A or replace the smaller drivers if you need to. The bite here is that Snell is charging ALOT for the woofer rebuild...a stunning amount actually. I'll be having Tri-State Loudspeaker in Pennsylvania do my AIII woofers. Redoing the foams is something like $40, reconing & foams is less than $150, if memory serves. TriState has been highly recommended to me, though no doubt there are other good shops.
I know the specific midrange model numbers if you ever need them. The early A's had a Philips/Norelco driver. The AIII & AIIIi had a SEAS driver. Neither driver is commercially available, but they can be found in the aftermarket. I haven't nailed the tweeter's model numbers yet..if anyone knows please post or email me.
Vjay is right...you can upgrade components all you want up front & the Snells will step right up...they won't be the weak link. I find this a great advantage as they are sort of a one-size fits all speaker, within the realm of 86dB sensitivity. The speakers themselves don't cost alot(my AIII's ran me $350 & need the woofers done, the AI/AII's ran me $550 with fresh woofers) & the money you would have spent on speakers can be invested in front-end components...one of the best deals going. If you can afford 12-18 inches from the wall that's plenty to let them sing. Toe them in slightly and they'll dissapear. I set them up on a equilateral triangle(by sound alone until I measured the distances & they are all equal within a half inch). A tube pre & ample SS power is a good combo to drive them. Some say they are ugly...I've never thought so...form follows function...they are a loudspeaker after all. If they need to look like they do sound right it's OK by me. Speakers that look great, but sound medoicre are pretty useless.
Hold on to them, you won't be in the apartment forever. If/when you want to upgrade speakers then upgrade the A's wiring, crossover caps..etc. If you ever do want to replace them email me first & then listen to the new speakers for a while before actually getting rid of the Snells. Better to try new speakers and dump them than to dump the Snells and wish you had them back.