REVIEW SHOP SHARE LEARN
Snell Acoustics QBx 20
Snell Acoustics QBx 20
MSRP: $ 800.00

More Floorstanding Speakers from Snell Acoustics >>
Search AudioReview forums for the Snell Acoustics QBx 20 >>
   
Popular Floorstanding Speakers
more...
Top Ranked Products from Snell Acoustics.
XA 75 ps
Rated:
QBx 25
Rated:
QBx 20
Rated:
more...
 |  Sorted by Latest Review |  Sort by Best Rating >> |  Sort by Worst Rating >> | 
Rating
Reviewed by:
Jim Buttz
(Audio Enthusiast)

Review Date
September 14, 2001

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
Less than 1 month

Rate this review?

Review 1 of 2

Summary:
This must be one of the best kept secrets in audio. Picked them up on a whim for a great price from a distributor, I remembered Snell from the Type D's I had (and liked) awhile back. I wasn't prepared for how good this speaker would sound right out of the box. Imaging, detail, and bass never sounded better on my Anthem Tube/hybrid set up. Very smoothe. I used to think by CD player was bass light, but now I know it's not. I'll echo everything the guy states below. These speakers just ooze high end sound and looks for $750 retail. The beautiul real cherry wood finish is one of Snell's quality signatures. Five Stars.

Strengths:
Imaging, soundstaging, bass & overall balance, appearance

Weaknesses:
None so far, maybe slightly recessed sounding with some recordings

Similar Products Used:
PSB, Totem, NHT, other Snell


Would you like to Comment?
Join audioReview for a free account, or Login if you are already a member.

Rating
Reviewed by:
Adam
(Audiophile)

Review Date
February 17, 2001

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
Less than 1 month

Visitors rate this review
4.00 of 5, 1.00 votes

Rate this review?

Review 2 of 2

Price Paid:  $650.00

Summary:
Well, as you can see from the "similar products used" category above, I've shopped around A LOT, and I want to enthusiastically recommend the Snell QBx 20's.

Everyone knows that choosing the correct audio equipment is a matter of personal preference, but for my money, nothing at this price point can compare with these speakers. Their sound is airy and open and they manage to separate instruments both spatially and tonally better that ANY of the above mentioned speakers. They also pack plenty of low frequency punch. I'm not a bass fanatic, but I sure notice when it's missing or muddy, and in my opinion the vast majority of bookshelf speakers suffer from either missing or muddy bass.

They are also well-built and attractive speakers. If you are in the market for a pair of speakers that cost under $1,000 you must listen to these. I was very excited about the Paradigm Studio 20's and the PSB 4t's and similar models from Dynaudio and B&W. But compared to the QBx 20's the Paradigms and PSBs sounded like I was listening to music in a tube--there was all sorts of unwanted resonance and none of the instruments were separated very well from each other. And the Dynaudios and B&W's were cleaner and imaged better, but they just couldn't produce the clean and clear low-end frequencies that are very important to me.

Run out and listen to these speakers today!

Strengths:
Imaging, openness, dynamics, craftsmanship

Weaknesses:
At this price point, nothing.

Similar Products Used:
Dynaudio, B&W, Linn, Mirage, PSB, Monitor Audio, Thiel, NHT, Paradigm


Would you like to Comment?
Join audioReview for a free account, or Login if you are already a member.

Company Pages

Audio & Video company review pages. Browse product user reviews, compare prices, top ranked products, and compare specs by manufacturer.

Bowers Wilkins Reviews
Bowers & Wilkins
NAD Reviews
NAD
Marantz Reviews Marantz
Denon Reviews
Denon
Klipsch Reviews
Klipsch
Sony Reviews
Sony
Yamaha Reviews
Yamaha
Rotel Reviews
ROTEL
McIntosh Reviews
McIntosh
Bose Reviews
Bose
Polk Reviews
Polk Audio
Paradigm Reviews
Paradigm
Onkyo Reviews
Onkyo
JBL Reviews
JBL
KEF Reviews
KEF
Pioneer Lens Reviews
Pioneer
Harman Kardon Lens Reviews
Harman-Kardon
Panasonic Reviews
Panasonic
Press and News
Submit News & Press...
Audio and Video News & Press Releases.

Latest and Greatest

Best Floorstanding Speakers Under $1000

So many to choose from! Lets us boil it down. How to Choose a Floorstanding Speaker that fits you:

Marantz MA-9S2 Reference Series Power Amplifiers Review

Marantz MA-9S2 Power AmplifierThe list above has one tenet that I continue to hold true: high powered amplifiers are necessary to reproduce the full dynamic range of music with most speakers. This became apparent when I changed from the 100 Watt per channel Bella Extreme 100 to the 250 Watt.....

Lowther’s DX-65 driver in the Teresonic Magus XR Review

A new driver from Lowther is real news. A new five inch driver is even rarer news, so it was with great anticipation that I waited on this pair of speakers to arrive.

Aune Mini Headphone DAC User Review

The unit arrived from China well packed and everything seem to be in place. No external abuse by the carriers. The only problem was the power supply it came with. The box came with a cheap step-down converter.

Aural Symphonics Chrono b2 balanced interconnects Review

The Aural Symphonics Chrono b2 is more a study in contrasts than most cables. Chrono b2 refers to balanced version 2.

Three Koetsu cartridges

The Koetsu line consists of 18 different cartridges divided into four sub categories. The aluminum body Black Goldline at $1800, the Rosewood series starting at $2600 and up to $5900, the Urushi line starting at $4300 to $4900, the Stone Body Platinum series starting at $8000...

Cambridge Azur 840E and 840W Review

If this combo would surmount the challenges and rise to the same level of performance, Cambridge would have a trinity of tasty components worthy of consideration by anyone...

Audio Tekne TFM-9412 integrated 300B amplifier Review

A Dagogo featured article: In the negotiation of his wish to become the U.S. Importer of Audio Tekne, Yujean was given a set of “rules” by Mr. Kiyaoki Imai, owner of Audio Tekne.....

Reviews and Featured Articles
Expert hi-fi audio reviews, blogs, and audio articles.