Opportunity to buy vintage Snell Speakers

[capitan100]

Opportunity to buy Snell Speakers

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I have ran across a pair of some very vintage Snell Speakers. I believe they are the Type A speakers. Each speaker is a 2 piece unit. The bottom unit has a subwoofer and the upper unit has the midrange and tweeter. The upper unit is basically a black cloth grill. They seem to be in OK condition. One of the subwoofers is blown however.

Are these speakers worth any money? I can't seem to find much info on them. I have heard the Snell A/III speakers were some great sounding speakers. Not sure what variant of the Type A they are though. On the back, it just says Type A. See attached pic. This is what the speakers look like.

I can get these for $200 bucks, possibly a little less. Would these be worth restoring? I have't had a chance to hear them however.

What do you guys think?

Thanks in advance.

Blake

[JohnMichael]

Yes they are worth restoring. A neighbor had a pair for years and I loved listening to them. You are right that they have two enclosures the top is the midrange and tweeter in a time aligned enclosure but the bottom is the woofer and not a subwoofer. You will not get the deep lows of a sub but you will have a nice rich bass range. The top enclosure is designed for minimum diffraction which is why they are surrounded by the cloth and image very well. If the woofer is blown you might want to contact Snell for a new woofer but I am thinking they had a foam surround and you may just need to replace the surround if it is rotted.

Welcome to AudioReview

[basite]

Yes,
Get them.

Great speakers

Run, don't walk :)


oh, and welcome to Audioreview, I'm looking forward to hear from those Snell's...

Keep them spinning,
Bert.

[Jimmy C]

...if it's a local delivery, I would take a chance. Shipping would be a monster.

Yeah, if you could demo, like what you hear, you might wanna consider some resoration. I doubt Snell has the original drivers for sale (as Boston does), since the company is now a horse of a different color.

You said "sub blown"... meaning the woofer is shot? Are they self-powered? I really don't remember. I don't recall that, though...

From what I have gleaned, the earlier series are better... not sure. From what I remember, the early Snells were fantastic! That was my dream speaker (oh, back in 1979 or so...), but the price tag let me into the Boston Acoustics A-line only. Ha! Wish my parents made something of themselves so I didn't have to work so hard... :*)

Stern said that on one show and I thought it quite the funny... lol.

Bottom line? I don't know what you should do...

[JohnMichael]

The woofers are not powered. They are three way's in seperate enclosures. The woofer is in the botom enclosure and vented out the back. It may take a little work to get to the woofers but for the price, unless as mentioned they need to be shipped, they would be a good grab.

[capitan100]

Yes, they are local. The woofer is dry rotted I believe. I haven't been able to inspect them very closely. I will probably try to take a look after Christmas. They have been for sale locally at a store for a while, so I don't think they will go anywhere. The owner may also be willing to dela to get them out of his inventory.

[JohnMichael]

Yes, they are local. The woofer is dry rotted I believe. I haven't been able to inspect them very closely. I will probably try to take a look after Christmas. They have been for sale locally at a store for a while, so I don't think they will go anywhere. The owner may also be willing to dela to get them out of his inventory.



There are several companies that make surround repair kits to replace rotted surrounds. We have several members who have replaced surrounds and can give you advice. If they do not see this thread start a new one requesting info on replacing surrounds. You will have a great pair of speakers when you are finished with repairs.