The Snell AIII was a good speaker in its day. It was about the only thing out there that competed with the Fulton Premiere systems. But that was 1984. Snell made a speaker call the B that I found preferable to the AIII- easier to drive and more detailed (still went to 22Hz).
Since the time of the B, there have been a lot of other speakers that have appeared that are easy contenders. If you want something on the scale of a speaker like that, with a reasonable price that is also easy to drive, check out the Audiokinesis Dreammaker, which got a Golden Ear award a few years back. I would take if over a set of AIIIs in a heartbeat- especially if you have a larger room- you need the efficiency.
The reason you need the efficiency is the simple fact that there are no particularly musical amplifiers that also have power in excess of 500 watts. Sure, there is lots of stuff that sounds like good HiFi, but if you want it to sound like real music, that amp does not exist in those power levels, tube or transistor. So you have to get the efficiency going. You might also consider that fact that if you really push a +500 watt amp into those Snells, you will toast them but before that they will be highly compressed.
Sorry to break it to you this way but there is no way to change the laws of physics. If you go with a smaller room you will have a lot more option with that speaker. Of course, if you only plan to play at lower volume levels maybe you will be OK. Personal preference *does* play a role in that regard.
Since the time of the B, there have been a lot of other speakers that have appeared that are easy contenders. If you want something on the scale of a speaker like that, with a reasonable price that is also easy to drive, check out the Audiokinesis Dreammaker, which got a Golden Ear award a few years back. I would take if over a set of AIIIs in a heartbeat- especially if you have a larger room- you need the efficiency.
The reason you need the efficiency is the simple fact that there are no particularly musical amplifiers that also have power in excess of 500 watts. Sure, there is lots of stuff that sounds like good HiFi, but if you want it to sound like real music, that amp does not exist in those power levels, tube or transistor. So you have to get the efficiency going. You might also consider that fact that if you really push a +500 watt amp into those Snells, you will toast them but before that they will be highly compressed.
Sorry to break it to you this way but there is no way to change the laws of physics. If you go with a smaller room you will have a lot more option with that speaker. Of course, if you only plan to play at lower volume levels maybe you will be OK. Personal preference *does* play a role in that regard.