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I have been trying for years to run down reviews of Snell's B-Type speakers published during the short time they were on the market. I already have found REG's epic Tas review, but I can't find any links or mentions of reviews by Stereophile from that time period. As these speakers were much anticipated and late to market, there was a great deal of interest in them when they were finally offered for sale. I know, because I bought the first pair delivered to Salon I Audio after a short home audition, but before any reviews had been printed.The reason I am looking now is because these speakers sounded so good in my system that I jumped right off the upgrade merry-go-round and bought nothing for my system but cartridges and records for the next eight years. I even stopped reading audiophile mags and just listened to music. I vaguely remember hearing that Sterephile's review was so bad that it killed the speaker in the marketplace, despite REG's more positive review in TAS. All I know is that I have become similarly happy with my setup now.Aafter scores of changes since retiring, the only things left of the old system are the the TNT steel rack and my B's, and I have no desire to even audition new speakers. I just want to know, from the experts at Stereophile way back when, just why I should not have bought these speakers that do so many things so well.
I would appreciate it if anyone knows if Stereophile has published a reference index of component brands linking to the articles or issue numbers where they appeared so I can hunt down old copies on the web.
I would be interested in buying any issues that contain followup reports as well.
Everything is going to the dogs
Edits: 08/23/14Follow Ups:
IF I recall correctly, Art Dudley's Listener magazine had a review of one of the B's (can't remember which) a while back, maybe early 2000s. (?)
Mark in NC
"The thought that life could be better is woven indelibly into our hearts and our brains" -Paul Simon
I loved those speaker. Not perfect, but very good nonetheless. They did have a hump in the bass in my room, about 60 Hz. Good sound stage, good tone, good but not real tight bass, very airy due to the rear firing super tweeter.
Jack
Stereophile's Robert Harley reviewed the Snell Type B (listed then as retailing for $4200/pair) in the December '91 issue, vol. 14, no. 12.
It was my junior year in college, and I should have been studying for finals. But no, I couldn't get enough of two prog rock classics, Savatage's Streets and Fates Warning's Parallels . Audiophiles who happened to be shopping at San Francisco's audio stores (e.g., Ultimate Sound) during the mid-90s may have walked in on me, while I was playing these two albums.
Anyway, RH complained about the Type B having too much bass, perhaps centered around 40Hz. RH used the tubed VTL 225W and solid state Jeff Rowland Model 1. It's quite possible that these two amps weren't able to control the Type B's midbass. I wouldn't be surprised if more modern VTL and Jeff Rowland (I'm very familiar with the Class-D 312) power amps did a better job of keeping the Type B's bass under control.
Readers also suspected that the humongous Type B (25"W x 48"H x 19"D) was designed for rooms much larger than RH's (14.5' x 19').
RH also complained that some notes sounded "pinched," and there was little soundstage depth.
Add all these traits up, and RH could never transport himself to the musical venue. He was always aware that he was listening to a mechanical device.
I couldn't begin to tell you who was the Bay Area's Snell dealer in the early-90s. I never got to audition a Snell model (I was interested in the Type K/II, or whatever the stand-mount was called), not even at shows.
-Lummy The Loch Monster
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