Price Paid:  $700.00

Summary:
Overall, I love the Snell SR.5 surround speakers. At the time, when DD 5.1 was vogue, these bipolar speakers were perfect. They can be placed anywhere behind the axis of the listening position and sound excellent. They don't have extreme low frequency extension, but when set to "Small" in a Dolby configuration, they're fine.

The bipolar "dog bone" radiation pattern allows for everyone, not just the sweet spot, to obtain aural queues that seem highly focused, yet are dispersed enough for uncorrelated diffusion.

Unfortunately, now that I've upgraded to a THX Ultra receiver, BIpolar speakers are a no-no. I plan on relegating these to Surround Back (SB) duty and adding some DIpolar speakers in-line with the sweet spot. I'm considering the Snell SR.60 dipolar/direct speakers, but am concerned that the cost may break the bank.

Overall, I give the SR.5's a fat "thumb's up" and would buy them again in a heartbeat ... if I weren't concerned about THX or 7.1.

Strengths:
Ease of placement. Quality of workmanship. Flat response through frequency range.

Weaknesses:
BIpolar instead of DIpolar.

Summary:
Briefly, they're OK and a decent tonal match for the Snell .5 series. Might be nice if they went a tad lower, but overall, not bad... I just think they're too darned expensive.

Strengths:
Ease of placement, accuracy