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Snell AIIIi - Replace or keep?

I've got a pair of really good condition Snell AIIIi's that sound awesome. Only problem is they are huge and my apartment is not - getting rid of them would buy me serious points with my significant other. Right now I drive them with a krell ksa 200s, but I also have a 50s I sometimes swap in for a change. Someone is willing to give me $1200 for them, which seems fair. Only problem is once I get rid of them I need a good pair to replace them. Is there any speaker out there in the $1000 range that will sound as good - it's the lifelike quality of the snells I really enjoy - right now I'm listening to Sonny Rollins and it sounds like he's in the room. I think they just may be too big for my apartment. Any advice is much appreciated. thanks
mainer8
Post removed 
sogood51
2,157 posts
 
You won't even come close at $1,000...keep the Snell. You can use the Snells very close to the wall, and still get very good sound...that would get them somewhat out of the way?

Dave
vjay00
37 posts
 
Please keep them.

I have owned a pair of Snell AIIIi's since 1989. I now bi-amp them with BAT 6200 amp (400W into 4 ohms), FIM gold speaker cables, and Jena Labs Symphony IC's. They are placed 20" from the wall, with room acoustic material on the back wall. The cables and amp cost me 4 times as much as the speakers, but I would not trade this configuration for speakers costing tens of thousands. Jab and Dave are right. Their wide sound stage and musicality (particularly midrange) would be impossible to match in the sub $2000 price range. You may begin to get closer at around $10K and up.
mainer8 OP
26 posts
 
You guys are telling me what I was afraid of hearing! I was kind of hoping someone would tell me I'd be lucky to get $1200 for them and should take the money and run. My apartment has a weird layout, but if I do a little reconfiguring they might be able to be up against the wall - they'd have to be about six feet apart and I would have to move a wall mounted cd rack, but it could be done I suppose. When I went to a stereo store by my house the guy tried to convince me that speaker technology has advanced and the snells were good for their day but have kind of been surpassed. They sound awesome to me, though. I tried hooking up some b&ws 602s I had kicking around in a smaller system, and they did not sound anywhere near as good (though admittedly those aren't in the same class, but given how much newer they were and the talk of technological advance I thought they might be close). That's what got me worried and caused me to reconsider getting rid of them. Would used Magnepan 3.6's for around $1000 be comparable? They would at least have a smaller footprint. And do I need to worry about the snell's age? I know nothing of how to repair things and snell doesn't do the repairs anymore apparently to the old type a's. Thanks again for any advice.
sogood51
2,157 posts
 
If you can buy Maggie 3.6's for a $1,000....DO IT! You can sell them at a very nice profit.

Dave
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