snell a II

I had a pair of Snell AIIs from 1982 to 2002. For twenty years I thought they could not be bettered. Yes there were speakers that could better them in any one category, say imaging, focus, bass response, soudstaging, but not one I could find could do all of these things better. They have a smooth, warmish sound from octave to octave and seem well integrated. Thier tonal balance to my ears was just right conveying timbre in a pleasing and accurate manner. They also were easier to set up in the room becasue they were designed to be placed nearer to the wall behind them. This gave much more flexibility in getting good bass response. I found them to not be as finicky in placement as many other speakers. On vocals and piano they were just fantastic. They could also play all kinds of music from classical to rock with aplomb. I know becasue I have 6000 records and 6000 CDs of all kinds of music.

They come in two modules. The top houses the tweeter and midrange and the bottom the 10' down firing wooofer. The modules were connected with a jumper cable but they had biwire or biamping capability built in.

They are also wide dispersion speakers, so the sweet spot was quite large.

They were 4 ohm speakers and could use a lot of power. I ran them with a Counterpoint SA-20 about 400 watts into 4 ohms and a pair of MFA 200C tubed monoblocks at about 220 watts.

Finally, they were beautiful to behold. I often miss them. They are quite a good deal used, but I hear you need to check the woofer surrounds to see if they need to be replaced. Snell will give you instructions and drivers to do this.

I have Snell Type A/II loudspeakers in walnut. These are large, beautifully designed and crafted speakers, which will work in a moderately sized room. I expect delivery of a new pair of Von Schweikert VR-4 SE speakers in a few days. I hope not to be disappointed, but one respected afficionado told me that no new speaker under $5K will match the Snells, notwithstanding the fact they are 20 years old. I had the woofer surrounds replaced recently, which fully restored the bass response.

These are a three way design with a downward firing 10 inch woofer, 4.5" mid range and 1 inch soft dome tweeter. They were made in specific left and right pairs. As Znak noted, they are designed to be placed near the wall behind them -- just 7 to 12 inches, according to the factory manual. I've found that 15 inches gives the smoothest bass response, while adding depth to the soundstage. They can be spread ten feet apart and still maintain precise imaging. The main weaknesses are shallow soundstage depth and confusion (lack of cohesion) with orchestral works. While you can improve depth by moving them well away from the rear wall, the lower bass drops off precipitously. They are superb reproducers of vocals and small jazz ensembles -- Diana Krall, Eva Cassidy, Diana Reeves, Rod Stewart are just simply there on properly mastered tracks.

I'm presently running a Bryston 14B SST (600 WPC) which works very well. However, my old Bryston 4B (250 WPC) was certainly adequate. The newest Bryston 4B SST would be a good choice. These are 4 ohm speakers and require good power and high current -- I wouldn't try anything less than 150 WPC (Snell recommended 100-200 watts).

If the VR-4 SE works out, I may offer my Snell's here on Audiogon.

thank you guys! One other question: is there a difference between the A II and the A III (the latest version?) and what ist the price target for a good used AII ?

I never heard the AIII but I know it was taller than the AII and used a 12" woofer insteadof a 10" one. I think it also had a back-firing extra tweeter with controls. Otherwise, it looked the same and had the reputation of being very good, although opinions varied on whether the AIII or the AIIIi (the later model) was better. I know Art Dudley in an article in Lstener a few years ago said that the AIII was preferable to the AIIIi.