bradpmiller

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 4 of 5

Used product for
3 Months to 1 year

Price Paid:  $0.00

Summary:
I am quite impressed. My first experience with Snell speakers. I ran comparison tests against some other speakers I own (Dahlquist DQ-10, Magnapan's Model 2, Vandersteen 2 & 2Ce, Acoustat II, Crown ES212, Carver ASL III, Infinity Reference II, and some custom speakers I've built). We played around with several placement configurations and a mixture of audio components (Sansui, Carver, Luxman, Akai, SEA, Soundcraftsman, and Setton). All speakers have a sound somewhat unique to their respective design and don't handle all classes of music equally. That being said, I found the Snell E.5's had a very nice soundstage and overall image quality. While not well suited for heavy rock due to deep bass limitations, the rest of the spectrum response is quite pleasant to the ear. I would not use these in a A/V application, but certainly recommend them for a 'stereo room'. Given my acquisition price, I paid $200 on the Bay, they can't be beat. I would recommend removing the mid/woofers and filling the magnetic shield with a dampening agent. They can resonate. I used a noncorrosive silicone compound. After that, play away.....Regards

Price Paid:  $1200.00 from E-Bay

Summary:
I have had the Snell E.5 mk2 for several months now and am very pleased. I am using them for the front speakers in my home theater with K.5 mk2 for surrounds and Cr.5 mk2 for the center. These speakers throw a very wide soundstage and the bass is excellent with clear attacks. The dynamic range of these speakers is excellent. Midrange and highs are also handled quite well. Very flexible with their placement options due to the switches on the back. In the past several years I have had several other floorstanding speakers and I prefer the Snells. Much better bass response than B&W CDM-7se with a better soundstage. The B&W are a little too overdamped for my tastes. I have also had the Martin Logan Scenarios. No, the Snells Are not as quick(but close) or as clear in the midrange but I always felt there was something lacking in the ML. I would call it presence. Just a little too light. I have very good equipment(Aragon amps and B&K processor) so I can't blame it on upstream components. A killer value for the money.

Strengths:
Bass. Soundstage. Presence.

Similar Products Used:
B&W CDM7-SE. Martin Logan Scenario.

Price Paid:  $800.00 from Hi-Fi Buys

Summary:
Well I have posted a review on this speaker about three years ago. This is a follow up. This is the best damned set of speakers I have owned. I have recently UPGRADED to a DENON receiver with a PARASOUND amp driving the SNELL E-5's. The sound is astonishing! A couple of things I've learned I will pass on- 1 E-5's NEED alot of power. If they have it, they will sound exquisite. If they do not, they will sound good. If you are using a "cheapy" receiver, it may shut down. 2 E-5's need to be moved around to get the optimal placement. The rear firing tweeter will give great spatial effect and soundstage if the speaker is placed away from the wall and toed in JUST RIGHT. To sum up, at the price range I've heard JBL's Polk's, BOSE, Paradigm (I also like and own MONITOR 9's), PSB's, Klipsch's, Theil's and a few others. The E-5's sound the best IMHO.

Strengths:
Soundstage CLARITY Smooth midrange (female vocals are beautiful) Tremendous bass Delicacy , seperation of sounds

Weaknesses:
NEEDPOWER- 4ohm type speakers NEED- great pre-pro

Similar Products Used:
JBL L150 BOSE 901 Paradigm MON 9 Klipsch R??

Price Paid:  $700.00

Summary:
I bought these speakers back when I was in college as an upgrade from some cheap Sony towers. The other speakers in the running were the Paradigm Ref 60-100''s and B&W 600 series. Compared to the Paradigms 80 and 100, the Snell''s lacked bass response and low-end authority. The 80''s, IMHO, were just plain bad. The 100''s were MUCH better, but lacked the wide soundstage and upper-end detail that the Snell''s provided. The Snell''s had an "air" about them that was simply awe-inspiring. The B&W''s never really drew me in... I always felt left out- liek the speakers were putting up a wall between myself and the music. With an exception of the Phenominal 801''s, I haven''t been fond of any B&W speakers. I took the E.5''s home and was quite impressed with them through my Carver A500 amp, Lexicon DC-1 pre, Rega Planet, and Tara cables. The room was quite small (perhaps 12x14) and the speakers simply buried you in detail. They were awesome. However, once I got my Atma-Sphere MA-1''s (~85WPC tubed monoblocks), I strated to notice two things: first- these speakers have great difficulty giving a "solid" soundstage. Ie, it''s hard to pinpoint a specific instrument or voice amonst a group. They all tend to "blend" together. This is especially true with classical works. They lack the ability to pinpoint the instuments accuratly. Second- they are now entirely unable to enthrall me in a movie. Perhaps it''s the larger room they''re in now (14x21x10) or the tubes, but I can''t get really into a movie anymore. My roommate''s DCM''s provide much more "slam" and enjoyment for movies. Switching back to my Carver''s (250 WPC into 8 Ohms) failed to cure the problem. I think these speakers are simply outmatched with a room this large.

Strengths:
Nice wide soundstage and smooth detail throughout the midrange. Inexpensive, yet extremely competative with more expensive speakers from Paradigm.

Weaknesses:
Inefficient (they''re nominal 4 Ohms) with 89dB sensitivity. SET folks need not apply (though I''m sure you knew that). They''re uninvolving with larger rooms unless you crank the volume- at which point the treble starts to get fatiguing in a hurry. Lack of low-end ooomph will require a sub for HT duty, though 2-channel can go both ways, dependig on your music choices, rooms size, and bass desires. 2-channel only is run sans sub in my room.

Summary:
I was looking to upgrade my old Snell E/III's. Needless to say by my comments about their weaknesses,I was not to imprest. My old Snells had a much better bass, in the sense that you could hear it with much more definition. They also seemed a tad bright. With music that was a bit high they seemed grainy. Over all I just did not like them. My system consists of McCormick DNA 0.5 amp,Rega planet CD player.old Denon preamp,Snell E/III speakers, Audio Quest Ruby interconnects. Nordost superflatline speaker cables.

Strengths:
looks good

Weaknesses:
not enuogh bass definition, sounded a bit grainy in the hi end,too bright

Similar Products Used:
snell E/III