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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
springbok10
711 posts
 
Mainer8, can you give me the specs, including measurements of the Snells and what your new dimension requirements are.
vjay00
37 posts
 
Mainer8, The AIIIi and AIII have the same woofer driver. The difference is the front tweeter baffle - round vs square, and its crossover. The tweeter is the same, but in AIII it was off center. It is centered on AIIIi. The woofer re-coning costs $432 each, and takes about 3+ months. Perhaps, the guy interested in your AIIIi's may just want to buy your speakers rather than spend $900 in re-coning his drivers. The drivers are re-coned by one company is Massachusetts, and as far as I know, they are re-conable, as long as the original driver is made available. I just did that about a year ago.
vjay00
37 posts
 
Mainer8, A suggestion - Snell Type B's. A pair is currently for sale on A'gon for $1200. They are designed to go into the corners, and some preferred them to the Type A's.
mainer8 OP
26 posts
 
Those Type B look nice but really the only issue is size, and those still look pretty hefty. I think my girlfriend is coming around to letting me keep them on the condition that I stop adding big pieces to my stereo system.
pryso
1,928 posts
 
Considering WAF or GAF (girlfriend acceptance factor), I'm guessing there are three elements - size of cabinet, placement in room, and finish/design of the cabinet.

You have an advantage with two out of three. Because the Snell A series are designed for near wall placement, they do not intrude into the room as do most speakers. And in spite of their size, the Snell As I've seen had very good cabinet finish. Since you obviously enjoy your Snells, your girlfriend should be willing to accept one out of three factors, their size.

As for the Maggies suggestion, their footprint may be smaller but they must be placed well out into the room to perform to their best advantage. And with their height, can they really be considered a smaller speaker?

I'd keep what I have if I was you.
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