Good sturdy build. Excellent bass at the low-frequencies and good soundstaging. Very versatile, makes good speakers for both music and home theater.

Loses control and gets a bit muddled when music gets complex. May not go well with classical music. Not as pacy as some speakers.

I've auditioned this pair of speakers and liked them very much. On home theater, they were a storm to listen to. But my priority was stereo, which they did well too. The Snells gave very lifelike imaging and soundstage to music on my test CDs from Harleigh Cole, Laura Fygi, Orbital and Seal. Bass was tight and showed good extension down the low frequencies. You could hear the individual whack of the drumsticks and separation of different instruments were pinpoint. On rock CDs like Seal and Orbital, the Snells delivered with force and authority, yet it was not all wham and thump -- it was forceful, dynamic and vivid; yet musicality was maintained throughout.
If they're any weakness, the speakers seem to get a bit lost when John Coltrane was put on. Instruments and voices tend to get mixed and become colored. The pace of the music seemed to be slightly slow. However these I feel were minor flaws at this price. I suspect the weaknesses mentioned may not make the Snells ideal for classical music where the music arrangement tends to be more fast and complex.
I think the Snells will do really well with most other music and if driven with amps with strong muscle, they will excel. Five stars for sure.

I would like to say that Jim's review(Ca.) is dead on.They will tell you alot about everything you put with them and are a bargain.You can actualy load them with near corner placement and get away with it-not loosing everything and you get a little bottom help w/out being boomy.All things considered, they are a 5. Using EAD Ovation, Musical Design D-150 Sig.,Theta Data Basic,Oracle Alexandria,Hafler(Musical Concepts)Phono stage.

Very open, clear, clean to every instrument

none that I can tell

Came across these speakers by accident.
Had already purchased Paradigm Mon 9 after
shopping around alot. Mon 9 speakers are
GREAT sounding speakers. An area HiFi store
played Snells and I really liking them.
They have a very spacious open, musical sound.
Clear, tight, and NATURAL. Very sensitive to
the sound you feed it. The rear fire
tweeter makes a BIG difference.
GET A PAIR!!!

I bought them off the floor for $800.00,
the sales guy's price was about $1450.00
new in box. Now I have four REALLY GOOD
sounding speakers in the 8 to 12 hundred
price range. This speaker will love a
blue collar guy or a white collar gal
equally.

Here is something for to ask yourself-
1 Take a cd in to the store YOU like and
listen to it. Close your eyes and
concentrate on that mis-mash of SOUNDS
you know and love. The speaker will
talk to you if your in LOVE.
2 It doesn't matter what you spend, shopping
patiently and listening to ALOT of
speakers.....will put you in front of
one that will "blow your subjective mind"
3 Train your ears to hear nuances in music
passages.

My system is modest
Pioneer Elite 24tx rec
Thorens TD320 turntable
Onkyo dvd/cd DV-s525

Similar Products Used:

Paradigm Monitor 9, Klipsch KLF -20, JBL L150
Bose 901 ser 5