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Which Snell Type A do I have? A-I or A-Original?

Any Snell afficianados out there? I have owned many pairs of Type As over the years and now have a superb pair. The tweeter, if memory serves, is different than I remember from my first set of Type As, though I am pretty certain they are original. I have read that there may be two early versions, the Type A-I and the Type A-Original. Is this true, and if so what is the difference? My pair is serial  numbers 243/244. Separately fused tweeter/mid/woofer. Ugh this won't allow me to add a picture! Well the round plate surrounding the tweeter is white, and a dispersion bar across it diagonally. There are no felt pads near the tweeters but they may have been removed by previous owner. It does have the insulation pads hanging inside the speaker grilled.

How can I tell which model I have, assuming there really is such thing as a "Type A-Original"?

Thanks for any thoughts!
montaldo

Showing 6 responses by montaldo

montaldo OP
113 posts
 
$395 is an absurdly good deal for A-IIIs. I have owned two pair of A3s and paid three times that very recently. Take a look at the woofers when you get them out of storage to make sure the surrounds have been replaced or are intact. They are an incredibly capable speaker with huge Dynamics and bass and room-filling sound. The earlier versions do not have the deep bass capability that yours do nor the high frequency extension but I like the mid-range better. All three versions have extraordinary strengths and compete very well with expensive modern speakers. For listeners whose goal is organic musicality it is striking how little speaker design has evolved over decades.
montaldo OP
113 posts
 
I thought there was only one original type A as well! But I have seen reference to two of them. It could be wrong because they're is a fair amount of incorrect information floating around about the Type A. But I would swear the original As I had twenty years ago had a different looking tweeter.

Erik: yes the woofers can sag over time. I am fortunate living in St Louis that there is a top-notch speaker guy named Lloyd Faulkner. He was able to rebuild my woofers, replacing the spiders as well as the surrounds with no problem. 

Does anyone have a picture of an original type a tweeter? I am also interested to know if they all had felt pads attached next to them.
Stu
montaldo OP
113 posts
 
And before they poured resin for woofer mass Snell used a heavy clay! That's what mine have.
montaldo OP
113 posts
 
That is a great story. The funny irony is maybe 5 years ago I ran my type A speakers with a Conrad Johnson MV-60 amp And premier ten preamp. The sound was amazing. I was a huge fan of cj, but not these days since they moved more toward "neutrality"... ;)

It is funny they didn't like the Snell's. Go figure.
montaldo OP
113 posts
 
And I just remembered my very first pair of type As was bought used in 1994 from a Chicago dealer for exactly $750 and it happens that I ran them with a Conrad Johnson mv-52!
montaldo OP
113 posts
 
Pater Snell made a number of early prototypes, playing with possibilities. I had never heard  of the rear facing woofers!

Yes the little pad hanging from  the grille cloth in front of the tweeter was a production feature to knock back the treble slightly. It appears to be standard house insulation with light fabric sewn around it with black thread. Very homemade looking. But the speakers work like few others I have heard..I just compared head to head my Snell's and some $8k Wilson Benesch that have gorgeous fit/finish, and the Snell's were clearly superior in musicality, realness, meatiness of sound. The Wilsons had more treble energy but not nearly as convincing. 
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