Jordan Dourmashkin's recent review of the Snell E/III's is right on target. With proper placement, they can sound like a $2000 monitor. Every component in my system (Meridian, McCormack, Melos, Magnum, Transparent, Illuminati) far exceeds the E/III costwise. Yet I have little desire to upgrade them. Find a pair if you can. 4 stars without even considering bang for the buck. They are that good.

I'm not really an Audio Enthusiast, but I had to choose something. No, I'm really a Music Enthusiast who like it when the favorite albums sound GOOD. That's why I chose the Snell EIII speakers for my system. They play music with power and a liveliness that really appeals to me. I get to really experience the music, all of it. The bass is reasonably deep for the size of the cabinett, somewhat slow (but what the hell, for the price). Midrange and top end are streched out and sweet with good 3D and large soundstage. Good dynamics. Attack is pretty good. All in all a very good allround speaker that can handle all kinds of music in a very satisfying way. I'll be happy to answer questions about them. Good luck in the quest for better sound.

Let me give an update on the E/III. Since I have been using them for 7 years now, I decided that it was time to replace the bass/midrange drivers (even though I really didn't notice anything wrong with the sound- I'm just anal as hell). Their customer service was excellent. They sent me new drivers with special crossover adapters which bring them into 0.5 db of the original reference master specwise. They only charged me for their actual cost for the drivers, and they did not charge for shipping. Rest assured that if you buy Snells new or used, you will always be able to repair them to original condition! I really love this company, even though Kevin Voecks is long gone. Still four stars for sound, but five for service!

I have owned my Snell E III's for nine years.I was originally looking for a good inexpensive speaker.I must have listened to at least fortydifferent speakers in a eight month period,these were the best.The most neutral
sounding speaker I could find.It has a nice tight defined bass,clean mid range
and a nice bright high end.I have read that the bass falls a little short, in the depth department.I disagree,a bass can only play as deep as the music allows it to.A big misconception when talking about bass response in a speaker.
Overall for the money a can't miss speaker!

I've owned my E IIIs for about five years now, and still see no need to replace them, at least until I buy another 1500 CDs (or more). These speakers shine on all types of music, falling a little short only on complex orchestral passages where the soundstage collapses a bit. But what do you expect with only two drivers? I give them a four-star rating because of this, but you should not expect to find enayting better at the price. These speakers are out of production, so you should be able to find an excellent used pair ofr around $500 US.
My music collection includes everything from acoustic folk, to jazz, to rock, and on to classical. I know many of the folk musicians in my CD collection, and the sound out of these Snells closely matches how these friends sound live on a stage. In fact, it is often better as many venues have lousy acoustics. The bass in my room is excellent. I see no need to add a sub to these Snells. Check out Ian Moore's "Modern Day Folklore" CD with these speakers and you'll hear what I mean. OK, the cannons on the "1812 Overture" overwhelm these speakers, but they overwhelm anything in this price range.

When I bought the E IIIs I had a Parasound 50 wpc amp, which I replaced about one year ago with an Adcom GFA 5400 (125 wpc). The Adcom is really overkill. Even in my 14x21 living room with a 20-foot ceiling I cannot turn the preamp (Adcom GFP 565) past one-fourth gain without deafening myself and my family. For a room this size an 80 wpc amp would be more than sufficient with the E III speakers as they are a very easy load to drive.

Overall, these are excellent speakers for the price. If you can find a pair used, go for them. If you're looking for new speakers, though, check the competing brands. Snell's customer service in non-existent. Paradigm makes some excellent speakers too, and the Paradigm 11se are about the same price as the new Snell E.5.