snell a II

thank you guys! One other question: is there a difference between the A II and the A III (the latest version?) and what ist the price target for a good used AII ?

I never heard the AIII but I know it was taller than the AII and used a 12" woofer insteadof a 10" one. I think it also had a back-firing extra tweeter with controls. Otherwise, it looked the same and had the reputation of being very good, although opinions varied on whether the AIII or the AIIIi (the later model) was better. I know Art Dudley in an article in Lstener a few years ago said that the AIII was preferable to the AIIIi.

by friends AIII had external electronic crossover I know. For biamp capabilities

As said earlier in thread the woofer surrounds are a weak point because they're made of foam which breaks after 20 years.I have repaired mine with a thin rubber surround and this works very well.Do not use the thicker rubber,the suspension will be too stiff.
The overall response can be improved with an amp that is able to control the bass well.Otherwise it will sound too thick and too slow.I (still) use a Levinson 23 amp which works well.
Further,the internal cables that were standard in the speakers are (by far)not good enough.I have changed mine (about 10 years ago)for vanden Hul SCS cables.The improvement is big,but change the cable to the bass unit too or it will sound slightly discontinous..not as much as the Martin Logan Sequel though.
You could buy even better cables nowadays (Cardas,MIT,etc)
And then there is the crossover,it consists of many capacitors of inferior quality.You could cange these for better ones (i used Chateauroux,but there are more good ones)

I have enjoyed my Aii for 22 years. I often go to stores and listen to other speakers but I have never found reasonably priced speakers that do everything the snell does. I concur that the bass speakers may need to have the foam replaced as they do disintegrate over time. I bi-amp my speakers. All in all they are excellent speakers that have more than stood the test of time. A heck-of a lot of money when I bought them but never any regrets.